Day 3 - New Year in Vegas

We woke early December 31st in Sedona in order to figure out what the road situation was like, if we could get to Las Vegas as planned or not. Luckily it was all clear - the roads were reported to be icy here and there, but not closed. So we packed our things, said good bye to the motel owners, and headed back on the road.

There really wasn't a lot of traffic, and the streets had been cleaned thoroughly. Only in some stretches there was still a lot of slush and ice, so we had to drive very slowly. Also our windscreen was a challenge, as splashes of dirt and water constantly froze to limit the visibility. They day before the washer fluid / antifreeze was working just fine, but apparently it was frozen (!) or something, at least there was nothing to help clear the screen.

Aaaaanywho, eventually, moving west and down in elevation the roads became more cooperative and the sun was taking care of some of the ice. The duration of the trip is a little hard to calculate, as it includes a time zone change and a stop at the Hoover Dam, but lets see... Departure 8.30 and arrival 4.30, plus an hour time change minus an hour Hoover Dam, so 8 hours I guess. Under normal conditions it should take no more than 5. But we had fun playing "20 questions to the professor" and taking pictures of the landscape. Well Helene was taking care of that last thing of course.


It was pretty fascinating to pass the hills arriving in Las Vegas. The city unfolded on the plains below us, and with the GPS we easily found our hotel. An Inn just off the strip, 100$ pr. night. After unpacking we rested for a little while, then went out to the strip to experience the craziness and find some dinner. We walked down past the Wynn, Harrah's, Ceasar's Palace, etc. with all their casinos, clubs, restaurants, and enormous amounts of people, and then realised that it was getting late (10 PM) and we really had to find somewhere to eat. But everything was so expensive and not really what we wanted, so we ended up walking all the way back where we started, to eat at an Indian restaurant we had spotted. Was so nice just to get inside in the warmth (it was -5 degrees outside) and to get some delicious, hot food. Indian really is a favorite. :)

At midnight we we're on the strip again to watch the fireworks. We stayed close to our hotel where the amount of people were not as immense as further up the strip, which was perfect for us. :) It is probably for the better that it is not allowed for individuals to use fireworks inside the city, and the show from the large hotels was nice, but... Honestly it was not as spectacular as I had imagined. Maybe also because we weren't in the middle of the area. And note to myself: Spend new year somewhere WARM!

Happy New Year, everybody! :)  GODT NYTÅR!