Christmas in Vegas

I was lucky enough to visit Las Vegas, Nevada at Christmas time. These are the beautiful decorations at the Bellagio Hotel. They change this room to match the season and many of the decorations are made of flowers.

The Bellagio is known for its choreographed show of dancing water, music and lights on their 8-acre lake.

We took a side trip 35 miles south of Las Vegas to tour Hoover Dam. Named after America's 31st President Herbert Hoover, it is the highest concrete dam in the Western Hemisphere at 725 feet above the Colorado River. It has 17 generators producing 4 billion kilowatts of electricity a year.

From the dam is a view of Lake Mead, the country's largest man-made reservoir. The lake can store up to 9.2 trillion gallons of water.

Just completed in October 2010, the 1,900-foot-long Mike O'Callahan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge was built to reduce traffic flow and to protect the Dam, Lake Mead, and the Colorado River from hazardous spills or explosions.

It was built 1,500 feet south of Hoover Dam and includes the longest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. It provides a crossing of the Colorado River linking the states of Nevada and Arizona.

What a great way to end the year. A beautiful hotel, spa, shopping, a little gambling at the slots, a few shows, and some sightseeing.

                                                     Audrey