Over the years the Strip in Las Vegas has expanded tremendously in all directions. The strip has grown longer expanding both northward and southward. It has become fatter – spilling out on both sides of Las Vegas Blvd. And the glitzy casinos and picturesque buildings now stretch upward, leaping skyward.
To walk the Strip is to be amazed by this part of the city’s architecture. Below is a look at some of these sites during the day and after the sun goes down.
One of the colorful castle towers at the Excalibur casino
A replica of the Statue in front of the New York New York Casino
This is 52 story tower of the Cosmopolitan Resort Casino.
Next door is the luxury Waldorf Astoria hotel with its 47 stories.
Looking like the skyline of Manhattan is the New York New York Casino.
At the south end of the strip is the Mandalay Bay Casino.
The pyramid shaped Luxor Casino has been turned into a huge advertising poster.
These headlights show some of the speedy traffic along the iconic Las Vegas Blvd.
The Tropicana is scheduled to be imploded in April 2024 to make room for a new baseball stadium.
The twin towers of the colorful Excalibur sits boldly on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana Ave
This is the luxury Aria Resort/Casino located in City Center.
Here is one of the trams that run along the Strip. This one transports visitors from the Park MGM Casino to Bellagio Casino. Another runs from the Mandalay Bay Casino to the Excalibur Casino and a third from the MGM Grand to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
I’ve photographed only a few of the casinos here. But Las Vegas is home to countless other amazing buildings. Even if you’re not a gambler the size and scale of the architecture is worth a visit to the city.
A scenic two hour drive from the bustling streets of Las Vegas takes you to this expansive desert area. The place is called Death Valley and is the nation’s largest national park.
I’ve visited Death Valley many times before. On this trip I spent only a few hours there specifically to catch a glimpse of something special as you’ll soon find out.
My first stop was at Zabriskie Point
…especially noted for its alluvial runoffs.
They date back millions of years
…and form some amazing landscapes.
Twenty miles down the road is Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. It sits some 280 feet below sea level.
Badwater is a salt flat that spans the width of the valley. It’s basically a dried sea bed from millions of years ago.
Here’s a closeup of the terrain at Badwater. Normally the entire basin is covered with salt similar to this. You can walk on some of the terrain but other parts are thin and considered dangerous to traverse.
Something drastic happened this past August. Unprecedented torrential rains caused extreme road and terrain damage. The basin was in part turned into “Lake Manly”. While only a few inches deep in remains there as of January 2024.
As you can see here, many visitors trekked to Death Valley to view the lake in the Badwater basin
As I was driving I couldn’t help but spot large patches of yellow off to the side of the road.
While these flowers are not one of Death Valley’s infrequent superblooms, these patches may be a byproduct of last August’s downpours and flooding. Regardless, these dandelions were a bright spot that stand out against the park’s vast desert terrain .
My drive to Death Valley was to see the “lake” that was formed by last summer’s rains. Once again I’m amazed to be a witness to mother nature’s way of creating scenes that I can thoroughly enjoy.
