Back Home in Reno

We left Las Vegas this morning to head home.  After stopping at Costco for gas and Einsteins's for bagels, both we and the Red Baron were ready for the trip home.  Easy trip home - get on US 95 heading north and stay there for seven hours.  Even Vi's navigator can figure that one out.  I got to drive for the first five miles and then I turned the controls over to Vi.  At least I got to drive in Las Vegas, so I wasn't too rusty.

Stopped in Beatty at the Nut and Candy Factory to pick up some treats for consumption at home.  Beatty is one of the gateways to Death Valley, so water is the most important item for sale in the store, but candy is one of basic food groups, isn't it?.  As we neared Fallon, NV, we ran into (literally) the Monarch butterflies heading north on their annual migration.  Poor butterflies did not fare too well running into our car and our visibility through the windshield was visibly diminished.  Good thing we stopped for gas in Fernley so we could clean off the windshield and the grill.

As we drove from Fernley toward Reno, we noticed that Nevada artists will have to add a few more colors to their palette.  Along with the normal browns, they will now have to add various shades of green.  As a result of the heavy rains and snowstorms this winter, the hills are now a verdant green.  Almost like velvet covering the hillsides.

Arrived home in late afternoon and found everything to be in good shape.  While we were gone, the trees and flowers bloomed in our absence.  Must be a tribute to my landscaping skills - NOT!

You can tell from the area outside the brick border how fantastic our lawn is doing.  We call it Xeriscaping and helping to control water usage in our community.  Good to be home.

Last Day in Las Vegas

After a brief discussion about whether to head home a day early or stay as scheduled, we headed downtown to have breakfast at The Omelet House.  Hadn't been there before and it was written up as the best omelet place in Las Vegas.  Great restaurant, although neither of us had an omelet - go figure.

Drove out to Nellis AFB to check out the Exchange and see about playing golf.  Ended up taking advantage of the after 1:00 rate and played 18 holes.  Fun day, with lots of activity on the flightline,  On the way into the base, the Thunderbirds (home based at Nellis) were just landing.  Guess they only work in the morning - Char would agree that the Air Force only works part time :-).  Weather was beautiful, but kind of warm - it hit 91 degrees.  Well, we came down here for warmer weather and certainly got it.

Back home by going all the way south on Las Vegas Blvd.  You certainly go from one extreme to another by going from North Las Vegas to the Strip.  Traffic was still pretty heavy.  Dinner at the BLT Steakhouse.

Day was slight ruined by the Las Vegas Knights loss to San Jose Sharks, but hope springs eternal for the next game at home which hopefully will end with the Knights winning the series. 

Tomorrow we head north to Reno.

Las Vegas, NV

Tuesday

Since the weather took a turn for the worse - rain and winds forecast, we decided to curtail our visit to Laughlin and headed up to Las Vegas on Tuesday morning.  We already had reservations at Bally's - just moved them up one day.

Short ride north.  It's always a beautiful view when you cross Railroad Pass and come into the valley (Las Vegas name comes from Spanish for the Meadows).  The city just spreads out in front of you - it was a little cloudy, but still good visibility.

Did some shopping and then headed for Bally's.  One of the things which made the decision to come early was apparent when we checked into our room.  It was about three times the size of the one we had in Laughlin - 23rd floor, so we are able to enjoy the view.  I went out later and was surprised to find that it was raining pretty hard.  You get so isolated in the casino with no windows and no clock, you lose track of what's happening outside.

We had dinner at the BLT Steak House bar (we prefer sitting at the bar to watch the action, see some TV, and interact with the bartenders).  The Tampa Bay-Columbus game was on and we watched one of the greatest upsets in NHL as the CBJ swept the Lightning, who had the best record this year and were the champions last year.  Fame is so fleeting :-).

Wednesday

This morning we went to breakfast at the Cracked Egg, another of our favorite spots in Las Vegas.  After breakfast, we headed west on Charleston Blvd out to Red Rock National Park.  We and a few thousand of our closest friends had the same idea.  It was an awesome day and also Spring break here in Las Vegas, so Red Rock was a popular destination.  It's kind of neat when you leave Summerlin and, all of a sudden, you are out in the desert. Stopped at the Visitor Center, again with a lot of our closest friends.  You have to experience Red Rock to fully appreciate it - the colors and different strata are unbelievable.

There's a scenic loop road through Red Rock which allows you to leisurely see all the facets of the park.  A lot of parking lots filled with hikers (we decided to let them have the trails to themselves).  It reminded us of when Tom III and his buddies went out to Red Rock several years ago and they cycled around the park.  Nowadays, there are electric bikes which would seem to make more sense (at least to others).

After leaving the park, we continued on a circular route through south Las Vegas to go to another park on the eastern side of Las Vegas.  Apparent along Route 160 was the explosion of new housing in Las Vegas/Henderson.  One development after another.

 The park we went to was a fairly new area called the Clark County Wetlands Park, also known as The Wash.  It's at the east end of Tropicana and tells the story of the (believe it or not) wetlands around Las Vegas.  Although short-lived, the water flowing through the washes can wreak havoc on the landscape.  I thought one of the more interesting items was the below plaque which shows what happens to the defunct casinos which are imploded.

It's hard to read, but the end result is that the debris from the casinos is used to fill in the desert and make good use of the old material.  We had originally started out looking for the wildflower blooms, but had no success at that.  Didn't see any wild flowers or any wild burros or horses, just blue skies and sunshine.  Temperature was in the high 80's.  The only real "wildlife" we saw were a pair of kingfisher birds at The Wash.  The trivia note of the day is that the kingfisher is the only bird where the female has the most color - the male is the nondescript one.    Bet you didn't know that - I sure didn't.

After a late lunch at Panera, we returned to Bally's.

Laughlin, NV

Well, this is night two in Laughlin and we have covered some territory since leaving Pahrump.  Even though it’s a short drive if you take the big roads, we don’t like that option.  After checking out of the Pahrump Nugget, we went to breakfast at Mom’s Diner (Our food is so good, you’ll think we stole your Mama).  We really enjoy the diner and make it a point to have breakfast there whenever we pass through.  Our next stop was Lakeview Executive Golf Course which is mostly par threes, but has a few par fours (and a lot of water, unusual in the desert, but it’s been a wet year).  Had fun and we both did well, so that was a plus.

Leaving Pahrump, my superior sense of direction led us to a multitude of dead end roads and turn-arounds.  One of the interesting dead end roads took us to the Chicken Ranch and Stella’s Little Bordello (tours available – women welcome).  It never ceases to amaze us what goes on in the less populated parts of this state.  Finally resorted to checking WAZE to find the proper route.  It’s a beautiful drive through the desert along the old Spanish Trail to Tecopa, CA and then to Baker, CA where we hit I-15.  Stayed on the Interstate for a while and then cut off at Nipton over to Searchlight, NV, then south to Laughlin.  Except for the short stretch on I-15, it’s all two lane roads through the desert and mountains.  Not much traffic, except for the occasional RV and off-road vehicles.

We’re staying at Harrah’s in a room overlooking the Colorado River which is running really full.  This Spring is an anomaly in the desert because of the heavy rains and snowfall in the mountains – rivers are running full and there is even water in some of the washes which are normally dry. Flowers, cactus, and Joshua trees are in full bloom.  Monday morning we drove up to Kingman, AZ which is a major tourist attraction based on Route 66 history.  Lots of tourist traps capitalizing on Kingman’s location on the Mother Road from Chicago to California.  On various trips, we have followed some portions of the old Route 66.  If you’ve ever seen Cars (the movie), you get some idea of the area and how various towns were bypassed when the Interstates were built.  Still fun to see the area.  We played golf at the Cerbat Cliffs Golf Course, but didn’t have as good an experience as we had the day before.  Not because of the course – it was beautiful, just one of those days when nothing seems to go right.  Didn’t help that there was a healthy wind blowing.  But the weather was warm and it was good to be out on course. This is Hole #4, long par 4 to the base of the cliffs.

There are some fascinating geological mountains on the road down from Kingman (elevation 3300’) to Laughlin.

Stopped in the Tropicana for lunch at Brew Brothers.  The Eldorado Corporation has really expanded their casino operation, including buying the Tropicana and its’ associated operations in various cities.  We had had dinner at the Brew Brothers in Erie, PA (another of the Eldorado expansion spots) and it’s kind of fun to see how they each are run differently, but with the same ambiance and similar beer/food menus.  Originally planned to play golf tomorrow (Tuesday), but the weather forecast is for more wind and rain, so I think that plan is out the window.

Pahrump, NV

Harrumph, Pahrump!!!!  Great little town in the desert and an overnight stop on our way to Laughlin.  Beautiful day yesterday as we drove south – blue skies and sunshine with warm temperatures.  Why is it that we go out of town when the weather turns beautiful in Reno – go figure.  The Sierra Nevada look beautiful in the distance.

 

Stopped in Tonopah (Indian term for middle of nowhere and close to nothing).  We had lunch at the bar in the Hotel Mizpah which was refurbished several years ago after lying vacant for years.  They have done an excellent of restoring it, including using the old safe as an office.  Good lunch, no liquor (just Pellegrino water).  The Sons of the American Revolution were having a get-together there this weekend – not sure what happened to the DAR – must be part of the new equal rights movement J.

Always fun driving through Goldfield – a semi-deserted mining town south of Tonopah.  Buildings in various stages of disrepair and some interesting art vehicles in the yards.  People who live in Goldfield are enamored of collecting old items – someday we’re going to stop and get lots of pictures.  Wild burros abound in the desert.  In Reno are we have wild horses, down here they have wild burros (left over from the mining days).  Rather than driving straight to Pahrump, we took a detour through the Ash Meadows Wildlife Reserve.  Not paved, but pretty well maintained (except for the flooded sections).  You read that right, the road was flooded in a couple of spots due to the recent rains.  Ash Meadows has a couple of ponds and several streams from local springs running through it.  It’s still pretty desolate – will send a couple of pictures when I get a chance.  Famous for its pupfish which exist only here and in Death Valley.  Huge fish – no more than one inch in length and darting all around.

Arrived in Pahrump with the Red Baron covered in while alkali dust.  I think we’ll wait until Laughlin to get it washed because there’s more rough road ahead on the way to Laughlin.  Scheduled to play golf at Lakeview Golf Course this morning – it’s a little executive course (only par threes and fours), but good for warm-up on the way to better courses.

Have fun and enjoy life (we’re trying to).  Take care.