We had some United credits from an earlier cancelation that would expire in early March this year. By the time we decided to plan a trip using them, we had only early January available as I will be heading to Australia at the end of the month, and Anne will start teaching in mid-January. Somehow California seemed too far away, so as warm weather spots we had a choice of either Phoenix or Las Vegas. We picked LV because there are a few state and national parks nearby we would like to visit - LV itself doesn't hold much attraction for us. And we had never visited the place together before - I did come with Tim and my niece and nephews many years (perhaps 40?) ago.
Meanwhile, Chung Shu told us about this Impressionist exhibit at the National Gallery in DC. As it was going to end on January 19, we decided to reroute to IAD (Dulles) instead of flying back to Newark, and we will take the Amtrak back to New Jersey. Other than that, we have done zero planning. I did download the AAA guidebooks for Nevada and Las Vegas; but managed to leave behind the paper maps of the state and the city (I just realized that as I type this around midnight Jan 9).
Thursday 1/9. Our flight again was to leave from Terminal A, which in my opinion gives a poorer passenger experience than Terminal C. On top of that, probably for operational reasons, United substituted our originally scheduled plane for one that would arrive at Newark not much earlier than our 1:15 pm departure. We ended up taking off at 2:07 pm, and landed at 4:16 pm, about 20 minutes behind schedule. The numbers look good because of the time blocked for the flight. I just checked the last few days flight (Jan 13 - 18; I am typing this late 1/18), all UA554 flights landed before 3:30 pm, one landed at 2:58 pm.
The Las Vegas airport is right in town, and looks very compact on the map. The city has about 600,000 residents. Yet LAS feels large. Indeed it has 110 gates, while EWR has 125 gates.
We rented a Budget Subaru Crosstrek, with a fancy trim called the "Wilderness Edition." I had a lot of trouble pairing it with Apple Car Play, so drove to the hotel without installing it. (The next day it cured itself, and worked the rest of the trip). We stopped by a Denny's along the way, about a mile south of the hotel. The place was quiet, the food was unexpectedly good. Quite expensive compared to last time we ate at Denny's (not sure if it is a time factor, or things are more expensive in Vegas).
Marriott Grand Chateau is a Marriot Vacation Club property. Ellie has too many points so the room was booked using their "points." We would have a one-bedroom suite for the first night, and a regular room for the next 4 nights. The check-in agent extended our checkout time to noon, and said we should get a room before then (turned out they called us around 10 am the next morning). We took advantage of the washer/dryer in the suite and did laundry. Later, we found out the hotel also provided washers and dryers for free for rooms without those facilities.
I walked for a short while to get my exercise in. I ended up doing that every evening we stayed in Vegas.
Desert landscape all around. This was about 25 minutes before landing.
A wind farm (most likely the White Hills Wind Farm). We would see many solar farms when we drove around the area, but never noticed another wind farm.
View of Las Vegas as plane landed. One can see the High Roller Wheel (LINQ Hotel), and the Tower of the Strat Hotel. Is the brightly lit dome The Sphere? We never got a look at these landmarks.
Living Room of the Suite at Marriott Grand Chateau.
Bedroom.
New York and MGM Grand Hotels and Casinos.
Miracle Mile is a large shopping mall right across from the hotel. This is supposed to be a Middle Eastern bazaar. I thought it was mocked up like the Venetian.
Accommodations: Marriott Grand Chateau, Las Vegas. (5 nights. One night in a 1-bedroom suite; 4 in a regular room).
Friday 1/10.
MVCs don't provide free breakfast, so our breakfasts during our Vegas stay were simple. The nearby Target had most things we needed. (Except the peanut butter came in huge jars, which we skipped.)
Today we visited Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. A reservation - costing $2 - was needed to enter, but our Senior Pass saved us the $20 entrance fee. Geologists have put out a scenario as how these structures formed and colors developed. It started 600 million years ago (Paleozoic) when the area was covered by the ocean and limestone was formed. 250 million years ago (Mesozoic) tectonic shifts and marine deposits formed sandstones; some iron-containing rocks turned red as they get oxidized. About 66 million years ago (Cenozoic) a mountain building process pushed the rocks up. Add erosion and voila, here we are. While I have some grasp of the basic mechanisms, I resign to just marvel these geological landscapes.
Joshua Tree at the Red Rock Canyon NCA Visitor Center.
Geology, Ecology, and Human History in three paragraphs.
We followed the scenic route, stopping at several points to get a more detailed look.
One can imagine the geological movements that caused these formations. A closer look would reveal thin layers of rock.
These "hollowed out" letters make for interesting photos.
Lighting has a lot to do with how the landscape looks. Contrast this with ...
... this.
These are estimated to be 800 years old.
Miracle Mile has many restaurants. we had had lunch at Simply Ketchup (before we left for Red Canyon) and dinner at Panda Express.
A basket of burgers and fries cost over $15.
Anne and I walked to Bellagio, saw the water fountain show outside, the Chihuly display, and the conservatory (Chinese themed).
Bellagio and Caesar's Palace.
Paris across the street.
Glass ceiling at the Bellagio by Chilhuly.
Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is too grand a title for this room. Tonight it's themed for the Chinese New Year (Year of the Snake will be upon us at the end of the month).
New York Hotel and Casino has a rather serious-looking roller coaster. This photo was obviously taken before sunset.
Saturday 1/11. We first drove to The Henderson Bird Trail to see birds. Several hummingbirds were flitting about the feeders next to the visitor's center, and a great horned owl for some reason stayed in the branches of a tree next to a footpath. Other "standard" waterfowls: Canada Geese, Shovelers, ducks, and a few shore birds.
We then drove to Hoover Dam, it's the same dam visited a while ago (forget when), but much more touristy: now complete with a visitor center and paid parking lots. Also new was the US I-11 bridge over Colorado River with walkway (Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, completed 10/2010), . We also walked on Hoover Dam from one side (AZ) to the other (NV), and back. So I crossed the river four times. Two different time zones, but Apple Watch didn't catch it. Interestingly, the photo time stamps showed GMT-8 and GMT-7 for the two sides.
We saw a few of these hummingbirds at the Henderson Bird Trail.
This great horned owl has been sitting in the same tree for a while. Those who work at the facility don't seem particularly worried.
There are several ponds on the ground. Waterfowl gather. In addition to ducks, pintails, and shovelers, there are a few shore birds.
First sighting of Lake Mead on our drive to The Hoover Dam.
The O'Callaghan-Tillman Bridge was completed in 2010.
The bridge is part of US Interstate 11 spans the Colorado River. Along side is a pedestrian walkway.
I walked to the other side of the river (Arizona).
Over the Hoover Dam.
On the AZ side the clock wasn't working properly.
At the bottom of the canyon are facilities for hydroelectric generation. The dam can generate 2 Gigawatts.
There has been a drought for a while resulting in low water levels at Lake Mead. So these spillways probably won't be needed for a while.
The spillways drain into this huge hole.
Also stopped by Lake Mead Visitor Center.
The nearby Hemenway Park, which during the "right" season sees many big horn sheep. Not today, we still went and took a look.
Sunday 1/12. Today is Death Valley Day. My prior "encounter" with Death Valley was in December 2004 when I noticed signs for it on my way back to LA from Lake Tahoe. It was a very snowy day, so taking a detour to a warm place was somewhat attractive. We ended up not doing it. Anne had camped at the Park when she was a student at UCLA in the early 1970s, but had little recollection of the place. Since she traveled from LA, she probably was in a different part of the park anyway.
The drive to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center takes about 2:15 hours. Death Valley National Park does not have booths at entrances to collect the fee, visitors can pay at many self-service stations, or at the visitor centers. We continue to take advantage of the Senior Pass (admission is $30 per car).
Today's Death Valley Junction used to be called Amargosa, established as a Borax mining town in the 1920s. It was a performance and cultural hall, never an opera house (as far as I can tell). It is still a moderately priced hotel.
Geologists would be able to explain/conjecture how the different features of the Park came to be. In any case, we stopped by a few interesting places. This is a good season to visit as the high was around 60F, and the parking lots were at most 25% full.
When we asked a Park Ranger why a cap has a blue fish in front, he explained that the Devil's Hole Pupfish are found only at Devil's Hole, an "extension" of the Park in Nevada. We couldn't make it in time to visit the location; we did buy the cap.
Taken at the end of our visit. There were too many people waiting around when we passed this sign driving into the park.
We visited several points of interest in the eastern part of the park.
Miles and miles of desert.
Anne noticed this bird as I was zipping along Route 190, just inside the Park. Google Lens identified it as a red-tailed hawk.
Zabriskie Point.
It is interesting how different minerals were deposited at different times.
Inn at Furnace Creek. A check of a random in March returned a room rate of about $600/night.
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. The bushes are probably creosote.
Badwater got its name because animals wouldn't drink it. Supposedly just because the water was salty; it's not toxic. Miniature Dead Sea?
At 282 feet below sea level this is the lowest point in the United States. By comparison, the Dead Sea is more than 1400 feet below sea level.
Some views of the valley.
Artist's Drive is a 9 mile detour that goes through some of the colorful hills in the area.
Artist's Palette.
There are plenty of hiking trails in the Park.
Photo taken at 4:35 pm (sunset was around 4:50 pm).
The Devil's Hole pupfish are found only in the Devil's Hole in the Park. It is on the cap Anne is wearing in some of the photos above.
The tag that came with the cap.
On our way back we stopped by a different Denny's and had the exact same dishes we had - we enjoyed Thursday's dinner very much. There are quite a few Denny's in the area.
After we got home, I went for a walk, hitting Caesar's Palace and The Venetian. We also took advantage of the hotel's facilities and did laundry.
Caesar's Palace. No Roman Guards to be found.
Google Lens identifies this as Picasso's Venus. I think this is someone imagining how Picasso would paint Venus based on Botticelli's painting.
Venetian Hotel has a mock up canal with Gondola rides.
The few Gondoliers I saw were all singing "O Sole Mio."
Not an inexpensive proposition.
Monday 1/13. Today we visited Valley of Fire State Park. As with Red Rock Canyon, and to a certain extent Death Valley, the Park's geological features were determined by geological forces over the last few hundred million years: the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic periods in particular. The Paleozoic formations, while the oldest, were pushed up more recently as a result of plate tectonics and thus are generally taller than the newer Mesozoic formations. The non-geologist would be happy to simply admire the results of the forces of nature.
On the way to Mouse's Tank. We are not sure what the Tank actually is. The path is covered with very fine red sand.
Many rock faces have petroglyphs on them, perhaps as old a 4000 years. (The age of these petroglyphs is a controversial topic, some think they are only 1500 years old, with an occasional recent graffiti thrown in.)
What are these dark patches on the red rocks? I thought they were shale deposits. Results of web search say they are "desert patina." In any case they were favorite canvasses for artists from a few thousand years ago.
Doesn't take too much imagination - and viewing from the correct angle - to suggest this is a lion.
Always fascinating to see enough erosion to create these holes.
Turtle? Someone with a cap?
At the end of the White Domes Loop is a slot canyon. We decided not to walk down this rather treacherous looking trail. The sand here is white. Also very fine.
A geologist may explain when the sedimentary rocks don't cleave along the layers but in directions perpendicular to it. I find it fascinating.
Elephant Rock.
Balancing Rock. How precarious it looks again depends on where you look.
Seven sisters. Unlike the 12 Apostles in Australia, they are all there.
Arch Rock.
Atlatl Rock. 80 steps take you to a platform where you can view some petroglyphs.
We stopped by Cracker Barrel on the way back. The Country Fried Steak wasn't as good as what we had at Denny's. All three places (2 Denny's and this) were very quiet.
To get my steps and calories in, I walked to the Luxor Hotel, passing through Excalibur. Both hotels were difficult to navigate in.
Excalibur Hotel and Casino.
Tuesday 1/14. Today is travel day. We filled up the rental car tank last night, and it's about 4 miles from the hotel to car return. Our flight was at 8:40 am, we left the hotel room at around 6:30 pm, checked out, waited for the valet, drove to Budget return, took the shuttle to LAS Terminal 3, cleared security, and it was about 7:15 am. So no real complaints. That there was no line at TSA-Pre helped - and CLEAR was nowhere in sight. As boarding would begin at 8 am, that gave us some time to use the Priority Pass lounge.
LAS feels very new. Unfortunately it gives the impression things are not designed with the passenger in mind. Two issues today: the lounge was by Gate E2, which is at the end of a "linear" terminal; and a train connects the main terminal to the United terminals. Today's traffic was light, but busy periods (e.g., the CES show that happened earlier) would make the airport difficult to navigate.
Speaking of crowds. Our flight used a 737-800 plane, and was quite empty. I overhead someone said a couple of days before a 777 was used, and it was packed, because of CES. Indeed a 777-200 was used on 1/10, per FlightRadar. To give United credit, the plane today was 25 1/2 years old, but it has a refreshed interior - complete with the large overhead bins and the small bathrooms.
One of us managed to be upgraded (the gate agent let us decide whom), so Anne got the seat. She decided to come sit in the Economy Plus section - after the meal service - as it was wide empty. Since I was seated in my ticketed cabin, I also got to take advantage of the free food offered to 1K members. Win-win.
The flight itself was quite uneventful. The flight attendants were offering to have passengers spread out to make use of the empty seats. We landed ahead of schedule.
Taken a few minutes after taking off from LAS.
This was taken about one hour later, when the plane was flying over Colorado. All snow-covered.
The United APP now provides a guide to get one from the gate to (in this case) the shared ride location. When I first saw "about 30 minutes" I was incredulous. Turns out it's true. Dulles is another of those terminals that looks good on paper but ends up not being the most passenger friendly. One has to walk the length of Terminal C/D, then to the train stop, and take the train past Terminal A/B to get to the main terminal, before one reaches the curb to be picked up by Uber. We didn't want to summon an Uber right away, and by the time we got to the Uber pick up area, the fare had gone up from $40 to $60, and we waited quite a while to get a car. Traffic had built up considerably by then, so the journey took over an hour, and it was about 6:15 pm when we checked into our room.
All three airports we encountered on this trip - EWR Terminal C, LAS, and IAD - look good on paper but - at least for this passenger - aren't really designed with efficiency in mind.
For dinner we ate the snacks provided at the Marriott lounge (called M Club), and then nibbled on various food items purchased from Harris Teeter located a block away.
Accommodation: Marriott Washington DC Capital Hill (2 nights).
Wednesday 1/15. Today was National Gallery of Art day. We left the hotel at around 9:45 am, and got done at about 4:15 pm. Our focus was the special exhibit "Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment," We also visited the 19th Century French Painters exhibits, and a few other selected works. These were all on the Main Floor of the West Building. In total we visited perhaps 1/4 of the rooms on this floor, some to look at one item; we didn't visit the Ground Floor, nor the entire East Building. For good measure there is an outside sculpture garden as well. Now some details.
CS called us last night; he and Shirley visited the day prior (Sunday or Monday). He got to the Gallery at around 10:30 am, and had to wait about 75 minutes to get inside the building. His observation was the line continued to grow, to perhaps as long as 90 minutes. For a few days DC was colder than Central NJ, so the wait would be in below-freezing weather. We took an Uber and got to the museum at about 10:07 am, the line outside looked long but moved fairly quickly - we were inside by 10:15 am. What I didn't expect was another line waiting to get into the special exhibit - it took a few minutes for us to know there was a line. We didn't take our first photos until about 11:15 am. We could have taken turns to visit the "non-special" exhibits while the other remained in line, but we chose not to. We were through by around 12:40 pm, but retraced our steps to look at a few paintings a second time.
As far as I can tell, the idea of this special exhibit was to collect as many of the pieces shown in the first "impressionist" exhibit; and alongside put up some "Salon" pieces of the same year to demonstrate how the Impressionists broke away from tradition. (Yes, the term "impressionist" was coined several years later.) As such the intention was to define a movement rather than showcase the finer work of the era, or the individual. Indeed, many painters styles evolved in the later years. Monet would be a good example, his painting "Impression, Sunrise" preceded his last works by five decades. Another painting of his displayed at the 1874 exhibited was "The Luncheon" done around 1868.
"Impression, Sunrise" by Monet was exhibited at the 1874 show.
"The Luncheon" by Monet was painted a few years earlier, it was also exhibited at the 1874 Societie Anonyme show (SA is the French equivalent of Corporation).
Other now famous artists who participated in the 1874 show included Renoir, Degas, Morisot, Pissarro, Cezanne, and Sisley. That show lasted one month, 31 artists, about 200 works, and had about 3500 visitors. By comparison, the Paris Salon show of the same year had 2000 artists, 3700 works, and drew 500,000 visitors. I am sure most people can't name one single artist whose work was shown there. One exception would be Manet; he is considered an impressionist by many, but never exhibited in any of the Impressionist exhibits - and I didn't know that.
Per the NGA website, there are 130 works on display (don't know if the number includes those shown at the 1874 Salon exhibit; there are quite a few in this exhibit), and they are arranged into 10 different rooms, each with a different theme. (They were listed at the NGA website when I first looked at it, but I can't find that page anymore.) This exhibition is jointly produced with Musee d'Orsay, and it had been exhibited there from March to July 2024. Many items were loaned from other museums.
Right next to the special exhibit were rooms for 19th Century French painters; we systematically went through all of them (Rooms 80 - 93). Van Gogh is considered French by the NGA. The NGA website also showed some must-sees; so we dutifully went to look for them, those on the same floor anyway.
I decided not to post too many photos we took at the NGA as that would take quite some time; they are quite accessible from the web.
Dinner was food bought and eaten at Harry Teeter, supplemented by snacks at Club M.
Thursday 1/14. Today was basically travel day. Union Station is about a 10-minute walk from the hotel, pleasant enough on a clear, albeit cold, day. We bought some fast food at the food court, and then it was off to the departure hall. The train was quite full (the conductors kept announcing "all the seats are sold"). The trip of about 3 hours went by quickly.
Uber drivers had a bit of problem locating "main entrance, Amtrak station" at Metropark. Two drivers canceled; the third one "found" us.
It was nice to be home.
