First stop: the Hoover Dam. Traffic was rammed of course, but once we got there it was good to get out of the car. The dam is a monster. I don’t know how tall it is exactly, but I do know this little tidbit: it is as thick at the bottom as it is tall! That’s a lot of concrete!

Next stop, Grand Canyon

…Mike

Christine and I saw the Cirque du Soleil show “O” at the Bellagio casino last night. Extremely worth it. I didn’t think I was going to like it but it was very impressive. We had third row seats…the seats where they tell you not to wear suede because you’ll probably get wet! There are 5 or 6 other shows in town that I guess we’ll save for next time. We shaved a day off our trip to the Grand Canyon to see O, and it was worth it

Walking around Vegas at dusk, some standard photos of the casinos and stuff. First, the Forum Shops at Ceasars. If you’ve never been here before, the have this place set up like a piazza, complete with a lighting system that simu­lates day to night and back to day every hour or so. This is just the front entrance.

One of the hotel towers at Ceasars. That’s an airplane not a dust spot!

The water fountain show at the Bellagio.

A shot of Paris, which is across the street

Today we leave for the first and second stops on our vacation: the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon

…Mike

The conference was great, the trade show bustled, and the parties were wild…I’m exhausted 5 days in Vegas can put the zap on you after a bit…so much noise and flashing lights!

Tonight Christine arrives and the vacation part begins for us The plan is for a few photog­rapher friends of mine to take a few engagement-style pictures of Christine and I tonight…but it’s pretty cold here right now so I’m not sure that’s going to happen, but we’ll see

Can you believe that I haven’t take any pictures yet!?

…Mike

I’m about to leave for Las Vegas to attend the annual WPPI conference! It’s been two years since I went to the last one, and I’m looking forward to the conference and friends I haven’t seen in so long!

Afterwards Christine and I are planning a mini-vacation to some of the places I’ve been wanting to visit for more than 10 years: the Grand Canyon of course, but also Antelope Canyon, Bryce National Park and if we have time, Zion National Park too Watch this space for pictures

…Mike

Marilena and Ken have four dogs, and I joined them early to go for a walk out near their place. It was cold, but fun!

…Mike