You Are Currently Watching: VIDEO: The $1,128,000,000 Campground

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 Posted On: September 30, 2008
Posted In: Destinations, RV Lifestyle, Video
Comments: 11 Responses

How valuable was this camping experience? We’ve been told that a half acre of land on the Las Vegas Strip recently sold for $47 million. And yet, here’s a massive swath of such land dedicated to a full hookup RV campground. So I guess our little campsite is worth at least $5,000,000, and the campground itself is worth around $1,128,000,000.

Unfortunately, for the reasons stated above, I doubt that this campground will be around much longer. In Vegas, everything is eventually destroyed to make way for something bigger, better, and more lucrative. So I’m glad we camped here while the opportunity existed. In a few years, I suspect this entire casino and campground will be relegated to the history books.

There’s nothing particularly scenic about the campground itself. It’s a large asphalt parking lot, occupied mostly by European tourists driving rented motorhomes. Daytime temperatures are suitable for frying bacon and eggs. You’ll want a quality awning on your RV, and a robust air-conditioner cranked down to the “arctic” setting.

But once the sun recedes, temperatures cool, and city lights begin to sparkle. Suddenly Las Vegas, and by extension this campground, transforms into something different. It becomes surprisingly — dare I say it? — scenic, a cacophony of light and sound.

If you’ve ever been to Las Vegas, you’re familiar with the litany of billion dollar casinos that litter the Strip. There’s no end to the available entertainment, and you don’t even need to gamble to have a good time. Just strolling from casino to casino, taking in the spectacle, provides more over-the-top visual entertainment than most cities could ever dream.

Camping here has provided an additional benefit. After spending a week on the Strip, we have a better understanding of the city beyond the Strip. We’ve taken our truck SEEMORE into some of the suburban neighborhoods for a couple of supply runs. It’s in these places where you get a sense of the people who make Las Vegas tick.

There’s been one sour note. Late one evening we returned to our campground, only to discover that someone stole Kristy’s bicycle. Apparently stealing is one of the sins popular in “Sin City.” For the first time since we began our RV adventures, we felt unsafe. My guess is that the culprit doesn’t camp at all. Rather, our proximity to the Strip and the neighboring industrial district means this facility is exposed to some less than desirable characters — the kind who steal.

After two months on the road, we’re ready to start heading home. I have no idea whether we’ll ever camp in Las Vegas again; but I’m glad we did so at least once.

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11 Responses to “VIDEO: The $1,128,000,000 Campground”

  1. Jude Says:
    September 30th, 2008 at 4:24 pm

    Sorry to hear about Kristy’s bike. Although that would probably be the cheapest I ever got off during my visits to sin city!

  2. Matt Says:
    September 30th, 2008 at 4:43 pm

    A penny for you’re thoughts! Man you musta called in advance for such a great site!!! I had to watch twice because I was Laughing so loud. I like the Yellow hue at the end of the video at the airstream. I like your shooting in 24p now. Keep them coming!

  3. Laura Says:
    September 30th, 2008 at 8:17 pm

    Sorry to hear about Kristy’s bike, NOT COOL!! Looks like you had a good time anyway!

  4. Sean Says:
    October 1st, 2008 at 2:40 am

    Jude, the bike theft was a bummer, but that thought did cross my mind… we probably got off pretty easy for Vegas!

    Laura, it really was disturbing… Being the victim of a theft makes you feel angry and sad (and unsafe) at the same time. Naturally, I shot some video that night to document the experience. Maybe we will do a blog on campground safety. We’ve never had the slightest problem anywhere else in North America. The real issue was that our Vegas campground had very lax security — no gate, no patrolling security, no cameras, etc. And let’s face it, Las Vegas isn’t exactly the Boy Scout Jamboree. It’s called “Sin City” for a reason!

    Matt, I like shooting in 24p, but sometimess I shoot in 60i and render to 24p. In Vegas I played with shutter speeds a lot to make the most of our available light at night. I also like the effect!

    Thanks for the comments, everyone! We are camping tonight just an hour outside Vegas. We had some cool stuff done to our RV today at a dealership — the best thing is a slick new wifi kit, so now I should be able to upload videos from just about anywhere. :cool:

  5. Matt Says:
    October 1st, 2008 at 7:14 am

    Oh man I missed Dale Chihuly glass ceiling the first time I watched it. That man is that great! I would loved to have seen that in person.

  6. Sean Says:
    October 2nd, 2008 at 12:23 am

    Matt, that Chihuly ceiling (“the glass ceiling?” hmmmm :razz: ) is in the Bellagio. If you ever want to kill some time, go for a stroll in the Bellagio. The dancing fountains out front are the best free show in Vegas.

  7. Las Vegas Strip Campground || Camping & Hiking Blog || Tripleblaze.com Camping & Hiking Says:
    October 2nd, 2008 at 9:35 am

    [...] The Long, Long Honeymoon blog posted about their recent experience camping at a $1.1B campground in Las Vegas. Though they didn’t mention the name of the campground, I’m pretty sure they stayed at the Circus Circus RV campground located just north of the Circus Circus casino and hotel on Las Vegas Blvd. I once stayed at the Circus Circus motel that shares a parking lot with the RV campground and let me just say it’s an interesting spot. [...]

  8. Laura Says:
    October 6th, 2008 at 9:19 am

    Campground safety would be a great blog. Im really sorry to hear about the Bike, I know what you are feeling though, I have had my car broken into.

  9. jomick Says:
    March 9th, 2009 at 4:48 am

    You should have stayed at Oasis RV Resort (www.oasislasvegasrvresort.com), just south of the strip. My husband and I stayed there in our Airstream last October for a week and really enjoyed it. I would definitely stay there again. There are pools, a restaurant, trees and a dog park. It also has a gated entrance, we felt very safe.

  10. Sean Says:
    March 9th, 2009 at 4:53 am

    Thanks Jomick, I think we considered the Oasis and it looked very nice, but we wanted to be on the Strip. We ended up paying the price in more ways than one, lol. Next time we will check out the Oasis!

  11. Bama5150 Says:
    December 2nd, 2009 at 9:51 pm

    Me and the wife are in Vegas this week, and we drove by the rv campground near the Circus Circus casino. Is this the one you guys stayed in? It says its a KOA campground?

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