Different Trails

LAS VEGAS (Day 3 - part 8)

I slowly made my way to the Bellagio.

Wow, the sides of this truck were completely lit up with video commercials!

The Eiffel Tower all lit up

I arrived at the Bellgio just as a fountain show began. Water danced to music.

The musical fountain show opened with the resort in 1998. It uses 1,214 water nozzles which are divided into 4 types:

- oarsmen can shoot water 77 feet high using compressed air at a pressure of up to 500 pounds per square inch.
There are 208 of them, each one capable of moving 140 gallons a minute.

-798 mini-shooters, 100 feet high

- 192 super-shooters, 240 feet high

- 16 extreme-shooters, 460 feet high

The 4,792 lights are choreographed to accompanying music, which is emitted by 183 speakers built into the surrounding lampposts. Everything is controlled by computer programming. It can even take wind into consideration, making alterations so that viewers don't get soaked. The shows use some 12 million gallons per year (remember... desert).

I collected Sean and we headed over to the High Roller.

The 550-foot tall Ferris wheel opened in 2014.

(right) Construction photo. The outer rim is made up of 28 sections like this, each 56 feet long.

Loading into the cabins. The wheel didn't actually stop at any time. Instead we had to hop in as it slowly moved along.

The lights kept changing color.

A screen kept us updated on our time and height, as well as offered many interesting facts.

Speed of revolution: one foot per second
Time to complete one revolution: 28 minutes
Number of cabins: 28
Each cabin weighs approximately 44,000 pounds and has a diameter of 22 feet.
Cabin capacity: 40 people
Passenger cabins are individually rotated by electric motors to smoothly maintain a horizontal cabin floor the entire time.
Illumination: 2,000 LEDs

Up we go!