Wednesday, April 8

After three demanding days, we  needed a rest, so we booked a boat ride on Lake Mead that showed us Hoover Dam from the lake side. The weather was sunny, but on the way back we got some breezes. It was not a must see, but it was relaxing and that was the idea. The cruise lasted about 90 minutes. When we got back we went into Boulder City where there is a Hoover Dam museum located inside an old hotel. We watched an old video about the construction, then made our way through exhibits, and about halfway through we realized we were going in reverse order. But it was fun, and we have always liked checking out oddball little museums in towns we visit, and we saw some in places as diverse as New Mexico and Slovenia. Then we went back to the resort, and a dip in the pool.

Thursday, April 10

We booked a tour for Red Rock Canyon this morning. We booked through Viator, but of course they are a broker, and our booking was with Red Rock Discovery Tours. Our guide, Steve, was fantastic and added a lot to the tour. It was a  4 hour trip from the time we left Las Vegas to the time we got back, but the drive was only a half-hour each way, so we spent three hours in the canyon. Oddly enough, given the name, there were fewer red rocks here than we saw in Valley of Fire a few days ago. But still magnificent scenery. Steve pointed out the rock climbers going up the steep sides, which is something I will never do. He told us stories about the area, including showing us pictograms and petroglyphs from Native Americans who lived here. Then he showed us an area where they lived, and pointed out all of the plants they made use of for both medicine and food. When we got back we did our last shopping trip to Walmart to cover our meals before we head back home on Saturday. Then a dip in the pool, of course.

Friday, April 10

Our last day in Las Vegas, and we chose to visit the Arte Museum of Las Vegas. The reviews were good, and it did not disappoint in any way, But it is not a traditional paintings-on-the-wall kind of museum. It is a multimedia mix of music and video, and most of the rooms have mirrored walls, and some mirrored floors, so you feel immersed in the scene you are viewing. The first couple of rooms had flowers everywhere, then there was one with water crashing into a wall in such a way that the water periodically resembled a whale. One had a waterfall, another waves crashing on a beach, one called Star had paper lanterns with lights inside that turned on and off and charged colors, and it was great. Another was aimed at the kids and let them draw animals, scan in the drawings, and then they would be animated on the wall. Our favorite was a large room with three video shows in rotation. The first was of Las Vegas scenes, and it was good. But the second one was based on the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, and it made us nostalgic for our time in Paris, where we visited the Musee d’Orsay and saw those paintings. The final one was a short film called Desert Aurora, which was OK, but not exceptional. The whole experience lasted about 90 minutes, then we returned to the resort to pack, have lunch, take a last dip in the pool, etc. If you are ever in Las Vegas I recommend  a visit to the Arte Museum.

Saturday, April 11

We were up early (5am) so we would have time to eat a quick breakfast, fill the tank and return the rental car, and get to the airport for our flight back to Michigan. The temperature back home in Michigan is 53 today, but it will get warmer. And we have had our week of fun in the Sun, and it was very nice. We have had two very nice trips with this Time Share we inherited, our trip to Malaga a couple of years ago, and this one. One nice feature is that we are staying in resorts where we have a full kitchen, so we don’t need to go out to restaurants, which for us is a bit complicated. Instead, we buy our groceries and rate our usual food, which is simpler and saves us money. So where will we go next? That depends on what we find when we look for resorts we can book through this time share, but we are thinking of another trip to warmth when Michigan is cold.