November Road Trip Part 4: Viva Las Vegas

 
Our original plan for this road trip ended with Disneyland, but as Dad had some leave to use and the kiddos would have a 2-day school week for Thanksgiving break anyway, we tacked on a few more adventures.  First we drove out of California by driving over the San Bernardino mountains.  The winding mountain roads gave us some awesome views.

 
And we stopped at Lake Arrowhead, which Dad had learned about from a college roommate many years ago and had always wanted to see.  It was a nice spot, but very, very cold.  Especially coming from the beach just a few days ago, the kids were giddy to see the remains of recent snow, but we weren't dressed for that, so we didn't hang around long. 

 
We were thrilled to spend a few nights in Las Vegas staying with the aforementioned college roommate.  Mrs. College-roommate and I have been facebook friends for many years now, but this was our first time meeting in real life.  Homeschooling mom to 7, and willing to open her home to a family of 6 for a few nights... she is obviously pretty amazing.

 
Our kids got along well and had fun playing games and just hanging out together.

 
In fact, when we would go sightseeing, they would ask when we could get back to the house to play some more.

 
Aside from hanging out and attending church, we visited the nearby Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Sissy is slowly turning Dad into an Instagram Dad, which I find hilarious.

 
She does love to pose.


 
The scenery and sunshine were very welcome though, and we all enjoyed walking around the rocks and taking photos.


 





 
We eventually drove around to another area and hiked up the "back side" of the large cliff-side, where we found these search and rescue workers practicing rescuing one another. It was interesting to watch them work for a few minutes, and I'm glad that's not my job!

 
We kept seeing these funny raised red bumps on some rocks and finally saw a sign that explained how they form. "Red spots in the Aztec Sandstone are iron concretions, where subsurface water has precipitated iron oxide around a nucleus in the sandstone. These concretions are more resistant to erosion than the surrounding sandstone, and weather into little balls known as Indian or Moqui Marbles." So there ya go.
 
 
We also got to see some cool petroglyphs, which I had never seen in person before.  The handprints above are somewhat difficult to see.

 
But the petroglyphs on the side of this rock are very clear. 
It was a neat place to visit and a beautiful day to be outdoors.

The next day it was time to hit the Strip.  We started out near Treasure Island and walked up the main drag.

 
Our kids love mythology, so I knew we had to stop in Caesar's Palace.

 
The fountain show was novel with lights, water, and fire... but not all that thrilling after the World of Color and lifelike animatronics at Disneyland.

 
It was extremely windy out and chilly, so we decided to enjoy a relaxed lunch indoors at Wahlburgers.  Sadly, Marky Mark and Donnie weren't around that day.

 
We walked by Paris Paris, with the mini-Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe.

And then walked through the Bellagio to see this huge exhibit made with flowers, seeds, and plants.  It was pretty impressive.

 
The fountain show in front of the Bellagio was on our list, but was sadly cancelled due to the high winds.

 
I don't remember which casino this was in, but we had just popped in to get out of the wind and saw this motorcycle. The Bear was very excited about this.

 
Because of the weather, we hopped back in the car and drove down near New York New York.  Even the roller coaster was not running due to the high winds.

 
But across the street was the M&M Experience.  We went in and bought an assortment of fun M&M varieties, as well as some printed with the kids' names on them. 

 
By this point it was getting dark out, so we drove to the end of the Strip to see the iconic "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign.
 
 
We had a great time in Las Vegas, though the kids remarked that the Strip is clearly not for children!  Their favorite parts were playing with new friends and climbing on rocks.


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