Adventure in Sin City

Our first full day in Vegas we decided to find some nature. We traveled out to Red Rock Canyon and enjoyed the scenery. There were a lot of signs about wild tortoises, but to my great disappointment, none of them ever showed. The rocks and cacti were still a lot of fun.

Every person in our group completed the Junior Ranger program, said the oath, and earned their badge. I know it's silly, my kids mostly do it to humor me, but I find a lot of connection to Heidi every time I earn another junior ranger badge. I am going to be the oldest junior ranger in history, and that is fine by me.

We even got pictures as junior rangers.

We all look amazing, if I do say so myself.

Even if some photos look more like mugshots.

No opportunity to dab was passed up, I think I have an album's worth of this pose. No one quite knows why, but Grace insisted she dab everywhere we went in Vegas, so everyone got in on the act.

On the way back into town we decided to stop at a lion sanctuary. I had done research online and it looked like a true sanctuary and not a questionable private zoo. We pay approximately one million dollars, entered the sanctuary and realized we had made a mistake. The lions all had large areas to roam but no vegetation, enrichment, or habitat. They were all in what amounted to huge blank cages. It was very sad. It was the low point of the trip. We didn't stay there very long at all. We headed back to the hotel with heavy hearts.

That evening Grace and Bailey asked if we could try Raising Cane's for dinner. That sounded good to everyone, so off we went.

I, personally, had never heard of this fast food franchise, but I did enjoy my chicken fingers and Raising Cane's sauce. Everyone was happy to find a place that lived up to expectations.

After dinner we decided to head over the the Fremont Street experience. This is basically the Vegas experience in a ten block area that is only open to pedestrians. 

On the way there Michael made a surprise stop. He stopped at the famous pawn shop from Pawn Stars. Alas, it was closed, but that didn't stop the level of excitement that Bailey had for the stop. She was bouncing out of the car, calling her mother, and just loving life. Meanwhile, Grace is getting frustrated because she can't figure out why this is so exciting. I guess the girl never watched the History Channel. 

After the brief detour, we paid way too much for parking and headed into Fremont Street.

There was a beautiful ceiling with projections, live music on every corner, and as we quickly realized, it was also St. Patrick's Day, so a lot of people were celebrating. Sam and I were quickly overwhelmed, while Ethan and Bailey were loving the atmosphere. We didn't do much besides walk around and look in a few shops. After less than an hour, we decided to call it a night. 

We headed back to the hotel to relax and get some sleep. We were going to need it.