Vegas Assistant

[Travis Butler]

Last week I went to Vegas for a few days... to help out a friend who needed some tech support stuff done, and who's also been dealing with health issues. But since they weren't getting up and around until 1 PM, I had the mornings to myself, and did a little photo work...

First day was the desert garden at Ethel M's.


20250925-SDIM7855 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, Hexanon 40/1.8

Ethel M is the premium chocolate brand of M&M Mars, and for some reason they put one of their major factories in the middle of a blazing desert. But they leaned into it by putting a large desert garden onto the factory grounds, so credit for that!


20250925-SDIM7858 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250925-SDIM7866 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250925-SDIM7873 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

For some reason, they were wrapping Christmas lights on many of the cacti. Christmas isn't for another three months! I suppose it could be for Halloween, but some of them looked like the wrong colors to fit.

 

[Travis Butler]

20250925-SDIM7888 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, Hexanon 28/3.5 (7-element)


20250925-SDIM7893 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250925-SDIM7910 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The factory is on one of the major flight paths for the Vegas airport, so there were a lot of overflights.


20250925-SDIM7904 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250925-SDIM7908 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Cocoa Way, Agave Alley, Prickly Pear Parkway, Cactus Garden Cafe... and the Tasting Room. ^^;;

 

[CharlesH]

Nice Vegas pictures. I really like the city, especially out to the west near the mountains. I hope you friend does okay.

 

[Travis Butler]

Nice Vegas pictures. I really like the city, especially out to the west near the mountains. I hope you friend does okay.

There’s a lot of pics to come. Four major morning expeditions- the desert garden, up and down the Strip monorail, Red Rock, and the Atomic Testing Museum.

 

[Travis Butler]

20250925-SDIM7916 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
TTArtisan 11mm fisheye


20250925-SDIM7929 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250925-SDIM7934 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250925-SDIM7941 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250925-SDIM7945 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250925-SDIM7946 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250925-SDIM7964 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

 

[Travis Butler]

And the stuff people usually think of with Vegas... the monorail and the Strip.


20250926-SDIM7979 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Hexanon 40/1.8


20250926-SDIM7989 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Minolta MD 35-70/3.5 Macro


20250926-SDIM7997 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250926-SDIM8000 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Poor Circus Circus... some other company built a cheap junk building blocking their sign from the north.


20250926-SDIM8008 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
At least it still looks good from the front.


20250926-SDIM8003 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250926-SDIM8009 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250926-SDIM8014 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
And one of the most blatant bits of Vegas fakery... the MGM lion looking over New York, New York casino.


20250926-SDIM8020 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

 

[Travis Butler]

On to Red Rock Canyon!


20250927-SDIM8047 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, MD 35-70/3.5 Macro

Much of the rock in the area consists of petrified sand dunes, accounting for the almost organic look.


20250927-SDIM8049 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

And a zoom-in on the lower-right corner for scale!


20250927-SDIM8059 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

I love all the colors, especially when the sky cooperated; lots of clouds to provide visual interest.


20250927-SDIM8071 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Again, lovely colors, especially when combined with the organic shape of the rocks.


20250927-SDIM8079 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250927-SDIM8144 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
TTArtisans 11mm fisheye

Entrance to the Calico Hills trail from the first Calico parking area.

 

[Travis Butler]

On to the Turtlehead Mountain stop...


20250927-SDIM8152 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
MD 35-70

The mountain itself is in the background; in the foreground, more of the almost-liquid Aztec Sandstone.


20250927-SDIM8153 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Unfortunate flip side of the photogenic clouds, sometimes you got a lot of shadow.


20250927-SDIM8170 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250927-SDIM8174 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

And cropping in for scale again:


20250927-SDIM8174v1.dng by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Note the white pickup truck at bottom-center?


20250927-SDIM8175 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250927-SDIM8179 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Several of the mountains have climbing trails, as well as the hiking trails. Unfortunately, didn't have time for either since I needed to be at my friend's by 1 PM (not that I would have had the energy for climbing anyway).

 

[Travis Butler]

IIRC, this set was at the Red Rock Wash Overlook:


20250927-SDIM8182 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250927-SDIM8183 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250927-SDIM8190 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250927-SDIM8193 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

 

[Pete_W]

Awesome set of photos Travis! The colours and detail are fantastic, the compositions are great.

 

[Travis Butler]

Awesome set of photos Travis! The colours and detail are fantastic, the compositions are great.

Thanks! It was one of those shoots where almost everything comes together for you.

Final stop, Pine Creek Canyon:


20250927-SDIM8197 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250927-SDIM8200 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250927-SDIM8205 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250927-SDIM8209 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250927-SDIM8216 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250927-SDIM8221 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Side note I forgot to mention at an earlier stop:


20250927-SDIM8184 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is approximately horseshoe-shaped, with a one-way 22km scenic road loop shared by cars, bicycles and scooters. Lots of curves! You can see a portion of the road in this picture.

I'd like to go back sometime and rent a bike/scooter instead of driving a car. Cars can only stop and park at designated sites, and there were so many spots I wanted to stop and shoot from - but couldn't.

 

[CharlesH]

Now you’re talking Las Vegas Travis, very nice . I love the desert in the U.S. Southwest.

 

[Travis Butler]

Last set of pics, and this one needs a bit of background. The Atomic Testing Museum (now called the Atomic Museum) is a mix of fascinating and creepy for me.

After World War II, the first atomic tests were done at remote Pacific atolls; but this required a lot of support, time and expense. The powers that be wanted a test site much closer and cheaper to operate in, so they picked the Nevada desert. Which... well, they picked a site less than 100 miles from Vegas. So it's not hard to find pics of mushroom clouds behind Vegas landmarks; in the 50s it was a tourist attraction, of all things.



Then in 1963, the Partial Test Ban Treaty prohibited atmospheric tests, pushing testing underground. And in a way, that left even more of a mark on the landscape; underground explosions carve out caverns, which implode and leave dimples on the landscape. There's several pockmarked stretches in the Nevada desert: https://maps.app.goo.gl/UAt4ArggDnvH2h6u6

Finally, in 1992, the US discontinued all full-scale nuclear testing. In 2005, the Atomic Testing Museum was opened to preserve important artifacts and keep the memory alive as the various events move further and further back into history.


20250928-SDIM8248 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Here, a replica of the Gadget - the first atomic bomb tested at Trinity.


20250928-SDIM8266 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Recreation of Frank H Rogers' office, one of the early Nevada Test Site administrators.


20250928-SDIM8271 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

A look at the cultural impact of the Bomb.


20250928-SDIM8285 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

On the left is the casing for a nuclear artillery shell - yes, they actually made a gun designed to fire atomic bombs. One of the three surviving 'Atomic Annie' cannons is two hours down the road from me, at Fort Riley.


20250928-SDIM8295 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Of possible interest here, a small exhibit on the high-speed photography used to capture tests.


20250928-SDIM8302 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

A look at the bomb shelter craze. For added bonus, the TV set is playing the "Duck and Cover" video.


20250928-SDIM8300 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Moving testing underground meant tunneling. (Someone was having fun with the large cat above the lab window...)


20250928-SDIM8308 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

And tunneling meant drilling.


20250928-SDIM8313 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Fisheye shooting fisheye! This fisheye camera was used to inspect drilled tunnels.


20250928-SDIM8331 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250928-SDIM8340 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Not all the nuclear history involved bombs; this area looked at the NERVA project for creating an atomic rocket engine.


20250928-SDIM8360 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

One thing I appreciated was the look at the early Native American residents of the area...


20250928-SDIM8364 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

...and the miners and settlers who came after.

 

[Travis Butler]

And that's the lot! Full set of pics up on Flickr at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCvP4c