Day 10 – A Second Chance at Sin City

The journey back to Las Vegas from the Grand Canyon was as smooth and easy as our surroundings were jagged and hard. Having stretched every method of song choosing from the I-Pod library, we resorted to a new form of creativeness as not to burn out early. The morning began with “Goodnight Rose”, the opening track from the latest Ryan Adams album. I decided we should next listen to “Give My Love to Rose” by Johnny Cash since it had a common word in the title. And with that, we spent the rest of the drive rotating songs dependant upon their connectivity within the title. This method is actually enjoyable and made the time on the highway fly by.

Before entering Vegas we stopped by the Lake Mead Marina as I had promised Lloyd schools and schools of fish to behold near the docks. In past visits, the fish have been so plentiful and aggressive, there exist the illusion that one could walk across their backs. Sadly, since it’s the middle of the summer, only about a fifth of the usual population were present. I suppose since the high was 112 degrees on this day, the smarter ones were sticking to the deeper, cooler water.

The Stratosphere stands high above all other hotel casinos in Las Vegas. A slightly obvious nod to the Seattle Space Needle, it rises high into the Nevada sky topped off with a small amusement park. The lines for checking in we moving me where fast. Quite a few frustrated patrons stood not so patiently as the plasma screens in front of us promised hard bodied males, seductive vampiresses (lady vampires, not sure that’s a word) and celebrity impersonations. At one point a lady dropped a small cooler which spilled ice and water all across the marble floor. No sooner had this occurred, than an unaware young woman happened by and well you can probably figure out the rest.

We arrived at our room after an endless walk though the casino and called Binion’s Ranch Steak House to make reservations. Unfortunately for us, the earliest we could get in was 9:00 that night. Having heard it was a standard in classic Vegas dining, we decided to go ahead and wait it out until 9:00 for dinner.

Our table at Binion’s was near the window on the 24^th floor of the hotel. I decided to go with a Ribeye while Lloyd ordered the New York. Though slightly overcooked for our tastes, the steaks were actually quite good, especially when accompanied with Binion’s famous peppercorn sauce. Between salads, steaks, cabernet, and cheesecake, Lloyd and I accumulated a bill totaling $118 before tip. To date, Lloyd is the most expensive dinner date to ever accompany myself.

Having perfected gluttony incarnate, we slowly returned to our room at the Stratosphere where I made a feeble attempt at watching the Bourne Identity.

We have quite a drive up the Great Basin highway tomorrow. The goal is to land in Boise, Idaho sometime before sunset.

If no further posts occur by Thursday night, please send a search party.

One Last Time From Las Vegas,

Harvey