Touring Las Vegas’ Desert Landscape with the Kids

In this guest post from Helene Vece, we tour the desert landscape close to Las Vegas with the family, for camping, hiking and natural rock formations as well as some family friendly shows in the city itself.

It has been a year since I moved outside of Las Vegas to the sleepy town of Boulder City, Nevada. When I heard that my family, little ones included, was set to arrive in Vegas for a week, I thought I was more than qualified to play tour guide. I lived in Las Vegas for thirty years and thought I knew everything the city had to offer and more. One week later and my adventure took me to the best-unknown spots that Sin City could offer. I was more amazed than my guests because I had lived there. Las Vegas has this mystique about it. It is a city of legendary tales and also legends that headline! After my week in Las Vegas, I had discovered more about the city from a traveler’s perspective than I did living there. Most notable? That Las Vegas is extremely kid-friendly.

Scenic beauty at Red Rock

The family wanted an affordable and unpopular activity. They didn’t want to be crammed into a smoky casino with tons of other tourists, so we piled into two cars and headed west! Only a half hour away from Las Vegas is a beautiful natural display of amber colored mountains. The road to Red Rock is mostly desert. There are enough people on the road, so don’t expect to feel completely isolated. I had only been to Red Rock once and that was years ago. Now, Red Rock had its own visitor’s center and a drive through route for people who don’t like to hike or have mobility challenges. The route is a total of thirteen miles and well worth the cost – yes, you are charged a small fee per car. The sites are amazing and so are the photo opps. You can pull the car over to the side of the road and take photos with the family and/or with the scenery! The only misgiving of this adventure was the gift shop. Everyone was trying to get into the restroom at once so I advise packing a little patience on this short road trip.

Relaxing in the desert

Our family spent the next couple of days touring Las Vegas’ amazing desert landscape. We stopped at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park. Howard Hughes once owned this 520 acre ranch, which is now opened to the public. We spent the afternoon having a picnic and enjoying the trees, which are over 400 years old! The older children in our group took themselves on a self-guided tour of the ranch house’s interior. There were also plenty of volunteers around to help us figure out what trees and bushes were from what lineage. The ranch is a great way for the family to spend an afternoon without spending a lot of money. The best part is that it is only fifteen miles outside of Las Vegas. Bring a light jacket since the ranch is higher in elevation which made it about ten degrees colder when we arrived at the picnic area.

Native American history

One of the last natural Las Vegas adventures we took was to the Valley of Fire. We spent a night camping here. You are missing out on all Las Vegas has to offer if you don’t stop here. The Valley of Fire boasts 3,000 year-old Indian petroglyphs and it is only 36 dollars to camp per family! Yes, pets are allowed. The Valley of Fire was only an hour drive outside of Vegas. It is exactly 55 miles northeast of Las Vegas via Interstate 15. I am not the world’s greatest camper, but I was excited to see shaded tables, grills, water, and restrooms were readily available. There are numerous natural rock formations at the Valley of Fire. The kids all loved the different stories behind each formation. We picked up a few brochures to guide us from the visitor’s center. I would say the kids loved the White Domes the best. These formations were only a five minute drive from the visitor’s center. We walked, so it took a little longer. I would have to say if you could only chose between Red Rock, Spring Mountain Ranch or the Valley of Fire adventure, go with Valley of Fire. It is so breathtaking! All the kids had a wonderful time – as did the adults!

Classic Las Vegas showmanship

When we did head back to Las Vegas, our group decided to see the Penn and Teller show at The Rio. I was told this would be a great show for little kids. Of course, a ticket salesperson sold me this line. I would say use your own discretion. The show is fantastic. But there are lots of loud noises and the magic duo shoot a prop gun at the end which can be scary. If your children are sensitive and under age eight, I would hold off. The best part of this show (besides the locals discount) was the meet and greet at the end. Penn and Teller patiently stand outside the theatre and sign tickets or take photos with everyone who was at the show. This is a really nice thing for them to do considering another Vegas show charges a hundred dollars per person for the exact same experience!

My Vegas family adventure went on for several more days. I learned about artwork and gluten-free restaurants that I didn’t know existed. I discovered that Las Vegas has many more kid-friendly concessions than I originally thought or knew about, and I found that being a tourist in Sin City (or on the outskirts) is a wonderful thing that can be experienced with family or when visiting solo!

Many thanks for this article to Helene Vece who regularly writes for Vegaskids.info. She has lived in Las Vegas for 35 years, raised her kids in Las Vegas and for the last few years has been taking her grandchildren on daytrips or weekend trips to Las Vegas.

Photo credits: All photos belong to Vegaskids.info

Other family friendly experiences

A short drive around Texas Hill Country
Calgary’s family spirit for fun with the kids
9 cool things we did in Austin, Texas

This guest article is originally published by Heather Cowper at Heatheronhertravels.com - Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

 Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

Our Morocco holiday wardrobe from Zalando – Review and Giveway

In this review and giveaway, you’ll hear how my daughter and I chose our holiday wardrobe for sun and surf in Morocco from online fashion retailer, Zalando, and get the chance to win a £100 Zalando.co.uk voucher.

What Sophie-Anne thought of Zalando

Any trip away deserves a new holiday wardrobe and my trip to Morocco was no different. The Zalando website was easy and enjoyable to browse, with many of my favourite brands such as Nike and Warehouse, as well as some less well-known brands that also offered an array of quality items. Zalando manages to cater for each customer’s desire or price range without losing the variety on offer. By using the helpful slider you can simply refine your choice to a certain item or price range so that you only see what interests you, an experience not found in a shop! In Morocco we were heading for Taghazout, a surfing hot spot so the “Beach & Surf” refining choice was extremely helpful.

Without much trouble I soon found a travel friendly Anna Field Beach bag. The bag was large enough to carry all my beach goodies such as towel, wetsuit and suncream but was able to fold up small enough for me to tuck it away in my luggage. The bag was also sturdy against the boiling sun and had a convenient mobile pocket where sand couldn’t reach. I found it so handy to have a bag where you could take everything you needed for a day trip with ease.

I also selected some big brand Vans trainers which became a dear friend, climbing over rocks on the beach, especially when my feet became too sunburnt for flip flops or sandals. Wearing them while travelling provided a comfy journey – the last thing you want on a long journey is uncomfortable shoes. I was surprised, in fact when the parcel was was delivered swiftly that my shoes were part of the parcel. The parcel was so compact that I thought the shoes might have been forgotten, but a clever packing scheme seemed to be in force at Zalando packing.

I chose the Villa Cleave slim fit jeans due to their pastel colour. Not only had I wanted to get my hand on a pastel pair of jeans for some time but the light colour mean they would not become hot on my legs. In the evening when temperatures had cooled slightly, they were a perfect item. The simple yet stylish design meant I could wear them with most of my wardrobe, a necessity if you are travelling light.

The final item that I chose was a pretty red sundress with a detail back, which glowed due to its vibrant colour. Easy to throw on over a bikini at the beach or wear at supper in the evening, it was extremely versatile. The material was not flimsy at all but was still cool. I wore it on our trip to Paradise Valley, when we swam in waterfalls and pools and it looked especially nice against tanned skin. Overall the Zalando website has much to offer and the clothes I chose were of good quality for not too high a price, with plenty to entice a peckish eye or an avid traveller.

What Heather thought of Zalando

My initial impression of Zalando was that they specialised in young fashion but when I started browsing for myself I noticed the Premium range with some of the brands that I love, such as Orla Kiely and LK Bennett. After that I was rather kicking myself that I’d allowed Sophie-Anne to spend most of our budget on her choices, but I did manage to order a white and blue splash print T-shirt from Vera Moda. It fitted my desire to have something that was loose and easy to throw over a swimsuit and an inexpensive addition to refresh my holiday wardrobe.

Browsing through the Zalando website, I found it easy and intuitive to narrow down the wide selection by brand, colour and price. I love the price slider as it helps you make the most of your budget if you want to buy several fun but inexpensive items for a holiday. After we’d made our purchases, I noticed that my browsing choices had been remembered and I got a couple of follow-up e-mails that featured some of the brands that I’d liked.

Once we made our choice, we also received e-mails keeping us up to date with the progress of our order which arrived within a few days. If something doesn’t fit or suit you there’s also a fuss free returns policy with free returns for up to 30 days, which takes away many of the worries of shopping online. With such a wide selection I know that you’ll find something for your holiday wardrobe, whether you’re a student like Sophie-Anne, wanting to look good on a budget, or a mum like me wanting to look stylish on holiday (and hopefully not outshone by her daughter).

What we chose from Zalando

Because the Zalando ranges change seasonally, I’ve just included product codes that you can search for, rather than links to the items.

Anna Field Tote Bag in White £19 AN651A023-003
Villa Cleave Slim Fit Jeans in Turquoise £29 V1021A01Y-608
Vans Trainers in white £40 VA2-uza-0212-02
Even & Odd Cocktail/Party Dress in Red £14 (Previously £34) EV421C01B-302
Vero Moda Arty Print T-shirt in White £21 VE121D0CS-501

Our Zalando Giveaway

Zalando have kindly given us a £100 voucher to give away to one of our readers. The voucher can be used to purchase anything you like from the Zalando.co.uk website (subject to availability). The voucher will be valid for 3 months from the end of the giveaway. Please note that this giveaway is only open to UK residents and deliveries are made to a UK address.

This giveaway has now ended – thanks to all who took part.

Congratulations to winner Stan T!

To enter this giveaway please use the Rafflecopter widget below with 4 chances to win;

1. Leave a comment below this post to tell us how you would love to spend your £100 Zalando voucher – are you planning for an upcoming holiday, do you have a big event that you’d like to look your best for? is there a particular brand or look that catches your eye?

To gain additional chances to win you can;

2. Tweet about this giveaway mentioning @Heathercowper and @Zalando_uk in your tweet, for example;

I’d love to choose my holiday wardrobe with the £100 voucher #giveaway @Heathercowper from @Zalando_uk

3. Follow @Heathercowper on Twitter

4. Follow @Zalando_uk on Twitter

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Zalando kindly gave us the clothes mentioned to try out on our Moroccan holiday as well as the voucher for us to give away to one of our readers.

This article by Heather Cowper is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com - Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

 Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

Be adventurous in Argentina – six of the best regions to explore

When it comes to appreciating the great outdoors, there are a multitude of destinations around the world which fit the bill, however, nowhere does it in quite as much style as Argentina. There’s a huge amount to see in this vast country, from waterfalls to wildlife, city streets to gaucho ranches, wine estates to stunning beaches. Here’s a low-down on the very best places for adventure in Argentina.

Patagonia

For some adventurous souls, Argentina’s southern state of Patagonia is the jumping off point for cruises to Antarctica. But there’s a lot more to this beautiful wilderness. Try heading down to the Los Glaciares National Park – filled with lakes, mountains and quaint local townships – for great treks and ice-walking. Crampon your way up the awe-inspiring Perito Moreno glacier and watch as huge blocks of ice falls away into the ocean as the glacier slowly advances into the water.

The Valdes Peninsula

It’s all about the wildlife in the Valdes Peninsula. Go offshore for some staggering whale-watching and feel the thrill as a humpback whale swims beneath your boat. A tour will also introduce you to some of the other residents of the area: orcas, dolphins, penguins, elephant seals and sea lions.

Mendoza

The kind of adventure on offer in Argentina is more of a gastronomic kind. Indulge in tours of the various wineries and dine at the indulgent in-house cafes and restaurants. Back in town, you can wander through the colonial plazas and leafy streets for a relaxing few days of fun.

The Iguazu Falls

Iguazu Falls is a sight to behold. From the Argentinian side of the falls you can thread your way above, below and through the waters and surrounding jungle on brilliantly designed wooden walkways. Because of this, it is sometimes said that ‘from the Brazilian side you see the falls, and from the Argentinian side you live them’. For a real taste of adventure, take a motorboat up to the very edge of the falling water – be deafened and drenched by the longest stretch of cascading water in the world!

Cordoba

If you’re a huntin’, shootin’, fishin’ kinda gal or guy, you might want to try your hand at dove shooting. Cordoba – Argentina’s second largest city – is one of the best places in the world for this sport. Stay on a ranch for the ultimate experiences and trek, cycle or horse-ride up into the surrounding hills for magnificent views and a lungful of fresh air.

The Lake District

From the city of Bariloche travelers can explore the snow-capped Andes and lakes of this stunning part of the country. There’s plenty of hiking, fishing, golf and horse riding on offer in the area, as well as some glorious spas and luxury hotels. Particularly adventurous types might want to attempt the lake crossing from Bariloche across into Chile – but only if you don’t mind leaving Argentina behind!

This article was brought to you by the luxury travel experts at Exsus, specialists in arranging luxury, bespoke holidays in South and Central America as well as other adventurous destinations around the world.

Photo credits: Perito Moreno by Matito, Peninsula Valdes by Berlotti, Peatonal by betta design, Iguazu Falls by Malingering, Dos Lunas Estancia by longhorndave, and San Carlos de Bariloche by Miradas.com.br.

More tales from South America

South America Backpacking with Indie Travel Podcast
Relax and enjoy the cool lifestyle of Bahia in Brazil
Historic cities, natural beauty and a warm welcome in Colombia

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com - Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

 Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

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