This fall we took a trip to Las Vegas for the Adobe Max Conference. We are so thankful we got this opportunity (we have the c00lest jobs) to venture out west to be inspired and educated by other creatives. Today I’m sharing photos from our travels and all about the spots we loved. (What happens in Vegas, doesn’t haaave to stay in Vegas.) Hope you enjoy!

The Neon Museum

I studied typography, so of course a boneyard full of old letters was a dream come true. Hearing the history behind a lot of these Vegas signs was really cool, and I loved hearing how current events at the time, available materials, and pop culture impacted the design. For example, during prohibition if a sign had the color green or the word Colorado in it, it meant they had alcohol. That is crazy! We learned lots of cool facts like that, and I could have explored this place all day! My only regret in visiting the Neon Museum is that we didn’t get to see their cats that live there, but we did hear them playing around in the back of a sign, so they were with me in spurrit.

 

Sandy Valley Ranch

Stevie and I love horseback riding and try to do that anytime we travel. We were a little over the nose-to-tail trail rides we have done so many times, so we tried to find a ranch that offered something different this go-around. I am SO glad we came across Sandy Valley Ranch. We did a 3 hour horseback ride that included just us, our horses, and our wrangler. We could trot, gallop, chase jack rabbits, aka whatever we wanted. It was just the best day. Our horses, Luna and Chex, were so sweet and well behaved. After the ride we helped hose them down and then had a wonderful lunch prepared by their on-site chef. I would go back here in a heartbeat.

 

Seven Magic Mountains

I came across this art installation on instagram and thought how cool that’d be to see in person while in Vegas. I’m so glad we did because it was even more colorful and stunning in person, and is a temporary installation. You can read more about Ugo Rondinone and his work here.

 

Valley of Fire

We made the drive out to Valley of Fire to get some anniversary photos taken with Stephanie of Rapp Photography, who is the sweetest person and so talented. The rocks were just other-worldly, and climbing around having our pictures taken on them (and trying not to break my neck) was a fun way to explore the park. You can see some of our photos with Rapp Photography here.

 

Hittin’ the Streets

I love to plan, but it’s important to me to leave some space in our traveling for some time to just walk around, take it all in and see what looks fun. We squeezed in a couple walks around the city and I’m so glad we did. Even the craziness was good to experience just once. Someone told us the below Holiday Motel sign is about to be torn down 🙁 so I’m super happy I got a photo of it’s quirky self. We also ended up photographing an awkward proposal for a couple one night while walking around. When asked if she would marry him the girl responded “I guess so.” (Best of luck, y’all)  And one night I played a penny slot and am still confused as to what happened, but pulling the crank was fun. Gal pals Margaret and Cassi joined in on an outing too and had a fun lil portrait sesh. (More photos to come of those beauties!)

 

Favorite places to stuff our faces:

We spent most of our time in the Venetian, where the conference was, and went to a few really delicious restaurants there. We got out of the hotel for dinner time and our extra days in Las Vegas. Here are some places we tried and loved:

Yardbird – Their mac n cheese was so perfect that we ate there twice / Las Vegas Donut Bar – Ok, it’s a donut bar so you can’t go wrong here. The Pumpkin Spice Donut was a win. / In N Out Burger – We’ve heard all the hype over this joint so we had to see for ourselves. Long line, but pretty tasty! / Rolled Ice Cream – This was such a fun place to go for dessert (we had ours before dinner because #rebels). / Trattoria Reggiano – The Venetian has multiple Italian restaurants throughout it (duh), and this spot was delicious. / Giordano’s Pizza – I’d never experienced Chicago style pizza before, so this was a highlight for me. So yummy. So cheesy.

 

Conference highlights:

If you’re a fellow creative, I thought you might like to hear about the conference too. Well, it was EPIC. That’s just a really good word for it. Some of my favorite sessions were with Lindsay Adler, Stephen Gates, and Tina Roth-Eisenberg. The talent! Keynote speakers ranged from Jonathan Adler to Annie Griffiths and all were so inspiring and left me with a full heart and full notebook. Also, the food was incredible, and you know how major of a statement this is if you know how picky I am and that I usually only eat the chips or cookies provided at things like this. The whole conference was well-thought out and beautifully designed. So much attention to detail was given to every single aspect.

 

Have you ever been to Vegas? What are your favorite spots to visit there?  I don’t know when I’ll be back to this town but my first trip there sure was one for the books.

XO,

Sara-Lane