Las Vegas is a city of contrasts, set as it is in a valley surrounded by mountains and lit by neon. Nowhere is the incongruity between the organic and synthetic more conspicuous than Fremont Street, in downtown Las Vegas, and Red Rock Canyon on the western edge of town. Perhaps no two attractions in Southern Nevada offer a more revealing look at the paradox – or are more frequently visited.
If you’re staying here at Tahiti Village, you have the opportunity to see two breathtaking but completely different visual feasts, achieved in two totally different manners, on the very same day. Every Tuesday and Wednesday we depart for Red Rock Canyon in the morning and Fremont Street in the evening. It’s the best way to show you contradictory sides of the same city in as short a timeframe as possible and achieve the most powerful impact.
The tour leaves for Red Rock Canyon at 8 a.m. and can attract upwards of 30 visitors eager for a look at thrusting slabs of sandstone that can disappear in low-lying clouds on overcast days. The 13-mile Scenic Loop cuts an undulating, circuitous route through the canyon, offering unparalleled views of the rocks and desert landscape leading to them. Don’t miss it.
Tuesday and Wednesday night (and Monday nights through October 27) we make three trips (5, 7 and 9 p.m.) to the Fremont Street Experience, a behemoth canopy that runs the length of Glitter Gulch from Main Street to Las Vegas Boulevard. The “Experience” is a series of hourly light and animation displays that appear on the underside of the 90-foot high canopy, which consists of more than 12 million LED lights. If you want to experience both sides of Las Vegas, you’ve hit the jackpot. Please see the concierge to sign up for both tours.