675. Las Vegas, Clark County (NV01)

Oh, Nevada!

Welcome to Disneyland in Hell. The layout of downtown Las Vegas was somewhat bizarre and labyrinthine, reminding me at times of the Lament Configuration (for the horror movie fans among you). Winding, crazy streets lead to other winding, crazy streets, none of which making sense in any shape or form. I was a little surprised I even made it to the courthouse (OK, not really), but it was definitely the courthouse of a large city. I note the comically large Marriage License Bureau sign that’s plainly obvious from here, which was all the funnier because I was parked in front of a wedding chapel to get the shot. Thing is, this is actually the Regional Justice Center.

I believe that this, on the other hand, is where the county is actually run out of. I was also wondering whether or not I even care anymore. I know I did a lot of soul-searching about that back in New Mexico, but that was hundreds of counties ago. These days, I’m coming to the conclusion that I’m really looking for something aligning with the aesthetic I have chosen or at least as near to it as possible. Who even cares other than me? Of course, it’s quite possible that my frustrations were speaking. My flight was delayed so I arrived late, meaning I started everything an hour behind. That wasn’t the real issue though, but I’ll get more into that as the trip progresses. This was not my first time in Las Vegas. Many years ago (about eleven if memory serves) I came here for a work trip, and now I’m back. I didn’t come planning on doing Nevada, but this was the easiest and cheapest place to fly for my actual destination and, since I was here, there was only really one acceptable cache…

Ladies and gentlemen (or however you identify—I don’t mean to be gender assumptive), Welcome to Las Vegas! The (semi-) iconic sign, the most favorited cache in the county, and in the top ten favorited in the country? I’ll take it!

I stayed in town long enough to grab the cache, hit an all-night bodega for some food for the road, and then shot off, past Hoover Dam (which I never got to see, strangely enough), prepared to face the speed limit quirks I would soon find in…