I have a nice little video essay prepared for this attraction - though I believe that I will have to wait until I get back to share it, as it appears that my videos are all several megabytes in size, and that takes an absolute age to upload (and probably still quite a while to download). I think I'll have to work out a way to reduce them in size. Probably involving YouTube...
In the meantime...
I got to the Stratosphere Tower (part of the Stratosphere resort, and the tallest free-standing structure West of Missouri) just as the sun had set. My plan was to be just before that, to see the late afternoon sun streaming across the city and onto the ring of mountains that surround it, before witnessing the transformation of the city into the glittering neon-laced confection that it is at night, but that didn't happen. Nice description though, eh? What I am saying is I really missed the first part!
The views are great, the price is medium-high. A bit like the CN tower in Toronto really for those who have been there... though the CN tower is quite a bit taller! There is a restaurant at the top, a bar, and some viewing decks. Plus, and these definitely are not found on the CN Tower, it has 3 crazy, nutty, thrill rides. One was out of action, but I got to see the others close up (and hear the screams).
The first looks like a giant mechanical claw (with two people strapped on part of the claw) that is swung out over - well - nothing and then spun round and round gradually pulling the claw open, leaving the riders facing practically straight down to the ground 900 feet below.
The second is a cross between a roller coaster and a teeter-totter. At first the riders plummet forwards, again right off the side of the building, where they suddenly stop, hang in the balance, and then drop some more, before tipping and sliding back onto the building, before again sliding off the edge! Both required much more courage (and money) than I was prepared to invest!
A truly unique experience is also offered where you can "skydive" right off the building and actually land on the ground this time. There are no parachutes involved, you are hooked up to a wire, which allows you to fall at practically free-fall speed before slowing you up rapidly before you hit the ground, rather than land on it. Absolutely nuts.
Fun for kids? Maybe. There were quite a few there, and some did seem to enjoy the views. Teens enjoyed the rides. It is what it is. It's a bit of money to get a family up to the top, but so is the CN Tower. Lots of families do both.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Springs Preserve
I tried to make best use of my time here (though failed miserably, I think!) and wanted to see a couple of the paid attractions on my "least busy" day, before trying to cram in various "free" attractions, whenever I can in the next few days - though when, exactly, I will get to report on them all I am not sure!
So I made my way to Springs Preserve, and then eventually, on to the Stratosphere Tower.
One place that is completely different from the usual "food with gambling", "attraction with gambling", "hotel with gambling", "airport with gambling", is the Springs Preserve.
This is a "desert living" museum/attraction/gardens, recognising the impact of water on Las Vegas and the surrounding desert. It may not be known to you, for example, that the original settlement in Las Vegas (which means "the meadows" in Spanish) had plenty of water for its needs provided by natural springs. In time these springs have dried up completely, but Las Vegas, like any city, still needs water - lots of it.
The Springs Preserve has tons of hands-on activities for the younger kids and a lot of educational content (though interestingly presented) for older kids and adults. There were also interesting exhibits, beautiful desert gardens, and animals. The emphasis of the whole place in on water preservation and sustainability in general. One of the major parts of the museum won all kinds of green awards for the way that it was designed to make maximum use of its shape, shade etc to reduce its energy and water usage. I learned a lot, including the fact that the hotels and resort in Las Vegas are actually very good at preserving, recycling and reusing their water (even the ones with the big fancy fountains). Homeowners use the most water, and typically use more than 90% of their water on their gardens!
Particularly interesting for kids is the Nature Exchange where kids can bring in natural artifacts and trade them in for other objects that may interest them. This is a Canadian idea suggested by Science North in Sudbury, and now embraced by several museums and zoos in North America.
I rushed though everything in around 2 hours. A family would probably want to set aside 2-3 hours minimum. It was a nice place and I would definitely recommend it. It is not on the Strip or near downtown. It is less than 10 miles from any of the downtown or strip hotels, and can be reached relatively easily with public transportation, though taking a taxi is much more practical (and door-to-door).
So I made my way to Springs Preserve, and then eventually, on to the Stratosphere Tower.
One place that is completely different from the usual "food with gambling", "attraction with gambling", "hotel with gambling", "airport with gambling", is the Springs Preserve.
This is a "desert living" museum/attraction/gardens, recognising the impact of water on Las Vegas and the surrounding desert. It may not be known to you, for example, that the original settlement in Las Vegas (which means "the meadows" in Spanish) had plenty of water for its needs provided by natural springs. In time these springs have dried up completely, but Las Vegas, like any city, still needs water - lots of it.
The Springs Preserve has tons of hands-on activities for the younger kids and a lot of educational content (though interestingly presented) for older kids and adults. There were also interesting exhibits, beautiful desert gardens, and animals. The emphasis of the whole place in on water preservation and sustainability in general. One of the major parts of the museum won all kinds of green awards for the way that it was designed to make maximum use of its shape, shade etc to reduce its energy and water usage. I learned a lot, including the fact that the hotels and resort in Las Vegas are actually very good at preserving, recycling and reusing their water (even the ones with the big fancy fountains). Homeowners use the most water, and typically use more than 90% of their water on their gardens!
Particularly interesting for kids is the Nature Exchange where kids can bring in natural artifacts and trade them in for other objects that may interest them. This is a Canadian idea suggested by Science North in Sudbury, and now embraced by several museums and zoos in North America.
I rushed though everything in around 2 hours. A family would probably want to set aside 2-3 hours minimum. It was a nice place and I would definitely recommend it. It is not on the Strip or near downtown. It is less than 10 miles from any of the downtown or strip hotels, and can be reached relatively easily with public transportation, though taking a taxi is much more practical (and door-to-door).
Grand Canyon - long day trip
I booked my trip with the Grand Canyon Tour Company. There are many companies to choose from, all offering "the best tour". I chose this company mainly because they promised a decent time at the rim of the canyon and didn't seem to add "wasted" stops. I think it was a good choice. I paid $86 US (on "special"), which a bit more than some, but a lot less than many offered at the hotels (which can approach double this cost).
I made it to the bus in time - stocked up with drinking water, cameras, binoculars, Las Vegas guidebook for trip home (to plan the next few days).
My tip: Don't be late, the bus driver didn't wait long at hotels if people weren't there... The shuttle bus picks up from numerous hotels and then drops you off for the main bus. The breakfast (included)was skimpy (a pop tart or something similar and coffee or huice) - we hit the road at 7.10 AM.
So we were on our way to the South Rim (the best views, probably, though more than 300 miles in each direction. There are tours to the West Rim, too, which is a good deal closer, but I wanted to see the South Rim...)
Our stops:
We spent some rim-time at two points, about an hour at each, and a 10 minute drive between them. This was not really long enough for me - I would have walked further along the rim, but still the views don't change "that" much and you do get to the see plenty of the canyon in that time.
The Canyon is amazing, of course, a wonder of the world. It is hard to imagine the scale from photographs. Very colourful, too and of course incredibly rugged. We were able to see a few of the trails in the bottom of the canyon for brave souls that have booked in advance, and taken the famous mule tours to the bottom and back! The sights were awe-inspiring.
No time at all was wasted on any of the stops (which are mandated for the driver as much as anything else) - I don't think anybody felt that any time was wasted getting to/from the canyon, so although there was less than 2.5 hours at the rim, it was still OK.
Return on stop in Kingman again then home. We just had a couple of movies on the way back (our driver was not super-chatty, which I think on balance was good - I have read some reviews on over-chatty drivers which didn't sound too much fun).
Back in the city by 9 PM, at the hotel (after dropping off all the way up the strip - I was almost the last hotel) by 9.30.
So, the million dollar question - was this trip suitable for kids? Well, in my opinion - not really.
There were 2 small kids on our trip and a couple of teens. There were quite a few kids at the rim too. The kids on our trip were very well-behaved, actually. But
But, I am glad I did it..
I made it to the bus in time - stocked up with drinking water, cameras, binoculars, Las Vegas guidebook for trip home (to plan the next few days).
My tip: Don't be late, the bus driver didn't wait long at hotels if people weren't there... The shuttle bus picks up from numerous hotels and then drops you off for the main bus. The breakfast (included)was skimpy (a pop tart or something similar and coffee or huice) - we hit the road at 7.10 AM.
So we were on our way to the South Rim (the best views, probably, though more than 300 miles in each direction. There are tours to the West Rim, too, which is a good deal closer, but I wanted to see the South Rim...)
Our stops:
- Hoover Dam - 20 mins. While this is a true engineering marvel (we watched a video on how it was constructed after we passed the dam) the picture stop is behind the dam on the Arizona side, so the pictures aren't very dramatic. In fact it can be hard to work out what you are seeing in the photos, if you hadn't just driven over the dam itself!
- Kingman - Arizona - 20 mins - truck stop.
- Lunch stop at Williams at the depot of the Grand Canyon railway (which does still run). Lunch was included. A decent buffet, not good, but more than adequate. And quick.
- Souvenir stop at Flagstaff - sometimes this is done on the return trip...
We spent some rim-time at two points, about an hour at each, and a 10 minute drive between them. This was not really long enough for me - I would have walked further along the rim, but still the views don't change "that" much and you do get to the see plenty of the canyon in that time.
The Canyon is amazing, of course, a wonder of the world. It is hard to imagine the scale from photographs. Very colourful, too and of course incredibly rugged. We were able to see a few of the trails in the bottom of the canyon for brave souls that have booked in advance, and taken the famous mule tours to the bottom and back! The sights were awe-inspiring.
No time at all was wasted on any of the stops (which are mandated for the driver as much as anything else) - I don't think anybody felt that any time was wasted getting to/from the canyon, so although there was less than 2.5 hours at the rim, it was still OK.
Return on stop in Kingman again then home. We just had a couple of movies on the way back (our driver was not super-chatty, which I think on balance was good - I have read some reviews on over-chatty drivers which didn't sound too much fun).
Back in the city by 9 PM, at the hotel (after dropping off all the way up the strip - I was almost the last hotel) by 9.30.
So, the million dollar question - was this trip suitable for kids? Well, in my opinion - not really.
There were 2 small kids on our trip and a couple of teens. There were quite a few kids at the rim too. The kids on our trip were very well-behaved, actually. But
- it's a long (possibly quite boring) trip
- the kids are not as likely as you to really "get" the canyon. I suspect my kids might be bored at the rim, within the hour that you are there.
- It would be really nerve-wracking to have your kids at the edge - much of the rim walk doesn't have walls or rails - it would be very possible to imagine your kids falling off!
- That means that you wouldn't really have the ability to truly even view the spectacle that you came all that way to see!
But, I am glad I did it..
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada
Decent connection in Philadelphia. Arrived Las Vegas a little early actually. Still later than my original United Flight!
The first thing you see as you enter the terminal building - right at the gate, no less - slot machines! Welcome to Las Vegas. You will soon realise that this is definitely what Vegas is all about.
After picking up luggage, in the biggest, gaudiest, glitziest baggage lounge I have ever seen, filled with huge billboards and giant screen TVs advertising the various shows, nightclubs, restaurants etc, I chose to get an airport shuttle to my hotel. While this is a decent enough choice (fairly cheap) if by yourself, if travelling as a family it would be better to take a taxi. Less wait time - and probably lower overall price.
The Golden Nugget hotel is in the so-called "downtown" area, not the better-known "Strip" and is one of the further hotels from the airport. Journey takes around 15-20 minutes, whereas some hotels on the strip are 5 mins or less away. The airport is really close to the south end of the "strip". It doesn't actually take too long to learn the order of the hotels on the strip - just get any map - you'll see that there aren't really all that many, really. I will mention advantages and disadvantages of downtown vs the strip, and describe the Golden Nugget a bit more later. I'll probably add pics and maybe videos after the fact, as that could get time-consuming.
I was in my room by around 1.30 AM local time and tried to get some sleep because I had booked a Grand Canyon excursion for Sunday, with a pickup time of 5.50 AM. So with 3 alarms set, as well as the wake up call I headed off to the land of nod.
The first thing you see as you enter the terminal building - right at the gate, no less - slot machines! Welcome to Las Vegas. You will soon realise that this is definitely what Vegas is all about.
After picking up luggage, in the biggest, gaudiest, glitziest baggage lounge I have ever seen, filled with huge billboards and giant screen TVs advertising the various shows, nightclubs, restaurants etc, I chose to get an airport shuttle to my hotel. While this is a decent enough choice (fairly cheap) if by yourself, if travelling as a family it would be better to take a taxi. Less wait time - and probably lower overall price.
The Golden Nugget hotel is in the so-called "downtown" area, not the better-known "Strip" and is one of the further hotels from the airport. Journey takes around 15-20 minutes, whereas some hotels on the strip are 5 mins or less away. The airport is really close to the south end of the "strip". It doesn't actually take too long to learn the order of the hotels on the strip - just get any map - you'll see that there aren't really all that many, really. I will mention advantages and disadvantages of downtown vs the strip, and describe the Golden Nugget a bit more later. I'll probably add pics and maybe videos after the fact, as that could get time-consuming.
I was in my room by around 1.30 AM local time and tried to get some sleep because I had booked a Grand Canyon excursion for Sunday, with a pickup time of 5.50 AM. So with 3 alarms set, as well as the wake up call I headed off to the land of nod.
At the airport... change of plans
I was due to fly with United Airlines via Chicago, but the inbound flight from Chicago to Ottawa was delayed by thunderstorms in Chicago, and its estimated time of arrival kept getting later and later. Whatever, it was making the likelihood of making my connection to Vegas a little less than certain, so when offered a US airways flight via Philadelphia instead, I said, "Sure, why not...?" I will get in to Las Vegas around 50 minutes later at around 11 PM local time, but at least I should make it today... This is important not just because I'd like to get some sleep today, but also because I have a day-trip to the Grand Canyon booked for tomorrow, with a pickup at my hotel at a rather unfriendly 5.50 AM!
As I am typing this, they just announced that the United flight is arriving shortly, only 30 minutes late, so it would have been OK after all. Oh well...
As I am typing this, they just announced that the United flight is arriving shortly, only 30 minutes late, so it would have been OK after all. Oh well...
No internet - no blog!
Unlike most hotels in most North American cities, giving free internet to clients does not seem to be the norm here. As there was a decent fee (same as a half-decent meal!), per 24 hours, I decided to save up and give you all my stuff in one mammoth session, once I had seen the majority of the family-friendly things (as many as I could cram in) and before attending my conference. So all the dates and times will be off (compounded by the fact that I am on Pacific time, but my computer is still on Eastern Standard time)...
Read on McDuff
Read on McDuff
Friday, July 23, 2010
Countdown to Vegas is almost up!
Hello family travel fans!
I have been booked to attend a convention in "Sin City" this coming week, and figured that I may as well take the chance to familiarize myself with this great location and what it still offers for family travellers. I booked 3 additional nights before my convention, and set myself the goal of cramming as much family-oriented "stuff" into those days as possible, to report back to you - dear reader.
You will notice almost immediately that I am not actually taking my beautiful family with me, so this blog will not be quite the same as others that we have written on our travels (Disney Cruise, FDR Resort etc). I am, however, hoping that not having my kids with me will allow me to move around a lot more, and spend rather less time, at rather more places than I could realistically drag 3 kids under 10 years old (and their mum)! With any luck I will have time to experience as many places in 2 or 3 days as you could actually realistically see in 4 to 6 days on an actual vacation...
If all goes to plan, I will also add something that I have not done on my travel blogs in the past, and that is add some video. Ooooooh! Technology marches onwards, and with any luck I will have a working high-speed internet connection while I am away, making such shenanigans quite possible. Hoorah!
Hope you'll follow along!
I have been booked to attend a convention in "Sin City" this coming week, and figured that I may as well take the chance to familiarize myself with this great location and what it still offers for family travellers. I booked 3 additional nights before my convention, and set myself the goal of cramming as much family-oriented "stuff" into those days as possible, to report back to you - dear reader.
You will notice almost immediately that I am not actually taking my beautiful family with me, so this blog will not be quite the same as others that we have written on our travels (Disney Cruise, FDR Resort etc). I am, however, hoping that not having my kids with me will allow me to move around a lot more, and spend rather less time, at rather more places than I could realistically drag 3 kids under 10 years old (and their mum)! With any luck I will have time to experience as many places in 2 or 3 days as you could actually realistically see in 4 to 6 days on an actual vacation...
If all goes to plan, I will also add something that I have not done on my travel blogs in the past, and that is add some video. Ooooooh! Technology marches onwards, and with any luck I will have a working high-speed internet connection while I am away, making such shenanigans quite possible. Hoorah!
Hope you'll follow along!
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