Vegas By Night

Here are a few more highlights from my trip to Las Vegas. The first video is something I was trying to take a picture of--an asparagus tree. I don't know why this is, but I saw probably a dozen green-trunked trees that were definitely asparagus. I got really close to this one and ascertained this. Asparagus doesn't grow like this where I'm from, but it's cool to see.

 

 

This video is just some shadows of people going by. It's just a snapshot of the hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas Strip. Still looks cool.

 

 

 

And one last note on Vegas: I went out there in the first place to go to the Electric Daisy Carnival, the United States' biggest electronic music festival. They wouldn't let attendees bring cameras into the carnival, but I took a cell phone picture of an art installation I spent a lot of time resting under. These are probably 100 feet tall electric daisies with mosaics of mirrors for stems. They lit up at night, too. Most things lit up at night there. Aren't they beautiful?

 

 

Next post: the status of my plants upon my homecoming.

Beautiful, Sunny Las Vegas!

I'm back! My vacation (a trip to Las Vegas for the Electric Daisy Carnival) was a blast. I saw some of my favorite bands live, I learned about the culture of Vegas and desert life, and I got a bit of a tan. But more importantly, I saw a lot of neat plants. We spent quite a bit of time roaming the Strip, and I didn't get to bring my camera for those outings, but I did see a few plants of note.

This is my first view of Las Vegas, taken as soon as we got out of the airport. Already I saw how different the landscape would be from that of my home. By the way, that sign said "LIMO PARKING ONLY." You don't see that much in Missouri.

This is less of a shot of the desert than a mere oddity. This baby rubber plant (which looks like it might be a cutting) was growing right outside the door of our hotel. It seems to be tolerating the heat just fine.

Palm trees are also not common to the Midwest, so it was neat to see them everywhere in Vegas. This one is going to have some trouble when it gets tall enough to hit the overhang.

There were several Lantana plants around Vegas as well. These are present but uncommon in the Midwest, but they obviously can deal with the desert as well. The amount of money in Sin City doesn't hurt, since it has a tremendous water bill but doesn't care.

I believe this bush is a cycad, closely related to pine trees.

I really liked the burnt orange bark on this tree. It definitely belongs in the desert.

These agaves might be the first I've ever seen in person. They're certainly the largest. Seriously, these guys were about four feet tall.

Another palm for your enjoyment. To me it looks rather silly sprouting out of this bush, but what do I know.

These are Opuntia! There are a few cacti like this in the Midwest, but never this big (with the exception of the Eastern Prickly Pear). I wanted to chow down when I saw these, but that would be stealing from the hotel (or the Havana CigarBar), and I didn't have the proper equipment anyway.

More Lantana. These come in some great colors. I was looking them up on the Web one time and saw a picture of a cluster of blooms that faded from pastel pink to bright yellow. This individual is more like a sunset blend.

 

A close-up of the Opuntia.

I can't readily identify this cactus. Cylindropuntia, perhaps? Either way, it's new to me, and I always love discovering new plants.

This palm was the tallest around our hotel. Also, note the completely cloudless sky. It stayed like that almost all week. In addition, George Wallace is a popular dude. We saw his face all around town.

This photograph highlights a peculiarity I was very interested in: these are rosemary bushes. Rosemary grows well in dry soil, so it makes sense that they could thrive in the desert, but these suckers are everywhere! It's great! You walk down the Strip, pass by a fancy restaurant, and all the while you're smelling rosemary because the sidewalk is lined with these bushes. It really improves the overall ambiance of the place. Whoever had that idea was a thinker.

Note the grass here. Note my comment above about Vegas's water bill. I can't even imagine how many zeros are on that thing.

 

I'm not familiar with this bush either. Any ideas on what it is?

A similar bush.

There are a few more sights from Las Vegas that I'd like to share, but that will have to wait. Also, I know this post is really late, but the Internet at my house has been problematic (to say the least). Fortunately, a new company has set up Internet, and it seems to be working better. Hopefully this will not be a problem in the future. Thanks for reading.

Next post: Las Vegas at night.