Flat Stanley heads out west

The base rate of U.S. postage recently went up from 39 cents to 41 cents. But to Flat Stanley, it is still the cheapest way to travel.

In May, Flat Stanley was mailed from an elementary school in Delaware to one of the fastest growing cities in the country: Las Vegas, Nevada. The host was all too happy to show Flat Stanley around and take a few pictures.

The famous welcome sign greets people who choose to enter the city by driving into the Las Vegas Strip, an expensive group of roads lined with billion-dollar hotels and casinos. Unlike them, Flat Stanley arrived in a mailbox, so we drove a little out of the way to get here.

Las Vegas is a city nestled in a valley. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides. This is Cathedral Rock, one of the smaller mountains located 40 miles northwest of the city. Hikers need about two hours to hike up the trail and reach the top. On this day, the host was too tired to climb, and Flat Stanley noticed how windy it was and did not want to risk it.

About 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas is the Hoover Dam, a popular tourist attraction with a very important purpose: it controls the flow of water from the Colorado River and generates energy in the process. The Hoover Dam is located along the border that separates the states of Nevada and Arizona.

Next: Flat Stanley visits the Luxor