Is that The Mirage or just a mirage? Maybe it’s the desert that makes distances here so deceiving, or the fact that the buildings are so darned big that it makes them seem closer than they really are, but getting from point A to point B always seems to take much longer in Las Vegas than you think it will. You could find yourself saying, “Here we are at The Mirage/Treasure Island/Bellagio and we have dinner/business/show tickets for next door at Caesars/The Mirage/the Monte Carlo. We’ll leave about 15 minutes before we need to be there.” Thirty-five minutes later, after negotiating the casino crowds at your hotel, trekking through to the exit, using the moving sidewalk or tram or your feet to get to the entrance next door, finding the entrance, negotiating the crowds there and getting lost . . . you finally arrive. Barely. The moral of the story is to always give yourself extra time, even if you’re just going next door.

If you find yourself lost in Vegas, let the Stratosphere hotel help. At 110 stories, this larger-than-large structure is the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. It can be seen from just about every place in town (and from many places outside of town!). It’s more than twice as tall as any other building in Las Vegas. If you lose your bearings, take a minute to scan the horizon and find the Stratosphere Tower. If you're on the strip, you can be confident that the Stratosphere is north of you. If you're downtown, it's south of you. If you're driving, head toward it, and you’ll eventually arrive at the northern end of the Strip and Paradise Road, only 5 minutes from downtown.