USA 2016: Nevada

At the beginning of the second week of our trip, we set off for the Wild West. We took the plane from Washington to Las Vegas. Along the way, we watched the landscape gradually change from the window. During the last leg of the journey, we saw from the air several places where we would spend the next few days: Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, and finally, of course, Las Vegas. The bizarre thing was that immediately after exiting the plane via the gangway, you found yourself in a room full of slot machines. So you could immediately get rid of your allowance. We decided to check the condition of our suitcases first. In my father's case, it turned out to be not so good. Customs had forced open his suitcase for inspection. It came off the belt half open, half held together with tape. The locks had been tampered with. Anyway, from a security perspective, at least customs now knows what kind of underwear my father wears. For the rest of the trip, we simply put my Travelbags luggage strap on his suitcase and picked up a roll of tape at the nearest 7-Eleven to keep it together for the return trip. After picking up the rental car, we headed to our first stop in the west. An hour from Las Vegas was the Valley of Fire State Park. This park features several fiery red rock formations and a scenic route through them. It really brought back the Wild West feeling. A few days later during our tour, we returned to Las Vegas for another night. It was quite unusual to walk our suitcases through a casino on our way to the check-in desk upon arrival. After a lavish buffet, we explored the city at night. It was hectic and hot. It was quite remarkable to see what has been built from scratch. At the Venetian, there's an entire canal with Venetian gondolas, further on, the Eiffel Tower, and so on. Just like in New York, there were plenty of street performers, though they were often more scantily clad. Of course, we couldn't miss the famous water fountains at the Bellagio. The next morning, we also drove past the Gold & Silver pawn shop, known from the TV series Pawn Stars.