Stop 12 - Las Vegas, Nevada

What a place - great and bad. Great is that its unbelieveable. Its HUGE. No it's HUGE HUGE HUGE. We are in one hotel and that hotel alone has casinos, theatres, restaurants. shops, aquauriums, gymnasiums, pubs etc etc and then even after that it remains just unimaginably huge. You can go to a thetare (in this hotel), watch a band (in this hotel), go to the cinema (in this hotel), lie on a sandy beach (in this hotel) and I could go on and on. And then there are the multitude of other hotels -each with all of this and more. Matt & Katie's hotel has a Venitian canal running through it with gondolas floating along - in the hotel. This place is so enormous. Its a sharp shock in many ways. It is the antithesis of the 66, Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon in its essence but it is just the same in its vastness. The essential difference is in its serenity or rather lack of it. The Grand Canyon had a vast serenity. This place is just as vast but it is loud, bright and in your face. It really is one hell of a hit and I will never forget it. Of all the places I have been to in the world I have never been to a place like this. It is in itself a Wonder of the World - seriously.

Where is the downside in all this? Children.

It is not a place for children. They are simply not allowed anywhere. Despite the fact that our two boys are the most accomadating, well-behaved, compliant little boys in the world we are told that they are not allowed here, not allowed there, not allowed anywhere. Las Vegas is amazing, truly amazing. The most amazing thing I have ever seen. But if you have children -  don't come here. It is not family friendly. That's understandable I suppose as it is a den of gambling depravity, superficial oppulence and wealth. Good fun for Pand and me though!!

I played Black Jack before I came to bed and I won. Not a lot but I won. Its a minimum bet of $25 and that's what I won. I was down before I won though - its a scary place!

Now back for a while to the drive here. We left Williams at 8.30 and drove via Ashfork and Lewis into Seligman. Along this road is ample evidence of the old 66 and the devastating effects of the creation of the Interstate as it took traffic away from these once vibrant roadside towns.

For anyone considering this trip and wanting to buy 66 memorabilia my advice is BUY IT HERE IN SELIGMAN at the Route 66 visitor center. We found stuff in here that we had either seen or bought elsewhere that was being sold consistently for less than half the price and the shop was jam packed with goodies and people. So SELIGMAN for ALL 66 PURCHASES!

 This little town is also full of good old Route 66 icons and images. Its a great little place.

 After spending time and money in here (and enjoying every minute of it!) we set off again on what is described as a "golden stretch of pristine 66" through Peach Springs, Truxton, Valentine and Hackberry. This description was so accurate and I would say that this section of the road was the best we'd come across since leaving Chicago and driving it was absolutely fantastic. It took us up high into the mountains and down low into canyons.  These were the mountains we were heading to - and couldn't wait to get there.

Before we reached there we passed loads of great genuine 66 stuff and of course stopped everywhere to photograph them.

We drove around Antares Curve and into Kingman. From there we drove on to Oatman and through McConnico, climbing the mountain past Cool Springs and Ed's Camp to Sitgreaves Pass.  The road was very bendy, very steep and just beautiful. We gazed at the Black Mountains as we drove across the Sacramento Wash and down to Goldroad. Through Oatman we went past Old Trails, through Golden Shores and into Topock. Then we crossed the Colorado River into California.

 

My best advice is make sure you go to Oatman. It is just outstandingly gorgeous - an old wild west town in the middle of a mountain. The whole road in fact was just a wonder.

We drove on into Needles where we re-fuelled, washed and hoovered the car. It was in a hell of a state after driving around Monument Valley and I wasn't going to have it valet parked at a 5* hotel looking like that!

We left Route 66 then and drove North up to Las Vegas. So we had now enetered yet another State - this time Nevada.

 After arriving in Las Vegas we met up with Matt & Katie and went down to one of the myriad bars here for a drink. We had a good time watching an excellent rock lead guitarist there. He was really good.

We then headed off to an Irish pub where we encountered another "Americanism". Sean fell asleep which was fine by us as it kept him quiet! We were told we had to leave if he remained asleep. Awake and running around was fine but asleep not allowed. Were he in a push-chair asleep there would be no problem but a child out of a push-chair was a problem - if asleep.  A child asleep in a push chair was OK. When I pointed out the illoogical nature of this rule I was met with the usual - "This is America and that's the law"! These people are brilliant at "doing". They are exemplary in their marketing and customer service. But as for thinking.....! Many seem to simply follow - sometimes blindly. As I said at the start of this post this is no place for children.

That said tonight all 6 of us are going to a Vegas show. We are going to see David Copperfield at the MGM Grand. That should be good. It will be our last night with Matt and Katie. As I have said before they are a quite lovely young couple and we have grown very fond of them. In many ways I feel quite paternal towards them. I hope they don't mind me saying that. I am after all old enough! I intend to keep in touch as I'd like to know how their life together turns out.

Tomorrow we have booked a helicopter flight back into the Grand Canyon. This time we will land at the bottom and jump out for Champers and a bite to eat before flying back. We have booked a sunset trip so will fly into the Canyon just as the sun sets. Should be memorable.

After that its back to Needles and from there to complete the 66 drive to Santa Fe. For now though its back to this amazing, crazy playground we are in. You really need to see this place to believe it. Hence the paucity of photos. Without seeing the place it would be quite literally unvelievable if it weren't true. But it isn't 66. It's a temporary departure. A departure into a fantasy!

Next and last post will be from Santa Monica the day after tomorrow.