Vegas, baby!

We flew back from Las Vegas on Wednesday night, it was a fantastic trip!  Hubby found a non-gambling hotel just off the Strip, and the weather was around 37C/100F all week.

The first surprise was a Friday excursion to the Grand Canyon.  A coach took us to Boulder City, where we got in a plane that flew us over the Hoover dam:

When we got to the canyon, there was a helicopter waiting to fly us down to the bottom.  I've never been on a helicopter and they put me in the front seat next to the pilot.  Once I got over the clutching-the-seat terrors, it was an awesome flight!

At the bottom there was a boat, a shelter, and some ice cold water.  We rode along the Colorado river for a bit.  It was the muddiest looking river I've ever seen, with St Louis style humidity.  The coach driver had been complaining of how humid the day was, we'd thought it was dry.

Another surprise was a trip to the Star Trek Experience to see these guys:

There are two rides, and both are excellent, plus a cool museum and timeline and the occasional Borg or Ferengi wandering around.

And then there was Phantom:

Second row seats, and a wonderful show, shorter than usual but with more pyrotechnics and an impressive chandelier.  We also saw a couple of other shows, and managed to avoid sunburn.