A couple of years ago I spent a week in Vegas for the New Year. The city was packed with revellers in anticipation for the upcoming celebration. Then one night it started snowing. One of these days I need to scan some pictures from that night. I went outside and looked up in awe at the giant flakes appearing from the clouds. I soon noticed that there were only a handful of people around and they were quickly scurrying into random doors. A few minutes longer, and the strip was deserted. Completely empty, nary a car even passed me by. It was incredible. I ran and slid up and down sidewalks, dancing alone on the snowy strip. I made my way to the Bellagio's outdoor moving sidewalks that were slippery with snow and started skating them like a long track Olympian. I stopped inside the casino to see all the people I assumed were packed inside, but even within everything was subdued. Tones were hushed, I felt like I was intruding. So I went back outside and skated along some more before catching a bus back towards my hostel. I've never seen Vegas so empty and quiet, and it's never been more beautiful. A couple of nights later I was crammed onto the streets with thousands to watch the strip fireworks erupt at midnight. I slid through the crowd to find a single serving viewpoint of the strange contrast in population. The drunken mass was positively electrified, their excitement for the event that was about to occur was tangible to all six senses. I counted backwards with the crowd to the moment they were all waiting for. It was certainly fun, but the night I'll always remember, is the one that nobody cared about but me.
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