A Very Vegas Christmas – Christmas Eve!

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Need to get caught up on the story?  Click here: My Birthday

On Christmas Eve, our first morning in Vegas, I woke up (per normal) exceptionally early and proceeded to hide out in the bathroom while Chris continued to sleep.  Thankfully, the bathroom in our room at Aria was spacious and lovely, boasting both a full sized tub AND a rainfall shower head (it also had one of those super magnified makeup mirrors, great for plucking eyebrows – hooray).  I had plenty of things to keep me occupied!  Eventually, Chris woke up and we headed out to breakfast at the Aria Café, to use another resort credit and the voucher for two free breakfast drinks I’d previously acquired.  Breakfast was pretty darn good, and the café itself is a lovely place to sit and dine – quiet, overall, with a view of the back entrance to the casino and the sculptures there.

After breakfast, it was out to the car to drive toward the western fringes of the city and visit Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.  A group called Calico Racing runs a half and full marathon out at Red Rock each year, and we’ve always thought about doing it; in all of the times we’ve been to Vegas, we’d never made it to Red Rock, but made sure to do so this time.  Truly, we were not disappointed, as it was gorgeous!

Our first stop inside the area was the Visitor’s Center, where we wandered through several different displays and took some shots with the stunning backdrop.


Warning: engineering in progress



So pretty!


Look out below!

We also grabbed a map, so we could figure out a good place for hiking, given our level of interest and ability at that very moment (read: somewhat impaired by our activities the evening before). 


Chris studies the map…


…while I take pictures of Joshua trees!

After viewing the options, we settled on the trail to Ice Box Canyon, the trailhead being a little more than halfway around the scenic driving loop.  We started around the loop, stopping at the various parking lots around the park.  The scenery was just amazing, and several other families and travelers were enjoying the gorgeous weather too, as well as hikers and even rock climbers!

Some random shots from around the park:





Eventually, we reached the trailhead and parked the car for a short hike.  The elevation in Vegas itself is around 2000 feet, and you slowly climb as you head to Red Rock, with the Visitor’s Center being around 3700 feet.  The highest point on the scenic drive is almost 4600 feet, and our hiking area ranged from 4200-4400 as we meandered along.  We ended up hiking in just past ½ mile and then out the same way, with the entire trip taking us around 45 minutes or so.

Shots from the hike:


Let's go!




Time for stairs!






Blue steel

After the hike, we finished up the scenic drive and headed out of the park, content after spending some time in the fresh air.  We had lunch at a restaurant called Honey Salt, which featured “new American” cuisine and was quite good.  We originally planned to visit Tenaya Creek Brewery as well, but a need for a nap over brews drove us back to the Strip and into bed for a little while.  After the nap, we headed downstairs to Todd English’s PUB for a snack and quick drink (lots of really good stuff on tap there) and then back upstairs to get ready for Christmas Eve dinner.

Wary of our driving adventures the day before, we left the hotel on the early side and of course arrived at our dinner location, Lawry’s the Prime Rib, a good 15 minutes before we could be seated for our reservation time.  This wasn’t a problem, as it gave us ample time to people watch, looking at the adorable kiddos in their Christmas best, and take selfies:


All dressed up!

We settled in for a great meal and Chris indulged in one of the more interesting martinis he’s had:


Mmm…beef olives.

Well satisfied at the conclusion of our meal, we headed back to the hotel for a nightcap and some zzzz’s!

Later!

Amy

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