Vegas Assistant

Travis Butler · Wednesday at 05:42

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 · Wednesday at 05:48

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 · Wednesday at 06:55

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

Travis Butler · Wednesday at 07:21

CharlesH said:
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 · Wednesday at 07:31

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 · 2025-10-02T05:53:07+0200

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 · 2025-10-03T07:31:36+0200

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 · 2025-10-03T07:55:15+0200

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).