(11) Las Vegas, Nevada,

From the wonders of Death Valley in California we traveled to the second state on our map - Nevada - to visit the most famous city of the region, which is Las Vegas. Since we avoided highways whenever it was possible, we drove east along the picturesque route 190 to Pathrump, and from there to Las Vegas down road 160. The word "picturesque" with reference to Nevada is actually a slight exaggeration, as the area there belongs to Mojave Desert. It is therefore flat (the only variety provided by the mountains on the horizon), and the land is barren. When you look at the map, you will notice that the border between California and Nevada is America's longest diagonal line (640km).

The picture of Las Vegas from a distance gives you an idea what a change from the diversified landscape of California Nevada was (S):

The name of the territory - Nevada - comes from "Sierra Nevada" and it was given to the region in 1861, which marked the separation of this territory from Utah. The separation of Nevada was the result of great animosity between the mainstream Christian population here and the Mormons of Utah. One might venture a conclusion that 1861 was a year in which separatist tendencies seemed to be sweeping across the whole of the US and the animosities culminated in the outbreak of the Civil War.
Las Vegas may be the biggest and most famous city in Nevada but it is not the state's capital. It might be surprising for a European traveler to realize that in America the biggest cities - and at the same time the most obvious candidates - are not always state capitals. What's more, even second-biggest cities (like Reno in Nevada) would be wrong guesses in the case of some states. Struck by this fact - known to me from geography lessons at school but somehow forgotten - I resorted to Wikipedia to verify my intuition with respect to capitals of the states which were on the map of my American tour;). Here are the results:
California - Sacramento (I knew it, though the choice would be LA or San Francisco); Nevada - Carson City with the population of just over 55 thousand (my mind went blank); Utah - Salt Lake City (that's logical); Idaho - Boise (logical again, though I didn't remember hearing the name before); Wyoming - Cheyenne (logical); Colorado - Denver (that I'd known since "Dynasty";), "Dynasty" also taught me that the capital of Arizona is Phoenix; New Mexico - Santa Fe (I remembered seeing a very romantic video clip to the song by John Bon Jovi titled "Santa Fe", but the logical choice would be Albuquerque). This geography lesson taught me one thing: it must be unbelievably difficult for American kids to score an A in geography.
Anyway, continuing my trip to Las Vegas: below is a picture taken at about 8 p.m. from our hotel. The city is preparing itself for the night (S):

"Las Vegas" means "The Meadows" in Spanish. Considering the geography of the area, one must admit that the name very well reflects the character of the place. When I traveled through Nevada, I got an impression that it was a very poor state: agriculture has not flourished because the soil is poor and investors somehow have not swarmed in to venture huge industrial enterprises here. Gambling has always been the state's major economy and the only solution to the disastrous decline in the 1920s, when state authorities decided to re-legalize gambling. This has resulted in the growth of Las Vegas (almost 2 m people live in its area) and it becoming the Entertainment Capital of the World. Visible below are lights of the planes bringing guests who will spend the night on gambling, drinking and having fun, whatever this might mean (S):

Nighttime is the best time for visiting Las Vegas, but it's the worst time for taking pictures if one doesn't have professional equipment. If one does have it though, it's a bit dangerous and cumbersome to walk around with a huge camera hanging from your neck like the albatross from the Ancient Mariner's;), especially if one wants to have some fun. As a result, I took only a few good quality pictures with my little camera. I don't regret it though, since I totally focused on watching, absorbing and experiencing the phantasmagorical reality of Sin City. Captured below is one of the first views of the city after I got out of the car:

Las Vegas is practically one street called Las Vegas Strip, which runs through downtown Las Vegas for about 6.5 kilometers. It is there that all the hotels and casinos are located. Las Vegas lives at night - dozens of thousands of people flow along and across the Strip. The visitors are dazed by all the music and lights - midnight seems to be the city's rush hour:

To enter or not to enter? I will, but not here - I will eventually have a drink in the Luxor Casino. For the time being, I'm choosing a crazy ride on the roller coaster, which is located on the New York New York Hotel and offers incredible experiences: the stunning panorama of the city by night, stomach twisting and dizzying free falls and hair-raising jet barrel-roll simulations. If you ever get to Las Vegas, don't miss it;)

American hotels are probably a subject for a separate blog. For about $100 you get a spacious room with standard equipment, plus ice is always available from an ice machine; but, most importantly, in the bathroom one always finds a hair dryer and an iron with an ironing board. Below is a picture of the hotel in which we stayed during our Las Vegas trip: clean, comfortable, not too expensive - Holiday Inn Express hotels are definitely my favorite, especially because the rooms always smell nice (my obsession).

The picture below was taken after we left Las Vegas and traveled north-east:

Ahead visible is the landscape characteristic of Utah, a state which borders with Nevada and which has a population of over 2.5 m living in the area equivalent to 2/3 of Poland's territory.

Utah's geography is extraordinary since three geological regions meet there: the Rocky Mountains, the Great Basin and the most beautiful Colorado Plateau. The colors visible in the picture below are for me the colors of the Plateau - different shades of red;). It is a promise of an adventure:

Utah may not be a very populated state but if I ever had a choice, I would certainly choose to live in Utah. The state prides itself on all the most famous national parks of the American West: Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Messa Verde, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon and Zion National Park, which is our next destination, already looming in the distance: