let's all look at my holiday pictures | las vegas

amboy crater, route 66

i've never been to las vegas when it wasn't two hundred million degrees outside.  i quite enjoyed being bundled up in a scarf and sparkly heels and smoking cigars alongside a warm whiskey.  we stayed in a spa suite at the tropicana and i cannot express boldly enough how magical a place it was.  it is in the middle of everything, but quiet and low-key, beautifully renovated in soothing south beach khakis and creams, and offered $5 craps tables with the nicest dealers on the strip.  as we approached our dreaded checkout, we decided to drive through the mojave desert en route to joshua tree.  it was a crisp and clear sunny day as we journeyed through the preserve.  i was so enthralled by the sensation of being lonely travelers on the sunlit dusty highway that i couldn't muster the energy to stick a camera to my face.  that said, i have included a precious few images from vegas and the mojave here.  

mysterious mounds of sand near a military base and chemical plant 

i was shocked to have gotten a sharp capture of this flitting dragonfly at amboy crater

tourists at amboy crater

tourists hunting a stray cat (between the dumpsters)

found on the walkway at the tropicana

a dilapidated hotel teeming with stray cats on the las vegas strip

to me, this is las vegas

workout room at the tropicana

the promised land