These two photos above might look pretty insignificant, but the were actually the reason for the birthplace of one of America's greatest cities. The mound on the left is a sign of water in the otherwise hot and dry desert. Apparently dust and other debris get collected in the spring water, and over time grow high enough to create large mounds usually covered with plants. That's what happened in the photo above, and the source of water is what brought the city of Vegas. I never knew this until my most recent trip, but Las Vegas means the meadows in Spanish.

The area of Las Vegas was once part of Mexico, but following the annex into the United States in 1855, Mormons moved here to try to convert the native population to their religion. Above is the historic Mormon fort built in 1855 which served as a stop over for Mormons traveling between Salt Lake City and San Bernando California. The Mormons had an armed conflict with the US government known as the Utah War which led them to abandon Las Vegas. Above are two photos of the remains of the Mormon Fort, located right in the center of Las Vegas.

Las Vegas has grown to a population of over 500,000 people and before America's great recession, it was one of the fastest growing cities in the county. I know that unemployment remains high in Las Vegas, but when I visited in March 2011 I had trouble finding a hotel and many shows and events were sold out. The above photos show traffic entering Las Vega's strip and some large buildings in the downtown area.

The surrounding photos are of some of the massive casinos in Las Vegasz. Most of these have been around for decades, and almost all come with some unique designs and features. The Ballys hotel on the left opened in 1973 and at the time was the largest hotel in the world. Caesar's Palace hotel on the lower left was opened in 1966 while the Bellagio on the lower right is more recent and opened in the 1990s. I wish I took some more photos from the insides of the hotels, since the inside is even more amazing than what you see here. Many include indoor malls with different themes, such as an indoor venice where you can ride a gondola, others have giant indoor pools and enough entertainment so you dont' have to leave. Rates usually start around $200 a night, and pretty much go up as high as you are willing to pay.

Above are two of the biggest names in Vegas, the world famous magician David Copperfield on the left and a sculpture dedicated to Sigfried & Roy on the right. While David Copperfield still performs and is known for his risk taking and record breaking stunts, Sigfried & Roy's career ended with an accident in 2003. Roy was bitten on the neck by a tiger named Montecore, in which he claims the tiger was actually trying to pick him up and remove him to safety. The incident partially paralized Roy and ended the 'most watched show in Vegas' forever.

Some may know Las Vegas also as Sin City. Many come here with dreams of getting lucky and winning big, but surely there are those who come and risk and lose everything. Something unique about Nevada is that it is the only state in the US where prostitution is legal. From my understanding it's illegal within the city of Las Vegas, so I'm not sure what the point of that ad is on the upper left. Some people who visit Las Vegas simply get bad luck, like the guy on the right who is surrounded by medics. I heard he was hit by a truck when he stepped into the street.

While there are always big names running shows in the city, there seems to be an infinite number of street performers and those simply dressed up along the strip. The transformer guy above either dedicated a year's paycheck to that custome or maybe he is some kind of promotional figure from a new movie. The jester on the right is one of many others you'll come across on the strip.

This seemed kind of random to me, but the museum had a large area dedicated to ancient Egypt. This included some real artifacts and many replicas cush as the sarcophagus above and a king's chair on the right. The museum is much larger than in looks on the outside, and includes an African wildlife section, dinosaur section with some life size models and a geological section.

I wasn't able to find out what either of these plants were exactly. On the left is some type of baby cactus, I think it might be hard to identify because it hasn't really identified itself yet. I'm also unsure of the plant on the right, I'm not sure if that random bush growing in one of the branches is actually part of the tree, or some other plant that came in and took over since it only appears in one area.