Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/53603
hawa i i through copper elevator doors and onto polished marble fl oors. The sudden blast of sunlight makes me squint. From the summit of this monolith, I gaze out at another manmade Colorado River mon- ument, the steel and concrete arc of the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which opened in October 2010. Everything is big in Nevada – dreams, landscape and human ingenuity. IT ALL BEGINS AND ENDS ON THE LAS VEGAS Strip, a place that brims with cocksure Nevada attitude. Once again I'm swept along in a current of tourists, past the Bellagio's fountains, and am soon stand- ing inside the Flamingo. An off-duty Elvis impersonator fl irts with a pretty cocktail waitress as I wait in line for the Donny and Marie Osmond show. It seems fi tting to wrap up this tour with an evening of Las Vegas kitsch. I'm soon ushered to my seat, surrounded by ravenous middle-aged women and their sheepish husbands. Honestly, I'm expecting a sad spectacle of washed-up former child stars, so I shrink with Canuck modesty into my seat, trying to blend into the decor. The band strikes up, the curtain draws and out dances the iconic brother-and-sister team looking suspiciously youthful. But surprisingly, instead of feeling smug pity, I am mes- merized by the duo's timeless energy and plucky performance, a mix of self- satirizing humour and seasoned profes- sionalism. They laugh, we laugh. I tap my foot. When Marie implores the crowd to clap in time to A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock and Roll, to my embarrassment I do as I'm told. This is Las Vegas after all, that glittering metropolis in frontier Nevada. Subtle isn't part of the vernacular. AMA MEMBERS SAVE MORE Before you go: Start in Vegas and spend a week exploring the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Dead Horse Point and more. Departs June 6 and October 17, 2012. From US$1,560 per person. 1-866-667-4777, AMATravel.ca. While you're there: Save up to 45% at Blue Man Group shows and 10% at the group's store. Use code AAAUP and show your card at the Venetian. Plus, save 10% on any one-day or shorter Gray Line sightseeing tour and 10% at the Hard Rock Cafe. AMARewards.ca/SearchForDiscounts WESTWORLD >> FEBRUARY 2012 35 al ber t a TO ADVERTISE IN MARKETPLACE, PLEASE CONTACT MICHAEL OLDEWENING AT 604.299.7311 hawa i i al ber t a