The SUPER blog - includes Vegas

Sorry in advance for the MASSIVE blog you are about to enter into. It includes Death Valley, Vegas and Grand Canyon experiences and photos. Enjoy.

So I promised you a "megablog" and it will have to be.  Despite some of the Vegas experiences that will stay in Vegas as is tradition, there's still heaps to digest (but I think I've done it quite succinctly, surprisingly), even for me currently as I write this part of the blog on three hours sleep. I'm surprised I can put a sentence together. I know everyone is waiting to find out how I went with the gambling: well, Vegas won as is pretty normal I suppose (but I don't mind saying I lost at the Bellagio). The Everyone is there for the same reason at the tables - to win, obviously - but the clubs and club culture is the thing that stood out for me. Everyone is on level pegging and you don't have to be dressed to the shit (although some do choose to) to be accepted. There's few juiced-up over-confident knuckleheads typically with tight jeans and shirts three sizes too small (no one I know) driving guys like me down. I didn't feel out of place I guess I'm trying to say, despite Vegas being such a crazy place.

Now to Vegas itself. This place has EVERYTHING. I rate it right up there. Everyone needs to come here. I couldn't fit everything in I wanted but the tour guide(the super-energetic Abby!!) reckons I did the best job in terms of activities. There was a gondola ride at The Venetian, probably the best indoor spectacle of the lot on the Strip (despite the ride being outside). I got to see a show, something I thought was essential, where I saw a comedic musical ventriloquist, took a limo ride down the Strip, watched the Bellagio fountain show, ate at a $20 all-you-can-eat buffet, I even went shopping (and I looked GOOD) and I've probably forgotten some other things. No, I didn't get married. A lot of this was possible thanks to the tip from our cab driver on the second day. This guy knew everything. Legend. But one thing was probably the highlight: the Voodoo Nightclub on top of the Rio hotel. If you go to Vegas for the first time, or again, you HAVE to make your way off the Strip to this place. I got in for free, surprisingly, and once I arrived had the best view of everything on the Strip and in and around Vegas. Words can't describe how awesome it was. You just have to see it for yourself. The music is great, the smoking and bubbling House cocktail, the Witch Doctor (a peachy rum cocktail) is something you need to try. It really topped of Vegas for me. I know Jesse, Toby and Karina (my "wolfpack" for much of the tour) couldn't believe it wasn't more popular. It is the place to be. Go there. Do it. I would definitely go back. Maybe having the lovely lady around helped me enjoy it all a bit more. Thanks to Karina for these Vegas pics.

Toby (left, England), Jesse (back, NZ), Karina (front, Peru/Washington DC) and I.

The gondola

The Witch Doctor, an experiment bubbling away.

From the Voodoo Lounge on the roof of the Rio

 Before we got to Vegas we travelled through Death Valley. It seems weird but I was so excited and pumped for that day. I know you just think desert: flat, dry desert but there's terrific gradient changes (we went from 5000ft (1524m) to sea level back to almost 5000ft then back down to below sea level within two hours driving), coloured rocks and huge canyons, sand dunes in random places, salt pans in random places, lavish hotels in random places and the lowest golf course in the world (mostly salt). We came to a stop at the Badwater Salt Flats, 282ft (86m) below sea level, the lowest point in North America. It must have been about 50⁰C. But dig 15cm below the surface and you'll find water. At a bearable temperature. Salty, but cool. There's a 'sea level' sign up in the hills indicating how far below you are. It's also incredible.

Devil's Golf Course

Ok now AFTER Vegas we travelled to the Grand Canyon. As recommended by many, I took to the skies for a birds-eye view. It has kind of made the budget tight but, when else am I going to get to do something like this? When in Rome. The 45-minute helicopter flight took us over the canyon, the wild Colorado River and to parts of the canyon not seen by tourists on foot. Our guide was excellent When we did walk around there seemed there was so much respectful quietness for the canyon. It's pretty hard to describe the size of the place or the sheerness of the cliffs, the patterns of the rocks... unless you've already seen it for yourself. Or looking at my photos.

The Fish formation

Fault line in the canyon

So tomorrow we are back to California where we'll stay near Joshua Tree National Park. Twin brothers and sisters in our tour group have their birthday tomorrow and we're going bowling and having a "tight bright neon night" party in conjunction with that to celebrate that and our last night together on the tour. Stay tuned for the next blog.

PS. If you haven't seen my recent Facebook or Twitter posts, I have read the mid-west states of the US are possibly in for a tornado outbreak from Wednesday/Thursday. So odds look good for me.