Our next stop was Las Vegas. Bill and I are not the typical Vegas tourists. We are not gamblers or big drinkers. We did not even find a show we were interested in seeing this time. When we were last here in 2015 we went to a Rod Stewart show.
This visit was more about family. Bill has a cousin (his Dad’s Mother’s side) who lives in Las Vegas and we spent a lot of time with Marion and her husband Bob. 
We also were able to visit the homes of their sons, Mark and Troy, and their wives and children. Bill and Marion are really into genealogy so they had a great time comparing notes, looking at pictures and filling in the blanks. 
One day Marion and Bob drove us to Mt Charleston, elevation 7,510, where we had lunch and enjoyed the views. This was a place we probably never would have thought to visit on our own and it was just the kind of place we love. It is a great year round destination with camping and hiking during the warm months and skiing in the winter. Marion and Bob have many fond memories of coming here with their family, and their sons and grandchildren still enjoy visiting Mt Charleston, especially during the winter to ski. 
Looking North Into the Nevada Atomic Testing Area
One evening Bill and I drove to the Las Vegas Strip to see the outdoor Bellagio fountain show. It is always beautiful and Bill was able to capture some pictures and video. Since there are shows on the hour and half hour we were able to see two shows and we were pleased to see each show was different with different music.
click to see video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwoNl-A9oLY
click to see video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-jcslxBJeM
click to see video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_erzZKhy3e8
We walked around for awhile but it was wall to wall people, making it hard to walk down the street. It felt uncomfortably warm and claustrophobic with so many people. When we were here in 2015 we toured Fremont Street and didn’t feel the need to do that again. 
We did see the construction of the new domed Las Vegas Stadium for the Oakland Raiders NFL team which is moving to Las Vegas and will be called the Las Vegas Raiders. It is estimated the new stadium will be ready for the 2020 season. 
Next up : The Grand Canyon!