Getting Around Las Vegas Airport-exit out to the bus, limo and car rental shuttle stands from the luggage carousels. Go to the far left curbside

Transcription

1 Getting Around Las Vegas Airport-exit out to the bus, limo and car rental shuttle stands from the luggage carousels. Go to the far left curbside where Bell Transportation has passenger vans that will cost about $ 7.50 per person to get you to the Orleans in a few stops. A taxi ride to the Orleans will cost about $20 per carful (four people). Most major airlines have great deals for flights and car rentals in Las Vegas. About a year ago all the car rental check-in counters were moved to a central location outside the airport. The free McCarran car rental shuttle buses will take you from the airport to this off-site location to pick up your rental car. Take your rental car up Las Vegas Blvd to Tropicana, turn left on Tropicana and the Orleans casino/hotel is about a mile farther. All the casinos have free parking lots or garages except some downtown casinos where parking ticket validation is easy to get. City Transportation- City buses pick up and drop off passengers every 15 to 20 minutes at the Tropicana Avenue/ Arville intersection across from the Orleans Casino. Bus Route 201 Tropicana east takes you to and from the Strip (Las Vegas Blvd) a mile away with a stop at the Tropicana casino/hotel across from the MGM Grand. Then you can transfer to the Strip buses up and down the Strip from the Gameworks mall just north of the MGM Grand all the way to downtown (Freemont Street). Put a $5 bill in the bus ticket machine by the driver for a 24-hour/day pass which will get you on all these bus routes. The Monorail ($9 all day per person) runs from the back of the MGM Grand to the back of the Sahara on the east side of the Strip, but you have to work your way through the respective casino back areas to get to the Strip. The Orleans, which is part of the Coast casinos, has a free 15-person shuttle bus that goes about every half hour to the Gold Coast on Flamingo (across the street from the Palms and Rio casinos) and then drops off guests at Bills (formerly the Barbary Coast) on the Strip. Once on the Strip, you can take the city buses. Depending on the number of Orleans guests waiting for this shuttle, it could be some time getting to the Strip. Taxis are available from the Orleans on the east side of the casino outside the hotel registration area and can cost about $10 to $25 (MGM Grand to Freemont Street) per carful, but can be more expensive especially in the evenings and on weekends due to heavier traffic. Inside Casinos- Each casino is unique and it is like a theme park with its special décor and layout. While walking around the casinos, check out their respective players clubs for sign up freebies such as t-shirts, cards, 2 for 1 restaurant meals, and free play on the slots or video poker machines. You also get free drinks when you try your luck at gambling anywhere on the casino floor. Don t buy into all the gambling theories out there. The odds are against you, but you could get lucky. Our host casino, the Orleans, is one of the Las Vegas residents favorite places to gamble and has plenty of 1c and 5c slot and video poker machines to experiment with. The table games minimum bets here are usually cheaper than the bigger casinos on the Strip. (Smoking is allowed on all the casino floors but not in the buffets, restaurants and showrooms).

2 Introduction- The September 2007 National Geographic Adventure magazine issue reported Las Vegas as the # 1 place to live and play because of the entertainment, glitz and many outdoor landmarks and activities in and around Las Vegas. Listed below are three walking patrols and two driving trips to see most of the Las Vegas glitz and nearby landmarks. [Your hotel room should have the Las Vegas What s On magazine, which has some excellent pull out maps of the Las Vegas Strip and Valley. Points of interest discussed below are highlighted in bold print.] Tropicana/Las Vegas Blvd Patrol Patrol Starting Point: MGM Grand Approximate time: 2 to 3 hours Best Time: Mid-Morning Uniform: Comfortable shorts, walking shoes, polo shirts, sunglasses, chapstick, hat (optional) and water bottle. Head east or left from the Orleans via bus route 201 east to the Tropicana casino, or taxi or rental car across LasVegas Blvd, turn left at the third stoplight (Koval Street) and then left again into the MGM Grand free parking garage or valet parking. From the parking garage you will walk through the underground tunnel through some shops and come up inside the MGM Grand by the hotel registration check-in desks. You can check out the free CBS TV City Research center, which is open 10 am to 10 PM, to the right of the registration desks by taking a five minute walk inside to the Studio Walk just right of the Ka ticket offices. Here you can sign up to review some new CBS TV pilot shows and leave comments. Another option is to follow the signs left from the hotel registration desks for the free MGM Lion Habitat where there are usually two to five lions, 11 AM to 10 PM daily. To the right of the Lion Habitat is an escalator that will take you out of MGM Grand to the Tropicana casino/hotel. As you come out of the MGM south side, you ll be looking across Tropicana Avenue at the Tropicana hotel/casino. Take the pedestrian bridge over Tropicana Avenue and look left towards the Hooters casino/hotel and Sunrise Mountain and then look to the right at the Excalibur and New York-New York casinos and the Spring Mountain range 20 miles to the West. At the end of the pedestrian bridge, take the down escalator to the right and enter the front entrance of the Tropicana. Be sure to look up at the famous Tiffany stained glass ceiling above the main gaming pit. (Tropicana s parent company-columbia Sussex-is having some credibility problems both here and in Atlantic City). At the back of the hotel are the visiting attractions-bodies and Titanic. Exit back through the front doors of the hotel and take the pedestrian bridge across Las Vegas Blvd to the Excalibur. (Right before you take that pedestrian bridge is a great spot to take a picture of the Statue of Liberty across the way at the New York-New York casino/hotel). After crossing the pedestrian bridge over Las Vegas Blvd, take a hard left up the escalator or stairs and get on the free tram in front of the Excalibur to Mandalay Bay. When you take the down escalator from the tram into the Mandalay Bay casino/hotel, you can follow the signs for ten minutes to the Shark Reef Aquarium (10 AM to 11PM/$16) where you ll pass through restaurant row. There is a headless Lenin statue in front of the Red Square restaurant. OR you could make a right turn from the tram

3 escalators past the House of Blues to the Mama Mia ticket office. On Sundays the House of Blues has a very popular southern gospel service and buffet ($40) at 10 AM and 1 PM on Sundays (reservations suggested). Next to the Mama Mia ticket office is the small Mandalay Place shopping gallery with a nice Chocolate Swan sweets shop (a better one is in the Bellagio), a really pricey pet clothing store and a nice Ristorante Giogio Café for a lunch break. At the end of Mandalay Place, you enter the Luxor. As soon as you pass the Fusia Chinese restaurant and enter the Luxor casino/hotel at the second level, look up and around for the interesting architectural structure that supports the rooms and shops. The Tomb and Museum of King Tutankhoman is open 10 AM to 11 PM/$10 at this level along with other attractions. Take the stairs down to the casino level and go outside across the valet parking to get photos of the Sphinx and the Obelisk replicas. Come back into the Luxor casino floor, which has undergone some major redesign with new sexy lounges such as the Cathouse and restaurants to attract the younger crowd. Follow the signs to the Luxor Galleria shopping area at the north end of the Luxor and check out the pricey childrens clothing store there. Then follow a series of indoor walkways to the Excalibur. You will enter the Excalibur casino/hotel at a restaurant level with the Krispy Kreme donut factory on the right. Take the escalator down to the main part of the casino and make a hard left for the big arcade area downstairs by the Tournament of Kings Show entrance. Come back up to the casino main floor for the moving walkway exit that takes you out the Excalibur east doors to LasVegas Blvd. (Merlin and the dragons play here nightly at the Excalibur moat entrance). Take the pedestrian bridge across Tropicana Avenue to the New York-New York casino. You ll come in on the second floor overlooking the Central Park-themed casino. Take the escalator down to the casino floor. Wander to the right for a row of good restaurants like The Nine Fine Irishman pub and Greenberg s Deli. (Too bad there is no Mama Leone s here). To the left of Greenberg s Deli are the stairs to the Manhattan Express roller coaster ride-10:30 AM to midnight at $14 per person. Continue past the restaurants to the right, check out the ESPN Zone on the left before you exit outdoors to the Brooklyn Bridge replica out on the Strip. Go left (north) on the Brooklyn Bridge to the Monte Carlo casino/hotel whose architecture reminds me of my visit to the French Riviera in 1963 after my 3 rd LT tour in Germany. (This January there was a fire at the Monte Carlo mainly confined to the back side foam façade common to many casino facades on the Strip. It was repaired in three weeks). The Lance Burton magic show is here. Between the Monte Carlo and the Bellagio is the big construction site for the $7 Billion City Center, which will have hotels, gaming and shopping in (There are huge Walgreens and CVS stores on either side on the Strip from here). You can cross Las Vegas Blvd at the stoplight in front of the Monte Carlo to the Gameworks on the other side. The Gameworks Mall has some small shops for major brands like Coca Cola and M&Ms. (There is a Hawaiian Village shopping area by the Polo Towers toward the Planet Hollywood casino). In between the M&M and Coca- Cola shops is the Tickets4Tonight outlet where you can get same day tickets at half price for most shows, except the Cirque du Soliel shows. From here you can walk back to the MGM parking garage or cross over Las Vegas Blvd to the Tropicana 201 west bus stop just beyond the Statue of Liberty.

4 Flamingo/Las Vegas Blvd Patrol (BEST) Patrol Starting Point: Bellagio Approximate time: 4 to 5 hours Times: Best at night time for maximum visual effects for the Bellagio water fountains, the Sirens of TI and neon glitz. Uniform: Comfortable shorts or slacks, walking shoes, collared shirts and water bottle. Proceed east on Tropicana from the Orleans via bus route 201 east to the Tropicana casino and then Strip bus to the Planet Hollywood bus stop across from the Bellagio. With a taxi or rental car turn left or north on Las Vegas Blvd (left lane) to the Bellagio free parking garage or valet location. The Fountains at the Bellagio span more than 1000 feet and soar up to 450 feet. Performances take place every half hour from 3 to 8 PM and then every 15 minutes. Enter the Bellagio through the parking garage entrance or valet parking doorways to the free beautiful Bellagio Conservatory Exhibit. Make sure you have a camera with you for the beautiful flower, plant and water arrangements here. Right behind the Bellagio Conservatory Exhibit is the sumptuous Jean-Phillippe Patisserie with the tallest chocolate fountain in the world. Walk back to the hotel registration area just beyond the Conservatory Exhibit and look up at the unusual glass artwork in the hotel registration lobby ceiling. Continue through the casino to the north end where the famous Cirque du Soleil O show and a whole bunch of high end shops are. Follow the signs for the Caesar s Palace (CP) pedestrian walkway over Flamingo Road. The pedestrian walkway steps on the other side will put you on the street level in a CP outdoor plaza that is sometimes used for boxing events, music shows and even an ice skating rink. Continue walking to your left passing the CP main entrance water displays (where Evel Knievel tried his famous motorcycle jump) to the CP main doors and enter. Keep going right past the sports book area and the Bette Midler, Elton John and Cher show location at the Colosseum to the Forum Shops (FS) adjoining the CP casino. (You might run into Julius Caesar and his entourage strolling through the casino). With its 130 shops and 15 restaurants in different wings of the FS area, you can spend a lot of time looking around and possibly lose your sense of direction. (Most of the shops and their goodies are well beyond Skip s double retirement pay grade, but they are fun to browse and people or celebrity watch). If you take the FS wing to the left of the Trevi Fountain, you ll pass by the FAO Schwartz store and end up at the Cheesecake Factory restaurant. In front of the Cheesecake Factory you can watch the free Atlantis statue animation show (on the hour) where the Gods rise and sink back into the sea. There is also a large beautiful aquarium on the backside of the Atlantis show. Head back to the FS center (Trevi Fountain) and bear left to the free Bacchus statue animation show (on the hour) complete with laser lighting. After the laser show, continue up that FS wing past the St. Andrews Golf Shop, Victoria s Secret and the Planet Hollywood restaurant up the ramp to the north end second level of the FS for more shops. Take the escalators down and out to Las Vegas Blvd across from Harrah s. Turn left or north where there is a moving sidewalk to the Mirage.

5 There used to be a white tiger exhibit on the left as you entered the Mirage from this moving walkway, but that was discontinued last year and will be replaced with an upscale (?) burger place. (You can still see all the lions, tigers and dolphins in Siegfried and Roy s Secret Garden and Dolphin habitat outside the Mirage and open 10 AM to 7 PM for $15. Roy spends some time there especially with Monticor, the tiger that dragged him off the stage several years ago). Once inside the Mirage, bear right around the Carnegie Deli and follow the signs for hotel registration/aquarium. You ll go by the indoor tropical rain forest and then take in the huge aquarium behind the hotel receptionist counter. (The Cirque du Soleil Love show is back left from the rain forest. The Jet night club here is very popular with tourists and celebrities). Come back to the rain forest and exit out the Mirage front entrance. Follow the Mirage driveway out to the Strip. (You ll pass by the famous Mirage volcano that is being repaired and not operational). Go across the street to the Casino Royale and turn right and go past the Casino Royale, Harrah s, the Imperial Palace, O Shea s, the Flamingo and Bill s. (Sometimes these casinos have great player club sign up bonuses and some single deck, $5 minimum Blackjack tables). There is not much to see in the Casino Royale, O Shea s or Bills. Harrah s has an outdoor trinket shopping area with the Carnival Court where bands play on the weekends. Harrah s has a major free bus depot at the back of the casino for round trips to the off-strip Rio on Flamingo every half hour as well as a round trip shuttle to the downtown casinos and Sam s Town every hour and a half. The Imperial Palace has the Legends in Concert impressionist show and very popular Hawaii luau and Asian restaurants. At the north end of the Flamingo casino is the very popular Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville restaurant. The Flamingo also has a nice 15- acre Flamingo wildlife habitat with birds and fish in the center of the hotel/casino complex. After you pass Bill s on the left, take the escalators up to the pedestrian bridge crossing Flamingo Road and the escalator down to street level. Take the moving sidewalk from the Strip into Bally s. (Bally s owners plan on expanding the casino/hotel out to the Strip in the near future). At the end of the moving sidewalk and inside Bally s, you have to take the escalator down to the main casino floor. Walk past the hotel reception desks on the left and follow the signs for the Paris casino off to the right. On your right you will see the big theater for the Price Is Right day and the nightly Jubilee Las Vegas revue shows. Beyond that theater on the right is a series of shops and restaurants on Le Boulevard, which will lead you to the Paris hotel and casino. There are two good attractions inside the Paris casino-the Eiffel Tower (ride is $7, 9:30 AM to midnight) and restaurant and the Mon Ami Gabio restaurant and sidewalk café (great lunch spot). Both attractions are across the street from the Bellagio fountains which operate every fifteen minutes after 8 PM. After exploring the Paris casino, go out onto the Strip for more Bellagio fountain watching and head left to the Miracle Mile shopping/theater mall and Planet Hollywood (PH) hotel/casino. There is a new Trader Vic s restaurant at the northern end of the Miracle Mile with sidewalk tables overlooking Las Vegas Blvd and the Bellagio Fountains. PH has much easier access to it now from the Las Vegas Blvd sidewalks than the Aladdin had. PH kept the very good Spice Market buffet from the Aladdin. The Miracle Mile still has the same unique shops and restaurants with reasonable prices as the Aladdin Desert Passage had. (The Hawaiian style ABC stores there have a good supply of Las Vegas souvenirs). Also inside the Miracle Mile is the V Theater where there are a lot of great afternoon

6 magic and comedy shows. Once back on Las Vegas Blvd, take the pedestrian walkway at Trader Vic s across Las Vegas Blvd to enjoy the Bellagio fountain shows on your way back to your car at the Bellagio parking areas. Taxis are available at Bellagio valet site. Spring Mountain/Las Vegas Blvd Patrol Patrol Starting Point: Venetian Approximate time: 2 to 3 hours Best Time: Evening Uniform: Comfortable walking shoes, shorts, short sleeve shirts, sunglasses, chapstick, hat (optional) and water bottle. Proceed from the Orleans, go right on Tropicana and then right on Decatur. Turn right on Spring Mountain Road, go across I-15 and turn right onto Las Vegas Blvd and then get in the left lanes for entry into the Venetian south garage or valet parking areas. The Madame Tussard s Wax Gallery, 10 AM to 9 PM/$18 is back at the Strip sidewalk. Enter the Venetian through the hotel registration area and walk through the beautifully decorated hallway and ceiling to the main casino area. Go around to the left of the casino floor and take the escalators up to the second floor. Everywhere you look up or sideways there is spectacular artwork and murals. Walk outside to the terrace and take a good look from the terrace at the outdoor St. Mark s Square replica, the outdoor gondola rides ($12.50 each) and Mirage and Treasure Island neon lights. Reenter the Venetian and wander through the Grand Canal Shoppes mall and the indoor gondola rides ($15 each). Continue through the Grand Canal Shoppes to the free shows at the indoor St. Mark s Square daily, 6 to 10 PM, the Artiste del Arte street performers daily at noon, 1:45, 4 and 6:30 PM or the living statues daily, 10 AM to 8 PM. (The very popular Blue Man Group show moved here from the Luxor for a bigger theater and prices. The Phantom of the Opera show is also here at the Venetian). You can enter the new $2 billion Palazzo casino/hotel from St. Mark s Square by following the signs to Barney s New York. Take the escalators down to the beautiful Palazzo atrium and waterfalls. The very good Jersey Boys musical opened at the Palazzo in April. Continue north through the Palazzo casino floor to the up escalators and walkway to the Wynn casino/hotel. The Wynn casino is very well decorated and worth the walk around the various cafes there. (The La Reve and Monte Python s Spamalot shows are the two popular shows here). Continue walking around the Wynn casino floor and through the Espilande stores to the west side and exit out onto the Strip by the Wynn waterfalls. Take the walkway over Las Vegas Blvd to the Fashion Show Mall (FSM). The FSM is very popular with tourists for shopping at the various stores there. The FSM has a Ticket4Tonight sales office for 50% off same day tickets. To the south of the FSM is the up escalator for the walkway over Spring Mountain Road to the Treasure Island (TI) casino/hotel. Feel free to recon the casino area. (The Cirque du Soleil Mystere show and the Kahunaville restaurant are at the back or west end of the casino). Follow the signs to the east end of the casino for Buccaneer Bay where the free but awful Sirens of the TI perform nightly at 7, 8:30, 10 and 11:30 PM. (The very

7 popular Pirate show on Buccaneer Bay was replaced with this more sexy show). Use Las Vegas Blvd to get back to the Venetian parking area. [Note: The Circus-Circus, Riviera, Sahara and Stratosphere casinos are north of the Wynn casino and FSM in a heavy construction area for the newly opened Trump Towers ($600K for a studio apartment or $7M for a penthouse) and Escalante high rise and casino complexes and are spread too far apart for a walking tour. If you want to see these casinos, take the bus or use a rental car. The Hilton casino/hotel is east of these casinos on Paradise and has a nice Star Trek exhibit and attractions]. Driving Trips Las Vegas Valley, South and East (4 to 5 hours) Take Tropicana east (left) and head for the I-15 South (right lanes) ramp and follow I-15 to the Blue Diamond exit just after the I-215 junction. Once on Blue Diamond road, get in the left lanes for the turn onto Dean Martin and the entrance to the Silverton casino/hotel and Pro Bass Shop parking lots. The Silverton casino and the Pro Bass Shop are in one building. Both areas have excellent aquariums. The Silverton (117,000 gallon) aquarium has mermaids swimming around usually in the evening. Most of the Pro Bass Shop items cater to the fisherman and boaters that frequent Lake Mead. Once you have seen enough here, get back on Blue Diamond road and take it over I-15 to the Las Vegas Outlet Center on south Las Vegas Blvd. This shopping area has expanded in the last two years to many more stores. At the south end of this shopping area is the Saks 5 th Avenue Outlet store where you can buy $1000 suits or dresses for half price. A new more upscale shopping area called Town Square is north on Las Vegas Blvd just across the I-215 junction. The famous Las Vegas welcome sign is a few blocks more north of Town Square on Las Vegas Blvd. There are pull-off points to take pictures there. After visiting the shopping areas or the Las Vegas welcome sign, head south and take I-215 east to the Green Valley Ranch hotel and casino. This casino is one of the prettiest locals casinos. On the south side of the Green Valley Ranch casino are the REI outdoor shop and the District shopping and restaurants area. Check out Lucelle s, a great BBQ place. After lunch, there are two options: With the first option you can get back on I-215 east and take Hwy 93/95 turnoff for Hoover Dam on Hwy 93 about 30 minutes away. When at Hoover Dam, see the Hoover Dam history movie and then take one of the paid tours inside the Dam. They get you on Hoover Dam parking ($8). There is a very nice raft trip from the base of the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River through Black Canyon to the Willow Beach turnout. (Our classmate Tom Kovach has volunteered to coordinate this raft trip for Saturday morning). The second option is to continue from the Green Valley Ranch casino on I-215 east, which turns into W. Lake Mead Parkway to Lake Las Vegas where Celine Dion lives. Lake Las Vegas has a quaint Monte Lego Village and casino there. No matter which way you go, come back on I-215 west, pass through the I- 15 interchange and get off at the Decatur for about a mile and then right on Tropicana to the Orleans. (This part of I-215 west can be crowded from 3:30 to 6 PM). Las Vegas Valley Center and West (4 to 6 hours) Turn left onto Tropicana and head east for a few miles to the Liberace Museum at 1775 E. Tropicana on the right side corner of the Tropicana/Spencer intersection. The museum has all his outlandish outfits,

8 pianos and cars. It costs $10 and about an hour of your time. Get back on Tropicana east and a mile farther make a U-turn at McLeod to the The Gun Store at 2900 E. Tropicana. Here you can re-acquaint yourself with firing the M-4, Thompson M1A1.45 or the M3A1 Grease gun with 25 or 50 rounds and target for $ 25 or 30. They have free ear and eye protection. With the smell of cordite in your nostrils, return to Tropicana west and to the Swennson/Tropicana intersection and take a right onto Swennson heading for Harmon Avenue. At the Swennson/Harmon intersection by the Hyatt, turn left where the Hofbrauhaus is on the left and the Hard Rock hotel/casino on the right at the Harmon/Paradise intersection. The Hofbrauhaus is an exact miniature of the Hofbrauhaus in Munich and has a great lunch menu and good HB beer. Continue north on Paradise Road, get in the right side lane and turn right on Flamingo by the Terrible s casino/hotel and enter the Atomic Testing Museum parking lot a few blocks up on the right. There are excellent exhibits about the atomic tests and the Nevada test site operations. Admission is $9 and will take about an hour. Pull back onto Flamingo east and turn around onto Flamingo west at the nearest, safest intersection. Keep going on Flamingo west through LasVegas Blvd and over I-15 to Valley View. Option 1-Turn right on Valley View for a few miles past Charleston to the Springs Preserve on the right. This is an excellent place to learn about the history of Las Vegas at the exact watering spot for the railroads in the early 1900s and desert environmental/ water conservation exhibits. The Desert Gardens and watering spot are free exhibits. The other exhibits are in a museum and cost $14. (There is even a Wolfgang Puck café here). After visiting the Springs Preserve, you can go across Valley View to the Meadows Mall with the typical JC Penney, Sears and Dillards layout. After your visit to the Springs Preserve and/or Meadows Mall, travel south on Valley View to Charleston. Go west (right) on Charleston for fifteen minutes to the Red Rock casino/hotel just before the I-215 west junction. Option 2-continue on Flamingo west from the Atomic Testing Museum for several miles and take a right off Flamingo onto I-215 to the Charleston exit by the Red Rock casino. This casino is by far the most beautiful locals casino and was highly recommended by the September 2007 National Geographic Adventurer magazine as the focal point for outdoor enthusiasts going to the world famous Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area for rock climbing, hiking and bicycle trips. (It was also where most of the current 21 movie was filmed). The Red Rock Canyon area is about fifteen minutes away from the casino on Charleston which crosses over I-215 and turns into Hwy 159. (You might want to pick up a few sandwiches and drinks at the Albertson s grocery store two traffic lights on the right on Charleston just beyond the I- 215 junction for a picnic at the Willow Springs picnic area in Red Rock Canyon). There is a $5 car fee to enter the area, but a Golden Passport will get you in free. The Red Rock visitors center is very informative about the Spring Mountain range and the beautiful red sandstone areas at Red Rock Canyon. After a brief stop at the visitors center, take the thirteen mile loop through the canyon with elevations 2000 to 3000 feet higher than the Strip. Watch out for the wild burros in the area. Between loop mile-markers 1 and 2, turn into the many pullout parking areas to see how many rock climbers are scaling the various rock formations. Stop at the highest elevation point lookout about halfway through the loop for a spectacular look back toward the Las Vegas valley. The Willow Springs parking/picnic cutoff is about a half mile on the right after loop mile marker 7 where you can also hike in and possibly see some Big Horn sheep in the rocks above. (If

9 you want to try horseback riding, Cowboy Trail Rides ( ) is about 8/10 of a mile farther down Hwy 159 on the left from the Red Rock Canyon entrance. A one hour trail ride is about $70 and goes up from there for longer rides and a sunset ride/ chuck wagon dinner). After visiting the Red Rock area, you could go right for three miles to the Spring Mountain Ranch (SMR) park area ($5 car entry fee) for better picnic areas and some Howard Hughes history. (Marilyn O Donnell is a docent at SMR and would gladly escort a USMA 65 car caravan out to Red Rock Canyon and the SMR on Friday morning. Sign up sheets for this trip will be at our Wednesday evening Benny Havens and Thursday morning breakfast). After visiting Red Rock or SMR, head back east on Hwy 159 to the I-215 junction and take I-215 south to the third-tropicana (east) exit and back to the Orleans casino. (On the way back on Tropicana you ll pass the Spanish Trail home complex on the right where folks like Wayne Newton and Andre Agassi live).