In Search of the Perfect Investment

From what I’ve seen in five weeks in the American west — endless crowds, filled restaurants, packed hotels and jammed highways  – it seems the economy is roaring back.

What am I missing?

I emailed my favorite security analyst. His insightful reply:

You’re not missing anything. The economy bottomed a quarter ago, which is why the market bottomed a year ago. Despite what people who need to sell air time and buy votes tell us, the reports of the end of the world, capitalism and American democracy have been much exaggerated.

Get off my duff. Get away from the computer screens.  Escape the gloom and doom of the financial blogs. Escape the talking heads on BubbleVision. Don’t read the left-wing, depressing, disaster-seeking eastern media. . What a quaint idea. Go visit the “real” world.

Someone forgot to tell the tourists in Las Vegas (where we stayed two nights) that it was a recession and they weren’t meant to be spending money. But they were. And at outrageous prices. $27 for a main course is standard. But I saw jammed restaurants with $52 as the main course — more expensive than  New York.

You had to stand in line to pay $16 for a 15 minute Gondola ride inside the Venetian:

Or you could saunter over to the Wynn and pay $483,000 for this 2,900-plus diamond encrusted Rolex.

All those diamonds made it hard to read the time. My $15 Rolex even has backlighting. Susan assured me the Rolex had nothing to do with reading the time.  It was all about image. My image continues to  suffer. I resisted the temptation. They told me they recently sold one.

I did want to buy this pink jacket:

Until I found out that it cost $2,195 at a shop inside the Wynn.

Our waiter told us that Vegas was “recession-proof,” since it had three magical ingredients — gambling, alcohol and prostitution. Susan said that was BS. Vegas had been transformed into an entertainment and shopping destination. If I hadn’t figured that out, she said, check out the shops — Prada, Cartier, Armani, Dior, Channel, Tiffany, Steuben, etc.

How about a metal, decorative leopard?

Only $9,999 inside Wynn.

Vegas has also become an eating destination. Every upscale hotel is bristling with famous chef restaurants. The portions are huge.

Everyone was stuffing themselves. There were lines everywhere, especially to get into Wynn’s luncheon buffet.

The point of the last few days was to visit Zion and Bryce.

This is not my Bryce photo. I cadged it out of a nice park ranger called Ron Warner who  took  the photo that morning and was using it as his screensaver. Bryce has had record snow this year — about 11 1/2 feet. I got up at dawn one morning to watch the sun turn the canyon into bright orange. The sun came up orange for a minute or two, then slide behind a dark storm cloud. I froze my ears while waiting at Bryce Point (my favorite viewpoint).

Bryce Canyon was named after a local settler called Ebenezer Bryce. He once said about the canyon, “It’s a helluva place to lose a cow.”

Travel is fun. A few things we learned:

1. All hotels will drop their prices by 10% to 15% if you mention on the phone with them you’re a member of AAA. No one ever asked to see our AAA card. We actually have one.

2. If you’re between 62 and death, the National Park Service will sell you a lifetime Pass to all our national parks. The pass is $10 — and is the greatest deal ever. The National Park Service does a superb job. They may be the only part of our government still working.

3. The west is home to people who’ve fled the pressures of the east to seek alternative lifestyles. They’re park rangers. They’re running restaurants, bed and breakfasts, dude ranches and gift shops.  They’re suntanned, healthy and relaxed. Ron Warner is an ultra-marathoner who loves running through Bryce and taking photos of his favorite place.

The west is bursting with creativity. There’s the replica of St Marks Square with its gigantic indoor ceiling that always has blue skies:

There’s the photography of Peter Lik.

I found Lik’s work at a his shop inside the Venetian. There he sells his collector art for $10,000 a print. I’ve been taking photos for 50 years. I helped put myself through college with photography. One Christmas I photographed 83 weddings. I know something about photography. Trust me when I tell you I have never seen photographs like Lik’s. The photos are stunning. But the printing is incredible. He prints on chrome paper, mounts the print on aluminum and then laminates the photo with glass. You could swear (and I did) that his photos are backlit. You must visit his store.

Harry Newton, who is now sun-tanned and totally relaxed from the peace and quiet of the American west. New York today will be a shock.