This was the first in what would become a tradition of spring break trips which would temporarily free us from the drudgery of March in Oregon by taking us to warmer, sunnier climes to the south. Our trip would begin in Las Vegas, continue in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, then Joshua Tree National Park, and, finally, Death Valley National Park.

This is not Vegas but we're on our way. We spent the first night in Winnemucca at the ironically named Winners Hotel and Casino. Yes, that’s right: penny slots. Draw your own conclusions.

Darla was less than pleased with having to drag Lewis through the smoke-filled casino to get to our room. She was concerned that Lewis would end up smelling like smoke. As it turned out, it didn’t really matter. Our non-smoking room smelled like smoke too. “Do not let him touch anything,” she commanded.

The room was actually pretty clean despite the smell of smoke.

I’ve always liked old hotels and motels. Staying in them is like stepping back through time – in this case I’d say to the 1970’s. The price of our room was also very 70’s: $25, tax included.

The Boy figured if I was taking a photograph of the bathroom there must be something worth discovering in it. The Mom brought his adventure to a quick end.

We had arrived late the day before and were on our way early this morning so our exposure to Winnemucca was brief. Next stop: Las Vegas.

We made great time between Winnemucca and Las Vegas. As a result, we were checked into our room, unpacked, and out on the strip by 5:00pm. It took less than an hour to get kicked out of our first casino. When it came to gaming, Vegas casinos definitely seemed a bit anti-toddler. As a result, The Boy never got the chance to play his first slot. ;)

Neither Darla nor I gamble so we would only be in Las Vegas for one night – just long enough to walk down the strip after dark and enjoy the spectacle. Lewis rode contentedly in his stroller but didn’t offer much of a reaction to all the lights and colors.

The fountains at the Bellagio were a different story. They are the one thing on our to-do list whenever we pass through Vegas. The Boy seemed to agree. He liked the water show.

Having never been inside the Bellagio before, we wandered in to discover this homage to Monet’s gardens at Giverny. There was even a small butterfly garden.

The Boy happily served the role of the garden gnome that is, in this case, transported all over the strip to be photographed at various well-known Vegas icons – here, the Coca-Cola Store…

…and the M&M Store.

When it came time to eat, we discovered that wandering into a restaurant for a quick bite was not really an option. My first choice, P.F. Chang’s, had a waiting list of over an hour. We ended up at La Salsa Cantina, an unremarkable Mexican restaurant inside the huge Aladdin Hotel Casino complex. Aladdin had been under construction the last time we were in Las Vegas so we were happy for the opportunity to look around.

We had to wait a half hour to be seated at La Salsa, during which time The Boy decided to check out for the evening. The next time he would be awake, we would be on our way to my favorite patch of desert anywhere: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, on the Arizona-Mexico border.