We were in Salt Lake City (Utah) from July to October 2017, the main purpose of this trip to the USA was to have a baby. I should note right away that it was not our first trip to the USA, so I will try to tell almost useful things for those who have some idea about life and life in the USA.
I will also tell you about the birth sometime later (it was great, but not without a force majeure). My first baby was also born in the U.S., also in Salt Lake City.
And now a little about the trip to Las Vegas from Salt Lake City, taking into account the peculiarities of our situation (8 months pregnant, and the child is 5 years old). I will focus specifically on the specifics of the trip in our case, as there were many other girls who flew to Salt Lake to give birth, and many were and will be interested in the issue of leisure time with the "interesting situation" in mind.
Pregnant women, and their husbands and children, you know, also get bored sitting around waiting to give birth, especially if the baby's planned due date is a month away.
Salt Lake City is certainly a pleasant and comfortable city, but there aren't many attractions in the city itself. All the interesting places are scattered throughout the state of Utah and neighboring states. Of course, the first places that come to mind are the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. Here's about Las Vegas.
The distance from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas by the shortest route is about 420 miles, which is about 700 kilometers. Time wise, it's about 7 hours, although the local guys fly much faster than the 65-80 miles allowed (depending on the stretch of road) and if you don't stop for a meal, 5 hours, I'm sure, is absolutely a realistic time. However, although everyone breaks the speed limit, the police don't doze off either. You know, the fines are serious. The cops are sitting in ambushes, and no one will flash their headlights (the whole road is divided by a roadblock, and it's not customary). Locals use for this purpose, special applications in cell phones, where the online marked all the patrols. We did not break, we are not relevant.
The road is beautiful, but boring - on the one hand all the time mountains, on the other plain. It gets interesting only on the border of Utah and Arizona, where you literally drive into the cliffs and drive about 40 miles. When the end of the cliffs - you're almost in Las Vegas.
An important consideration along the way - don't leave too little gas in the tank. There are sections of Utah where there are no towns and gas stations for 50 miles, just the road.
I found it hard to get lost in Las Vegas without a navigator, much less with one. The city is young, the roads are wide, everything is divided into squares, and there are signs at every turn, so it wasn't too hard to find a hotel.
We left the car in the parking lot and did not touch it until departure, although the city, like all the States, is intended primarily for motorists. Pedestrian only a few central streets, the famous monorail, as it turned out, connects only a few central hotels and attractions, and it is difficult to call it a transport, so if you want to go somewhere, then the cab - the main mode of transport.
Given that our goal of the trip is not a game and not a "break away", but rather a tour, we chose a hotel a little away from the noise and without a casino. I will say right away that the choice of hotel (Hilton Grand Vacation Flamingo) were very pleased with the other hotels that we walked around - well, I do not believe that can be quiet and not stink in a hotel, the first floor is a casino and where everyone is constantly smoking.
I will not describe here all the attractions of Las Vegas, we are not all visited, and what we visited, can only evaluate subjectively. So I will give some practical recommendations based on our mix of travelers: m
1. the huge Ferris wheel in the center is interesting. Huge enclosed circular cabin. On the way to the wheel promoters hand out coupons for a discount of $ 10 - a trifle, but nice.
2. The famous dancing fountains "Bellagio" near the casino of the same name - beautiful, but not as cool as promoted. In Dubai, perhaps, the scope is bigger. And another nuance - to see something, you need to take a place at the fountain as soon as the previous show is over, otherwise you won't see anything because of the crowd of observers.
3. The central promenade (called the Strip) - interesting, lots of street entertainment, all sorts of fakirs, magicians, etc. Near the evening there are girls in interesting clothes, inviting them to a show or a strip club or something else.
In principle, it's not very vulgar, but the child was then difficult to explain that real policewomen do not look quite like that :)))
4. Casinos. They are everywhere, going from one to the other and as a non "expert", they all look the same. If you'll be in Las Vegas in the summer, it's easier to move around the casinos, which go from one to another, and any route can be laid through them - at least there is air conditioning, because it's impossible to get a good walk on the street at +40 degrees... Also, if you like to find out some free bonuses, check for promo codes here.
5. Famous shows - Cirque Du Soleil, David Copperfield show, etc. We didn't go to them, because the women selling tickets warned us that it was very, no, VERY loud, and it's strongly not recommended for a woman in labor to go there.