Sin City (Fall 2024 Western Adventure)

(I'm documenting our latest trip through several blog posts for my future reference. Feel free to read along, or if you're not interested come back in a few days.)

When Hubby Tony and I left Barstow California after breakfast we only had a two hour drive northeast to our last stop in Las Vegas. However, our room would not be ready until late afternoon, so we decided to add in one last nature experience and detoured to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

The canyon offers a 13-mile scenic drive in addition to hiking and rock climbing opportunities. It is so popular during the non-summer seasons that you have reserve a timed entry slot. I was pretty sure that we wouldn't have a problem on a Tuesday, and I was right.

At the visitors center the ranger cheerfully answered our questions. She told us they no longer offered printed park maps, but we could download one to our phone as long as we did it inside the building (the park had no cell service). She also recommended a picnic area where we could eat lunch.

The Scenic Drive was well named. At each parking lot Tony and I got out of the car to take advantage of the vistas. Many of the lots were filled with cars of people who were hiking and climbing. 

After eating lunch we decided we would do some hiking ourselves. The trails were categorized by difficulty into easy, moderate, and difficult. We chose an easy trail right next to the picnic area that was a little over a mile long. I thought it was a little strange that the map said the average completion time was 1.25 hours, but when I had to scramble up some boulders I realized why.

It was easier than it looks :-)

The trail ended up recrossing the main road at the the halfway point. Tony and I bailed out and walked on the road back to our car.

It was an easy drive back to Las Vegas. Tony had booked a condo at a time share resort two blocks off the Strip close to its northern end. After we got situated in the room we went to the Strip and walked around. Eventually we got dinner at a Pan Asian restaurant then came back to the room and crashed.

Wednesday (the last day of our vacation) we started at Flyover, which is an immersive flying experience that uses special effects to make riders feel like they're actually flying. It was like nothing I have ever done before. The experience started in a circular room with a screen in the middle that projected images on the walls and screen. After the preshow we moved into a room with chairlift-style seats and buckled in. The lights dimmed, the floor dropped, and the screen in front of the room came to life. I felt like I was in a helicopter with a camera as it zoomed up, down, and around. The chairs moved back and forth, and sprayers offered a gust of wind or a hint of mist when appropriate.

We bought passes for The Deuce, a bus that ran between the Strip and Downtown. Our first ride was to the Arts District, which is roughly halfway between the two areas. We got off and walked around. I saw the pawn shop that is featured on the TV show Pawn Stars. I was not tempted to stop in.

Back at the resort, we headed down to the bar for a free glass of wine during happy hour, then headed off for a simple dinner. Before going to be, I set my alarm to allow enough time for us to check out, return the rental, and get to the airport in time for our trip back home.

Finis!

A California Crossroads (Fall 2024 Western Adventure)

(I'm documenting our latest trip through several blog posts for my future reference. Feel free to read along, or if you're not interested come back in a few days.)

At this point in our trip Hubby Tony and I had been traveling for a week and a half. There were four days left before we flew home from Las Vegas early Thursday morning. Monday was back to work/back to school for the kids and grandkids, so Tony and I decided to break the eight-hour drive back to Vegas up into two days. After walking to school with Grandsons Jay, Dee, and Ell we packed up the car and got on the road.

There are two passes over the Diablo Range mountains close to the San Jose area. The fastest one between the Son Brian and Son Tony's houses is the Altamont Pass, but our route took us over the more southern Pacheco Pass. We got off the highway at Gilroy, which calls itself the Garlic Capital of the World. The road had quite a few produce stands. Even though it was really too late in the year for local produce, we stopped at one. The packages they were selling were too large, but they also had garlic ice cream. I had it on a previous trip, but couldn't resist another taste.

Chocolate and a hint of garlic

After some discussion of how much ground we wanted to cover the first day of driving Tony and I chose to stay in Barstow, which is a city along Route 66. Unfortunately, we found out that on Monday many of the historic things were closed, but I enjoyed seeing the series of pedestals topped with classic cars along Main Street.

For dinner Tony found a great soul food restaurant. The food was served cafeteria style, and a plate consisted of a main dish, two sides, and a cornbread muffin. I couldn't decide if I wanted pulled pork or rib tips, so the associate gave me a sample of both. He also offered a sample of the oxtails. Farther down the line, when I asked if he liked the cabbage or collard greens better he gave me another sample.

The generosity continued once we were sitting down. First the manager came by with a side of ribs for Tony and I to share, and later he brought a small bowl of sweet potatoes for each of us. I had trouble finishing all the food, and there was certainly no room for dessert! I practically waddled across the street to our hotel.

After breakfast the next morning we stopped at the store to buy grab and go sandwiches for lunch and headed east for the last part of our adventure.

To be continued...

The Main Event (Fall 2024 Western Adventure)

(I'm documenting our latest trip through several blog posts for my future reference. Feel free to read along, or if you're not interested come back in a few days.)

Beatty, Nevada Day Two. Hubby Tony and woke up and packed up, then drove away from the motel. I was surprised to learn that the roads through Death Valley had many public roads, one of which was a California state route. Google Maps said the most efficient way to get to our next destination was to retrace part of yesterday's drive through the park. We did that, but before entering the park turned off to see the Rhyolite Ghost Town, then continued our trip. Halfway across the park, we again deviated from the Google route to head to one last place in Death Valley-the Father Crowley Overlook above the Rainbow Canyon, near the western boundary of the park.

National Park Service

After seeing the vista Tony and I decided it made the most sense to leave the park by a nearby exit instead of backtracking. We drove for three hours southwest, then another four hours northwest. Along the way the terrain changed from desert, to scrub, to agriculture. Thanks to traffic we rolled into Son Tony's house about 6:30 in the evening.

The next four days were spent with the two California families. 

• On Thanksgiving we joined Tony and DIL Ie's family for a Thanksgiving celebration. There were about 50 people there, and enough food to fill three 6-foot folding tables.
  

• Afterwards Hubby Tony and I got in the car and drove across the Altamont Pass to Son Brian's. 

• Friday we attended a San Jose Sharks game with them (The Sharks beat up on the Seattle Kraken, winning 8-5).

• Friday afternoon Son Tony and family checked into an AirBnB by Brian's house and came to socialize. They stayed until it was time for the kids to go to bed.

• Saturday Son Tony's family came back for a family Thanksgiving lunch. It was nice to see everyone, but we all missed Son Donald, who was back in St. Louis. 

• Sunday Hubby Tony and I joined DIL Nicole at swim lessons for the grands, then we ended up at the mall where they visited Santa.

Sunday night Tony and I started packing our things up so we could get a quick start after taking the grands to school. We had more places to be!

To be continued... 

 Five years ago today: 1 Corinthians 13 (Christmas version)

Hottest, Lowest, Driest (Fall 2024 Western Adventure)

(I'm documenting our latest trip through several blog posts for my future reference. Feel free to read along, or if you're not interested come back in a few days.)

When Hubby Tony and I started planning add ons to our California family visit, the first decision was what route to take. We quickly figured out that going north from Boulder City would run into winter weather, so for the third stop on our trip we chose something that was the opposite of cold. As a matter of fact, Death Valley National Park is notable as being the hottest place on earth and driest place in North America.

Wikimedia

However, the "hottest place on earth" ended up being lovely in November, with warm days and cool nights. Hiking was a pleasure. The park wasn't crowded, and there were no bugs. We chose to stay in Beatty, Nevada, which calls itself the "Gateway to Death Valley". The town was a blink and you miss it space on the highway, but our hotel was a ten-minute drive to the Hell's Gate entrance to the park. Beatty is an old mining town, and the burrows roaming the streets added character.

Death Valley National Park is over 3.4 million acres, and the largest park in the United States outside of Alaska. It's filled with extreme and unique landscapes, but Tony and I came up with a plan that let us see many of the highlights. Among my favorites was Badwater Basin. At 282 ft below sea level, it's the lowest point in North America.

See the arrow? That's a sea level marker.

When you turn around from the cliff in the photo above there's an expansive salt flat that covers almost 200 square miles. The packed salt looked like snow, and I kept expecting my feet to get cold when I walked on it.

Throughout the course of the day we saw scenic vistas, colorful hills, and show-stopping canyons. Our last stop was the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, which the visitor center said was one of the best places to watch the sun set. Unfortunately heavy clouds covered the sky and there was no sunset, but it was still interesting to walk through the area.

At the end of the day we returned to the hotel. It was an interesting drive on a sometimes windy two lane roads, because the area is recognized as an International Dark Sky Place with very little artificial light pollution, and I was glad when I saw the motel sign.

To be continued...

Nevada's Garden City (Fall 2024 Western Adventure)

(I'm documenting our latest trip through several blog posts for my future reference. Feel free to read along, or if you're not interested come back in a few days.)

The second stop on our adventure was Boulder City, Nevada. It's home to Hoover Dam, an engineering marvel on the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona which provides water and electricity. The water trapped behind the dam is called Lake Mead, the largest man-made lake in the United States.

Hubby Tony and I chose a hotel five minutes from the historic district area of the city, but we drove there for shopping and meals. Our hotel was at the top of a hill, and we could see Lake Mead from the parking lot.

After a great night's sleep we drove to the dam for a tour, where our guide had fun sprinkling in "dam" jokes in between the facts.

Wikimedia

Hoover Dam was constructed between 1931 and 1936 in an Art Deco style. I enjoyed seeing the sleek sweeping curves, chevrons, and pyramids. Inside, there were beautiful terrazzo floors and insets that incorporated motifs of the Navajo and Pueblo tribes of the region.

Different sides of the dam, different states

There are a lot of nature areas in the area. The next day Tony and I walked on the Historic Railroad Trail, which was originally the railroad bed used to haul materials for the construction of Hoover Dam. There were five huge tunnels along the trail to accommodate the equipment. (For perspective, the end of this tunnel had a nine-foot tall shipping container placed at the end.)

Our last activity was a ride on the Nevada Southern Railway excursion train. Everything is run by volunteers, and the one in our car was knowledgeable and friendly. After lunch at a cafe recommended by the train volunteer we headed towards our next stop for the next part of our trip.

To be continued...

LAS (Fall 2024 Western Adventure)

(I'm documenting this trip through several blog posts for my future reference. Feel free to read along, or if you're not interested come back in a few days.)

You didn't even know that I was gone, but this morning Hubby Tony and I returned from a whirlwind two weeks out West. We had a great time visiting family, historical places, and natural wonders.

The main purpose of the visit was to spend Thanksgiving with the California kids and grands. Because air fares take a huge price jump for the holiday we decided to leave substantially before and come home substantially after. For several reasons we chose to fly into Las Vegas, which is approximately eight hours from where our kids and grandkids live...but we weren't going to drive all that distance at once!

Our trip got off to a rough start. The flight that was supposed to get us to Vegas at bedtime got delayed....then delayed....and delayed even more. At that point we wouldn't have gotten in until long after midnight, so we rebooked for a flight that would get us there at lunchtime on Friday. After the flight was rebooked Tony canceled the Thursday hotel room and revised the rental car reservation. I contacted the cat sitter about the change, and let our downstairs neighbor know so she wouldn't be freaked out to hear us moving around.Then we went to sleep in our own bed.

On Friday everything went as planned. You  know exactly what city you're in when this is the first thing you see when you walk out of the gate:

After picking up the car we got lunch and explored Downtown (the primary gambling district of Las Vegas prior to the Strip), and the Fremont Street Experience (a five-block pedestrian mall, most of which is covered by the world’s largest LED canopy screen). We popped into a couple of the stores and casinos, but didn't gamble and passed on any tacky tourist experiences.

Next, we drove to the Strip. Parking was horrendous, so we switched gears and headed out of town. Tony was navigating. On Google Maps he saw a green blob for the Ethel M Botanical Cactus Garden and we decided to visit. Later. I found out from the website that it's the largest cactus collection in Nevada.

Ethel M is a chocolate manufacturer, so we were also able to see the production line at work and have a sample before wandering through the cacti. The area was decorated for the holidays, and if we had been there after dark would have been lit up. However, we had places to go so we headed on. 

To be continued...

Five years ago: From Me To You. You're Welcome.