Day 14 - Motorcycle Tour: Hoover Dam & Valley of Fire (17.10.2016)

On the 14th day of our trip, we finally head to the Eaglerider base in Las Vegas so that we can be there right at 9 am when they open their doors.

Here, we have reserved a Harley and want to take a tour with it. We are almost the first ones and get served right away. After sorting out the formalities, we get to choose helmets and jackets from their arsenal. Half-shell helmets are included in the price. Full-face helmets or flip-up helmets cost an additional $7 per day. Jackets also cost an additional $10. Despite this, we decide to take both full-face helmets and motorcycle jackets for safety reasons.

I had actually picked a Harley Davidson Roadking in advance, but there was none available. Therefore, we get a Streetglide, which is a true beast and amazingly well-equipped with entertainment, navigation, cruise control, and saddlebags. In retrospect, I must say that it was the right choice for this day trip, as the cruise control helped me a lot on the freeway.

After a few trial rounds, I set off with my sweetheart as a passenger and have to get on the 6-lane highway right away, which is a challenge for a beginner with an unfamiliar bike. But it's doable, and after three-quarters of an hour, we arrive at Hoover Dam and take our first break here, including a small snack.

Usually, you can see all the photos directly on the dam, but we can't bring ourselves to walk down from the free parking lots in our motorcycle gear and the heat. Therefore, we content ourselves with the pictures from above and the view of the dam, which has very little water due to the prevailing water shortage.

We decide to continue to the Valley of Fire, which turns out to be a mistake as this state park is not included in the National Park Pass. So, we turn around before the park entrance and unfortunately have to take a detour to get back to the rental station in Las Vegas. However, we still manage to get there in time to return the bike before 5 pm. We could have kept it until 9 am the next day, but unfortunately, it doesn't fit into our schedule.

In the evening, we have a very special program. The day before, we bought tickets for the Cirque du Soleil show 'KA' at the MGM from the concierge at the Bellagio, and we got them for a very good price. The price was reduced from $60 to $105 per ticket. So, after the tour, we prepare ourselves at the hotel and head straight to the MGM to have 'all-you-can-eat' buffet dinner. This buffet can only be described as lavish. It has everything you can imagine and in large quantities.

We stuff ourselves and then continue to the theater where the Cirque du Soleil show is supposed to be performed. We have pretty good seats and are very excited to see if we will like the show.

It's hard to put into words. It is simply spectacular and incredibly thrilling. Something is happening in every corner of the theater, both behind you or above you and in front of you. Since we have aisle seats, something even happens right next to you, as acrobats keep running along the aisles and interfering with the action on stage. But the most spectacular thing is the hydraulic stage, which can rotate 360 degrees and move up and down. This gives the performers completely new possibilities to integrate this stage into the show. For example, they climb up a vertical wall using only 'arrows' that come out of the stage.

We highly recommend this show, and if you buy something directly from the concierge, you can even get pretty good tickets at a reasonable price.

We end the evening by the fountains of the Bellagio again and then go to sleep.