Bodies & Titanic Exhibits at Luxor

As Mike, Erin, and I headed south along the strip last week, we decided it would be cool to check out the exhibits inside of the famed Vegas pyramid, Luxor.  The downside was that pictures weren't allowed, which was kind of disappointing as other locations and museums were cool with it.  We still paid the double admission (sans the overpriced audio tour add-on) and checked out Bodies & Titanic.

We did Titanic first, which was a somewhat surreal experience.  It's kind of crazy to wrap your head around the fact that these artifacts were collected from the bottom of the ocean and were used by the passengers of that ship.  Things like notes or jewelry or shoes always get me, because it wakes you up to the reality of the tragedy and those who perished.  Shoes especially freak me out, because the only way you'd find a pair of shoes next to each other at the bottom of the ocean after all of that time is if someone had been wearing them all the way down.

It was a cool exhibit, and the real gem of the entire collection was the Big Piece.  It's a 26 foot long, 15 ton piece of the Titanic's hull that they brought up from the ocean floor and have hanging on display.  It had already broken off of the ship, and they raised it back in 1998 after a previous attempt in 1996.  As someone who has a great appreciation of history, I can't begin to explain just how cool that was to see.


We all got a boarding pass when we entered the exhibit that had a passenger's name listed on it. You were supposed to wait until the end of the tour to check the manifest list to see if your person lived or died. Mike and I were both first class men and we assumed the worst. Turned out we were right.

The Bodies exhibit was completely different, but an equally cool display. Featuring real bodies and organs, the experience is like an anatomy lesson that had us talking a lot about how our own bodies work. I immediately started talking about cannibalism and how stringy humans would be to eat, whereas Mike tried to make his knees crack after we had seen a cross section of what kneecaps looked like. 

Frankly, I had the same morbid curiosity with this exhibit as I had with Titanic, and wondered who these people were and what they might think of having all of their 'business' on display. I doubt they care at this point, but they probably didn't expect to be part of a tour. It was a cool show, but it's not really something I can describe.  You just have to see it to really appreciate how complex, fascinating, and bizarre, parts of the human body really are. 

Vdara Las Vegas

Smack dab in the middle of the Las Vegas strip is the brand new, sprawling, but undeniably luxurious City Center complex. Within it you'll find the Shops at Crystals, numerous restaurants, condos, and the luxury hotels Aria, Mandarin Oriental, and Vdara. It was my goal to do Vegas a bit bigger this time around, and so I spent five nights in the five star all-suite, Vdara.

I can wholeheartedly say that I really loved staying here. My room was on the 50th floor and had stunning views of the south strip, including the Luxor pyramid, Mandalay Bay, and with the mountains. Vdara is a no-casino hotel, which I found to be a plus despite my intention to gamble. The lack of casino made for a more relaxed environment, and a far less crowded or muddled layout as far as the lobby was concerned. Accessing the strip (or neighbouring casinos at the connected Bellagio or Aria) was just a short walk away.

My room was brilliant (as was Mike and Erin's on the other side of the tower). I had three giant windows with automatic shades, a stunning view, a large bathroom with a separate shower and tub, a small kitchen and dining area, and a spacious sitting area. The room even had a cool doorbell and electronic do not disturb light. It was an extremely comfortable and quiet place to come back to after a long day and the bed was top-notch (even for a quick jump).

Vdara isn't really in the heart of the action, but that's kind of what made it for me. I still felt close to everything on the strip, but the location at the back of the City Center complex made the hotel feel more private. I also found the maid service to be particularly good. Every evening when I returned my razor and toiletries were nicely laid out for me on the vanity, and extra care was even taken to roll up my laptop chord or chargers when I left them out.

I'd stay here again if I weren't so intent on trying a different hotel each time I go to Las Vegas, but I can certainly say that despite lacking a novelty theme, Vdara easily out-shined past stays at Circus Circus, MGM Grand, Harrah's, and the Plaza downtown. It's a polished and posh hub just steps away from all of the chaos and energy that make Vegas so much fun.

From the Archivist: Five Roses Flour Mill

When I posted about the Five Roses Flour Mill last week, I had quite a bit of trouble with my research in nailing down specific dates about the location in Medicine Hat, Alberta.  I was in contact with one of the archivists at the Esplanade to try and get some help and she was kind to respond in detail to my question regarding the history of the site.  Here is what she wrote:

I have been looking into your question regarding the Flour Mill at 687 South Railway Street. The first building on the site was built in 1901 by the McNeeley family. This was later torn down, and in its place was built in 1910 what began as the Medicine Hat Milling Company (still owned by the McNeeley family, but wasn’t incorporated until 1912). This original building was 130’ x 80’ and built under permit #324 issued July 29, 1912 and the estimated cost of construction was $50,000.  In 1914 the building was bought by Lake of the Woods Milling, and in May 1914 they built an addition of 40’ x 28’ onto the original building—as well as an elevator structure (51’ x 36’) at a cost of $30,000 on permit #136.

Then, we fall into a bit of confusion. The present structures that we see are not the original building. It appears that the original building was knocked down and replaced by a warehouse and mill built out of brick and concrete for an estimated cost of $150,000. As well, elevators built of reinforced concrete were added for and estimated cost of $100,000—built under permits #22 and #23 issued June 20, 1916. I can’t be certain if the existing elevators that were built in 1914 were knocked down and replaced by the elevators in 1916, or if they were the ‘additional’ elevators you described.

I have included a few pictures for reference. Unfortunately, these pictures are just assigned tentative dates, as we are uncertain of their exact dates. My information is educated guesses, and I have put the photos into what I believe is ‘chronological’ order.

Image #0048-0001: This is the early photo of McNeeley’s Mill (Medicine Hat Milling Company). This picture is dated 1903.

Image #0403-0001-06: This is a photograph of the Medicine Hat Milling Company in 1912 or 1913. It does not show the same building as it was in 1903, and shows three or four identifiable structures.

Image #0439-0037: In this image, you can see that the 1913 structure is now gone from the centre of the photograph, leaving only the small house-like (office?) in the front—implying that the building of 1913 has been torn down.  The front of the building still says the Medicine Hat Milling Company.

Image #0350-0075: This photograph shows the exterior of the Lake of the Woods flour mill (notice the Five Roses Flour) named on the front, meaning this photo must be after the 1914 purchase. I also believe that this shows the additions—on the right of the photo—that Lake of the Woods did to the building.

Image #0299-0001 to 0004: This set shows the construction of the large warehouse and elevators, and is most likely the 1916 construction. The final photo, 0004, shows the six elevators, and all seem to be under construction from the top. To myself, this indicates that all other elevators were removed, and that the six were built concurrently.

Image #525-0126: This photograph shows all four buildings of the Mill seemingly after the construction is completed.

To me it's clear that there were further expansions on the site, specifically in regards to the elevator.  As it stands today, it is a wider structure and it makes sense that that would have come as a result of increased production.  The downsizing of the warehouse however, was a result of the renovation into an inn and pub back in the 1970s.