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Last week we took a trip to Las Vegas. I got a good deal on a 4 night stay at the brand new Encore Hotel and Casino so we packed our bags and headed for the desert!

We flew out from BOS at 6pm for SFO. After an hour layover in San Francisco we touched down in Vegas early on Sunday morning. Check in was quick and easy and our cases were waiting for us when we got to our room. We had a few problems with the room and after a couple of changes we settled down on the 28th floor in room 2846. The room was fantastic. It was 700 sq/foot with an extra large bathtoom and two story window view of the Las Vegas strip.

Later that morning after a sleep we went to the Wynn buffet for breakfast. It was costly at $77 but featured exceptional food.

We spent the rest of the day walking the strip.

On Monday we hired a car and drove out to Red Rock Canyon. The canyon is 15 miles west of Las Vegas and has a 13 mile scenic loop. The loop is one way which makes it very easy to pull over and take pictures along the way.

After driving the scenic route we headed down route 159 to Spring Mountain Ranch State Park. The park offers a lovely view of Wilson Cliffs near the centre of Red Rock Canyon.

In the evening we saw a couple of shows in town, “Dancing with the Stars” at the Orleans and “Folies Bergère” at the Tropicana. Unfortunately the lady at the ticket office at the Orleans told us the first show only lasted an hour when in fact it lasted three so we had to leave early to see Folies Bergère. Nevertheless both shows were very entertaining.

On Tuesday we had a lovely breakfast at the hotel and headed off to Mount Charleston, a popular getaway for Las Vegans seeking hiking trails and camp sites. We had a nice scenic drive from I-95 to 157, 158 and 156 before hooking back onto I-95. It was weird to see snow out west after travelling over 2000 miles from the winter conditions back in New Hampshire.

Before heading back to the hotel we stopped at the famous Las Vegas sign. They have developed the area since we last went to Vegas to include a car park for easy access to the sign. People were queuing up to take photos of their family and friends. I got a couple of shots before we returned to the Encore hotel.

Our hotel had comped us tickets to Le Reve for our room troubles on the first night. It was a spectacular show! It was by far the best I have seen in Vegas and certainly the best I have seen from Cirque Du Soleil. We had a great time and shall definately see it again on a future visit.

After the show we headed downtown to see the Fremont Street Experience. I last saw Fremont street back in 2001 so was anxious to get back and see some of the famous light shows. Fremont street is north of the strip in downtown Las Vegas.
We stayed for just over an hour and saw two light shows. Very impressive.

On Wednesday we spent a bit of time walking around the hotel before returning to the airport for our direct flight back home. We were hoping for a bump but being the 31st December, everyone was flying to Vegas and not leaving! We touched down back in Boston dead on midnight. After a night in Boston we drove back to the apartment later that morning.

A fantastic trip to Las Vegas and a great end to 2008 and start to 2009!