Life is Beautiful in Downtown Las Vegas

Last Saturday, my son and I spent seven hours at the first day of the inaugural Life is Beautiful Festival, an amazing event that has transformed Downtown Las Vegas permanently.

The murals gracing the walls of so many downtown buildings were only part of LIB's over-sized artwork--which included storage containers stacked on top of each other and painted with the event’s signature heart. (A few girls climbed on them for photo ops before the police showed up and halted any more climbing.) 

Lawn chairs were placed haphazardly on sidewalks and even in the middle of Ogden.

My son and I wandered the streets all day, making two stops at the Culinary Village and one in Food Truck alley (LAVO meatballs, Sin City Hot Dog, KGB Burger). I know that sounds like a lot of food, but I had a teenage boy with me.

We walked through the Art Odyssey, where artists used rooms at the former Town Lodge Motel for individual galleries, and a water feature acted as a centerpiece for the central courtyard.

I pointed out the Fremont Center building to my son and told him how it used to be a Woolworth’s (where I sometimes shopped on my lunch hour when I worked for the police department in their offices at 601 E. Fremont, a building that now houses “Tripe B,” Backstage Bar & Billiards--although I found out later that my memory was off by a block: Woolworth's was at 5th Street.). 

We sat on the new grass in the Secret Garden, watched street performers, and rode the Ferris wheel, which gave us an expansive, bird's-eye view of the eastern portion of the valley (a view I haven’t seen since I worked in City Hall in the BT days--“Before Tony,” as in Hsieh).

Throughout the day, we stopped at stages randomly and always heard music playing in the background. We caught four bands: Alpine, Wallpaper, ZZ Ward, and Imagine Dragons (who closed their performance with Cirque joining them onstage).

It’s been sad for me to watch so much of Las Vegas fall into disrepair, disintegrating in front of my eyes, and to see Downtown get a makeover and a festival of this caliber gives me hope that Downtown may yet blossom into the place I know it can be.

If LIB comes back next year, and I hope they do, I hope they:

• Come up with a better mobile app
• Incorporate more shade (especially in Culinary Village)
• Get a less-confusing entry and exit system
• Give the Cirque performers an elevated stage (my son called them “Cirque du Can’t-See-Nothing”)
• Find a venue for the “Learning” speakers where people under 21 can attend   

Bravo, Life is Beautiful! You were beautiful, indeed.

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Were you at LIB last weekend?

See more of my pictures on flickr.

Chalk Art: Impermanence Epitomized

Capturing the short life of chalk art

I captured my first set of chalk art pictures at the Summerlin Art Festival while the artists were working on their pieces. The next day, I came back as the festival was breaking, just in time to capture the images before they were completely gone. 

Even though the festival was over, I still found it strange to see people walking over the fading art. One woman stopped right on top of a panel I was photographing. She was dragging something behind her that looked like a small tent.

When the woman stopped, she didn’t notice what she was standing on, or that I was trying to take a picture. “Oh, sorry,” she mumbled when she saw me. Then she set off, dragging her fabric-covered rectangle over the remains of the artwork.

Somehow, that just seemed wrong.

See more chalk art pics on my flickr page.

Festival Season in Las Vegas

It’s Festival Season in Vegas, otherwise known as “October” in other places.

Over the next few weeks, you’ll get the chance to see a lot of scenes like these:

I snapped these pics last weekend at Boulder City’s Art in the Park, the grand-daddy of art festivals in Southern Nevada. 

My son and I spent Sunday afternoon checking out each and every booth. The balance between actual art and only-at-a-festival doodads for sale was just right. And we loved that so many people had their dogs with them.

(Our total damage: one tie-dyed shirt for Dad, one gigantic ceramic mug for Son, and good-smelling house stuff for me).

Feeling festival-like now? This weekend you might want to check out:

Summerlin Art Festival & Sidewalk Chalk Art Show

Age of Chivalry Renaissance Festival

And later in the month:

Life is Beautiful (A two-day extravaganza of food, entertainment, and art in Downtown Las Vegas)

Vegas Valley Book Festival (Major event is Oct. 31 - Nov 2)  

Las Vegas Foodie Fest at the Silverton

Do you have a favorite festival during this time of year?

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All pics by Terrisa Meeks

How the Las Vegas Monsoon Season Got Its Name

Ever wonder why the rainy season in the American Southwest goes by the same name as the rainy season in India?

Well, me too. 

When a co-worker recently scoffed at my mention of Monsoon Season (“‘Monsoon Season,’ please. I used to live in Miami.”) I decided to investigate.

Honestly, I always thought it was a creative misuse of the word.

It turns out that the term "monsoon" has more to do with shifts in wind patterns than rain, and that our rainy season is properly named monsoon for a whole host of meteorological reasons.

I stand corrected.

We still can’t compete with hurricanes, but we do get some really pretty thunderheads.

Did you know the origin of the term Monsoon Season?

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Photos by Terrisa Meeks

One Day in Balboa Park

San Diego, one of my favorite cities, is about an hour’s plane ride from Las Vegas. Once you land in San Diego, the beautiful and historic Balboa Park is only a 15-minute cab ride from the airport.

San Diego is a great place for a day trip. It’s full of fun things to do, and if you’re a museum geek like myself, Balboa Park offers a mouth-watering array of museums in a small area. 

Here’s how my daycation in Balboa Park worked out:

0615: Breeze through McCarran security. No bags, baby!

0900: Taxi drops us off outside the Museum of Man. (“Us” = my son and me.)

0901: Discover that no museums open until 10:00.

0902: Gleefully drag complaining teenager all over Balboa Park to take pictures before museums open and crowds arrive.

0930:     [Outside San Diego Zoo entrance]

Me: "Are you sure you don’t want to go to the zoo?"

Son: "Positive. I want to see museums." 

       [My heart swells with pride.]

1000: Botanical Building. Orchids and ferns. Feels like Hawaii.

1030: Museum of Man. “Would you like two tickets to the Torture Exhibit also?” Why, of course!

1032:     [Inside Italian Torture Exhibit]

Me: Ewwwwww.

Son: Yawn

1100: [Inside Museum of Man] Real Egyptian mummies.

1129: Son: “I’M STARVING.”

1130: Lunch at The Prado!

1215: Museum of Photographic Arts. MOPA’s International Pictures of the Year on display. I am moved to tears.

1315: Point out to son that the Model Railroad Museum is downstairs from MOPA… “Two tickets, please.”

1316: Regret not buying all-day, multi-museum pass.

1330: Can’t stop talking about the amazing attention to detail at the Model Train Museum. Buy tee-shirt for hubby.

1345: Discover Sculpture Garden is under construction.

1350: Have impromptu talk with teenager about First Amendment rights after watching protesters on the Prado.

1400: San Diego Museum of Art. Antiquities. Arnold Newman display. A smattering of Impressionists. Teenager fading quickly.

1505: Drink coffee while listening to saxophone street musician and watching people splash around Bea Evenson Fountain.

1520: Son: “Are we going? Are we going now? Is it this way?”

1530: Taxi to airport.

1730: Teenage son asleep on my shoulder as we fly home. Best part of day.


Have you visited Balboa Park or San Diego?
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All photos by Terrisa Meeks

Weekend Adventures In & Around Las Vegas

At the end of July, my family and I had no vacation plans. And no plans to make vacation plans.

Instead, we focused on maximizing our August weekends.

We rode Lee Canyon's scenic skilift ride. 

Oh yes, there's a story about the ski lift ride.

We checked out the Vegas StrEATS food truck festival in Downtown Las Vegas.

Vegas StrEATS is fun, but why can't we have tables at a food truck festival?

My son and I took a daycation to Balboa Park, the historic, beautiful, museum-filled San Diego park.

California Tower and Alcazar Garden 

We've been off-roading, to the movies, and out to eat (I love restaurants), and my son and I even snuck in an afternoon at the bookstore.

There's only one thing I miss about taking a traditional vacation: room service. If we could work that out, I'd be very happy. 

#

Have you taken a vacation or a daycation this summer? 

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All pictures by Terrisa Meeks. (You can see more of my San Diego, Mt. Charleston, and Vegas StrEATS pictures on my flickr page.)

Riding the Scenic Chairlift Ride in Lee Canyon

Earlier this month, my son and I rode the scenic chairlift ride in Lee Canyon.  Surprisingly, it was kinda scary.

When we arrived on a Saturday afternoon at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort, we marched directly to the ticket office, got our tickets ($10 each), and got on the ski lift. No stopping for food or a bathroom break. 

That’s how we ended up about fifty feet in the air on a swingy little seat (with no seat belt) before we really considered everything involved in a scenic chairlift ride.  

“What were we thinking?” my son asked as we moved herky-jerky up the mountain, stopping occasionally, our chair swaying back and forth unpleasantly.

We both had death grips on the metal frame around the seat. “There’s no reason for us to be scared,” we both said (repeatedly), which did absolutely no good.

The unexpected stops were very uncool. (Son: “Don’t look down.” Me: “Too late.”)

Happy people passing us on the other side were swinging their legs and moving around freely, like they were totally unafraid of falling to their deaths.

Over on our side, we were desperately attempting to find the ends of the flimsy nylon rope we had discovered tied to each side of the seat—one side ended with a carabiner, and the other side had a loop. It appeared to be for cosmetic purposes only.

“I’d prefer a five-point harness,” my son said, after we hooked the useless rope together.

We agreed that our mutual fear was totally unfounded. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the gentle ride. It was like being scared of a Ferris Wheel. We laughed as we discussed the fact that our fingers were probably embedded into the metal frame around us.

At the top of the lift, we got off and walked around the rocky hillside.

“It’ll be better going down,” we agreed.

Not really.

The drop-off as you start downhill is pretty steep, but we agreed that it wasn’t the height that was scary: it was gentle, tummy-tickling rocking back and forth of the chair that got us.

About two-thirds of the way down, we started to relax. Slightly. The view is incredible, and although I could use only one hand (the other was immovably attached to the metal frame), I got some good pictures of the canyon and the resort before gratefully stepping off the swing at the bottom.

Next time, it’ll be better, I’m sure.

How do you feel about chairlift rides?

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All photos by Terrisa Meeks.

Las Vegas Flash Floods

People are shocked to find out that it floods when it rains in Vegas. 

This weekend I was on my way home from the store when I saw a bunch of people looking at the rising water in this flood channel. 

One minute later (literally--I checked the time stamp on the pictures), it looked like this.

Before the flood control channels and retention basins were built, this is what Las Vegas streets looked like whenever it rained. (And despite all that flood control, the streets still wind up looking like this sometimes--or worse.) People think I'm exaggerating when I tell them that for years, people just didn't go out when it rained. I'm not. 

Today, not a bit of yesterday's flash flood river remains.

I called this area Olive Tree Rapids.

Today, it looked like this:

Did you see any flash flooding this weekend?

Update, 08-31-13: During August, Las Vegas had a series of Monsoon-related flash floods. Last week, the Northwest/Centennial Hills area was hit especially hard (see this TWC post for pictures). Even as I update this post, another storm is moving in. 

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All pictures by Terrisa Meeks

Summer Storm Season in Las Vegas

On Friday, the 2013 Monsoon Season announced its arrival in Las Vegas with a spectacular lightning show.

The view from my backyard was dynamite.

Did you have much rain, wind, or lightning this weekend?

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Pictures by Terrisa Meeks

Is Gramercy a Sign of Changing Times in Vegas?

Is the Ghostification of Las Vegas Over?

First, we had the Manhattanization of Las Vegas, when hi-rises sprouted all along the Strip.

Then the Great Recession hit, and the building boom halted, leaving the shells of unfinished buildings all over the Las Vegas valley. Add in thousands of vacant homes, and you have the ghostification of Las Vegas.

But could we be moving on to a new (unnamed but hopefully better) era?

Manhattan West, abandoned in mid-construction in 2008, is now slated to be Gramercy, with construction scheduled to start in fall. It’s one of a few projects, like the Shoppes at Summerlin and the Echelon (now Resorts World Las Vegas) that are getting new hopes as the economy tries to gain traction.

What’s next, SoHo-ization? That’s my vote.

What do you think Vegas' next era will be? 

Update, March 17, 2014:
Construction has finally resumed on this project & the plans for it look pretty ambitious:
http://www.vegasinc.com/business/real-estate/2014/mar/03/construction-restarts-mixed-use-gramercy-project/

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Sources:

Vegas Inc. articles on Grammercy, Summerlin Shoppes, and Resorts World Las Vegas

Picture by Terrisa Meeks

Las Vegas Techie Problems: We’d Like Two Fry’s, Please

The lone Fry’s in town is a techie Mecca, and nearly as hard to get to as the actual Holy City.

If you are a techie (or live or work with one), you know that the only acceptable big electronics store in Las Vegas is Fry’s.

You might know that while a second Fry’s is allegedly in the works for a vacant space in Boca Park (the old Great Indoors space), there’s been no sign of an imminent opening at the proposed new store.

This means that when my 15-year-old Techie needs something, we have to drive across town. And because it takes a long time (“long time” being more than 10 minutes) to get there, we have to go on the weekend.

A trek to Fry’s from my house requires checking the gas tank and planning for lunch. For me, just being showered and presentable on the weekend is a major achievement.

Last weekend, my Fry’s adventure started out like it always does, with me finding out that I still don’t know the best way to exit the 215 to get to the store. I only had to make one U-turn, though, which is pretty good.

On previous expeditions, I’ve almost been in Henderson before realizing the store was several miles in back of me. It’s completely unclear which exit to take. I’m just trying a different exit each time we go to see which one lands me closest to the store. Eventually, I’ll figure it out.

At least I now no longer miss the fly-over turn from Las Vegas Boulevard into the store’s parking lot when I’m driving in from south of the store (where I usually wind up after one of my usual detours). The first time I was presented with a freeway on-ramp style fly-over rising from the middle of the street, I thought, “No way, there can’t be a fly-over exit into a shopping center,” but I was wrong. 

Once you get into Fry’s, it’s easy to forget about the long drive and convoluted entrance. They employ friendly, knowledge people who can answer my kid’s most arcane questions.

There is one thing I like about Fry’s current location: the i ♥ burgers restaurant in Town Square. (Like I said, you have to plan for lunch.)

Update:
12/6/13: The Las Vegas RJ says that the Boca Park Fry's is still a year away:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/frys-electronics-still-least-year-away-boca-park-site

Are you a Fry’s fan?
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Photos by Terrisa Meeks