On this Monday morning in May, we found parking readily enough in a lot designated for lawmakers during the session and walked across the street to experience the image our statehouse is presenting to visitors.  As expected, we were subjected to a security screening before being allowed to enter.  The guard was friendly and personable.  After examining our photo IDs (the first state that has asked us to produce such), he chatted amiably with us about our home city before offering a few tips to guide our visit.  Positive first impression.
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Since we entered from the rear of the building (pictured above), our first stop was the ground floor, where we encountered a most unusual display—a recently recovered and highly prized piece of Georgia history on exhibit.  During the War of 1812, Georgian Lt. Col. Daniel Appling distinguished himself in the 15-minute Battle of Big Sandy Creek in upstate New York by leading an ambush attack on a superior force of British pursuing his troops.  Months later, the Georgia General Assembly commissioned a ceremonial sword of honor to be presented to Appling in recognition of his courage and ingenuity.  Unfortunately, the colonel died before he could receive the tribute, and legislators decided to retain the sword and display it in the governor’s office.
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After languishing in obscurity for nearly a century, the sword again became the center of attention as another legislature proudly sent the tribute and other treasured artifacts to be displayed in the Georgia exhibit at the 1906 Jamestown Exposition, a historic event commemorating the 300th anniversary of  the first permanent English settlement in the Virginia Colony.  Though there is no evidence to explain why, the sword was never returned after the exposition closed.  More than a century later, state archives officials, who had long pondered the weapon's fate, saw it advertised for sale in an antiques magazine in 2010.  Historical organizations and private citizens raised more than $100,000 to purchase the relic from a Pennsylvania antiques dealer and bring it home to Georgia.
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Other exhibits on the ground floor portrayed scenes from various geographical regions of Georgia.  These appeared to date from the 1970s or so and looked as if they hadn't had much attention since then.  They badly need some TLC.
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Georgia Capitol Dome interior

Moving up to the main floor, we had our first view of the rotunda and the very disappointing interior of the capitol dome.  Not only did this prominent architectural feature have no decorative design, the paint was peeling badly (while $100K was splurged on an old sabre!).  Contrast this dowdy unimaginative structure to some of the stunning dome interiors we saw in state capitols last year.
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Sadly, the disappointment did not stop there.  The Georgia capitol building is like an old home where nothing is ever removed.  More stuff is just added.  There's no revisionism here.  All aspects of state history are revered, no matter how misguided retrospection reveals some of the causes that are still celebrated.
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For example, Tom Watson, a nineteenth century legislator and journalist who was a vigorous antisemitic, anti-Catholic racist, is honored with a 12-foot bronze statue at the main entrance of the Capitol.  The statue's pedestal bears this tribute:  "A champion of right who never faltered in the cause."  Since Watson was an advocate of lynching and the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan, this honorific begs the question of what the 'cause' was for which his steadfastness is praised.
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Schoolchildren pass a statue honoring Tom Watson to enter their state's capitol.

Inside the halls of the capitol, portraits of Georgians who served prominently in the Confederacy are interspersed with tributes to more recent state natives such as Martin Luther King, Jr.  Jimmy Carter, the only Georgia native to serve as President of the United States (and, incidentally, governor of the state), Carter is honored with a small life-size statue in a side garden near a poorly rendered replica of the Statue of Liberty donated by boy scouts in 1951.  As befitted his preference for informality, Carter is depicted in casual attire.
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No doubt the Presidential seal halo effect is just a coincidence.

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The fourth floor of the Georgia capitol building is described as the Georgia State Museum.  We found that to be a bit of a stretch.  Less like a stately government repository than a run-down flea market, the "museum" is crammed with a mishmash of odd artifacts and specimens dragged from some old attic or barn.  Perhaps nothing portrays this better than the two-headed calf head, mounted on a plaque, no less.

The favorite exhibit of many a school child visiting the capitol on a field trip

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Begun in 1896, the state museum opened with items from the previous year's Cotton States Exposition displayed in corridors of the statehouse.  The popularity of these exhibits led to the addition of more memorabilia, creating an eclectic assortment of artifacts, geologic materials, firearms and other assorted detritus.  The exhibit cases appear to date from the early days of this collection.
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Exhibit cases which would be right at home in any antique flea market

In the late 1990s, the Georgia capitol building underwent a massive restoration, a project that sought to return the interior to its appearance soon after its original completion in 1889.  Untold thousands were frittered away to identify the building's authentic historic paint colors, only to allow the paint to chip away within 15 years.  The capitol needs a serious updating guided by the hands of professional archivists who will organize portraiture in logical historical sequence, downplay the glorification of the Confederacy, and add dignity to exhibits by eliminating sensationalist oddities.

As the eighth most populous state and one of the original thirteen colonies, Georgia has produced some notable and notorious characters. We need a statehouse which focuses on positive aspects of Georgia such as the accomplishments of the home-grown Carter and King Centers rather than the current miasma that is designed to pander to those who love Honey Boo Boo.  At least her portrait hasn't made its way to the halls of the statehouse...yet.

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• Atlanta metro population:  5.3 million (most populous state capitol metro)
• Built:  1884-1889
• Cost:  $999,882 (slightly under $1 million budget)
• Architectural style:  Classical Renaissance
• Dome surface:  23 k Georgia gold
• Exterior:  Indiana limestone
• Building height:  272 ft (to top of dome)
• Taller buildings than capitol in Atlanta, 1889:  0
• Taller buildings than capitol in Atlanta, 2013:  60
• Statue on top of dome:  Goddess of Liberty (aka, Miss Freedom)
• Conjoined animals on exhibit in capitol:  2 (calf and snake)

A skylight added to the floor of the rotunda to illuminate offices on the floor below.

Often the scene of protests and speeches, the Georgia capitol is nicknamed the People's House.

Georgia founder James Oglethorpe overlooks the grand staircase in the north wing.

Statues of Senator Richard Russell (L) and Civil War era Governor Joseph Brown and his wife

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As soon as we entered the KÀ theater at the MGM Grand, we knew this was not going to be a typical Cirque experience.  Unlike the signature intimate Cirque setting where no seat is very far from the stage, KÀ would be performed in a gargantuan hall where even the front row seats were 15 yards from the stage.  Add another 30 yards to reach our seats in the "cheaper" section, and the performers needn't have wasted time and effort on elaborate costumes and makeup.  When performers were near the back of the 40-foot stage area or when the stage was raised to a level five stories high, even opera glasses would not have sufficed.  One needed binoculars.  (See photo above.)

The lack of applause from the audience during the performance—even during the final bows—told us we were not the only ones disappointed with the production.  Some people walked out, while others, including us, fell asleep intermittently in between checking our watches to gauge how much longer the agony would last.  When we finally escaped, armed with the heretofore inconceivable awareness that not every Cirque du Soleil show was fabulous, we were loathe to gamble another $250 on the troupe.  We'll see them again in the future, but not on this trip.  

Chances are, it's not the heat...it's the humidity.

Yes, we were aware that the weather forecast called for temps in the high 90s and low 100s while we would be in Vegas, but we're from the South, home of the well-known truth old wives' tale that one doesn't feel the effects of heat nearly so much when there's little relative humidity.  No worries, we thought.  It'll probably feel like the 80s at home.

Wrong!  As we were hiking into a canyon in the Mojave Desert in search of a letterbox one dry day,  the temperature climbed well into the triple digits.  That's when we realized the old wives were dead wrong.  It's the heat!

Chances are, Vegas is all about gambling and live entertainment.

Since we had already lost a $250 bet on Cirque du Soleil our first night and we don't appreciate the entertainment value in watching our cash sucked into the vortex of slots and table games, we were not eager to frequent any of the many casinos on the Vegas Strip.  Nor did we find any shows compelling except for Cirque, and we just weren't ready to pony up that kind of money again with that lingering bad taste in our mouths.

Surprisingly, we found a great alternative activity for the day we planned to spend in the city before venturing out into some more natural areas.  We were happy to discover that there was a considerable collection of letterboxes concealed right there in the city.  So on our anniversary, we walked up and down the Strip, seeking hidden urban treasures.  Fittingly, we even found one at the wedding chapel of one of the major casino hotels.   So we created our own little vow renewal on the spot to kick off our next 40 years together.  Then it was back to business and on to the next letterbox.

Chances are, there's not too much opportunity for hiking around Vegas.

After a day and a half on the Strip and in the city, it was time for us to vacate the urban confines for some wide open spaces.  After all, as the air approach to the city reminds you, Las Vegas is a fabricated oasis in the middle of a desert. Surrounding the city are plentiful places for exploring nature.
     

Following I-15 a few miles east of the city led us to Valley of Fire State Park, a spectacular area characterized by massive red sandstone formations which began as great shifting sand dunes during the days of dinosaurs.  This granular heritage is evident in the park's trails, which are quite challenging due to their sandy surfaces, much like slogging through the powdery Gulf beaches.

Just a few miles west of Las Vegas is Red Rock Canyon, an area popular with hikers and rock climbers.  We enjoyed the scenic loop drive through the red rock formations and sandstone peaks, but didn't venture onto any trails because of the heat.
     

Northwest of Red Rock Canyon, we found relief from the relentless Mojave heat.  An evergreen island in the desert, Mount Charleston rises almost 12,000 feet.  As we drove upward on Kyle Canyon Road, the temperature fell.  By the time we reached the visitor center at 8,400 feet, the air was 30 degrees cooler than the city, having dropped to a very comfortable 73°.  We took advantage of these moderate conditions and checked out two of the Mount Charleston trails.

Chances are, Las Vegas is all about glitz and glam.

You could easily get this impression if your visit is confined to the Las Vegas Strip, which is actually outside the city limits stretched across the unincorporated communities of Paradise, Winchester and Enterprise.  Venture into the city proper, however, and a completely different picture emerges.  This is old Las Vegas, where the action was in the mid-20th century.  Today it's a bit run-down and downright seedy.  Definitely no glitz or glamor here.
     

Chances are, there's not a dam place to visit south of Vegas.

Actually, there is.  We drove down to Boulder City one day to check out the new bridge spanning the Black Canyon of the Colorado River.  When the Hoover Dam was built in the 1930s, it provided not only water management and power generation but also a bridge across the canyon in the form of a road across the top of the dam.  As the volume of traffic surged beyond the dam capacity and concerns emerged from September 11 about the security of this critical resource, an alternative span was conceived.

     

Hoover Dam and the canyon bypass

Opened to traffic in 2010, the Hoover Dam Bypass, a steel and concrete arch bridge, now carries all traffic across the canyon.  After undergoing a security check, visitors to the dam can still drive across it to reach parking areas.

Chances are, we'll be returning to Las Vegas more often.

Definitely do not put your money on this gamble.  The odds are quite poor.  Though we enjoyed celebrating our anniversary and the hiking was great (albeit sweaty), we are not likely to return for another anniversary celebration for at least...maybe 40 more years.