Las Vegas

Saturday was moving day!  I was all packed up and on the road by 0945. It was an easy glide down the hill into Fort Mohave/Bullhead City/Laughlin.

There, I topped off the propane, got some go-juice for the generator, some groceries at Safeway, and had some fast food for lunch.  I guess I am on the ‘cutting edge’ a few technologies, or Canada is ahead of the game, but I have found that at some credit card terminals, I can pay my bill just by waving my closed wallet by the scanner without ever pulling out the card.  A cashier said she had never seen that before.  I guess I’ll have to be careful to not pay for anyone else’s gas or food, just by walking by!

But generally, I have seen few merchants down here set up for the chipped cards yet.  So purchasing fuel still is a pain sometimes when the pump wants a zip code.  I have tried that trick of just using the numbers from your postal code and adding zeros, but that has never ever worked for me anywhere.  Maybe it works on someone else’s postal code, but not mine.

Then it was the hard drag up the hill through Searchlight, and then eventually through Henderson and into Las Vegas.  I have not been here for quite a few years now, so I took a drive up and down the strip to see if any of the casinos still had those huge parking lots out the back for semi-trucks and RV’s.  There did not seem to be much, but a helpful cabby suggested I try Circus Circus.  I did so and found an adequate spot among some buses.  Not nice, but good price.  If you prefer, just down the road was the KOA, but I’m sure they have the exact noise levels that I endured, for a higher price?

Need some reflectors on your wheels?

Another thing I noticed in Vegas was the proliferation of parking lot car washes.  These guys set up in the corner of a parking lot somewhere with their pressure washers, air dryers, etc and in no time they have a self contained personal service car wash.

Another good thing I noticed on the Strip was the lack of guys on the street corners handing out smut literature and advertisements, most of which ended up blowing down the street in a disgusting manner.  It seems like it is now all contained in free newspaper boxes at least.  Big improvement, Vegas.  Lots of trucks driving up and down the strip adding to the traffic congestion with nothing on the truck except a huge lighted billboard.  I’ve heard about the stripper-mobiles, but did not see one.  Maybe the seat belt police caught up with them?

The main thing was that it be within walking distance of Treasure Island, the new home of Gilley’s Saloon, Dance Hall and Bar-B-Que.  It had been gone for about 4-5 years when it’s previous home in the New Frontier was bulldozed like the hotel.  It was not nearly as large as I remember the old version, but it is nicely done, and they have a great mechanical bull who didn’t get much rest all night.

Most of the servers are dressed in black hats, black bikinis, and black chaps.  Not sure that was necessary, but not complaining either as perhaps you have to do it differently to draw crowds in Vegas.  That said, for a Saturday nite, there was always room to move around and dance – tho a few too many line dancers!  And all this – before their grand opening.  Cover charge was $10 I think, but I had a chat with security and did not have to cough up the cash!

A few new hotels were under construction, but more than a few, like this one, were obviously stalled indefinitely.

All that remains of the old Frontier – is the sign.

One night in Vegas was more than enough for me, so next morning I was on the move again for a quieter location to hang out.  

Took some shots of the strip hotels – from the Interstate as I headed out.