Off the Editor’s Desk – 3-20-2013
Spending some time in the southwest United States is an experience, to say the least, of how many people are there during the winter. Traffic is horrible, no matter where you drive. That became apparent as we entered Las Vegas on a Tuesday afternoon.
We had called ahead and made reservations at the Golden Nugget in downtown and our Tom-tom lead us right to the front door and the parking ramp for our two-night stay. The Golden Nugget is on Fremont Street and that’s apparently the place to be each evening. The Fremont Street Experience is located here. That is a pedestrian mall and attraction that occupies the western five blocks of the street. The attraction is a barrel-shaped canopy some 90 feet high and about 1500 feet long, which features a light display and music for the enjoyment of the entire crowd. The street also includes two sound stages with free concerts each night. We could see one of those stages front and hear the music from our eighth floor room.
I remember going to Vegas some time ago and finding that eating was accomplished for very little cost. But now, it has gotten very pricey. Breakfast for the two of us in our hotel restaurant set us back some thirty-five bucks, plus tip.
Las Vegas is called the Sin City and visiting Fremont Street at night one can see why. People in lavish costume and dress and some in costumes that do not cover much can be found on the street. Also, several painted live bodies can be found, as shown in the accompanying photo of Will Rogers painted in gold. Most of these exhibits are asking you for a donation with a box or cup in front of them to drop in a buck. There were several who just had their hand out for money, which I felt was just to buy a drink. Several caught my attention, especially war veterans in wheelchairs asking for funds and a young girl with a sign that stated “15 and pregnant”.
But overall I would suggest that if you are heading to “Vegas,” Fremont Street is a must-see.
We left Las Vegas and headed for Mesa, AZ to spend a few days with my sister and husband, Mary and Denny Erpenbach before we headed for a week in Sedona. Again the traffic, six lanes full of vehicles heading for the same place that you want to go. One better make sure you are in the right lane when it is time to exit or you cannot get off the freeways.
We also visited a former Glenwoodite, Gary Jahn who lives in Phoenix before heading north to Sedona.
Out of Sedona as we talked about last week was our tour of the Grand Canyon. We also took a four-hour train ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad out of Clarkdale. That rail was laid to haul copper from the mines at Jerome.
It snowed in Sedona the first night we were there, but by Saturday the temperature topped out at 75. Our last evening there we had the opportunity to take in a reading by Tab Hunter and Joyce DeWitt of “Love Letters”. In this Pulitzer Prize-nominated play, the audience is allowed to see how a childhood crush grows with time, spanning fifty years, into a mature and abiding affection between two people.
After the play we met with Tab Hunter and Joyce DeWitt. If you don’t remember who those two are: DeWitt is most widely known for her starring role in the long running TV hit “Three’s Company”. Dreamy Tab Hunter goes down in the film annuals as one of the hottest teen film idols of the 50’s.
We did find out that we are not related to Joyce, however!
— Carlton