Does anyone else get the urge to escape?
It’s not necessarily an impulse to vacation, per se. It’s more like an overwhelming boredom with your current location; a NEED to be invigorated by a change of scenery.
I used to get this feeling ALL the time pre-COVID. And I, being the impulsive person that I am, would draft a hasty letter to my boss at the patent office.
hey Sara, I will be out of town this week. Hope you don’t need me ;-p
-Kaya
I’d pack up my car and simply leave. I hardly spent a weekend on my campus in Southeast Ohio during my senior year of college. I was too busy exploring the surrounding states while I could! It’s much harder to escape now that I have a job that relies on my being there in person, and now that I live in Colorado. There is plenty to see here, but it’s at least a two-hour drive in any direction to cross the border. And because of all that, I find myself getting antsy.
A few weeks ago, my three-day weekend coincided with that Frontier “80% off all flights” email. I couldn’t resist. I hopped a plane to Las Vegas.
I spent a lot of my childhood in Vegas with my grandparents, so I must admit that the flashy splendor of the Strip has long since wore off for me. I even did the whole night club- gambling excursion on my 21st and I was just not impressed. Admittedly, my idea of travel usually means engaging with the local culture and spending as little money as possible, and trips to Las Vegas are the exact opposite. The downtown area offers spectacular imitations of every other place in the world: Paris, New York City, Rome, Giza, Venice; all the while offering nothing unique of its own. Each casino is designed to dazzle you with a luxurious façade, then trap you inside a sleazy, expensive escape from reality.
All that said, Vegas has its gems, just like any other city. I had a very pleasant, peaceful trip this last time, so I decided to compile a list of things to do in Vegas that do not involve all-out Bacchanalian chaos.
Plants!
My favorite thing to do on the Las Vegas Strip is free and completely open to the public 24/7. Tucked inside the Bellagio is a conservatory with live plant sculptures that change seasonally. I have visited the conservatory three times in the past eight months, so I have seen three different exhibits; the current exhibit for summer 2021 features a bamboo loft, a sparkling phoenix, and a stunning Daniel Popper statue. I first saw Popper’s work in Tulum, Mexico in 2020 and was positively thrilled to recognize another statue of his.
Performance Arts!
Besides the famous “exotic topless dancers,” there’s quite a diverse entertainment scene in Vegas. Over the years, I’ve seen everything from touring Broadway musicals to intimate comedy shows. By far, my has been Zumanity, the Cirque Du Soleil performance hosted at the New York New York Hotel & Casino. I felt it really represented the spirit of Sin City: an impressive, erotic distraction with a few cheap thrills. If you don’t know me—I did my undergrad in playwriting and dramaturgy. So yeah, this theater history nerd was squealing at Zumanity’s nod to World War II era cabarets.
Eat!
Okay, this one is a little more indulgent, but I’m not talking about the multi-cuisine buffets. Many world-class chefs have restaurants in Vegas, and their portion sizes won’t have you poolside in a food coma. I recently discovered Mon Ami Gabi, a French restaurant inside the Paris (big surprise!) Hotel & Casino on the Strip. We waited just thirty minutes and paid surprisingly reasonable prices to sit on the patio with a perfect view of the Bellagio dancing fountains. They happily accommodated my vegetarian diet by replacing the shrimp in my pasta dish with a bright vegetable medley. Best of all, we had a prime spot for people watching as the sun went down.
Play!
An art collective by the name of AREA15 recently popped up downtown, one mile west of the Strip. This 200,000 square foot warehouse is home to several interactive art exhibits such as 4D movie theaters, mirror mazes, and flight simulators. The most notable of these exhibits is Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart, a truly trippy adventure through a very strange labyrinth of a grocery store. See my article on Immersive Art for my full review of Omega Mart.
Hike!
Las Vegas is set against a backdrop of bare mountains in a stunning array of colors, some reaching to elevations as high as 12,000 feet. If you’re not planning on being too hungover in the mornings, like me, you can hit the trails! It’s best to hike early in the morning or later in the afternoon, as the sun is unforgiving and desert vegetation offer little to no shade cover. I personally love to explore Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, located just 20 minutes west of downtown. Day passes are just $15/ vehicle and you can even hike to some Native American petroglyphs.
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