There are things to do and see in Las Vegas besides the casinos and the machines that take your money or the expensive shows that you have to wait in line for hours to see. There is a free show every night in downtown Las Vegas called the “Fremont Experience” and it is just that. They have erected a screen covered with thousands of LED lights that goes from Las Vegas Boulevard to the Plaza Hotel at the other end of Fremont Street. Every hour on the hour they produce a light show, each one with a different theme with different special effects and soundtracks. Las Vegas is trying to draw tourists from the Strip to downtown to rejuvenate the area. It is a very neat “Fremont Experience” and is worth getting a crook in your neck to look up and see.

Fremont Street Experience - Las Vegas

Another place in Vegas that is not well known but worth going to see is the Classic Car Museum on the fifth floor of the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino on the Strip. The cars on display are constantly changing so you can go there every time you travel to Vegas and still see different cars. They have old time cars that have been restored and classic muscle cars from more recent time. There are a lot of cars that used to belong to famous people and movie stars, both present and past. At one time this museum owned Hitler’s car but it has now been sold. All the cars on display are for sale but you will need to mortgage your house to purchase them and you will still be short. My favorite is a 1939 red roadster with a price tag of $2.3 million. It is a very interesting place to see and you don’t necessarily have to be a car buff to enjoy it.

Classic Cars from Imperial Palace Car Museum

REALLY classic car - 1886 Benz

On East Tropicana is another popular attraction – the Liberace Museum. All of the glitz and glamour that was once the entertainer is now showcased in the Liberace Plaza. His fabulous costumes and furs, his sparkly pianos and cars, and his expensive jewelry and personal possessions are all on display to be oohed and aahed over. This is a one-of-a-kind place to visit.

In the middle of the Flamingo Hotel is a bird sanctuary and you don’t have to be staying there to wander through it. It is also free of charge.

African Crowned Crane - Flamingo Hotel Bird Sanctuary

There are many exotic birds from different parts of the world wandering around the lush landscape, complete with meandering ponds with colorful fish and all types of turtles.

All you have to do is look around and there are a lot of unusual and different things to see when you visit Las Vegas. Of course there is a gift shop connected to each and every one!

Lady G

Adult alpacas typically weigh 120-170 pounds, with their cria usually one-fifth of the adult weight at birth. After a head-first delivery that is not the norm for alpacas, Lady G had to be bottle fed by Janice and Karrie at two-hour intervals, since her mother was not capable of nursing her. Bonding and development, as with humans, was in jeopardy because of this lack of nursing. The gangly cria was not capable of eating hay, so the bottle was her only form of nourishment for several days.

About alpacas

While their relatives, llamas, tend to have bad manners and spit at you, alpacas are gentle and have a peaceful air about them.

The spindly-legged creatures have been around for thousands of years and are prized for their “fiber,” the ultra-soft fleece that is harvested.

Alpacas are herd animals who band together to protect themselves. Vulnerable to predators, alpaca males will make a screeching noise to alert the herd to a threat. Their vision and awareness extends far beyond that of humans.

Chow time!

Prized for their fiber or fleece, the fiber is sold through cooperatives, then used by spinners to make some of the softest sweaters, dresses, blankets and other knitted items available. Unlike wool, alpaca fiber is low in lanolin, so the fiber is light, airy, and comes in many colors, depending on the heritage of the animal. So valuable that it is sold by the ounce, alpaca fiber is measured in microns for softness. An ounce can sell for $2.00 to $5.00 per ounce of raw fiber.

Alpacas are grouped by the type of fiber they produce, either Suri or Haucaya. The Tranquil Spirits alpaca are all Huacaya, having shorter, denser, crimped fiber that is easier to spin. Suri alpaca have straight, long fleece.

Alpaca are shorn once a year before the warm weather sets in. Shearing professionals from New Zealand were brought in by the Deckers so that the alpaca would be shorn quickly and safely. Less experienced shearers take up to 45 minutes to remove the dense coat from an alpaca. The professionals can complete a shearing in five to eight minutes with no nicks or injuries to the alpaca.

It's time to eat!

Like cows, they chew their cud. Unlike cows that have two stomachs, alpacas have three stomachs. Chewing contemplatively, they amble about the field, occasionally trotting, usually in groups.

Clean animals, the alpacas create several sites where they leave their droppings, instead of fouling their entire enclosure. As a result of their simple diet and clean habits, alpaca are easy to maintain.

Why own alpacas?

Importation of alpacas into the US has been banned since 1998, but US alpaca ranchers have raised thousands of alpacas since then. Alpacas don’t demand much attention and ranchers are raising them for investment, both for new herds and to sell the fiber.

Aah…

My motherly instincts kicked in very quickly. The babies were awkward, skinny creatures who seem to be very peaceful. It is easy to understand why people would want to raise them. Their fiber is exquisite, they’re not difficult to care for and they are comfortable to be around.

 No wonder the Decker sisters started an alpaca ranch!

More about Tranquil Spirits at http://www.tranquilspiritsalpacas.com.  They welcome interested visitors to their ranch in California – with notice.