Cumulative miles driven: 4,432

Las Vegas can be a bit of a culture shock as it is like nowhere else in the USA. In fact, it is probably like nowhere else on this planet. The scale of the big casinos sitting on 'the strip', or South Las Vegas Boulevard as it is officially known, is staggering and each one of them is busy. From the north end of 'the strip' starting with the iconic Stratosphere down to Mandalay Bay it is about a five mile walk but if you choose to walk and visit each casino then that distance will increase massively.

Our plan for Las Vegas did not originally include seeing any of the big shows that are available in the massive casino complexes but having arrived in town we found that Jersey Boys was playing at Paris Las Vegas and seats were available. We parted with our $76 each and really enjoyed the show. This was one that Heather had wanted to see for sometime and secretly I was quite keen too but played it cool. It was also a good warm up to seeing Frankie Valli in Birmingham at the NEC later in the year.

I wish that I had a pedometer with me as on our first full day in Las Vegas we left our motel, situated about 200 yards from the north end of 'the strip' at around 09.00 and headed north via the rather dated Riviera and then the brand new SLS casinos to eventually reach the much refurbished Stratosphere (via a coffee stop at an out of casino Starbucks as it is far cheaper to do so). We then started our trek south on the west side of the street. Most casinos have the large gambling floor full of slot machines, starting with just one cent up to $5 or more a spin, as well as the tables offering blackjack, poker and a host of games that I have never heard of plus a lot of shopping and eating opportunities. We tried to see as much as we could in each one. By the time the sun was almost down we had arrived at Mandalay Bay at the far south and had visited fifteen hotels and casinos but we still had to head north and do the east side of 'the strip'. Our northbound journey started with the Tropicana and then the MGM Grand before we decided to call it a day and head back to our motel room. We arrived back at just after 20.00 with very achy legs and the taste for a Domino's pizza and wine. How far did we walk? My guess would be somewhere approaching fifteen miles as we had zigzagged in, around and back out of every massive casino and hardly stopped moving all day.

Day two in Vegas and we headed out to Red Rock Canyon, about fifteen miles from our motel and a world away from the throngs of people on 'the strip'. This place was recommended to us and with the exception of the traffic (it seemed to be a popular Saturday morning trip for many) it really was very nice. If the legs were not as achy we may have done some of the many hikes available from the thirteen mile scenic drive. Next time maybe we will do some walking but we still had some casinos to visit from the previous day and needed to save the legs!

Having re-refuelled at Del Taco (a Mexican fast food joint) for an early lunch we started to visit the missing casino and hotel complexes begining with the Encore, then the sister hotel the Wynn and on it went until arriving at Planet Hollywood and the Miracle Mile shops at around 18.00. We were fortunate that it was still happy hour at the Salsa Cantina and took advantage of $2.00 draft beer and $3.00 house wine to accompany our Mexican salads. After over an hour's walking back to our motel I feel fairly confident that we have seen all casinos that are on 'the strip' however that is just a small part of Las Vegas as we never visited Freemont Street or the Boulder Station casino areas to name but two of many others. Amazingly still they keep building more casinos without let up so it will be interesting to revisit in ten years and see what has changed.

So we will cross into California next to visit the Death Valley National Park only to pop back out into Nevada to spend one night (as there is no budget accommodation within the National Park) in a little town called Beatty. Now that should be interesting as the one horse has reportedly already left town!