Viva Las Vegas

My wife and I just returned from a much-needed little vacation out West. Many thanks to her parents who were kind enough to watch the kids while we flew out to Las Vegas, and then drove out to Utah for a few days. It was our first big trip since Covid, and it did feel a little strange to fly on a plane or even be around crowds of people again.

We landed in Las Vegas at night, and went to our hotel (the Golden Nugget, which isn't on the Strip but is in downtown Vegas). We went out to walk around and find dinner and it was honestly a bit of a culture shock. We haven't gone out all that much in the last few years (thanks to the combination of the pandemic and also a new baby), so it was jarring to be out in a crowd of people partying. But the hotel was right on the Fremont Street Experience, a five-block entertainment district with a massive light board that covers the buildings and street below.



Fremont Street is actually the oldest street in Las Vegas, dating back to the city's founding in 1905. It was the first street in the city to be paved and the first to get a traffic light. It was also the home to many of the Vegas' first big casinos. The neon signs for those casinos gave the street the nickname the "Glitter Gulch."



One of the most famous old neon signs along Fremont Street is "Vegas Vic," a 40-foot tall neon cowboy that would wave and greet visitors to the Pioneer Hotel and Casino. The hotel is closed, and has been replaced with a souvenir shop. But Vic still stands, even if not all of the neon was working.



The next morning we got up and drove out of Vegas, heading towards Zion National Park. It would be vastly different (and much quieter) way to spend the next few days.