My
last summer of the 2010s began in Sin City.
I returned to Las Vegas, Nevada, to explore more of its sites and
attractions. The city made such a good
impression on me in 2018 that I wanted to come back for more. I now have even more material to write a
dedicated blog about the Gambling Capital of the World. Unfortunately, I still don’t have the time to
pursue the opportunity, so I’ll give you the short version of my second trip.
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| Air Canada Business Class meal. |
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| My Luxor room. |
I flew Air Canada Business Class
again but arrived at my destination in the late evening. (Last year, I arrived in the early
afternoon). Las Vegas is very bright at
night, especially The Strip. You can
probably see the city from space. I have
no complaints about the flight. The food
and service were good. I stayed at the
Luxor, the giant glass pyramid hotel. I
was hoping my room would be inside the pyramid, but instead, it was in one of
the additional towers. I unpacked and
went to bed, tired but excited to be back.
I had a whole bunch of activities lined up, spread over a week.
I returned to Battlefield Vegas, the
indoor gun range, and fired 15 various guns.
The Time Soldier Package features pistols, machine guns, sub-machine
guns, assault rifles, and sniper rifle from various periods of history, for the
cost of $489 USD. I had a blast! You can view the videos I filmed here. The place was busy with tourists,
enthusiasts, and the experienced. My
clothes smelled like gunpowder when I was finished.
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| I don't know how I got this but it still counts as a bulls-eye! |
That same day, I visited Axe Monkeys
and tried axe throwing for the first time.
The place was empty but I didn’t mind.
I didn’t want onlookers giggling & laughing at a first-timer trying
to throw axes at large tree stumps. The
staff give you a quick crash course on the many techniques of throwing axes. Safety is their top priority. I spent an hour developing my skills. I threw better with both hands and managed to
score two bullseyes. You can view the two videos I made here. If I come back
to Las Vegas for a third time, I’ll give Axe Monkeys another try.
I got to experience the joy of
operating a CAT Excavator machine at Dig This!, a heavy equipment themed
attraction located on the outskirts of Las Vegas. (I drove there in a rented vehicle). You play outside in a large sandbox, driving
around, digging & filling holes, moving tires, and trying to scoop up
volleyballs on top of pylons and placing them in a garbage bin. The unique experience cost $242 USD and was
totally worth it! You receive a
certificate at the end and have the option to buy a congratulatory plaque with
a photo of yourself. There are plenty of
machines to choose from.
My next adventure took me to the
north of the city, specifically the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Exotics Racing (ER) advertises itself as the
“best rated and world’s largest supercar driving experience.” They have a large selection of exotic
vehicles for you to drive around the racetrack.
I originally booked the Lamborghini Aventador but had to settle for the
Lamborghini Huracan Performante because the Aventador was having mechanical
issues. As long I was driving a
Lamborghini, I was happy. They’re my
favourite brand of cars and this was my first time driving one.
Before you step into your chosen vehicle,
you’re required to watch a safety briefing video and be driven around the
racetrack by an ER staff member. My
driver happened to be the owner. He
drove around the track like nothing was bothering him, but his turns were
tight. I could really feel the g-forces.
A
trained instructor accompanies you in the car, giving you instructions &
directions. Mine gave me a quick
briefing on how to operate the expensive vehicle and how to manually change
gears. Changing gears is fairly simple;
you touch switches attached to the steering wheel. I did six laps around the racetrack. I got so close to 200km/h on the last
lap. You can view the entire experience here. Total cost was $578 USD. Expensive, but worth every dollar!
I
took a break from Las Vegas on June 20, and drove to Grand Canyon West (GCW) in
Peach Springs, Arizona. I had previously
visited the Grand Canyon in 1996 but not this particular area. I picked up nutritious snacks and bottles of
water before getting on the highway. The
desert drive took a little over two hours.
The snacks kept me fed & the water kept me hydrated. The weather was hot, even with the air
conditioning on.
You
have to leave your car at the GCW Airport.
You go to the Visitors Center to buy the Admission Tickets. (I bought mine online). You then hop on a bus that takes you to the
three sites: Eagle Point, Guano Point, and Hualapai Ranch. The buses drive in a loop. This system prevents road congestion and
controls pedestrian traffic. The airport
is also the staging area for helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon.
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| Eagle Point. |
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| SkyWalk Building. |
Eagle
Point received its name from a nearby mountain ridge formation that looks like
an eagle spreading its wings. Many sections
of the cliffs are chained off and watched by staff to prevent accidents. Eagle Point is the location of the Grand Canyon SkyWalk, a U-shaped glass walkway suspended 4,000 feet over the canyon. Unfortunately, you’re not allowed to bring
GoPro cameras or any personal items onto the SkyWalk. You can pay to have your picture taken, but
the line for this can be long. I was
able to stand on the glass and look down without getting weak in the
knees.
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| Sweat Lodge. |
Eagle Point also features
traditional Hualapai structures to see, such as, sweat lodges, teepees, and
wooden tents. There’re also large
information panels that explain the history of the Hualapai People.
The views of the Grand Canyon are
more majestic and breathtaking at Guano Point.
The depth of the canyon is awe-inspiring. It’s difficult to judge how big & deep
the canyon walls are until you see helicopters flying by. They appear really small. There’s an old derelict tramway building that
was used by a mining company between 1957 & 1960.
The Hualapai Ranch looks like a Wild West town and features activities such as wagon rides, roping, quick draws, and
Tomahawk throwing. The ranch reminds me
of Old Tucson.
The last two attractions I saw in
Las Vegas were the Titanic & Bodies Exhibitions at the Luxor Hotel. No cameras are permitted inside so I can’t
show you any pictures. Both exhibitions
were quite interesting & eye opening.
Actual pieces from the doomed ocean liner (Titanic) are on display. The only thing that was missing was the
actual iceberg that struck the ship. If
human body parts, interior & exterior, make you feel queasy, then I
recommend skipping the Bodies Exhibition.
The displays are not alive but they are detailed.
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| Inside The Venetian. |
In between these activities, I
explored the hotels along The Strip again, particularly The Venetian &
Palazzo. I didn’t walk through them
during my first visit in 2018. The
Venetian features lots of stores, restaurants, live entertainment, gondolas,
and a casino (obviously). The Palazzo is
pretty much the same without the gondolas.
I did go to In N Out Burger again
but this time I ate at the Blue Diamond Crossing location. The one I went to last year had a line that
stretched outside into the parking lot. I
don’t like long lines.
I didn’t gamble at all this
time. I can’t stand the cigarette smoke
in the casinos. If the hotels want me to
gamble, then ban smoking indoors or provide me with a breathing mask.
The next two weeks were spent going
through all the pictures and videos I took during my Las Vegas trip, and
preparing my sealift order. I spent days
sitting in front of a computer, editing, cropping, cutting, pasting, organizing,
enhancing, resizing, and naming all the files.
Making the videos required the most amount of work because of the amount
of raw footage I collected and my decision to add subtitles & soundtracks. Do it right, or don’t do it at all.
Preparing my sealift order required
me to shop at various stores, collecting all the supplies I would need to
survive another year up north. These
supplies mostly revolved around food & school. I know there are companies you can hire to do
the shopping, packing, and labelling for you, but I prefer to do it myself. I’m a perfectionist. The only task I did outsource to a company
was delivering all my goods to the port in Montreal where it would be crated
and placed on the ship. My sealift order
would arrive between late August & September.
The last big trip I did over the
summer was a road trip to Tobermory, Ontario.
This was my first time visiting the community in the Bruce Peninsula by
the Georgian Bay. Two of my co-workers
live there and invited me to visit their “neck of the woods”. They told me that Tobermory becomes very busy
during the summer months. Boaters,
snorkelers, cottagers, tourists, and people looking to escape the cities flock to
the small town.
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| Downtown Tobermory |
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| Crowsnest Pub. |
My co-workers gave me a tour of the
town, showing me the harbour, ferry terminal, restaurants, stores, hotels, and
where all the expensive cottages are located.
The small harbour is filled with motorboats and yachts until the end of
summer. They also introduced me to their
friends and families.
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| Big Tub Lighthouse |
We went on a Non-Stop Scenic Cruise run
by Blue Heron Cruises. This boat cruise is
90 minutes long, and features visits to Big Tub Lighthouse, two 19th
century shipwrecks, Devil Island Channel, and Flower Pot Island. The boat even features a glass bottom on the
lower deck for you to safely view the seabed.
Flower Pot Island is the location of “two world famous Flowerpots” – piled
rock formations that appear to be people looking out to sea. We also went snorkeling at Mermaid’s Cove and
in a section of Tobermory Harbour that’s reserved for snorklers. There are several sunken tug boats in the
shallow harbour that people can explore.
The wreckages look impressive but it would have been nice if there were
large underwater signs labelling the sunken tugs. You can view my boat cruise & snorkeling videos here.
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| Flowerpot face. |
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| Chi-Cheemaun Ferry. |
Overall, I had an excellent summer vacation. Of course, it went by fast, but it didn’t go
to waste. I’m also glad that I was able
to finish writing this blog post tonight.
My flight to Iqaluit leaves tomorrow morning and I’ve spent most of
today packing. There’s still a little
more packing to be done but I wanted to make sure this post got published
before I fly back to Nunavut. I’m
excited for the new school year and looking forward to teaching new groups of
students.
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