Fort Riley Desert Training: Day 1

The 49 News crew checks in to Fort Irwin National Training Center and prepares for five days in the desert

Day 1: Stop in Vegas

Arrived Vegas as scheduled. It took about 2 hours to get our bags and our rental. Then we found lunch at "Raising Canes" (chicken fingers), found a Best Buy for camera card and canned air, then headed down "The Strip."

Photo Gallery

Fort Riley desert training day 1: Arriving in Las Vegas

Traffic, both auto and pedestrian, was heavy, so the drive took about an hour before we got to Circus Circus. Parking and check-in took another 90 minutes, so Justin and I chilled in our rooms for a couple of hours before heading back out.

We walked the strip as far as Treasure Island, ate at the buffet then headed back. We then loaded gear in the car and headed back down the strip.

Justin shot some of the night lights on our way to the Bellagio. We parked and walked to the front of Bellagio, where Justin got more shots, and I interviewed a few tourists, then headed back.

By this time it's about 10 p.m. local time, but we headed back through the walkway to Circus Circus to check out the gaming floor. We found some penny Wheel of Fortune machines. I put in 6 bucks and cashed out at 5, and called it a night.

So far, I'm down a dollar in Vegas.

Read Justin's Blog

Read more about the trip 49 News went on to learn more about the U.S. Army's training process in this entry posted by Photojournalist Justin Schmidt.

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