las vegas and death valley (photographs)
Hello, flist -- I hope you've all recovered from your New Year's Eve celebrations. (I certainly haven't, but going to bed at five in the morning and waking up six hours later will do that to a girl.) Instead of coming up with my resolutions for the new year, I am writing what is now my third pinch hit for hp_holidaygen -- watch me as I admirably resist the temptation to gripe. I hope to finish that tonight; meanwhile, here are some photos from my recent trip out with accompanying commentary.
Las Vegas/Nevada from the airplane window.
The Strip, which is perhaps the most irritating street to walk in the entire world. It's impossible to travel in a straight line, what with all the sidewalks taking you past this casino and that casino and oh, look, another shopping mall with designer paraphernalia I cannot afford but will stare at anyway!
Some of the hotels, however, are very pretty. My personal favourite is the Venetian, where the above picture was taken.
Gambling: not a winning investment. (Although, in this case, the mother threw $10 in the slot machine and got $25.50 back? And ignore the sepia colouring, please.)
Nevada is a curious little state, to say the least. Saw this while driving to Death Valley, California.
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley.
Golden Canyon.
I don't know if I've ever formally introduced her to you, but this is my sister. This picture has no particular significance other than the fact that I really like how it turned out. :D
Red Cathedral.
Sunset in Death Valley is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Oh, the colours. ♥
Scotty's Castle. Some megalomaniac embezzler from the late nineteenth century thought it would be really awesome to build a Spanish-style castle in the middle of the California desert. Makes sense, doesn't it?
Death Valley is largely famous for being home to the point of lowest elevation in the United States. That point can be found in Badwater Basin.
Because, see, the water is filled salt; ergo, it is bad water to drink. Oh, how clever people are. Anyway, I got to walk for a little distance on the very large salt flat there.
See, I even have a picture of the sign to prove that I was there. (You can see the salt flat a little bit beyond.)
And, 282 feet above us, a sign reminding us tourists of where sea level is, in case we had forgotten.
Artist's Palette. Colours = gorgeous, guh.
Sand dunes, where I spent a good hour scrambling up and down and, on occasion, getting stuck. It was fun. :D
And I left a little bit of wisdom for the next passer-by (not my wisdom, of course -- the line is from Orhan Pamuk's My Name Is Red).
Sunset, again.
Signing off, V.M. Bell
Las Vegas/Nevada from the airplane window.
The Strip, which is perhaps the most irritating street to walk in the entire world. It's impossible to travel in a straight line, what with all the sidewalks taking you past this casino and that casino and oh, look, another shopping mall with designer paraphernalia I cannot afford but will stare at anyway!
Some of the hotels, however, are very pretty. My personal favourite is the Venetian, where the above picture was taken.
Gambling: not a winning investment. (Although, in this case, the mother threw $10 in the slot machine and got $25.50 back? And ignore the sepia colouring, please.)
Nevada is a curious little state, to say the least. Saw this while driving to Death Valley, California.
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley.
Golden Canyon.
I don't know if I've ever formally introduced her to you, but this is my sister. This picture has no particular significance other than the fact that I really like how it turned out. :D
Red Cathedral.
Sunset in Death Valley is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Oh, the colours. ♥
Scotty's Castle. Some megalomaniac embezzler from the late nineteenth century thought it would be really awesome to build a Spanish-style castle in the middle of the California desert. Makes sense, doesn't it?
Death Valley is largely famous for being home to the point of lowest elevation in the United States. That point can be found in Badwater Basin.
Because, see, the water is filled salt; ergo, it is bad water to drink. Oh, how clever people are. Anyway, I got to walk for a little distance on the very large salt flat there.
See, I even have a picture of the sign to prove that I was there. (You can see the salt flat a little bit beyond.)
And, 282 feet above us, a sign reminding us tourists of where sea level is, in case we had forgotten.
Artist's Palette. Colours = gorgeous, guh.
Sand dunes, where I spent a good hour scrambling up and down and, on occasion, getting stuck. It was fun. :D
And I left a little bit of wisdom for the next passer-by (not my wisdom, of course -- the line is from Orhan Pamuk's My Name Is Red).
Sunset, again.
Signing off, V.M. Bell