Fremont Street Experience and "Hey Joe's"

Location: Duck Creek RV Park (el. 1,700 ft); Las Vegas; Nevada

(click pictures to enlarge)

Well, I went to see the Fremont Street Experience yesterday evening. It was a bust. Maybe I've become too jaded as to what my expectations are when it comes to exploring. For those that are not familiar with Fremont Street, it is a couple blocks of casinos, bars, live bands, street people and restaurants. The area is for pedestrians only and there is a video display on the ceiling over the walking area. I got there about an hour before sunset and found a parking lot about a block away. It had been sprinkling rain most of the day and sure enough, as soon as I started walking from the parking lot to where the excitement was, it started raining harder with a cool breeze blowing. I kept going and figured it would be dry under the covering over the walking area. Nope. That covering isn't solid. It is thin slats of material that they broadcast the video on but it isn't solid. Luckily, the rain slowed down to a light sprinkle so I continued. 

The first 'hey Joe' tried to sell me a DVD and the second wanted to give me free tickets to a show with girls, girls, girls. I wasn't hungry, so eating was out. I don't gamble, so that was out. The band was nice, but there wasn't any place to sit. I stopped for a while to listen, but more street people kept offering me more deals. I re-learned a lesson from my old Navy days; keep moving or the "hey Joe's" will swarm you like mosquitoes. I made a slow walk through the whole place. I found a few places to stop that was dry and out of the cross-hairs of dealers. I guess being a guy walking alone, I was an obvious target. They figured I was either a country bumpkin coming to town or a guy looking for action.

Approaching the entrance to the Fremont Street Experience. 

Inside the walkway. You can see the ceiling where the video's are projected. It stops a little of the rain but not all. The 4 dark things hanging down from the cross beam is the supports for the cable on the zipline. A little farther up is where Spiderman and Batman were hanging out offering picture opportunities. I didn't see Wonder Woman. Dang.

By the time I made my second trip through the area and I was back to the beginning, I was having thoughts of leaving. This place had nothing for me. Maybe 40 years ago, but not now. The dead body is what finally convinced me to leave. (I bet you read that sentence twice.) Yep, dead body. A street person had apparently sat down against a wall and died. Security personnel was around him but nobody was trying to revive him. An ambulance had been called to pick him up and was arriving while I was waiting to cross the street. I didn't verify that he was dead, but I figured if he had simply passed out, the police would be the ones showing up and not the ambulance. I went on to the parking lot and was wondering what kind of life that poor man had led where he ended up dying on a cold, wet sidewalk in Las Vegas. No matter what kind of problems we are going through in our lives,,,,things can always get worse. 

All in all, it was worth the trip to see the place. If I hadn't of went, then in my mind, it would have been a great place not visited. I'm satisfied.  

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.