In November, I spent a few days in Las Vegas, not one of my favorite places, for a Canadian niece’s wedding. In the campy, yet classic, White Chapel, they were married by an Elvis impersonator, a fun choice to experience the eccentricity and glitz of Vegas. I was happy to be their photographer. We didn’t see a show, as I had many times before when visiting a cousin who lived there, instead spent those two evenings at dinner with family.
The themes of many of the massive hotel complexes, with casinos and restaurants, mimic places around the world. Here’s a few highlights of my wanderings along the Strip. I’m not a gambler.
a room in the immersive Arte Museum
The day after the wedding, five of us took a bus tour to Grand Canyon West. I was the only one who had been to the Grand Canyon before, having lived in the west for most of my adult years and hiked in the National Park and along the northern rim. However, I had never been to the west side of the canyon, a shorter drive from Vegas.
The route passed through a Joshua tree forest. I would have liked to get out and wander there.
Hoover Dam, the crossing point between Nevada and Arizona, spans the Colorado River. The white lines show the alarming, dramatic reduction of the river level in these times of drought. Talks are taking place among states the river passes through, to conserve the water that is so essential to life in the Southwest’s agricultural and desert lands.
Grand Canyon West
The north and south views of the Grand Canyon are marked with trails, side canyons, and more variation in the colors of the strata. But it’s also crowded these days, with shuttles from huge parking lots that fill up by noon. The west rim is narrower, but dramatic just the same. It sits on Hualapai Tribal land and is managed and staffed by the tribe. Unfortunately, the artists and craftspeople were not there on a Sunday to sell their wares and talk about their work. There’s a zip line, a helicopter tour, a skywalk, and rafting tours if you have more time and daring.
There are no fences, just a few cautionary signs. It’s a quieter place. It tells a story of the Hualapai and preserves some early structures. Over eons, the Colorado River cut the canyon’s deep gorge in a palette of browns, sun and shadow. Ravens hover and dive into its depths.
In the 1950s, cable cars transported workers to a guano mine on the opposite canyon wall until the cable was broken by a low-flying plane.
Hualapai huts
Thoughts for 2024
At the end of the year, I have often expounded on the state of the world, country, and my life. I’m reluctant to write one of those long posts as we move into 2024. Heart-rending wars and horrifying numbers of needless deaths haunt me, and make me wonder why humans have not been evolving to embrace humanity and show compassion for each other. The impending presidential election may change the face of American democracy, as this country slides to the far right, lies and threats have become common political discourse, Congress is dysfunctional, and the Supreme Court dismantles rights that have advanced in past years. Accelerating species extinction and climate change, disastrously affecting those who least contribute to the problem, is still denied or dismissed by those in powerful positions who only care about their own short-term gains.
I would like to stop worrying about these things in the middle of the night, when dark thoughts become overblown. My big new purchase this year was a plug-in hybrid car; I feel good about taking steps to reduce my footprint on this Earth. I have volunteered to be an election judge, to participate in the process and help to oversee its integrity. Hoping for (although unexpected) some positive turns as we turn over a new year. Sending out wishes for a more peaceful time ahead.
My warmest thanks to those of you who have visited my site and blog, followed or just dropped by, liked, and left comments – I so appreciate you all. May the new year bring you joy and hope.
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Ruth Rosenfeld 
Lovely overview of a portion of the Grand Canyon I have also never visited. Wishing you the best in 2024, Ruth. I too share your concerns, and hope the world can find more compassion, love, and common sense in the coming year.
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Thank you, Diana, for your comment and for sharing your sentiments.
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What a fun adventure! Sadly, I share your concerns and cannot offer words of hope. I do admire your efforts to make this world a better place. Our actions are what we have. With them we are moving closer or away from the darkness.
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I agree, our actions and the need to speak out. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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I almost visited this side of Grand Canyon a few years ago but the amount of people and sideshow turned me off. Glad to see there’s actually some nature and history to see there as well. Here’s hoping that in 2024 the people of this world become more compassionate.
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Fortunately we were there early in the day, before the crowds. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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An interesting place to visit. Happy New Year Ruth. Allan
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Thanks, Allan. Have a good year!
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This region is beautiful and your photos are, as always, breathtaking
I wish you happiness in the year to come.💖
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I always appreciate your comments, Luisa! You are so kind. I wish you happiness as well. ❤
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You’re most welcome, dear Ruth 🎀
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Happy new year, Ruth. All the best.
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Thanks, Neil. I wish you well.
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My niece was married in Vegas 20 years ago. No Elvis though. The West Canyon is very beautiful. Thanks for all of your informative posts and stunning photography. I hope 2024 brings peace and happiness.
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Thanks so much for your kind comment. As you know, doing a blog is a labor of love. Wishing you well for the new year.
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Las Vegas may have been a miss for you, but big congrats to your niece’s wedding there! And it’s true that Las Vegas is the perfect base for trips to the rest of the US Southwest, including the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. It’s all pretty and worth visits (including Joshua Tree!). This year has seen a bunch of incredible and terrible events, but the world moves on and here’s to another year with more hope and good things on the horizon. Happy (early) New Year, and stay safe!
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Keep that optimism going! Thanks for your comment. I wish you a happy and hopeful year.
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I absolutely love the Grand Canyon. The beauty of the ravages of time are elegantly on display there. I’ve also met some pretty cool tourists there. I befriended two families of Japanese tourists a few years ago. We still correspond a few times each year.
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Seeing places slowly carved and sculptured by time does give one a sense of centuries and eons, and our very small slice in it all. It’s always a delight to meet interesting people while traveling. Good for you for staying in touch.
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Well said, Ruth. I share your worries, although I think I’m lucky that my fulltime job keeps my mind busy and distracted lest those worries overtake me. (Despite the fact that I dream of retirement.)
Beautiful pics of the western side of the canyon. I love seeing the native dwellings as well.
As for Vegas, I’m with you, but now that we just saw our first Cirque du Soleil performance, I want to go to one in Vegas (The Beatles LOVE show) some day.
Happy New Year to you!
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You are doing good work – educating young people is so important and hopeful for the future. I saw Cirque one time there and others years ago. That’s the best part of Vegas. Thank you!
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I share all your concerns about the state of the world. Your country isn’t alone in sliding to the right (witness the hysteria here that surrounded the Brexit vote and still mars the debates about immigration). But your photos show that despite our best efforts to spoilt it, it is still an amazingly beautiful world! We visited the Grand Canyon many years ago – the North Rim, which we loved, and the South, which we found a bit too crowded in places. But this west side is new to me and I’m now wondering if we can build it into next year’s road trip. We’re focusing on northern and central California but plan to finish in Las Vegas as a convenient place from which to fly home. I’m definitely going to search out a route that would take this in 🙂
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We’ve followed that Brexit brouhaha from here, and immigration is a controversial issue as well. It is certainly a beautiful world and we need to stop fretting sometimes and breathe and take it in! The west Canyon is a long drive and not as dramatic as where you have seen the Canyon, but I’m glad to have been there. See what works for you… there is so much to see in the American West.
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Thanks for sharing your photos and fears. I have to limit news time because it is so disheartening that our country has grown so ugly and mean and dishonest. The Loser spurred much of this. Too bad he was not taught how to lose graciously when he was a child. All about him. Ugh. Let’s hope for a good new year.
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I get my news online where I can click on the stories that interest me and just see headlines for the rest. Good comment. Despite my worries, I’m ever hopeful.
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Like many in the comments below, I have made the choice to read less news. It terrifies me, and like you keeps me awake at night worrying sometimes. I am so upset for the state of the world.
On a positive note, your Grand Canyon photos are beautiful – and I wish you a very happy New Year!
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Thanks for your comment, Hannah. I don’t usually post my concerns to social media, but feel I need to speak out at least once a year. Wishing you a happy year ahead.
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As a former architect, Las Vegas fascinates me. Buildings like the Luxor, New York New York, and now the Sphere are cutting-edge in their designs and use of technology. Like you I am not a gambler nor a fan of much of anything about the city, but I will always follow the architecture with interest. The photos of the canyon are beautiful, giving the fool-me impression the area is largely undisturbed. I appreciate your candid closing lament, if only for the sort of “to-do list” we should all strive to be a part of heading into a new year. As is my nature, I welcome 2024 with hope.
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The creative architecture in Las Vegas is so fascinating, and I’m sure, especially to you. I always point my camera away from crowds, and often away from people. Sometimes that’s a challenge! Wishing you a happy new year. Although I write my concerns once a year, I am ever hopeful.
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Great captures of many of the main attractions in and around Las Vegas. Wishing you all the best in the New Year.
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Thank you! Wishing you a great year ahead.
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All your photos are glorious Ruth, but the last two are just epic. Your post shows the various facets of our lives. It starts with a happy and hopeful occasion complete with an Elvis priest. It then showcases the beauty of this planet of ours. What a magnificent place the Grand Canyon is. The awe fills me with meaning, hope and connection. Your final thoughts are shared by many as are our wakeful nights. I salute your attempts to make a change and do what you can to improve the sorry state of affair in this world.
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This post turned out to be about many things – I’m glad it appealed to you. Elvis doesn’t do a religious ceremony, I would call him more an officiator than a priest. His speech to the couple was peppered with Elvis song titles. So much fun! Thanks for sharing your comments. I’m afraid my state-of-the-world writings tend toward the depressing, but actually I am ever hopeful, which is why I wanted to end with the raven soaring.
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Ruth, I loved every bit of your post, moving from your observant photos of Vegas to the fabulous landscapes of the GC… what a ride. I share your worries about the future and appreciated your closing thoughts. May the new year bring you creative adventures, happiness and kindness. 🌟
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Thanks so much, Jane, for your comment and sharing your thoughts. I’m ever hopeful for the new year.
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Such stunning photos, Ruth! Grand Canyon National Park stands as an awe-inspiring testament to the geological marvels that have shaped our planet over millions of years, and there’s just something alluring about its unique natural features and otherworldly landscapes.
I love your closing statement, too, Ruth. In a world beset by war, we may wonder: “Is world peace really possible?” The quest for peace seems endless. From Afghanistan to Ukraine, war seems to be in the news almost every day. Rather than finding peace, our world grows more brutal by the minute! But there are also many things we can do daily to make the world a better place to be. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
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It’s hard not to take stunning photos at the Grand Canyon, although this was not in the National Park. I so appreciate your reading and sharing your own comments about the quest for peace in the world. Unfortunately, those more aggressive types are the ones that get themselves into positions of power. Hope this new year is a good one for your, Aiva!
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