What to do in Vegas when you don't gamble

In a post from last week, I wrote down a few things I wanted to do during our weekend in Las Vegas, but wasn't sure if it could all happen. I'm happy to report that most of it did and then some! Here's a breakdown:

Saturday
During the day we went to Valley of Fire, a really neat state park about an hour outside of Las Vegas. This place was highly recommended to us by my parents. It's a great scenic drive with lots of short-distant hiking trails.

Look how small these people look next to the giant boulders

Later on we had plans to go to Raku, but the only reservation available was at 11 o'clock at night so instead we went to a sushi restaurant called Osaka that was recommended by my mom. We quickly discovered that one of the best parts of Las Vegas lies within the strip malls of Chinatown.

Brandon savoring the moment in our private tatami booth

On the other hand we also came to the realization that one of the worst places in Las Vegas (or on earth for that matter) is the strip. After a trip to Topshop, we thought about getting a margarita and walking down the strip "just cause" but the traffic was so rotten we decided to head to the Fremont district.

I wanted to show Brandon the area because I thought it was so cool how they revitalized downtown and kept all the old casinos. Perhaps it was a terrible night because it was a holiday weekend and Vince Neil was performing live, but what we witnessed was pretty horrifying: a mom forcing her son to do 21 shots, public display of domestic violence (a man violently shaking his wife and screaming at her), and all around people acting like jerks because they are completely anonymous and obliterated. Fortunately Brandon's old friend from college happened to be in the area so we met up with him for a few drinks.
Afterwards we found a terrific ramen shop back in Chinatown and ordered some tonkatsu ramen.

Sunday
We woke up early on this day and headed 2 1/2 hours north stopping by an old ghost town called Caliente. It was once a booming town along the railroad tracks and apparently offers hot springs (hence the name).

After walking around the town, we headed up to Cathedral Gorge State Park, which is completely worth the drive.

There was hardly anyone there, and along the way they have these pull-offs where you can walk inside "moon caves", which if I have this right was originally created by volcanoes, then block faulting that fractured the bedrock, which created a freshwater lake from the rains, then erosion took place from more block faulting that created what you see today.

After that, we drove along Extraterrestrial Highway to Little A'Le'Inn restaurant and hotel. I have no idea why I still fall for tourist traps out in the middle of nowhere because they usually end up a disappointment (i.e. Four Corners, Infant Jesus of Prague). As Brandon put it, "Well, we went there and took the photos so now no one else has to."

It was a long drive back, which meant more Japanese food that night! This time at Ichiza, an izakaya place with great food including kimchi and pork.

Afterwards we stumbled over to a quaint karaoke bar Kapuso Kapamilya, sang a song then went back to the hotel.

Monday
Final day! We spent the entire day by the hotel pool until our 9 o'clock flight. They had barbecue grills, two pools and lots of lounge chairs. The perfect way to wrap up our trip.

Sand-entrance pool

Wowie, that was a long post. If you made it all the way down here, thanks for reading and if you'd like to see more photos, check out my Flickr page.