Las Vegas Part 1

We just got back from our family vacation to Las Vegas- and we are exhausted!

Allen and I went on our first vacation to Las Vegas years ago, and it’s always been such a simple trip for us. By now, we have our favorite restaurants and places that we go to, and we spend most of our time away from the Strip. We much prefer hiking in the mountains and National Parks versus the crowded streets.

Last year, we made our first family trip there. I know most people don’t think “family vacation” when they think of Vegas, but there really are family friendly areas, and our son loves it there. We brought my stepdaughter after she turned 21, and it had plenty for all of our kids to do- from the new adult to the teenager to the young kid. It was actually Everett’s request to go back to Vegas that spurred this trip.

When we arrived this time, I thought to myself that I’m starting to be less impressed by the area, and maybe it’s time to plan different vacations. We already have a few other areas lined up to see, but by the end of our trip, I didn’t want to leave, which is always how we feel after spending time there.

We went over the Fourth of July week, and how Vegas does July 4th was the first thing to change my mind about coming back. Because of the recent events all over America- shootings on Fremont Street and at celebrations throughout the States- we decided viewing the fireworks from Caesar’s Palace might not be the best place to be, with large crowds making for an easy target.

Instead, we went to Red Rock Casino, who put on an excellent show just after dark. It was windy enough that cancellations were a concern, and you could see a few fireworks that were a little low. But overall, the fireworks were amazing! They did an awesome job, and many areas around the city were going off at the same time, so if you were up high enough, you could see fireworks in every direction!

I, per usual, forgot half the equipment that I needed to take epic photographs. Using a tripod is pretty essential to taking long exposures, but I think I did pretty well without it!

As we made our way back to our hotel, we got an epic view of the city. I always love seeing the glittering lights at night, but on July 4th, that view became so much better. All above the city lights, fireworks were exploding with flashes of color and sparkle. We couldn’t decide which direction to look in, so we just drove around the city. They made fireworks legal until midnight, so these weren’t professional displays, they were families in the streets creating their own shows. We saw so many families out in the streets, dancing and playing with sparklers as the fireworks burst over their heads. It gave off major “Sandlot” vibes and it was so fun to just drive around and see the little celebrations going on. I wasn’t able to get a good picture of the city lights with the fireworks overhead, but this is definitely a trip we could take again to see the celebration.

I’ll be writing about the other reason we love going to Vegas- the mountains! -soon, but until then, check out these epic fireworks pictures, and my Society6 and Redbubble shops to see how you can bring the celebration to your house!

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I like to play around with my camera, especially when fire and light are involved! So I took a few images where I used intentional movement and created a few abstract pieces of artwork as well!

I have two photographs in loaded into my Socitey6 and Redbubble shops on over 100 items- check them our here and let me know if there’s anything else you want see added!

Thanks for reading!

~Carissa