Homer's Travels: Roadtrip 1995 - Part 12: Las Vegas And Death Valley National Park

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Roadtrip 1995 - Part 12: Las Vegas And Death Valley National Park

My last stop on my roadtrip was Las Vegas. I left St. George and drove into Vegas. On the way you pass through Arizona on a short stretch of road with beautiful rock formations that is truly magnificent.


In Vegas I found a Days Inn that was a block off the strip behind the Balley's. I started off with a walk down the strip looking for lunch and something to do. I am not much of a gambler which means that there really isn't much for me to do in Vegas. I looked through the list of shows and bought tickets to four shows - two that evening and two for the next. If I recall correctly one show was at Harrah's, one at the Riviera, one was at the Tropicana, and one at Balley's.

I killed time until the first show which turned out to be mediocre. The second show was Crazy Girls. Yeah, I was a red blooded single guy back then with no attachments so I went to see a bunch of bouncing boobies. What can I say. Anyway, I was sitting relatively close to the stage and I was wearing a bright tie-dyed shirt that I had bought in Estes Park. During a break for the girls, a comedian came out and she was working the audience. You could tell she was looking for someone to pick on. My shirt must have shined like a beacon. Our eyes connected. Damn - I was not in the mood to be the butt of a comedian's jokes. She said something that I don't even recall, I stared her down, and slowly shook my head. I still remember the look on her face. It was kind of like "Damn, is he a serial killer or what?!" I must of had an evil look on my face. She dropped whatever she was going to say and moved on to the next poor schlep. Later on I would buy a Crazy Girl poster and got it autographed by some of the girls. The fact the girls who autographed the poster were not actually in the poster was a little disappointing.

The next day I woke up and just laid in bed wondering what I was going to do for the next 12 hours before the next show started. Then I decided that I should go to Death Valley. My original plan was to go through Death Valley on the way home but it seemed like a better idea to do it now. I left the hotel and headed into the desert. I left a little later then I should have, and could have, but I didn't think it would be an issue.

My first stop was Scotty's Castle. I ended up there just after a tour had left so I had an hour to kill. I ate some lunch and walked up to Scotty's grave. He's buried next to his dog. I took the tour which was pretty cool. The music room organ, with over 1,000 pipes, is the highlight of the tour.

My next stop was Badwater where I walked out onto the salt flat. I remember it being warm but I don't recall it being too hot. Definitely not as hot as our vacation in 2005.

The drive back to Vegas seemed longer then the way out. I had a show at Harrah's and I thought I was going to be late. I got back to the hotel, showered, and got to the show just in time. It was mediocre. I then drove to the Tropicana for my last mediocre show. Turns out all the shows were pretty mediocre. The wife and I have become a little pickier now and we are more careful then I was in selecting shows when we go to Vegas.

The last day was an uneventful five hour drive from Las Vegas to Oxnard. The last part of this roadtrip series will summarize the trip and reveal how the trip changed my life ... or didn't. Pictures are here.

No comments:

Post a Comment