Ella visits The Vegas Strip!

Last night Ella finally made it down to The Strip and was amazed by all of the sights! She also found it very interesting to visit where Gildah and I used to live and perform at The Mirage! She had to buy some good walking shoes and a souvineer T-shirt of course! No gambling tonight, too busy sight seeing!!

Up to Mount Charleston!

It was another beautiful day! We drove up to Mount Charleston in the Spring Mountain range. It is west of town and there are actually ski & snowbourd runs on the other side of the mountain from where we were. Most tourists don't even realize there is skiing just an hour N/W of town!
Ella really enjoyed the crisp, pine air, snow & blue sky! Note her little snowman and snow angel!!

Feeling groovy!

Just wanted to assure everyone that Ella is feeling well and went back out into the Mojave desert. Here she is with the Joshua trees. Good thing elephants have tough hides! Tomorrow we will go up into the snowy mountains that you see in the background! This afternoon she just wanted to hang out at the pool again. Is Vegas the only place you find big cactus plants growing by the pool?

The day after!

I went out to clean the pool and found Ellah trying to recover from last nights binge!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ella had a fantastic time tonight at the Irish pub! She really loves that Guinness Stout!! (None of that silly green beer for Ella!) She started with a nice refreshing glass before learning to play video poker. I guess it's beginners luck because in just a few hands, she hit a Royal Flush! Then she ordered a round of drinks for everyone! She soon moved on to guzzling Guinness by the bucket full! This eventually led to her sucking beer right from the tap! She actually won the drinking contest!
I should have anticipated this. You may not know that elephants actually do love beer! In fact, in the wild, they will gorge on fermented fruit until they are tipsy! Sometimes trampling villages afterwards! Luckily Ella isn't a mean drunk!
I think she will be sleeping in tomorrow! Hope you enjoy the following photos!

Feeling Green!

Update

Sorry that I haven't gotten anymore pics posted. I have been one of the volunteers with Extreme Makeover Home Edition that is going on in Vegas this week! (Airs May 10 on ABC) Unfortunately, no elephants allowed. Ella is being entertained by Zippy, Trixie, Sadie & Coco for now.
However, she will get to go to McMullan's Irish Pup for St. Patrick's Day!!

Good night

Guess they'll share the futon.

Yucca

Ella is also fascinated by the flora here! Unfortunately, my memory card was full before I could get her picture with a Joshua tree or cactus. We may have to take another excursion out to the desert!

Petroglyphs!

Ella thought the prehistoric rock carvings, done by the ancient Anasazi's, were awesome!! (You may have to zoom in on the photo to see them on the rock just behind her)

Great exercise!

Most people don't realize that elephants are very agile and like to climb!
Along with water & trailmix, she carried a snake bite kit in her backpack. This is the time of year when they come out to warm themselves on a nice sunny rock!

A day in nature!

Today we had some real fun! We drove out west of town to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. We did some hiking, bouldering and had a picnic! We also met some very friendly tourists who thought that Ella was very photogenic and offered to take our picture together too.

A beautiful afternoon

Just relaxing in the sun and enjoying the cherry blossoms!

A litte sight seeing!

Sunday we walked next door to one of the most popular tourist sight seeing destinations. Siegfried & Roy's Jungle Palace! She was thrilled!

Paying respects

Zippy took Ella to Gildah's memorial. Gildah was a very good role model for all young elephants.

Later that day

She is really enjoying the weather here, as does Zippy the tortoise! The two of them have become good friends and Zippy offered her a ride around the property! She will get to meet the 3 dogs once they have calmed down a little about her being here!

Girls just want to go shopping!

The next day she offered to harvest my lemons! She wanted to earn more spending money to go shopping at her favorite store, Build-a-Bear, at the Fashion Show Mall on The Strip!

Ella the ambitious Elephant

Ella, The Traveling Elephant, is being hosted by me while she visits Vegas! She arrived in style from Pennsylvania wearing a Steelers T-shirt! She will be with me for a month so we are trying not to rush her activities!
After a rest, to shake off the jet lag, she noticed that I was in the middle of a painting project. She quickly offered her help in order to earn a few bucks to use on the slot machines and roulette wheel!