My toe after falling down the staris. Well not all of the stairs, just some of them. I'm sure its broke but at least it doesn't hurt much and there is not much they can do about it anyways....
Once again Tigger is in severe need of a hair cut. Since he just had 2 teeth pulled and is 2 growths removed from his mouth I think I'll wait a bit until he is less traumatized.
A LVMPD Motorcycle sitting along Tropicana Avenue near the strip.
Reflections of a cloudy day. We went from highs near 108F tohighs in the upper 60's to low 70's in just 48 hours. It has rained most of the weekend off and on.
Here is Carly, less than happy about being forced to pose for yet another picture!
I'd really hate to know what she is thinking right now. Probably something like "Yeah, it is ALL about ME, you stupid ......."
I've gotten quite a few hits from your site related to a few people that are coming to Las Vegas and have an interest in plane spotting.I'm flattered that my little 'ole blog was mentioned as a reference...Thank You! I must say I'm far from an expert on plane spotting in Vegas, but I'm happy to share what I can.
On a typical day, and it can change from hour to hour, most traffic will be landing on 25L and taking off from 25R. Sunset Boulevard is a good choice for plane spotting. There are many little strip malls on the south side of Sunset Blvd to park and take photographs. There is also a designated plane spotting area on the north side of Sunset Blvd east of Paradise Rd. They even broadcast on 101 on the FM dial so you can listen in also.
The best spot though, and it will soon be gone, is along the Fed Ex Cargo building on along that is near Rnwy 25R. It elevates you above the fence so you are looking slightly down on the runway. Here are some pics from that position:
From here you can also hear the radio transmissions. I'm usually there on the weekends and the Fedex Building is more or less closed with the occasional FedEx employee coming or going. They have never said a word to me. Not sure what its like during the week though.
Also anywhere along Eastern, which borders McCarren to the east, is a good spot also. I also like Sunset Park that is located on Eastern north of Sunset Blvd. If you head north on Eastern from Sunset Blvd and go past the ball diamonds and turn right into the first entrance you will find many places there.
Although possible to shoot from Tropicana, it is difficult because of limited parking.
If you want to see the Janet flights you can go from the south end of the strip near Russel and Las Vegas Blvd and head north. Turn right on Diablo at the McDonalds and follow it until it ends and turn left. There on your right will be the B727 Janet aircraft. There will likely also be a DOE guard watching you also. I have parked ton the left side of the street, right across the street from the guard, and never been bothered, only watched! there is also good general plane spotting here also.
Also on the strip, south of Russel Rd. you can occasionally see military aircraft parked. I've seen F-18 to Cobra helicopters parked there. It is, from what I'm told, used as overflow for Nellis.
As far as Nellis goes, the weekend traffic has been rather limited in my experience. The two best spots I've found are on Cheyenne Rd west of Nellis Blvd from which you can see the runway....kind of, but can get a good shot of the planes taking off. And on Las Vegas Blvd near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. At the speedway I normally have parked right at the entrance to the speedway with no problems as it is usually closed. During the week it is common to see flights of 4-6 A-10s, 8-10 F-16/F15s, AWACS, Tankers, C-17s. You can occasionally also see forign Tornados and other aircraft. Seems to be slim picking on the weekends though.
Who would have thought?? Its been 18 years since I married my best friend! It seems like only yesterday. Our wedding was a simple affair. We were married by the
We have had our ups and downs, as all couples do, but I would not take back one nano second of it. Justice of The Peace in Toledo Ohio on May 18th, 1990 followed by a small wedding lunch at The Spaghetti Warehouse. Shortly followed(on another day) by a wedding shower at her sister's house in Flat Rock and dinner out at Red Lobster! Then we took a 3 day honeymoon to Niagara Falls. We have had our ups and downs, as all couples do, but I would not take back one nano second of it. I think one of the secrets to a long, happy marriage is to marry your best friend! Sure there is more to it than that. Things like communication, understanding, empathy and patience are very important too, but being married to your best friend make the other important things come much easier! 
Yes this was back in the day when you had to find a pay phone to call people! Here we are checking in with our families. Now I'm not sure about this photograph though. We were alone on our honeymoon so I'm not sure who would have taken this picture....Oldtimers disease must be setting in!!!!
This is from our honeymoon to Niagara Falls for sure.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAREN!!!
Helldorado is a nickname for Tombstone Arizona coined in the 1880's by a miner who thought that Tombstone must be very much like Hell on earth. Many western states now have Helldorado Day celebrations. We decided to venture down to Fremont Street on Saturday, not really interested in the Helldorado Parade so much as just hanging out at Fremont.
As we parked in the usual place we found that we were just in time to see the parade start.
We should have taken this as a warning to get out now, while you still can. 
We are a little slow on the uptake, so we just dove right in.
Here is the local press photographers. It would not be long until we found ourselves caught in the gauntlet on 4th street, unable to get to the other side, and yet unable to go back from where we came. Luckily there was a lady in a wheel chair who was ready, willing and able to run over anyone who tried to stop her from crossing the street! We followed her and made it across. At least we can say now that we were actually in the Helldorado Parade, even if unwillingly!
But for the moment we are still on the parking structure as you can see:
I wish ?I would have brought my 100-400 lens, or even my 70-300, but I found myself only with my 28mm prime and my 18-55 kit lens so I did the best I could with what I had!
Here is our esteemed Mayor Mr. Oscar Goodman just after being handed the biggest martini I've ever seen. Gotta love this guy! He makes no bones about the fact that two of his favorite thing are martinis and show girls. He is being driven by a show girl and has a huge martini in his right hand...life doesn't get much better. Too bad he is term limited.
And what is Vegas without Elvis!!!
You can't have a parade without a high school marching band so here is the Mojave High School Marching Band.
Billed as the Greatest Show On Earth(it says so on the side of the truck), they apparently forgot to fill up with gas! Yes they are pushing the truck through the parade!
This was the scene that greeted us when trying to cross over into Fremont Street.
To say that it was a mad house would be an understatement. Helldorado seems to fit nicely though!
This guy wanted everyone to know that he lived in Las Vegas AND that he owned horses. He insisted that the people next to us, because he lived in Vegas AND he owned horses, wanted his picture. I decided I might as well take it too. He seemed nice enough though, and wished everyone a good time.
It was packed. The band had not even started to play yet!
Ignoring the sign, we stopped and stood in the walkway for a few trying to regain a sense of personal space again before facing the juggernaut that would follow trying to get through the next crowd.
This was after making it through. It took about 5-8 mins to walk 30 feet from one side of the concert area to the other.
After making it through to the other side, we decided we had had enough. We wanted some personal space and air conditioning! We have decided that, during special events anyways, the tourists can have Fremont street! Maybe, just maybe we are begining to complete the transition from being newbies in Las Vegas to being "locals".........
About a year, but we finally made it to the Bellagio!
Here you can see that they are re working much of the main atrium.
This is the sales area for City Center. This is going to be a mix of casino, residential and commercial space. The residential condos range in price from $500,000 to $12,000,000. I'm thinking of getting a couple myself.
No one believes me when I tell them that the elevators in the Luxor go up at an angle/incline, they usually just laugh at me. Here we are after riding the "inclinator" at the Luxor to the fifth floor. Unfortunately, unless you are staying at the Luxor you can only ride the inclinator on the "sly". You have to get on it and pretend to have forgotten your room key. You room key is what activates the inclinator. Usually another guest is anxious to get going and shoves their key in.
Its only a few hous old, but I think I'm in love!
I think its manual is bigger than the manual
that came with my camera though :)
We had been at lake Mead for about an hour when it attacked. And by it I mean a huge sand storm. They are fairly coomon out here.
Even Pooh, who loves being out at Lake Mead, was ready to go!!
