Vegas Baby!
Nevada
Our Visit
Tech conference in mid-July
Area population
641,903
Elevation
2,000 feet
Our schedule for the second half of July was dictated by a work twofer. Erik attended Ruby Conf at the Red Rock Casino in Vegas and my company hosted a get together in San Diego the following week. So we decided July would be the month of interstitial stops.
After a couple weeks in Boise, we packed up Black Betty, the minivan, and headed south. Driving from Boise to Vegas is, by and large, pretty boring with the exception of Southern Utah with its beautiful red stone and rugged mountain skylines. I am of the mind that road trips are a lot more fun when you can break up the drive with interesting stops. This trip we ate at a diner next to a bowling alley, saw an incredible art exhibit, and attended a Shakespeare play. Like, so cultured.
Photo Albums
July 11, 2026
On the way: Springville, UT
Springville Museum of Art is about an hour south of Salt Lake City. Erik's great-great-(maybe another great?)-grandfather John Hafen was a prolific artist. His family immigrated from Switzerland in 1862 and settled in Utah. He began sketching with charcoal as a child and found his passion as an impressionist painting Utah landscapes.
July 11, 2026
On the way: Cedar City, UT
Cedar City, in Southern Utah, is known for its world-renowned Shakespeare Festival going strong in its 65th year. We saw a fantastic performance of Twelfth Night, my second favorite Shakespeare play. (My first favorite Shakespeare play stars Leo and Claire. Sometimes your tastes get locked in at age 12 and there is nothing else to be done.)
July 12, 2026
Las Vegas
Erik and a few of his Finetune coworkers attended Ruby Conf, an annual tech conference put on by Ruby Central, a non-profit organization that supports the Ruby programming language. I am a Rubyist as well, and have attended the conference in year's past, but sat out this year and did wall yoga instead.