Cisco Sonar

The Other Las Vegas

By Bryce Neilson, The Cisco Kid

It has been a fun Thanksgiving.  When we travel, it is typically out of the country.  No reason other than I am drawn to warmth and the ocean.  This fall, we had an opportunity to book a two-bedroom condo in a residential area off the Strip by miles in Las Vegas.  The plan was that we would go down early and the kids would come down later.  Thanksgiving was to be there.  My grandsons were somewhat reluctant saying they had never had Thanksgiving away from relatives in Utah.  Quite frankly, Doreen or I had not done it either.  It was going to be interesting.

Leaving a foot of snow at Bear Lake I looked forward to the desert heat.  Unfortunately, it was chilly here for the first few days.  We visited Red Rock recreation area and there we so many people there, the trails looked like they were covered with ants, actually people.  The next day we went along the western edge of Lake Mead.  I was intent on finding quagga mussel infestations on everything and smelly beaches covered with sharp mussel shells.  Lake Mead is low so I drove down to one of the marinas in the middle of the reservoir.  After looking around, I did not observe any quagga mussels, dead or alive.  All I saw was some Asian clam shells on the beach.  There wasn’t even a check station.  After being unsuccessful in my biological observations, we went to Valley of Fire State Park.  A serene, beautiful area full of color and desert bighorn sheep.

The family arrived and it was all about mountain biking and the pool.  Audrey wanted to go to Death Valley on Thanksgiving so I barbecued the turkey next to the pool and we had the feast that night.  I had always heard about Death Valley and the Deseret Pupfish which was one of the first listed endangered species so I tagged along.  It was not at all what I had envisioned being a long graben (valley) with starkly unique mountain ranges extending along each side.  It is where the earth is slowly splitting apart and sinking which is why it is 190 feet below sea level.  The grandsons loved the sand dunes and the temperature was pleasant. 

The next day was warm with much pool and bike time.  That night we went to the Strip, not to gamble, but to see “One” the Michael Jackson show.  It blew me away flooding memories of MJ songs, laser lights, and incredible performers.  After it was over I asked Carter (13) what he thought.  He said it was “pretty cool”.  Then it dawned on me when I was that age I couldn’t have imagined what I had just seen, but today’s kids, it was nothing out of the ordinary.  The holiday passed, no Black Friday, just great memories that will be with my family forever.