Considering that, as we just found out, Mercury is retrograde til the 30th, Vegas treated us very well. We stayed with some new couching surfing friends, our first experience, Warren, Tony and 93 y.o. “Mama”. This was a new experience for us. We were concerned about the heat in Vegas and wanted to make sure we had a cool place to sleep which Warren graciously offered us. Along with his wisdom (he is a retired Minister of Religious Science), humor and fun.
We did feel we escaped in some ways. We found Vegas to be everything it is claimed to be – an adult playground of amazing world architecture (for us best at the Bellagio Hotel. It was beautiful and magnificient with fountains and gardens all done world class in Italian Renaissance stye), amazingly cheap drinks and food, wonderful entertainment for every taste, comedy, sexy, great acts 
(Cher, Woopie, Bette Midler, Barry Manilow were there, with Santana, Rod Stewart, Fleetwod Mac booked to come (we went to see Cirque de Soleil, their Mystere Show) and appealing to the lower vices of prostitution and gamibling, the sexiest shows and the most riduculous amount of slots, tables, etc., etc.
M and G Meeting famous personalities
(Cher, Woopie, Bette Midler, Barry Manilow were there, with Santana, Rod Stewart, Fleetwod Mac booked to come (we went to see Cirque de Soleil, their Mystere Show) and appealing to the lower vices of prostitution and gamibling, the sexiest shows and the most riduculous amount of slots, tables, etc., etc. M and G Meeting famous personalities
Looks like Paris, doesn't it
At Hotel Bellagio
Playing with our new Camera at The Bellagio
As we got over the pass we were reminded again that we were really entering the West. Memories of cowboy movies - open plains, horses, Indians and gunfights, AND mountains, in the distance and close up. We were especially blessed at Sunset when we stopped at a cool place to reorganize our home before heading lower for the nights’s sleep. We had started to see a little piece of rainbow colors in a darker cloud above a long distance away. This was now half of a bow with its end landing nears us! AND Then in a short time as the air hung moist with rain and we pondered if we would have a little shower, we saw a full 180 degree rainbow welcoming us to Arizona! We danced, took pictures and watched as the sunset colors came and went over the mountains. We found a quiet road to bed our camper down for the night with welcome cool 55 degree temperatures. Saying goodnight to a good day. Tomorrow on to Sedona and a new adventure.
We were very happy to stay at the Excalibur for 2 nights and got upgraded, of course, to a Kingsize room on the 26th floor with a view of the airport, right in town and Hotel Luxor’s pyramid and huge Spynx out our window.
Gerrit’s best was Cirque with it amazing acrobatics and aerials and for Myia's was the Bellagio Fountains which correographed music with a large lake of water and many fountain areas – spectacluar! The temperature was HOT with over 100 degrees and much hotter in the sun and in the car.
At Hotel Bellagio Playing with our new Camera at The Bellagio
Bellagio's Water Ballet on Music
After stocking up on food, water, etc. etc. we drove out to the Hoover Dam a short 30 miles away. 
A true collassus of human engineering! 728ft. tall and 1282 ft across. And they are building a new Highway next to it with a huge high bridge in the middle stage of construction. It has two spans reaching across the abyss below like to giant metal and concrete robot hands supported by all manner of wires and steels. Talk about engineering!
As we got over the pass we were reminded again that we were really entering the West. Memories of cowboy movies - open plains, horses, Indians and gunfights, AND mountains, in the distance and close up. We were especially blessed at Sunset when we stopped at a cool place to reorganize our home before heading lower for the nights’s sleep. We had started to see a little piece of rainbow colors in a darker cloud above a long distance away. This was now half of a bow with its end landing nears us! AND Then in a short time as the air hung moist with rain and we pondered if we would have a little shower, we saw a full 180 degree rainbow welcoming us to Arizona! We danced, took pictures and watched as the sunset colors came and went over the mountains. We found a quiet road to bed our camper down for the night with welcome cool 55 degree temperatures. Saying goodnight to a good day. Tomorrow on to Sedona and a new adventure.
