"A summer vacation in Las Vegas?"  My best friend's face instantly turned heart attack red at the very thought.  "Are you nuts?"
     I know this sounds crazy, but the best way to escape the heat of Las Vegas in the summer does not include a casino, a frozen drink or a cheesy show.
     When it gets too hot for me on the Las Vegas strip, I grab a cab and head for Cashman Field, home of the 51s, the city's baseball team.
     The 51s get their name from Area 51, the semi-secret government base that is near Las Vegas where stories about aliens and spaceships and secret stuff still abound.  The 51s even have an alien for a mascot.  Cosmo looks like a cross between a mutant and a horse.  He's very friendly with kids and adults, alike.  My wife likes Cosmo better than Dinger because he is not Barney purple like the Rockies mascot and we never saw him spin his head.
     Cashman Field was built in a bowl, with its back toward the west.  Many seats in the stands are shaded from the hot, late afternoon sun.  Several years ago, somebody figured out how to hang misters over some of the seats.  Those tubes that dispense a fog of  cool water make baseball in the desert quite enjoyable.  You can relax and gaze out over the desert mountains outside Las Vegas.  Inside the stadium, it looks more like a desert oasis with natural grass and olive and palm trees.  It's a beautiful setting for a ballgame.
     The baseball at Cashman Field is quite enjoyable, too.  The 51s play in the Pacific Coast League.  They are the triple A farm team for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  They are owned by the same big corporation that owns Mandalay Bay resort on the Las Vegas strip.  Over the past 15 years, some mighty fine baseball players have worn the Las Vegas uniform, including Sandy Alomar, Jr., Roberto Alomar, Andy Benes, Ozzie Guillen, Tony Gwynn, John Kruk, Joe Lansford,  Hideo Nomo and Benito Santiago.
     The cost?  Not counting the cab ride, the cost of a 51s game is surprisingly cheap AND it's something you can take the kids to without worrying about.....well, you know.  The best seats in the house are only 12 dollars.  No kidding.  12 dollars can get you front row seats, right behind home plate.  You are so close that if you talk about the umpire, he'll turn around and stare at you.
     While you are at the game, buy one of the 51s baseball caps, the one with the alien on it.  A couple of years ago, the alien hat from the 51s was the best selling minor league hat in the country.
     Me? I chose the Cosmo bobblehead doll.  Now, that's something you don't see every day.
    
Get more information about the 51s and baseball in Las Vegas at:  www.lv51.com

Travel Tip--As you ride out to the ballpark, talk to your cabbie.  Ask for their cell phone number so you can call them at the end of the game.  Cabs can be scarce near Cashman Field after the game because most cabbies prefer to work up on the strip.  If you call your cabbie in the 8th inning, chances are the cab will be waiting, with the air conditioner on high, when the game is over.

(John Morrissey is a freelance writer who lives in Highlands Ranch.  You can reach him at thesmilingwriter@yahoo.com .)