Opening Day at Lagoon

It's opening day at Lagoon.  I already bought my season pass season and thought it would be a fun afternoon to go earlier than I have ever been to Utah's favorite amusement park.  Going to Lagoon in March seems incomprehensible but it was most certainly open on Saturday.  It is, after all, Easter weekend which is when Lagoon now opens.

My first order of business was lunch at Culver's.

                             I got two photos of the same clouds, one with Culver's in forefront.

                                                           It was then on to Lagoon

Approaching 600 North Exist

 

Lagoon Exit in Farmington

Parking Lot shot

Passing by the wooden roller coaster on my way into Lagoon.  The cloud looked like it was trying to imitate both roller coasters.

A long line of people waiting to get their season pass.

One thing I'm not used to seeing at Lagoon is trees with no leaves.  The parked looked naked.

Lunch at Mo Bettah's

Mo Bettah's is my favorite Hawaiian restaurant.  There are three of them in Utah and they are all locally owned.  Today, I had their steak and chicken plate which is what I usually get.  It was unusually busy at 3:00 p.m.  There were a few police officers having lunch as well as a couple guys in know from work.

 I couldn't get a good cloud shot with the store but I did get one I liked by turning about 30 degrees South East.  The cloud hovering Twin Peaks sort of looks like a big Millennium Falcon.

I stopped over at City Creek Mall for a quick walk before work.  There was a nice looking woman playing piano and singing songs.  I wish I could have stayed and listened to more but I almost running late for work by the time I ran discovered her performance.

 

Heading south to work on 1-15.  I think there were some other nice photo opportunities today but I just didn't have the location.

 

The first day back from my trip.

My first day back from Las Vegas, I opted for a Cobb Salad.  I probably put on 7 pounds during my Vegas run so it was time to go healthy for a few weeks.     They clouds were healthy and fluffy.  It was a another good day in Utah for cloud hunting.  The following cloud shots were taken in the on my way to the Village Inn.

 After feasting on my Cobb salad, I stopped in the Village Inn Parking lot and got some more photos.

I had to go back home to get some things before work.   The sky was caked with thick clouds.

 The best shots of the day were taken in the Walmart parking lot.  It looked as if a portal of heaven was opening up in the Western sky.  I couldn't decide which one a liked the most so I'm publishing all of them.

The drive back home.

I walked out of my room at Terrible's right at 11:00 a.m. and headed over to Fry's.  We don't have a Fry's in Utah so stopping by the one in Las Vegas is typically mandatory on my Las Vegas trips.  The store is always a welcome site.

One of the things I enjoy about the Las Vegas Fry's is the huge black and white photos on the ceiling of the old days of Las Vegas.

This is probably my favorite one.

I remember the Heldorado parade when I was growing up in Las Vegas.  I really enjoyed it.  The two kids in this 1949 photo were obviously enjoying it, too.



This probably is going to sound odd but the main reason I go to Fry's isn't for all the cool tech gizmos.  It's for these.

 Macadamia Nuts can be found in any grocery store but not honey roasted Macadamia nuts.  As you can see, they are a bit pricy but they are well worth it.  I haven't yet found a place in Utah that sells them but I am still looking.

Stopped at Cravings at the Mirage.  Cravings is currently my favorite Las Vegas buffet.

I had some great prime rib along with french toast and eggs Benedict.  Then I was on my way.  The clouds were wonderful.  I was considerably blessed trip when it comes to clouds.

About 40 miles from Las Vegas, I-15 passes through the Moapa Indian reservation.  Right off the exit, the local tribe owns a truck stop/casino/C store/........and several other things.

They sell the kinds of things you would expect on an Indian Reservation....Liquor, cigarette's....but for me the main attraction in the Fireworks.

There is no storage place for the fireworks during the off season.  They're already in the storage space.  They are on the floor year round and can be purchased when you feel the need for a fire cracker.  I have been in here in July and they do stay pretty busy.

Before taking off I took a few photos of the Indian reservation land.  I couldn't walk any further than this or I'd be trespassing on Indian land.  But they did have some good clouds.

 I had a short layover in Mesquite.   I pulled into the Casablanca for a pit stop.

 

 I got back on the road and was ready for another drive through the Virgin river gorge.  I took a few more pictures.  Notice how they had to blast out a path right through the mountains to make the freeway.

If you can imagine how things looked before they built the freeway, one begins to realize that there is no car that should ever be there.

I pulled into St. George and walked around the Barnes and Noble at their mall.   My last taste of civilization for another 300 miles.

These photos were taken not far from St. George.  I looked to the east and saw some beautiful desert mountains being complimented by equally beautiful streaking clouds.  I pulled my car over and stepped out to take the shots. 

This was the last photo I took on the trip. 

It's just a little mound that the freeway goes winds around.  There's nothing special about the photo except that it really was the last photo I took.  It was getting dark and I was plain tired of taking photos.  I arrived home at 1:00 a.m.

My night walk on the strip.

I got back to my hotel at around 8:00 p.m.  I laid down and watched O'reilly Factor while I rested for an hour.  Then it was time to do a walk on the strip and see what kind of amusement I could find.  It didn't take long

 

The former American Idol winner, Taylor Hicks, was performing at Napoleons at the Paris.  He just wrapped up  his show and was outside meeting people and signing autographs.

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I began walking North and ran into a little surprise when I walked by Bill's Gamblin Hall.

I was on the strip only a few months ago and everything looked fine at Bill's.  Now it's gutted.  I don't know much about Bill's except that it's a good place to take a short cut when I'm walking north and it's cold.  I'm sure it won't take long before it's back up and humming.  That's how things go in Las Vegas.  Here today, gone tomorrow and back the next.

I walked through Harrah's and spent a few minutes listening to the babes playing in the dueling piano bar.  The time on the strip was 12:30 a.m.

 Moving on to the Venetian.    I wasn't finding too much there until I walked out onto the veranda. Something was definitely going on.  They were filming. 

 

I didn't know what was being shot but it all seemed worthy of an investigation.  The man with the camera is pointing it at the people down below.

I snooped around for  awhile to see if I could get the info on what they were filming.

I learned that the lady in the purple sweater is the director. Here's a few photos of her directing people for the next take.

I found out from her that they were filming a commercial for Las Vegas.  She also said it would only be shown in Europe so we wouldn't even get to see it.  Bummer.

None of the people below were actors.  They were extras that were randomly pulled off the street.  It was a chance for all of them to have a good 15 minutes of fame.  By this time, it was 1:30 a.m.  I swear, this city never sleeps.  But it was getting late.  I headed back to my place and hit the hay.  In the morning I would be driving back to Utah.