As soon as I arrived at Las Vegas I knew I had to get cleaned up for my first day of work. Where to get a haircut without dropping sixty bucks ? After searching for "Barbers" as opposed to "Hair Salon" I called Geraldo. He answered the phone with a thick Spanish accent and gave me directions that sounded like Valley View. After a few more phone calls I found him by the "China Building" and inside I discovered my first authentic place in Vegas. A traditional, old barber shop with boys and their Mom's, old men telling stories, cool magazines and a
"mise en scene" that looked like Jean-Pierre Jeunet invented the place. I also got a good haircut cheap, and felt for the first instant that I might like Las Vegas after all.
Red Rocks conservation area is about twenty minutes from the strip and is a great hiking area. Lots of climbers go there to boulkder as the rock cliffs are full of natural handholds. No doubt when the warm weather comes this will be a veritable oven ( although possibly cooler than the city) but right now its perfect. Another surprise about this part of the world, to find such a beautiful natural area so close to the city. 
Inside the Bellagio, after passing the water fountain show , the Cirque de soleil and the Casino, we see this glass encased model of the new city center project. Since I will be writing a lot about this it was an appropriate place to encounter my first view. People gathered around the model with a very interesting fascination and talked about it. Create a buzz? 
While looking around some of the older in town neighborhoods I heard the sound of the Ice Cream truck bell. As a boy, this bell was my first experience of the mnemonic device. click here to read about this phenomenon " Audio Logos "
