Vegas: Cloudy Strip Sunset

Living in the desert, one becomes accustomed to seeing vast, open swatches of sky peeling out in all directions because most of the things that grow out there are stubby and low to the ground, including the residential houses, typically sprawling single story things, though more multi-story buildings are popping up more and more as the population grows. Generally speaking, though, once you move away from the teeming heart of the city, things tend to get low and long, creating an unobstructed stretch to the horizon. Even on the Las Vegas Strip proper the city has relatively few skyscrapers, and there's still ample room between the towering monolithic structures to keep that view of the sky wide open. There's a lot of open spaces, a lot of long, empty drives through deserted two-lane roads to escape that insane oasis and the horizon can seem an endless, unreachable stretch. It was only after living in Japan for two years and becoming used to the labyrinthine crisscrossing of electrical wires, the shadows of multi-level apartment buildings and business crowding in from all sides, and the comforting blanket of heavy urbanity that I started to realize how an agoraphobe might feel when trying to step beyond the confines of their nest. The first time I drove upon returning to the United States, a stretch from one small satellite city beyond the borders of Las Vegas metropolitan area to the big city proper, the sheer expansiveness of it all hit me. 

 There remains many open, empty spaces still in this country, patches where humanity has barely impinged, which is both gratitude and horror-inspiring.  When you seek to escape from the oppressive needs and rituals of the city, with their taxes and menial jobs and road rage, these empty, untouched spaces symbolize that freedom you're craving, but if you need help or assistance they can be painfully desolate and empty. Strange, isn't it? The sheer power of perception. The city of Las Vegas is kind of like that, too. It's something different for everyone who visits, and just like finding shapes in the clouds, it's entirely up to your own interpretation what you make of it. The expansiveness of it does allow for some nice views of the sunset, I suppose. All that emptiness has to be good for something, after all. 

Vegas: Cloudy day on the Strip

Las Vegas is nothing if not a city of extremes: popular settlement for Mormons in the early days (and frequently seen riding bikes in their dapper missionary uniform throughout the city to this very day still) and den of hedonistic revelry, debauchery and sin, there's something for everyone! The weather itself follows this pattern of extremity, due in large part to being situated squarely in the midst of one of North America's deserts. Drive beyond the dazzling neon of Las Vegas Boulevard for more than 30 minutes in just about any direction and you'll find yourself gazing into the abyss of sand and stone, the occasional shrubbery or cactus daring to break the monotonous landscape's overarching tone. In some directions you'll notice an increase in the Joshua trees, others the elevation, and some even lead you towards some small reservoirs of water lingering in the lowlands or dripping off a snowmelt in the mountains, where even the pale looming trees keep their sun-bleached eyes on you...as do the coyotes and cougars, from their dens in the dark.  

Of course, the ravenous cougars aren't just limited to the mountains here, so don't let your guard down too much in the city if you're easy prey. In a city of extremes, just like the intensity of the environment that surrounds it, there's a certain degree of toughness needed to survive the long haul. Skin grows thicker, leathery and tanned by the blistering sun that makes it's brilliant presence well known for the vast majority of the year, and when the chill of winter finally does sink into the land it brings a bracing grip with it. As few and far between as they tend to be, any cloudy or otherwise alternate form of weather that brings a break to the endless routine of boiling hot and baking is a welcome respite from the intensity that makes Vegas. People are a little less angry, a little less harried and hostile, when the sun retreats for a little bit and the heat dips back into a reasonable level.  Enjoy it while it lasts! These things have a tendency to blow by as quickly as they appeared, unfortunately. 

Nothing last forever, especially not in a city like Las Vegas that's built on constant evolution. 

Photos kindly taken by Antho!