Indoor hiking? Only in Sin City.

Once we left the PCT, we wondered where to go. What could we do that didn't require Mike to walk too much while his knee rested?

We left Phoenix intending to head directly into Las Vegas, but got sidetracked by this adorable town. Mike wanted to get a geocache in every State and as we were leaving Arizona we realized he had not gotten one.

The geocache brought us to this area of the town where we learned about the railroad in the area. It came to this town to take gold from the mine outside of town to bigger cities where it could be processed.

The railroad had other consequence for the area, which are discussed through a series of talking female statues positioned around town. This one talked about the life of a country teacher in a town where men outnumbered women 10 to 1.

The town also had a lot of metal sculptures celebrating the local animals. This one is of a Desert Rattlesnake. We left and drove past the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, arriving on the strip in the late afternoon.

The first thing that we wanted to do on the strip was to get a photo with the Las Vegas sign, and ran into this memorial (#VegasStrong).

Remember that we have been gone a long time and so had forgotten that there was the shooting at Mandalay Bay. It was sad to be here because the gentleman in the grey suit was the father of one of the victims. Makes living life to the fullest seem much more important.

Then of course after leaving the Vegas sign-turned-memorial, we were immediately confronted with Vegas craziness. Marriage and some gambling anyone?

We chose a hotel that was off the strip because the Beaver Lodge doesn't fit in the parking garages. Most are just over 6' and we are 10' 3". This ended up being a happy coincidence because we loved Ellis Island. When we got there on the first day, there was a fun rockabilly band playing in the lounge bar. They also have really great food specials and cheap good beer.

We're only a 10 minute walk from the strip, so after having something to eat we walked up to see the Bellagio fountains.

Of course no visit is complete without going in to see what display the Bellagio has in its lobby.

The Fall show is called Proud as a Peacock, and the Bellagio website says that, "There are 45,000 flowers for the Fall show, ranging from Yellow Durangos to Fire Islands. Shrubs include Nandina, Hibiscus, Croton Plant, Purple Fountain Grass, Zebra Grass and Hyatt Ashbury Hibiscus. Two scarecrows and ents playfully surround the fresh cut flower-filled acorns, which house 1200 cut flowers."

When you see the main display there's no questioning why they named the show as they did. Supposedly the flowers are changed every two weeks! I can't imagine what it costs to upkeep this beautiful display. I guess that's what the losers in Vegas are for!

As we walked along the strip I wanted to take a photograph of this section. I love the palm trees right down the middle and of course the reminder of France. Paris is not my favorite city, but it is the most iconic French item and so it brings me back to my trip there recently with my Mom.

In the morning (before our tour of the timeshares!), Mike and I went to see the pelicans being fed. They live in a lovely little enclosure in the Flamingo casino.

They love to pose for pictures and are rescue pelicans. Neither of them can be returned to the wild so they get to live here. It's a lot of fun to see them being fed because they have a good relationship with the handler.

Of course, because this is the Flamingo Casino, there are also flamingos. What you can't see is that there's also a Black Australian Swan who refused to pose for a photograph. This enclosure also plays host to a lot of wildlife that simply comes in and goes at its own pleasure.

We did go to a timeshare discussion and I have to say this is the most entertaining part that I could post. I don't know if you've ever gone to a timeshare presentation but it's insane! The cost is absolutely ridiculous for nothing except laziness. Are you incapable of using Google to book a hotel? Are you incapable of picking up your own groceries or renting your own rental car? If so, timeshare is for you!! Yuck...

After the presentation we went to the M & M store to see their 3-D movie. They have this incredibly cute statue on the top floor right next to their personalized M & M's.

The movie right now is called I lost My M in Vegas. It was a very cute 3-D movie and here is a picture of us in the theater.

After we were finished Mike noticed that the Coca-Cola store was right next to us. When we walked in, the Coca-Cola bear was there to take photographs! He is unbelievably adorable and personable even though he doesn't speak.

When we were on our way into Vegas, past the Hoover Dam, we stopped at the first information area that we found. The women who worked there were very helpful and told us about the Ethel M chocolate plant.

When you go, you get to see the chocolates actually being created and packaged on the line, but that's not the best part!

They have a cactus garden that is entirely decorated for Christmas.

It's kind of like Longwood Gardens in the American Southwest.

It's not small.... There are many many rows of trees and plants and statues to walk through.

The even have a gazebo where you can take photos to remember your trip. I have to say it's really not a money grab at all. In fact there's not anywhere that you have to pay. I had never heard of Ethel M chocolate but it's quite good. They are the upscale brand of the Mars company.

Of course right in the middle of the garden we passed a Cholla, all decked out! Mike said, "I hope that it catches fire with the Christmas lights." Seriously, how long is he gonna hold a grudge!

Here I am sitting underneath a beautifully decorated Joshua Tree. Really they do have an amazing variety of local and rare cacti in this garden.

The next day we walked along the South part of the Strip. This is a portion that neither of us had really been to. We went to the Excalibur, the Luxor, and Mandalay Bay.

In the evening we had some dinner and then went out to see the Volcano explode at the Mirage.

The show doesn't play very many times during the night so I had never seen it before. Ever since Treasure Island shut down their awesome show, it's one of the few things to see on the North end of the strip.

In the morning I got to take Mike to possibly my favorite breakfast place in the entire United States. I mean who can't love a place that does BLT bloody marys. You get a sandwich and a drink all in one!

We both ordered the chicken and waffles which is an absurdly large dish, but it really is amazing. It has beautifully fried chicken, waffles with bacon in them, and fried leeks with reduced balsamic put over the entire dish. The other reason that I like it so much is that one of the last vacations that my Mom and Dad and I took together was to Vegas. My Dad and I both ordered this dish and loved it. I think my Mom had more common sense and ordered something much smaller.

We left Vegas on Saturday because staying at the casino was ridiculously expensive on weekends. Luckily we have a Van and could visit Red Rock Canyon and then stay nearby. Both Mike and I had been here in the past and really did not enjoy it this time. It was absolutely crawling with tourists and there were cars parked everywhere. Seriously if you're going to visit Vegas, skip this park drive the extra distance and see Valley of Fire. You'll get to see our photos from there later. Oh, just in case you're very adventurous you can also drive to Death Valley. That tops them both.

We did see one show while in Vegas.

It was at the New York New York Casino. I had seen the show in 2012 and loved it. I can't say such good things this time around.

Except about the drag Queen host and the fat ladies! They were absolutely spectacular and all very funny, the highlight of the show for me. For some reason they made the show much less varied in its acts and athleticism. It was all in-your-face sex, and the circus was lost. Too bad, we will see Ka at MGM next time.

The last thing we did in Vegas was to ride the High Roller. We saw it on our very first night in Vegas when we were visiting the Flamingo at the Flamingo casino. I love Ferris wheels! This one is the tallest in the United States.

It also has amazing architectural features. The cars are constantly moving and do not stop for riders to get on. Each pod can hold up to 40 guests!

Lucky for us we got a car all to ourselves. It really made the trip special.

You get wonderful views of the entire middle of the strip. If you want, you could even get a car that has a bartender and free drinks. We opted for a quieter ride by ourselves.

Totally by accident we timed the ride so we also got to see the Bellagio fountains do their show.

What an amazing end to a vacation within a vacation. Mike is doing much better and we're excited to move back to the core of our trip hiking.... in the wild, not on the Strip.