This week I went to the emergency room in the USA for the first time. On Saturday, my knee started hurting a lot. On my day off on Sunday, I just sat on the couch and thought the pain would be gone by Monday. I ordered a Detroit style pizza from Little Caesars and watched “The Office” while I ate, a funny show that always cheers me up in tough times.

When I cooked for 12 people on Monday and walked around the kitchen a lot, it hurt so much that I asked our nurse for advice. I was then taken to the emergency room at the hospital, where I was given the following diagnosis:

"Seen in the emergency room today for evaluation of your right knee pain. You are found of an abscess to the anterior lateral aspect of your right knee this was drained and we placed packing. Please continue warm soaks, and change her dressing daily. Take the antibiotics Bactrim and Keflex as prescribed. The packing may fall out before your recheck and that is okay. If before your reevaluation you develop fever worsening redness or swelling of the right knee please return immediately to the ER for reevaluation. You may take Tylenol and ibuprofen for pain.".

According to the nurses, the infection had already penetrated deep into the tissue. They couldn't explain exactly why the infection occurred, but I think I know. We always clean the house on Saturdays, I probably already had a small wound from gardening, which then became infected while kneeling and cleaning in the bathroom.

They were super nice at the hospital! As you could see the wound on my leg straight away, I didn't have to wait long. Nurses, physician assistants and laboratory staff came very quickly to take blood, take samples and drain the abscess. At the end of my visit, I told my nurses that it was my first time in an American emergency room and that I had a very good experience. The nurses made jokes with each other, explained everything to me and treated me very courteously. He was happy about the praise, but also said that it wouldn't always be like that.

I was prescribed ibuprofen, sulfamethoxazone and cephalexin for 10 days and taken off work until Saturday of the same week. I rested my knee, didn't attend workshops, but helped around the house as much as I could. I didn't go running for almost two weeks. But then it healed and I was able to do strenuous activities again (gardening, dancing, jogging).

I made an interesting observation: in the waiting room there is a board with the title “This Building's Seismic Performance Rating”. “Structural Integrity” is in the second-best range, “Equipment and Systems Critical to Patient Care” is in the second-worst range. The conclusion among the ratings: “The State of California has determined that the hospital building is at risk of being unavailable for patient or community care after an earthquake”. Nice that it is made so transparent, but also a little worrying.

We celebrated Whitsun with numerous events in the community:

Lighting the Community Fire Through the Individual Flame

Ascension to Whitsun 2025

May 29th - June 6th, 9am

7 days of Whitsun Morning Circle

(Foundation Stone Meditation and singing)

@ Paloma Hall

Ascension, May 29th Thursday, 4pm

Community Walk, Celebration & Picnic 

@Anne Jean Cummings County Park

June 7th Saturday, 7pm

Community Concert

@ Paloma Hall

Whitsun, June 8th Sunday, 10am

Festival of Offering & Whitsun Celebration

@Paloma Hall

On a hike I met a deer and a rabbit, which I photographed. I had rabbits myself as a child, so I know what intelligent and versatile animals they are. It always makes me sad to see what small cages rabbits are kept in. They need lots of exercise, opportunities to dig tunnels and interaction with other rabbits (which they had in my grandparents' garden).

We had chocolate dates for dessert at the lunch café. Super tasty!

Chick-fil-A was recommended to me by a colleague. The chain doesn't have a permanent store here, but parks a food truck in front of Capitola Mall at lunchtime on Saturdays. She said it was much better than the fried chicken from Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wingstop or Safeway. I went there with great expectations and was unfortunately completely disappointed. It's very expensive - I paid 18 dollars for 8 nuggets, medium fries and medium coke! The chicken wasn't particularly crispy or well seasoned, for a little less money I would get 20 nuggets, large fries and large coke at McDonalds. The McDonalds nuggets also taste much better! The menu of the food truck is very limited compared to the fixed branches, besides nuggets there are also chicken burgers. Save your money and go to my favorite “Wingstop”, which is also right next to the mall.

There was a big move in our community, the householders and residents of two houses moved to the other house. Different residents come with different needs that can be accommodated more in some houses. I helped out and drove back and forth between the houses a few times to transport mattresses and shelves.

In Santa Cruz, you currently see a lot of cars with signs like “Go Soquel 2025!”, “#Senior #UCMerced”, “Bound Hink 4 Gradate I'm DONE!!!”. The high school, including a child of two householders, is currently celebrating graduation. The parents and students proudly write this on their cars, a nice idea. One evening we went to the Boardwalk, which was still very busy despite the late hour, you could hear people screaming on the rollercoaster and all the stalls were still open. We couldn't get in because it was a private event. It seems that the graduating class had rented the amusement park for a private event to party there for an evening. I'm sure the Santa Cruz Boardwalk was accommodating to Santa Cruz High School on price, as it's also advertising for the amusement park. We also went to a UCSC party, but the police had already closed the access roads there to prevent other party guests from arriving. That was a shame, as it's always nice to go out, meet new people and dance as a balance to work.

In the “Goethean Observation of Nature” course, we spent a lot of time outside, learning about plants and drawing them in various stages. We also learned about the anatomy of plants - as with music, I often find it difficult to describe plants because I don't have the theory behind them. We have created a nature journal that we will continue to work on in the second and third years as we delve deeper into the phenomenology of plant growth. It contains class notes, drawings of the plants we observed, pressed leaves and flowers. The goal was for us to become sensitized to the laws and principles of the organic world.

We had a great community concert. Similar to a talent show, individuals and groups could prepare songs that they wanted to sing or play with instruments. I was very impressed by some of the residents who are usually rather shy, but who really came to life on stage. The following songs were performed:

„Take Five“ by Dave Brubeck 

Play: How Honesty and Hark Work keep Camphill Moving Farward 

„A Whole New World“ by Alan Menken 

„Fireworks“ by Katy Perry 

„Break Up with Everything“ by M. Franti

„Summer“ by Vivaldi

„You’ve Got a Friend“ by J. Taylor

„Brothers“ by Michiru Oshima

„Song of Peace“ by Jean Sibelius

„Gavotte“ 

„93rd Psalm“ 

„Hallelujah“ by Leonard Cohen

While walking in Capitola, I saw a manhole cover on which someone had written “Damon”. I've never met anyone in person with my name, but it seems to be more common here than in Germany.

We were out and about with the walking group in Seacliff and then treated ourselves to a delicious ice cream at Dairy Queen. The “Blizzard” ice cream is served in a special way. The seller turns it upside down in front of your eyes to show that it is still so frozen that it won't fall out of the cup. On a trip with the SAGE group, we visited Starbucks. There was a sign on the door that read: “Watch your Step. dog pee on floor :( ”. In fact, the puddle was still there, next to it was a large folding sign with “Attention wet”. 10 minutes after we arrived, someone finally started to clean the floor. In the time it took to write the note, hang it up and put up the folding sign, I could have wiped it away three times - two years in Camphill make you very pragmatic.

On the way, I saw a beautiful sign: “May your dreams come true” with a UFO beaming up a person.

A student in my class is from Armenia but studied in Russia. He invited us students to his house to study, where we were able to try out his fancy coffee machine and snacks from Armenia.

I am trying to help the resident I did my project with to work more with writing. I bought a letter stencil that we worked with together. It worked really well!

We have a volunteer from Bavaria in the house who loves to bake bread. He experiments with lots of different types of bread, from chocolate rolls to buckwheat bread and classic wholemeal bread. We are always happy to try out new breads!

A householder told us from the book "The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business" by Erin Meyer. Erin Meyer is a professor at INSEAD, one of the world's leading international business schools. He has studied communication patterns and business systems in different parts of the world, highlighting the complexity of cultural differences in the multicultural field. His colleague brought us an exciting graphic comparing the USA, Germany, Japan and China in various categories: Communication (Low-context vs High-context), Evaluating (Direct negative impact vs Indirect negative feedback), Persuading (Principles-first vs Application-first), Leading (Egalitarian vs Hierarchical), Deciding (Consensual vs Top-down), Trusting (Task-based vs Relationship-based), Disagreeing (Confrontational vs Avoids confrontation) and scheduling (Linear time vs Flexible time). It was super exciting to compare the culture in the USA and Germany and to consider whether I could make these observations in the same way.

Every Thursday from 15:00 - 17:00 I attend the dance class in our community together with residents. In the last half hour, one of the residents leads yoga. I had never tried yoga before Camphill California, but I really enjoy it!

I went to the movies in Santa Cruz with three friends. We saw the new “Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning”. I can only remember two Mission Impossible movies, the first and the third movie where he is in the Vatican. Now I've seen the eighth movie without seeing the previous movies. But let's be honest, who goes to Mission Impossible movies for the story? The strength of the films are the great action scenes that Tom Cruise shoots himself without stunt doubles. In conversation with my colleagues, I described it as a mixture of “James Bond” and “Fast and Furious”. An agent and save the world story like in “James Bond”, but with over-the-top action scenes and humorous team dynamics like in “Fast and Furious”. The movie runs 2 hours and 50 minutes and comes with a plot that is really very far-fetched. A super AI called “Entity” has taken over the whole of cyberspace. Its goal is to take over the nuclear arsenals of the eight global nuclear nations. The US government is under pressure to act: in 72 hours they will lose control of their nuclear weapons, but before then they could bomb the nuclear arsenals of the other nations to protect their own country. 100 million people would die in the process. Ethan Hunt sets out on a mission to prevent nuclear war and save the lives of 100 million people, forming a team with a pickpocket, a professional assassin and two hackers. You can really switch off your brain here, because the race against artificial intelligence is not really interesting. But the action scenes are great fun! For example, when he dodges sinking torpedoes in a rolling submarine lying on the seabed or climbs around on a flying airplane. That was a lot of fun to watch! I had a good evening, but I wouldn't recommend the movie to anyone else - you can also watch the two sequences on YouTube without having to follow the whole story. 

I'm on "Threads" ("damonphilipp"), the Twitter ("X") alternative to Meta. Here, I follow several teachers who share news about their daily teaching lives. Apparently, there are now many teachers using artificial intelligence in their work. Examples given include:

1. Plan lessons faster

"Plan a 45-minute lesson on the topic of [enter topic, e.g., photosynthesis] for the class of [grade level], including learning objectives, introduction, main part, assignment, and conclusion. Consider different learning styles and include an interactive activity."

2. Create differentiated worksheets

"Create three versions of a worksheet on the topic of [topic], adapted to three different learning levels (easy, medium, challenging). Each version should include clear instructions, exercises, and a solution."

3. Write student feedback efficiently

"Write five individual, constructive pieces of feedback for student work on the topic [topic, suitable for an 8th grade class. The tone should be encouraging, honest, and supportive."

4. Prepare for parent-teacher meetings

"Help me prepare for a parent-teacher meeting about [topic, e.g., concentration problems, conflicts in the classroom]. Give me a clear structure, appropriate wording, and possible solutions."

On the one hand, I find that interesting, as there are many monotonous bureaucratic tasks that distract from the actual work of a teacher. But having an AI write parent-teacher conferences and student feedback is a step too far for me. Where are we getting to? The teacher assigns homework written by an AI. The student has the AI ​​answer the questions. Then the teacher has the AI ​​write student feedback. In the end, only the AI ​​communicates with each other, and we humans can all sit back and not have to worry about education anymore. What a dystopia.

My birthday last year at the Triform Camphill Community was one of the best birthdays I've ever celebrated. I've never received such appreciation for my daily work from friends, colleagues and residents before. There was singing, partying, dancing, appreciation rounds, bonfire and I got a delicious cake. This year, my birthday fell on my day off. The day before my birthday the SAGE group invited me to the Restaurant "Q-Pot: Korean BBQ & Hot Pot". It was an all-you-can-eat Restaurant. We were all sitting around a table with an integrated stovetops and pans, where we could cook our food. There was a tablet integrated, where we could order meat, rice, vegetables, fish, bacon and other asian food. They even had my favorite food: fried Chicken! They didn't know before that this is my favorite food, but they made me really happy. It was very delicious and we had much fun together. There was also a Dessert, an Oreo Cake. 

My plan for my birthday was  to travel to Carmel with a friend. Many people call Carmel the most beautiful city in California. The Spanish founded the settlement in 1797. When Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, Carmel became Mexican territory. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the village was inundated with musicians, writers, painters and other creatives. These new residents were offered very cheap lots. Carmel became an art colony and seaside resort, which incorporated in 1916. Carmel has historically pursued a strategy of planned development to enhance its natural coastal beauty and to retain its character. The city's general plan describes it as "a village in a forest overlooking a white sand beach". Carmel was successfull to keep its beautiful look and is really an amazing place. The actor and director Clint Eastwood was mayor of Carmel from 1986 to 1988. Brad Pitt has a house here. Sadly, my friend was called to work. So I was alone and had to take the bus to Carmel. It took 3,5 hours, so I could only spend one hour in Carmel and then had to take the bus back for again 3,5 hours. I tried to make the best of it and see it as a road trip. I enjoyed walking through Carmel, it is really refreshing to see the old houses, the beautiful beach, it doesn't look so touristic like Santa Cruz but managed to keep its old glamour and atmosphere. I treated myself to a delicious ice cream and two pretzels (everything bagel flavor and one with chocolate coating). On the way back I stranded in Salinas, because according to the Bus driver the bus service ends at 6pm, even if Google Maps showed another connection there was no Bus coming. I went to the Train Station, where a Greyhound Bus to San Jose (from where I could take the bus to Santa Cruz) should come. But this Bus also didn't arrive. I asked my house for help and a colleague promised me to pick me up after all the residents went to Bed. I used the two hours to go to Alvarado Street Brewery Taproot, where I ate a delicious Smashburger and drinked a nice cocktail. I was a little bit sad that I could neither celebrate with my friend nor with the community. The next day, however, many people in the community congratulated me and my house surprised me with a lovely gift. A T-Shirt, on the front is written "You can read more about that on my blog - www.damonruhlaender.de", on the back is a QR Code to my Instagram Profile. Whether I've returned from a vacation in Los Angeles, attended a cultural event with residents or completed an interesting seminar at the Camphill Academy: when my housemates have asked me about it, I've always referred them to my blog, where I've usually already reported on it in detail. Now I received a surprise with a small wink. Thank you so much for the fun gift! Now I no longer need to mention it so often. 

On the morning of my birthday, I made a videocall with my mother and opened the package she had sent me for my birthday. Inside were many wonderful surprises: German snacks, T-shirts, craft materials for projects with the residents, a cake mix for my favorite cake, and birthday decorations for my room. I was very happy about all the gifts, but the best part was being able to celebrate my birthday with my mother, even though we are 9,190.46 km away.

As the year comes to an end, I had my final review. During this final meeting, I met with my householder, the Academy's faculty head (who is also my mentor), and the workshop manager. I received positive feedback on my work in the house and in the workshops. They told me that I have successfully completed the Foundation Studies and am promoted to continue the Studies for the Paraprofessional Degree: "Thank you for cintributing to the learning community we build together an good luck in your next steps. All the best!".  They encouraged me to further explore my artistic skills. I always had struggles with painting and drawing. My way of expressing myself creatively has always been through writing, not painting. I never learned many drawing techniques, so my drawings don't look much better than they did in elementary school. When I was painting, I always tried to finish quickly so I could move on to the next task, but I never had the inner peace to fully concentrate on it. Here I should show more openness. I also should enter intentionally into social therapeutic relationship as peers (in adult community setting) vs teacher/student dynamic. After six years of teacher training and several years of working in a school, it is difficult for me to let go of some learned behaviors, perspectives and approaches.

But I also received a lot of positive feedback, which was collected in advance from colleagues and residents:

How was your experience working with Damon?

• fun

• he is always up for spending time together and is interested and kind

• he is motivated and enthusiastic

• he is consistent

• he is reliable, dependable, present

Highlights:

Running the Marathon, presentation for the community, a good gardening buddy, learning to make Gluten- & Dairyfree Pancakes on Saturday, a good walking partner, a thorough cleaning partner, he documents all the fun we have with pictures. 

From my Care & Community Practicum Supervisor I got this feedback:

Damon demonstrated being on time, consistent, communicative, thorough, creative, open, humble & ready to learn, dependable & warm. He actively tried building relationships with every member of the team - be it in house or the crew. He approached everything with warmth, attention & devotion. His project was well thought through and carried out with motivation and attention to his partner. Damon has been a valuable asset in ISHI-Team in that he brought humor & lightness in all encounters. His inner capacity to "look on the bright side" is a strength.  His shiving to bring people together, be it for a movie or game evening or to learn about some topic os one of real community impulse. He carries his responsibilities with dedication and a sense of deep accountability. Thank you Damon! We all have learnt from you. 

From my Professional Practice Practicum Supervisor I got this feedback:

Demonstrated flexibility towards activities and changes in rhythms of aging friends. He was willing to take on responsibilities and tasks such as making granola and working on the raised bed projects of elderly friends. During my observation, I noted Damon's thoughtful and flexible approach while working with *** on the composting project. Damon demonstrated an ability to pivot his approach to meet ***'s individual needs while ensuring the task remained accessible and engaging. For example he adjusted his communication on methods by shifting from verbal language to incorporate signs and gestures supporting ***'s preferred mode of communication. One suggestion I provided was to incorporate *** using his hands (with gloves) to spread the compost which provides a fine motor activity and connection to the task through the senses. 

Thank you so much everyone for the lovely feedback! This gives me much strength for challenges and tasks in the future.

With the SAGE group we went to the cinema to watch the movie "Lilo and Stitch". As a child I was a big Lilo and Stitch fan, so I was curious to see how I would like it 20 years later. I was as fascinated and entertained as I was as a child. Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, it is a live-action animated remake of Disney's 2002 traditionally animated film Lilo & Stitch, with some elements also based on that film's animated sequels and spin-off television series. As a child, I saw often the TV Show Lilo & Stitch: The Series (2003-2006). Running for two seasons, it had a total of 65 episodes. I remember many toys and how much I enjoyed to see the tropical Hawaiian Setting on TV. Its about the orphaned Hawaiian girl Lilo Pelekai, who is raised by her struggling older sister Nani, and the artificial extraterrestrial creature originally named Experiment 626, whom she adopts as a "dog" and names Stitch. Stitch was created via genetic engineering by alien mad scientist Dr. Jumba Jookiba to cause chaos and destruction across the galaxy but was rehabilitated by Lilo thanks to ʻohana, the Hawaiian concept of extended family. Stitch reconsiders his intended destructive purpose to keeps his newfound family together. The aliens want to bring Stitch back and send two aliens to hunt Stitch... A interesting story set in a beautiful setting with plenty of funny moments. While the original film and the series are animated, the new film is a live-action adaptation. I had a lot of fun and wanted to watch the old film and the series again. It definitely brought back many childhood memories!

We went hiking with the SAGE group to a new spot. My colleague couldn't believe I hadn't been there before. If you walk up the Capitola Beach steps behind Brittannia Arms in Capitola to Cliff Ave, you'll be rewarded with a beautiful view of Capitola and the bay. Afterwards, we walked into a community on Plum Street, which, according to the signs, is closed to the public. However, as long as you just walk through the gated community, you're welcome. A very idyllic settlement with a stream and numerous ducks, which can be observed here. On the way we saw a house where the owner had planted a large collection of cacti in front of his house. Cacti from many parts of the world can be admired here. 

For each season, we hang a picture in our living room. A Camphill artist created huge paintings for our community that reflect each season. We've now hung the summer picture that hung there when we first came to the community. The year is almost over, as we've seen here again.

Each of us selected a resident to interview using a questionnaire. We were asked to find out which workshops and afternoon activities the residents enjoyed most, what they wanted to change, and what they'd like to try.

One of our residents celebrated her birthday with a big pool party in our garden. There was cake, delicious food, and her favorite music.

I swapped my day off from Sunday to Wednesday. This was very important to me, as I always missed my house's outings. It's actually an opportunity to go on fun outings with the residents, away from the daily work routine, and get to know them from a different perspective. On my first Sunday with the house, we went to a ballet performance in Santa Cruz. Children and young people performed "Cinderella," which was really fun.

For lunch, I came up with something new. I halved bell peppers and spread them with homemade herb butter. The residents loved it; it was healthy and delicious! We volunteers met later at Beer Bottle Beach and spent a lovely evening together at the bonfire. 

I borrowed two very interesting books from the Santa Cruz Downtown Library and read them with great interest:

• The Girls Come Marching Home: Stories of Women Warriors Returning from the War in Iraq by Kirsten Holmstedt

In her award-winning Band of American Women at War in Iraq , Kirsten Holmstedt described how female soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are fighting on the front lines in Iraq despite the military's ban on women in combat. Now Holmstedt tells the stories of America's fighting women as they come home from Iraq. Some return with grave physical wounds, but all struggle with the psychological toll of battle while readjusting to life at home. As Holmstedt so poignantly shows, these women may have left the war, but the war will never leave them.

• The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq by Helen Benedict

The Lonely Soldier--the inspiration for the documentary The Invisible War--vividly tells the stories of five women who fought in Iraq between 2003 and 2006--and of the challenges they faced while fighting a war painfully alone. More American women have fought and died in Iraq than in any war since World War Two, yet as soldiers they are still painfully alone. In Iraq, only one in ten troops is a woman, and she often serves in a unit with few other women or none at all. This isolation, along with the military's deep-seated hostility toward women, causes problems that many female soldiers find as hard to cope with as war itself: degradation, sexual persecution by their comrades, and loneliness, instead of the camaraderie that every soldier depends on for comfort and survival. As one female soldier said, "I ended up waging my own war against an enemy dressed in the same uniform as mine." In The Lonely Soldier, Benedict tells the stories of five women who fought in Iraq between 2003 and 2006. She follows them from their childhoods to their enlistments, then takes them through their training, to war and home again, all the while setting the war's events in context. We meet Jen, white and from a working-class town in the heartland, who still shakes from her wartime traumas; Abbie, who rebelled against a household of liberal Democrats by enlisting in the National Guard; Mickiela, a Mexican American who grew up with a family entangled in L.A. gangs; Terris, an African American mother from D.C. whose childhood was torn by violence; and Eli PaintedCrow, who joined the military to follow Native American tradition and to escape a life of Faulknerian hardship. Between these stories, Benedict weaves those of the forty other Iraq War veterans she interviewed, illuminating the complex issues of war and misogyny, class, race, homophobia, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Each of these stories is unique, yet collectively they add up to a heartbreaking picture of the sacrifices women soldiers are making for this country. Benedict ends by showing how these women came to face the truth of war and by offering suggestions for how the military can improve conditions for female soldiers-including distributing women more evenly throughout units and rejecting male recruits with records of violence against women. Humanizing, urgent, and powerful, The Lonely Soldier is a clarion call for change.

The books were a real eye-opener for me. What does war do to people? What's it like to return from war and face the challenge of reintegrating into society? Why do female soldiers have to fear being victims of assault by their comrades more than being injured in combat? The many impressions shared by the veterans interviewed are highly emotional and thought-provoking.

I spent a few days in Las Vegas. I was less interested in the hotels and casinos, but more in the surrounding national parks.  Some fun facts: It is the brightest city in the world as seen from the International Space Station and the sunniest and driest City in the US with 310 sunny days. If you wanted to stay one night in every hotel room in Las Vegas, it would take you almost 300 years. Las Vegas has more than 100 casinos and over 150,000 hotel rooms, more than any other city in the world. 9 billion dollars are raised annually via gambling. Every day 300 couples are married in Las Vegas every day. 60,000 pund of shrimps are consumed in Las Vegas every day, which is higher than the rest of the United States combined. What does it mean for you? It is loud, bright and at every corner someone wants to sell you something for an outrageous price. It's so warm outside that you want to spend a lot of time indoors, but of course you'll have to pay money in hotels, casinos and malls. Nevertheless, there are some places worth visiting:

1) Las Vegas Cheap Sheet

Las Vegas is expensive. My guide recommended a list that has a lot of really good tips: https://www.reddit.com/r/vegas/comments/19erjip/the_steve_gustafon_vegas_cheap_sheet_updated_115/#lightbox

2) Caesar's Palace 

As a fan of antiquity, having studied ancient Rome for years at university, I was very excited to see the Caesars Palace hotel and casino. It has been on the Strip since the 1960s and is very opulent. The hotel lobby, casino, and attached shopping center feature many statues, columns, and iconography typical of Hollywood productions from Roman times, including a 6.1-meter-high statue of Augustus Caesar near the entrance and the big Neptun-Fountain. There is a large event hall with a 2,086 square meter stage that looks like the Colosseum from the outside. International stars such as Adele, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tina Turner, Elton John, Harry Belafonte, and Mariah Carey have performed here in the past. The hotel has appeared in many films, including Rocky 3, Rain Man, The Hangover, and 2012. If you are in Las Vegas, you have to visit Caesars Palace. It's fun to walk through the corridors and admire the statues, giant chandeliers and ceiling paintings.

3) Venetian Resort & Grand Canal Shoppes 

My favorite place in Las Vegas. A mall modeled after Venice, complete with beautiful stone floors, alleys adorned with frescoes, bridges, and painted ceilings, Italian-style shops and cafes, an artificial sky, and a canal running through the mall, where gondoliers ferry tourists around in gondolas. What's special about it: the gondoliers not only drive the boats, but are also singers, creating a wonderful atmosphere with their Italian singing. While in other malls, modern pop music blares from the speakers through the aisles, here the people themselves sing. Sitting in the replica of St. Mark's Square and sipping a nice coffee, you quickly forget that you're actually in a mall. 

4) Flyover & The Wonders of the American West 

I'm a big fan of 4D cinemas. In 2012, I visited a 4D cinema in Potsdam Babelsberg where you ride a rollercoaster. I remember the seats shaking and the rollercoaster plummeting down several floors after the end of the track. The fall from the track felt so realistic that I instinctively pushed myself up in my seat to cushion the impact. What a great experience! In Amsterdam, I visited “THIS IS HOLLAND - The Ultimate 5D Flight Experience”. If you're afraid of heights, you should avoid this one. You sit on a row of seats and are strapped in. The room goes dark, the railing in front of you folds forward. The seats start to move and extend over the edge - below you is a large abyss with a screen in front of, below, above and next to you. The movie shows a flight through the Netherlands, the wind blows around your face, during rain scenes you are sprayed with drops of water, the seats turn and tilt depending on the scene. In some scenes, I had to hold on tightly to avoid falling out of my seat. In Las Vegas there is the “Flyover” experience, where you fly around in moving seats. It features flight motion seats, a 52.5 foot wide spherical screen that surrounds you and wind, mist and scents. There are three experiences: 

• Wonders of the Amarican West: Discover America’s rugged west aboard an epic immersive adventure. Wonders of the American West brings the United States’ most iconic locations to life, including Lake Tahoe, Zion National Park, the Mojave Desert and the Grand Canyon. You’ll fly with wingsuiters in Washington State and race with the world’s fastest car in the Salt Flats of Utah. You’ll also see one of the world’s natural wonders at Grand Canyon West. The ride features 22 scenes across ten states, including Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, and Wyoming, even taking flight over the Las Vegas Strip.

• Legendary Iceland: Sweeping glaciers, stunning fjords and ancient mysteries. That’s what you’ll explore when you venture to the land of fire and ice aboard this incredible immersive journey. Hang on to your seat and be swept away to discover pristine Iceland.

• Windborne: Call of the Canadian Rockies. Set off on a journey beyond the summits. Flyover’s alpine experience transports you to the remote wonders of the Canadian Rockies. Beyond the beauty, you'll discover the spirit of the mountains from the people who call the Rockies home.

• Believe Chicago: Connect with your curiosity, amplify your senses, and explore Chicago. Your immersive flying journey transports you over Chicago so you can experience the city's highlights from this perspective.

• The Lost Cactus Bar: bar and lounge is an oasis in the desert. Refresh and unwind before or after your flight ride with a Prickly Pear Margarita, Desert Sunset or other delicious specialty cocktail while surrounded by the scalloped slot canyon walls and winding river floors. Don't forget to look up — no matter what time it is, The Lost Cactus’s twinkling stars always shine overhead.

I saw "Wonders of the American West".  It took over a year and more than 100 hours of flight time with an actual helicopter to shoot all the video footage. It was totally worth it! It conveys the fascination of American nature very well and makes you want to explore the landscapes shown. In contrast to the movie in Amsterdam, I noticed that there were none of the abrupt and fast dives and turns that made me cling to the handrails back then. So I was able to concentrate much more on enjoying the beautiful nature.Be sure to try it out!

You can get an insight here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCO2v8pqkfo

5) Bellagio Fountain & Conservatory Botanical Gardens  Alongside Caesar Palace, the water fountains in front of the Bellagio Hotel are probably the most famous attraction in Las Vegas. In front of the hotel is a large lake in which a fountain show is performed at regular intervals to changing music, from classical to pop. Inside the hotel, the "Conservatory & Botanical Garden", a seasonally decorated garden with elaborate floral installations, is well worth a visit.

6) Fremont Street Experience / Downtown

Fremont Street is in Las Vegas Downtown, the old city center before the Strip became the center. It is colorful, loud and freaky. Street performers vie for the attention of tourists here with street art, performances, live music and dancing. Bars invite you to sit down for people-watching. Above the street is a 460 meter long LED ceiling (“Viva vision”), which shows spectacular light shows at night. Above people's heads, brave people race along a zipline ("SlotZilla") along the street. Drinks are expensive, so get your drinks at CVS, fill them into a neutral bottle and enjoy the hustle and bustle.

7)  Heart Attack Grill 

The restaurant "Heart Attack Grill" in downtown Las Vegas on Fremont Street was recommended to me by my tour guide. It is an XXL restaurant with hot dogs and burgers, which are very cheap compared to other restaurants in Las Vegas. I ordered a huge hot dog with fries and a Coke for 20 dollars. In some hotels you pay 60.99 for a portion of Shrimps! Yes, its in the desert, but its still expensive. It was very tasty, especially the excellently seasoned and very crispy fries, highly recommended! If you weigh over 350 LBS (158 kg), you don't have to pay your bill! The restaurant deals with this in a very humorous way, there are adapted movie posters in the restaurant alluding to it and warnings about health consequences. Every guest who comes into the restaurant has to wear a hospital gown. You can only pay with cash "because you might die before the check clears". The waiters are all dressed like nurses. If you don't finish your food - or are cheeky to the nurses - you get a special punishment: you are harnessed in the middle of the restaurant in front of all the guests. Fortunately, I managed to finish everything. Two men and one woman didn't make it, they were spanked on the bottom by the sisters. Strange, but also very tasty. Come and visit - but only if you're really hungry...

If you'd like to read all of my experiences, you can do so on the "Las Vegas Highlights" page. I would say that a visit to the city is worthwhile if you're coming with a group of friends, have some money, enjoy gambling, and want to party. As a solo traveler, I personally found it interesting to walk the Strip and see the extravagant hotels, especially Caesars Palace and the Venetian Palace. However, I didn't need to spend more than two days here; the most exciting things in the area are actually the national parks. I'll write more about that in the coming weeks. 

Grand Canyon

2.5 hours from Las Wegen is the Grand Canyon West. On our way we passed Dolan Springs, the gateway to Grand Canyon. It is a very poor village and looks like a big trailerpark. About 41% of the population were living below the poverty line, including 88% of those under age 18. Medical emergency response in the Dolan Springs area can take hours. Unfortunately,  this section of US Route 93 in Arizona was ranked as the most dangerous highway in the U.S. This 200-mile-long road runs between Wickenburg, Arizona, and the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge. 70 fatal crashes reportedly took place on this highway from 2010 to 2016. Recent changes to the intersection of US93 and Pierce Ferry, the road to the Grand Canyon West, and the addition of several truck stops have made the highway far more dangerous. Slow-speed trucks entering and crossing US93 create a situation ripe for high-speed crashes. Next to the street we saw Juniper trees. Probably the most popular edible use of juniper trees is harvesting the conerries for making gin. The "Grand Canyon Gin" is made with a blend of 11 organic botanicals, including juniper berries, coriander, cinnamon, citrus, and lemongrass. Juniper berries are a mandatory ingredient for a spirit to be classified as gin. We also saw the Cylindropuntia fulgida, also known as Jumping cholla. The name comes from the ease with which the stems detach when brushed. Their surface is covered with tiny barbs, so even if you just lightly touch one without necessarily getting the end of the spine in you, they will stick to you. If you get pricked by a Cholla Cactus, the barbed spines will likely lodge deeply into your skin, making removal difficult and painful. It's important to remove the spines carefully to avoid infection. The desert looks deserted, but here are many animas living like Spiders, Tarantulas and Coyotes. 

 In my English book there was a large photo of the glass skywalk from which you could look deep into the canyon. I was very excited about it. The Grand Canyon is a steep, approximately 450-kilometer-long gorge in the north of the US state of Arizona, which was carved into the rock of the Colorado Plateau by the Colorado River over millions of years. The canyon is between 6 and 30 km wide and up to 1800 m deep. The canyon is one of the great natural wonders of the world and was visited by over six million people in 2018. Most of it is located in the Grand Canyon National Park, which has been a World Heritage Site in the United States since 1979. 2000 years ago, the Anasazi people inhabited the area. They lived in mud huts, built their dwellings into the walls of the canyon and left behind many rock carvings. The Grand Canyon was first sighted by a European through García López de Cárdenas from Spain. He was searching for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola on behalf of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. He arrived here in September 1540, after which the canyon was not visited by any Europeans for over 200 years. On January 11, 1908, the area around the Grand Canyon was declared a National Monument by US President Theodore Roosevelt, who had often spent time in the area. On the way to the Grand Canyon, we saw many pistachio farms. In 2007, the Grand Canyon Skywalk was opened, a horseshoe-shaped platform made of steel girders with glass floor panels and glass railings extending 22 meters above the edge of the canyon. Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin and a group of Hualapai Indians were allowed to take the first steps. Below the glass floor, there is a depth of 150 to 240 meters, two kilometers away you can see the Colorado River 1100 meters below. In the background is Eagle Point, a beautiful, natural rock formation reminiscent of an eagle with outstretched wings. It is commissioned and owned by the Hualapai Indian tribe, their "Ambassadors" are there to answer questions from the Tourists, sell jewelry and take pictures of them. I paid just under 100 dollars for admission and photos taken by the professional photographers. You can also do a zipline tour or book a helicopter tour. My tip: skip the visit to the skywalk. Instead, you should take the shuttle bus to Guano Point. It is a natural viewpoint over the Colorado River. You will have to hike a little and climb the rock formation, which can be exhausting in the blazing sun without any shade. But it's worth the effort: from the top you have a breathtaking 360 degree view of the canyon, definitely one of the most beautiful views I enjoyed during my time in the USA. There are also fewer tourists here. You can see an old cable car that crossed the canyon to reach a valuable guano mine in the early 20th century. The tracks stretched nearly 9,000 feet across the expanse of the canyon. This historic mining operation is known to have been one of the most difficult and expensive mining projects in the first half of the 20th century.  Guano is a natural substance consisting primarily of the excrement of birds or bats. It is often used as fertilizer because it is rich in important plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium.

Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam is a masterpiece of engineering and is located about 45 minutes southeast of Las Vegas on the Arizona border. It dams the Colorado River to form Lake Mead. The dam's primary purpose is to provide controlled water flow to Arizona, Nevada, and California; another is to generate electricity. Before its construction, regular flooding of the Colorado River and periods of drought disrupted the lives of settlers in the southwestern states, particularly in agriculture. From 1935 until the construction of the Vajont Dam in Italy in 1961, the dam was the tallest dam in the world. A total of approximately 21,000 people worked on the dam's construction, 96 of whom died in work-related accidents. The city of Las Vegas owes its current appearance to the construction of the dam. Mormons established the first permanent settlement in the Las Vegas Valley in 1855 with the Las Vegas Mission, building a fort that served as a waystation and trading post. It was only thanks to the construction project, located some 50 km away and requiring thousands of workers, that the small desert settlement became the gambling metropolis it is today. Gambling and alcohol were prohibited in Boulder City, which was built specifically for the Hoover Dam workers and their families, so many of the workers moved to nearby Las Vegas in their free time, which quickly became home to an increasing number of casinos. 

The border between the states of Arizona and Nevada runs exactly down the middle of the dam. This means that the eastern half of the Hoover Dam falls within the Mountain Time zone (UTC-7 in Arizona), while the western half falls within the Pacific Time zone (UTC-8 in Nevada), so there is one hour time difference when you cross the dam. If you come and visit, you should not have an medical emergency. If the Emergency Service is responding to a call in Meadview when you have an accident near Hover Dam, it can take over four hours for EMS to arrive. The dam is also known from numerous films and video games, such as Fallout: New Vegas (one of my favorites) and GTA: San Andreas. On the way the Hoover Dam, we saw a strange structure next to the street. Our guide said, that this belongs to the Vegas Loop. Elon Musk’s Boring Company is constructing a planned 68-mile tunnel system beneath Las Vegas where drivers will ferry passengers around the urban core in Teslas. There is also a new Train planned, that will only need 2h18min from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. This would help many people, who have to rely on Airplanes to reach Las Vegas. 

Mount Whitney

After a long tour through Death Valley, we drove up Mount Whitney. At 4,421 meters, it is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States (outside of Alaska). It is located in the Sierra Nevada near Lone Pine. Of course, we didn't climb to the summit, but drove to the Mount Whitney Trailhead. The mountain road up offers beautiful views of the valley; the transition from desert to more and more vegetation, all the way to the green forest at the trailhead, is fascinating to watch. We were sweaty and thirsty, and when we reached the top, we drank from the clear, ice-cold stream and washed our faces with it. Snow lies on the mountaintop, which melts and fills the stream that flows down a waterfall at the trailhead. From here, you can hike up the mountain or get some refreshments at the store. After a day in the desert, I felt like I'd finally reached an oasis. The air is much cooler, and you just want to lie in the shade by the waterfall and relax. A paradise! Of course, our tour guide told us a tragic story here as well. The story of the Donner Party, which is also mentioned in the film "The Shining" with Jack Nickolson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RJm4iynxU0

The Donner Party originally consisted of about 87 men, women, and children from Illinois and Missouri who joined in April 1846 the westward march to California. They followed the California Trail. In Wyoming, they left the proven path and followed the Hasting Cutoff, a shortcut recommended by pioneer Lansford Hastings. He recommended the trail without having traveled the recommended route himself, and he was apparently unaware of the difficulties of crossing the Wasatch Range and the Great Salt Desert in western Utah. He advertised that his overland route was faster and better than any other. The Donner Party lost valuable weeks in the Utah Salt Flats, where they struggled with dehydration, heat, and exhaustion. Then came the arduous mountain passes in Nevada. When they finally arrived at the Sierra Nevada in October 1846, they were severely delayed. Near present-day Donner Lake (then Truckee Lake), they were snowed in. The snow was several meters deep, and the pass was impassable. The group built makeshift huts and tried to survive the winter. Supplies quickly ran out. Livestock died or were slaughtered. Soon the people were starving. Some died of cold and exhaustion. A group of 17 people, known as the "Forlorn Hope", attempted to find help on foot in December. Only seven survived the trek over the mountains. Hunger and desperation led them to resort to cannibalism along the way. It wasn't until February 1847, after more than four months in the snow, that the first relief parties reached the survivors. Of the original 87 members of the Donner Party, 48 survived. The public was shocked by the reports of cannibalism and the tragic fate of the settlers. Our guide told us, that not far away in the White Mountains, you can find really old trees. The mountains are home to some of the oldest living non-clonal organisms on Earth: the Great Basin bristlecone pines, with some trees exceeding 4,500 years of age. These ancient trees thrive in the harsh, high-altitude alpine desert conditions of the Inyo National Forest, particularly in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. The most famous among them is Methuselah, a bristlecone pine estimated to be around 4,855 years old.

Death Valley

Death Valley - the hottest place on earth. On July 10, 1913, the National Weather Service measured a temperature of 56.7 °C (134 °F) at Greenland Ranch, which is the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth. In 2021, a temperature of 54.4 °C (130 °F) was measured using modern measurement technologies, which, unlike the 1913 measurement, is undisputed.  On July 12, 2012, the highest night-time temperature in the world at the time was measured in Death Valley at 41.7 °C (107 °F).

The lowest point is 85.95 meters below sea level, making it the lowest accessible point in North America. Death Valley is surrounded by several mountain ranges, the highest being the Panamint Range with the 3366 m high Telescope Peak. Although Death Valley is only a few hundred kilometers from the Pacific Ocean, it is one of the driest areas on earth. This is due to the fact that the moist winds on their way from the Pacific Ocean rain down on five mountain ridges before they can pass over the area of the park.  Death Valley was designated a National Monument in 1933. In 1994, it was greatly expanded and upgraded to a national park. On 20 February 2011, the national park was recognized as an International Dark Sky Park; since then, the light protection area has also been called Death Valley International Dark Sky Park. It is by far the largest such protected area in the USA and the second largest in the world. We set off early at 3:30 a.m. to admire the stars and the Milky Way here at night - we even saw Shooting stars!. What a beautiful, unobstructed view!

The valley got its name after two groups of travelers with a total of about 100 wagons sought a shortcut of the Old Spanish Trail in 1849 and ended up in the valley ("Death Valley 49ers"). After weeks of not finding a way out of the valley and being forced to eat several of their oxen (using the wood from their wagons as firewood), they abandoned their remaining wagons and left the valley via Wingate Pass. As they did so, one of the women in the group turned and called out to the valley, “Goodbye, Death Valley”. The valley is rich in metals such as gold and silver, as well as minerals such as talc and borax. For many years, a mining company operated here, extracting borax for soap production. One of the few permanent inhabitants of Death Valley has always been the small colony of Timbisha Shoshone near the hotel oasis of Furnace Creek. The Timbishas are the southernmost closed tribal group of the Western Shoshone Indians. Coyotes roam around, we saw a coyote that walked up to our car and expected us to feed it. We visited some impressive places:

• Zabriskie Point: A surreal-looking erosion landscape with yellow and ochre-colored hills. You have a great view from up here.

• Dantes View: We marveled at the sunrise over Death Valley from up here. The viewpoint rises 1699 meters above the Badwater Basin on the crest of the Black Mountains. You can easily reach the point by car. In Star Wars Episode 4, Obi Wan looks down on Tatooine with Luke and the droids and says: "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious". Although the first filming of Tatooine took place in Tunisia, Death Valley was chosen for further scenes, partly because of the logistical advantages it offered. For example, Mardji, an elephant from San Francisco, was brought in to play a Bantha, a creature native to Tatooine. Panoramic views of Death Valley were also used in the grandiose series “The Mandalorian”.

• Artists Palette: A winding road leads through hills whose colors were caused by oxidation of various metals - green, violet, pink. There is a beautiful lighting mood in the afternoon. A scene in Star Wars (R2D2 drives alone across Tatooine in the evening) was filmed here. Twenty Mule Team Canyon, not far away, was transformed into a backdrop for Jawas catching droids. 

• Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes: Near Stovepipe Wells are these classic shifting sand dunes. The place was used in Star Wars 4 as the Great Pit of Carkoon, the home of Sarlacc. R2D2 and C3PO also travel through this desert. “Attack of the Clones” (2002) featured footage of Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker approaching a wetland farm on Tatooine and was also filmed in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. The sand was really hot! We could only touch the sand for a really short time. The guide said, that when it is 120 Fahrenheit, the sand will be 160 Fahrenheit (71 Degree Celsius) hot! 

• Furnace Creek Visitor Center: The central hub for visitors to Death Valley. At the visitor center, you can talk to park rangers, get maps, secure yourself before hikes and buy souvenirs. There is an extensive exhibition with a 20-minute film about Death Valley, restrooms and a room for lectures and events. Right next door is “The Oasis”, a resort for tourists, a campsite and the lowest golf course in the world.

If you want to relax along the way, you can enjoy the delicious breakfast buffet at the Toll Road Restaurant. 

Do you know those mysterious rocks that appear to move on their own? This phenomenon was also featured in Pirates of the Caribbean 3. You can find them here in the "Racetrack Playa." No one has ever saw the rocks moving, yet they leave a path behind them and regularly change position. Erosion forces cause rocks from the surrounding mountains to tumble onto the surface of the racetrack. Once they reach the bottom of the playa, the stones move across the flat surface, leaving traces of their movements. Some of the moving stones are large and have traveled up to 450 meters. Over the years, many theories have been put forward to explain the mystery of these rock movements. Researchers' observations show that the movement of the stones requires a rare combination of events. First, the playa fills with water, which must be deep enough to allow formation of floating ice during cold winter nights but shallow enough to expose the rocks. As nighttime temperatures plummet, the pond freezes to form sheets of "windowpane" ice, which must be thin enough to move freely but thick enough to maintain strength. On sunny days, the ice begins to melt and break up into large floating panels, which light winds drive across the playa pool. The ice sheets shove rocks in front of them and the moving stones leave trails in the soft mud bed below the pool surface.

Our guide told numerous stories from Death Valley—most of them, unfortunately, tragic. The Barker Ranch in Death Valley became known as the last hideout of Charles Manson after his murders in Los Angeles. It was here that he and other members of his cult were arrested in 1969. In 1996, a family of four from Germany disappeared in Death Valley. The family consisted of 34-year-old architect Egbert Rimkus, his 11-year-old son Georg Weber, Rimkus's 27-year-old girlfriend Cornelia Meyer, and their 4-year-old son Max Meyer, all from Dresden. The family had booked a return flight from Los Angeles to Germany on July 27, 1996, but there was no evidence that they had taken the flight or left the United States. Their car was discovered with three flat tires in October 1996. There were intensive searches, but it wasn't until 2009 that the remains of the parents were discovered by hikers. The remains of the children were never officially discovered. Tom Mahood, a search and rescue expert who found the remains, has put forward a theory. He speculates that on July 23, 1996, while vacationing in Death Valley, the family, short on time and planning to visit Yosemite National Park on their way back to Los Angeles, attempted a shortcut to Yosemite, underestimating its difficulty. He theorized that they had seen an AT&T cell tower and approached it for help. However, during his fieldwork, he determined that the tower had not been visible from their route. Mahood then investigated the theory that after their vehicle became stuck, the family headed south on foot to seek help at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. There, they may have expected to find a well-guarded fence, a typical feature of military bases in Germany, but not of military bases in the desert areas of the southwestern United States. The family likely succumbed to heatstroke (average high temperature in July of 46.9°C), dehydration, and lack of shelter halfway to the base. In 2022, a car driver died after running out of gas while walking to seek help. In July 2024, a German motorcyclist died in Death Valley National Park from extreme heat. He was part of a group of six traveling near Badwater Basin when temperatures soared above 50°C. Another biker was hospitalized with severe heat illness. Badewater got his name because early settlers found the spring-fed pool in the area to be too salty for their mules to drink, with one surveyor reportedly noting the water as "bad water" on his map. In May 2025, a truck driver died when his semi-trailer crashed into the historic Emigrant Ranger Station in Death Valley National Park, a building where Stan Jones wrote the song "Ghost Riders in the Sky" in 1948 (the inspiration for the Johnny Cash song of the same name). The accident occurred on CA-190, presumably due to brake failure on the steep slopes of Towne Pass. It caused significant damage to the building and a temporary closure of the highway.

We no longer drive for days through the desert in unprotected covered horse-wagons; instead, we have air-conditioned cars, cell phones, and GPS. Despite the latest technology, the valley is still a dangerous place. Between 2007 and 2024, 68 people died in Death Valley! Check with the rangers before hiking, bring plenty of water, and pay attention to the warning signs! 

Rhyolite Ghost Town

Near the entrance to Death Valley lies the town of Rhyolite. The town was founded in early 1905 as one of several mining districts. During the Gold Rush, thousands of prospectors, developers, miners, and service providers flocked here. Many settled in Rhyolite, which was located in a protected desert basin near the Montgomery Shoshone Mine, the region's largest producer. Charles Schwab bought the mine and invested in its infrastructure. By 1907, Rhyolite had electric lights, a railroad, plumbing, telephones, newspapers, a hospital, a school, an opera house, and a stock exchange. Our tour guide told us there were over 50 saloons here! In 1907/08, the population was estimated at 3,500 to 5,000. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the financial crisis of 1907, and an investigation that found the mine overvalued led to a crash in the company's stock price. By the end of 1910, the mine was operating at a loss and closed in 1911. By that time, many unemployed miners had already left, and Rhyolite's population had fallen well below 1,000. By 1920, it was almost zero. After 1920, Rhyolite and its ruins became a tourist attraction and film set. Most of the buildings fell into disrepair, and usable building materials were taken to nearby Beatty to build a school. However, the train station and the Tom Kelly Bottle House, built by an artist in 1906 mainly from empty bottles, were repaired and preserved. He paid children three dollar for one wheelbarrow full of glasbottles to build his house. Today, only ruins remain: a dilapidated bank, a school, a jail, the bottle house, and the train station building. A beautiful atmosphere! Looking at pictures of the large settlement, it's hard to believe how little of the vibrant town remains. Numerous films have been shot in Rhyolite, including "The Island", "Cherry 2000," and "Six-String Samurai".

While you're here, don't miss the Goldwell Open Air Museum. This nonprofit museum was founded in 2000 after the death of Albert Szukalski, the Belgian artist who created the site's first sculptures in 1984 near the abandoned train station in Rhyolite. The Last Supper sculpture consists of ghostly, life-sized forms arranged like those in Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper." Szukalski formed his shapes by draping plaster-soaked burlap over live models until the plaster dried enough to stand on its own. In the 1990s, Hugo Heyrman added "Lady Desert: The Venus of Nevada," a female sculpture made of colorful pixels like something from an old video game. There are other works of art, as well as a small shop that sells cards and art for donations. In Lauren Rocket's music video "Diamond Nights," many scenes were filmed in Rhyolite and the Open Air Museum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgKh0RVlE2U

Alabama Hills

The Alabama Hills in Lone Pine are very beautiful. They are a rocky landscape with rounded granite formations. The Mobius Arch, a natural stone arch with a view of Mount Whitney, is well-known. In Gladiator, Maximus, who escaped execution in Germania, rides two horses to Spain to save his family. The ride was not filmed in Spain, but here in the Alabama Hills. Django Unchained, Iron Man, Tremors (where they seek shelter from the worms on the rocks), Man of Steel, Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Stark Trek Generations, and The Final Frontier were also filmed here. The "Movie Road Scenic Drive" offers beautiful views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Area 51

I was especially looking forward to Area 51. Many legends surround this place and conspiracy theories revolve around aliens and secret underground laboratories. The following extraordinary activities allegedly took place or are taking place there:

• Storage, examination, and reverse engineering of crashed alien spacecraft (including material from an object that allegedly crashed near Roswell in 1947), the investigation of their respective crews (dead or alive), and the manufacture of aircraft based on extraterrestrial technology. In 1989, Robert Lazar claimed in several TV interviews to have worked on secret projects at a research facility called S4 near Papoose Salt Flats in Area 51.

• Meetings and secret discussions with extraterrestrial life forms.

• Development of exotic energy weapons (for the Strategic Defense Initiative or other applications, such as weather control).

• Activities related to an alleged shadow government of the world by the Illuminati and other secret societies.

• Secret film studios where the footage of the Apollo landings on the moon was allegedly filmed.

The existence of the restricted area was officially kept secret for decades and was only confirmed by the US intelligence agency, the CIA, in August 2013. The US Air Force is testing new experimental aircraft in the restricted area, which explains the sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFO's). Area 51 borders the former Nevada Test Site, where the US Department of Energy conducted well over 1,000 nuclear weapons tests after the first atomic bomb test at the Trinity Site in New Mexico. Groom Lake was an ideal takeoff and landing site for the difficult-to-handle U2 test aircraft in the 1950s, and the mountain ranges and the already closed-off Nevada Test Site hid the secret aircraft from public view. On the way to Area 51 we made a stop at the Las Vegas Airport, where he showed us the Airplanes by Janet Airlines. It is the unofficial name for a classified fleet of US Air Force passenger aircraft that transport military personnel, Department of Defense civilians, and contractors to secure facilities, including Area 51. These aircraft are operated by clandestine contractors on behalf of the Air Force. As of 2015, the Janet fleet consists of six Boeing 737-600s painted white with a prominent red cheatline. The name "Janet" is not an official designation, but rather a nickname, with possible meanings including "Just Another Non-Existent Terminal". Due to its secrecy, Janet airlines boards at a standalone terminal on the west side of Harry Reid International Airport. Our guide was a Air Force Pilot and landed once his Airplane in Area 51. He even knew Berlin, he landed in my hometown when the Airport Tempelhof was still open. He said, that during his first flight to Area 51 there was a Chief Master Sergeant sitting behind him making sure that he land at the right spot, doesen't ask to many questions and stay where he is supposed to be.

We drove along Groom Lake Road to the gate, where we found barbed wire, cameras, and a car with security guards on a hill. These are called "Camo Dudes," armed security personnel in camouflage clothing. According to our guide, they are mostly ex-military personnel who control access to the site with sensors, cameras, and patrols. We drove on the Extraterrestrial Highway, a section of Nevada Route 375, a 98 mile stretch known for Alien Sightings. The nearest civilian settlement outside Area 51 is the small village of Rachel; it has become a pilgrimage destination for conspiracy theorists and ufologists. Rachel was founded in May 1973 by a local farmer. On February 15, 1978, the town was renamed to Rachel after the first baby born in the valley, Rachel Jones (1978–1980). The baby unfortunately died two years later. In 1996, the producers of the movie Independence Day gave the town a time capsule, which is installed near the inn and is intended to be opened in 2050. We visited the "Little A’Le’Inn". It has been family owned and operated for more than 25 years. Visitors can peruse photos of alleged, first-person UFO accounts, sip on Alien Amber Ale, eat an delicious Alien Burger and sleep in the attached motel. It even appears in the game GTA: San Andreas as "Lil' Probe'Inn". In 2019, some Internet pranksters had the idea that if enough people gathered outside the gates of Area 51, “They Can’t Stop All of Us.” More than 2 million people joined the the event on social media, but fewer than 200 people showed up on the day of the event. No one actually attempted to storm the gates, they just camped and left much trash in the desert. Next to the restaurant, which sells lots of alien merchandise, is a large salt lake ("Sand Spring Valley Saltlake"). Sitting here and seeing a vast, empty, glowing white expanse stretching into the distance is a truly fascinating sight. It also becomes clear why the Air Force tests aircraft on a salt lake: the solid, smooth surface is like a natural runway. Car speed records are also set on salt lakes like the one in Salt Lake City. You can take very nice photos here! On the way back, we drove past the Creech Air Force Base. It is a key installation for U.S. military drone operations, housing operators who pilot remotely piloted aircraft like the MQ-9 Reaper for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike missions globally.

Along the way, we saw some cows that had died of thirst in the dry conditions. The dangers of the desert should not be underestimated.