On the Road: Las Vegas to Laughlin, Nevada

We pulled out of the Sam's Town RV park on Monday, October 1, to go to Laughlin.

96 miles from Vegas to Laughlin

From the park, we journeyed down the Boulder Highway past casinos, fast food joints, and other businesses. Just outside town, we turned south on Highway 95. This is the true desert. We saw a few Joshua trees and other stunted plant growth, but for the most part there is nothing out there but rocks and dirt.  There was a large body of water beside the highway just a few miles south of our turn off. Vegas had considerable rain early in September, and this could be a result of that. On the plains of Texas, there are playa lakes, which form in depressions after rains. This body reminded me of a playa lake. Nearby was a large solar farm, the largest I have ever seen.

About halfway to Laughlin, we passed through the small town of Searchlight, Nevada. Not much there except a gas station or two, a McDonald's, and a casino or two. Then back into the desert.

Just before our turnoff, we passed by the uniquely named community of Cal-Nev-Ari, Nevada. Not much there, but it does have the required casino as any good Nevada community does.

Just before reaching the California line, we turned east onto highway 163 for the most scenic part of the drive. The road here winds through the southern part of the Newberry mountains, a range that climbs to just over 2,600 feet. After reaching the crest, the final 10 or so miles then winds down to Laughlin at an elevation of 558 feet, our lowest point since leaving East Texas 2 months earlier.

Sam's Town RV Park

We stayed at Sam's Town RV Park from September 24 through October 1. The park is located on the Boulder Highway in Las Vegas next door to Sam's Town Casino.

The RV park is a decent place to stay, and it is convenient to the casino. It has all the regular facilities -- restrooms with showers, pool, laundry room, cable TV, and full hookups. WiFi is provided at the park for a fee of $6.95 per day or $19.99 per week, so we did not use it.

The park is set up on a circular pattern with the pool and laundry room at the center. All streets are paved and all sites are solid crushed gravel.

All utilities for sites are contained within a single housing unit shared by 2 rigs. Motorhomes can either back in or pull in straight. All trailers back in. The sewer connection is rather unusual. You pull up a sliding door and fit your hose in a groove there, then slide the door down to secure the hose.

There are very few trees in the park so shade is at a premium. We were there when daily temperatures were in the low 90s and nightly lows were in the 60s, so we were alright, but I could not see us staying there in the heat of the summer.

The first day we were there, a motorhome came in and parked next door to us, sharing our utility box. We threw a breaker once that day. The motorhome left the the next day, and we had no more breaker problems until our last full day at the park, when another motorhome came in to share the box. That evening, we threw a breaker several times. It seems that by sharing a box, the motorhome was pulling power from us. I turned our fridge and water heater on to gas, thereby reducing our electric pull, for I wanted to ensure we had enough electricity for our air conditioner. We had no more problems after that.


Although the park is right on the Boulder Highway, which is a very busy city artery, the road traffic was not overly loud. However, sirens sounded at all hours of the day and night. We did feel safe in the park. The park is surrounded by a wall, and a security patrol made rounds at all hours throughout the day and night.

Hoover Dam

While in Las Vegas the last week of September, Donna and I decided to drive out to the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. This is a busy place, and we didn't see as much as we would have liked.

The drive from Vegas is rather nondescript until you approach Boulder City. We were impressed with this small community. It is a tidy, attractive desert town which obviously does a healthy tourist trade.

As we left Boulder City, we caught our first glimpse of Lake Mead.

Lake Mead as we leave Boulder City

The highway from Kingman, Arizona, to Las Vegas once took all traffic across the Hoover Dam. However, there is a new highway and a new bridge -- the Mike O-Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge -- which crosses the Colorado River below the Hoover Dam. We exited onto the old road, though, and, after much searching and a great deal of patience, we were able to find a parking place in the area for the pedestrian bridge which crosses the river.

Hoover Dam taken from the pedestrian bridge

 From the parking area of the pedestrian bridge, which is on the Nevada side of the river, you climb a series of steps (handicap access is available) to reach a pedestrian walkway alongside the new bridge. This pedestrian bridge is not for the feint of heart, though; I was able to get out on the bridge to snap some pictures, but then I froze. After much crying and other hysterics, 2 little old ladies helped me back to the Nevada side. The dam, by the way, can not be seen from the new highway.

Donna at a scenic overlook of Lake Mead

Back in Texas

For the past 17 days or so, I've either not been connected to the Internet or my connection was not good at all. As a result, I've not been able to post much to the blog. I hope that will change now.

Donna and I arrived in Big Spring, Texas, this afternoon after a 900 mile journey from Laughlin that began yesterday morning. We saw some wonderful country, and I will post something about the trip as soon as I can catch up.

We will stay in Big Spring for a few days visiting our daughter and her family. We will leave here next week and travel to East Texas to take care of some business there. We have no plans at this time beyond East Texas. It will be good to see the colors of fall there.

Please bear with me as I try to catch up. 

Las Vegas, Nevada

We spent the week of September 24 through October 1 at Sam's Town RV Park on the Boulder Highway in East Las Vegas, Nevada. We had been to Las Vegas twice before about ten years ago. The first trip we stayed at the Excalibur on the South Strip, and the second time we stayed downtown at the Golden Nugget.  Of the two locations, I think we like the downtown experience better. You can still see glimpses of the old Vegas downtown, and there are much better gaming and eating opportunities there.

Las Vegas is a big town, and it's a busy place. Sirens sounded around the clock all up and down the Boulder Highway. I don't know if they were ambulances, fire trucks, or police calls -- probably a mix of all of these -- but we heard them at every hour of the day and night.

We spent our time gambling at Sam's Town and the nearby Boulder Station. We enjoyed both casinos. We were lucky enough to hit a jackpot while at Sam's Town playing the full pay deuces wild machines there. We scored enough comps that we were able to eat free for the last several days we were there. Getting around on the Boulder Highway was easy enough, and there were various dining and shopping opportunities in the area. In fact, there is a Super Walmart right across the street from Sam's Town. Other RV parks are located nearby as well.

The weather was fairly mild by Vegas standards while we were there. The temperatures were basically in the lower 90s during the day while dipping to the lower 70s or higher 60s at night.

One aspect of gambling in Vegas I don't like is the presence of children in the casinos. Dining options and hotel access are usually located off the main casino floor at local casinos, so children have to pass through the casino to get to these places. I hate seeing these children on casino floors, exposed to smoke and drinking. And because casinos like Sam's Town offer arcades, bowling, movies, and other child-oriented entertainment, there are lots of families here.

But we liked Sam's Town and would consider returning here if ever in Vegas again. It has plenty of eating options, including chains like McDonald's, Subway, and TGIF, as well as the usual assortment of casino options like buffets and delis. There is something happening almost everyday at Sam's Town. While there, we participated in a slot tournament as well as several drawings for various prizes.

On the Road: Beaver, Utah, to Las Vegas, Nevada

Monday, September 24, 2012

We awoke while it was still dark out this morning; we wanted to get an early start. Since we did not unhook yesterday, it didn't take us long to pull out of the RV park in Beaver. We drove over to the nearby McDonald's and had a light breakfast.

Our route today is 227 miles

After breakfast, we drove through Beaver. Like most other Utah towns we have seen, this one was neat and orderly and very attractive. The residents of the state have done a wonderful job of making the desert bloom.

After hopping on Interstate 15, we headed south. The first part of the trip was through a rich agricultural valley dominated mostly by hay fields. The valley was probably 3 - 5 miles wide in most places, though I've discovered I have trouble estimating distances accurately in this big country. The drive through this section was easy and over fairly level terrain.

As we approached Cedar City, UT, we climbed out of the valley into more rugged country, but nothing like what we experienced the previous day. From Cedar City on to the Arizona state line, we remained in an urban setting, dominated by St. George, UT, the major city in this part of Utah with a population of over 70,000 citizens. Because of its mild winter climate, Brigham Young selected the area for his winter home.

We crossed the Arizona state line as we left St. George, and soon entered the most scenic stretch of our trip today -- the Virgin River Gorge. The Virgin River has sliced through the mountains of Arizona that separate Utah from Nevada, and the road follows the river as it winds its way through this rough country. Below are some pictures Donna snapped as we wound through this scenic setting.

Approaching the Virgin River Gorge; at this point, it really does not look that impressive, but appearances can be deceiving.

As we get farther into the gorge, the hills become steeper and closer to the road.

We are really feeling closed in about now.

Those are some steep canyon walls

The light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.

And suddenly, we emerge from the gorge to see a hazy horizon of mountains lying in the distant west

The Nevada state line is just a few miles west of the gorge, and the growing town of Mesquite is right on the border. You know you are in Nevada because the casinos begin at the first exit. We detoured through Mesquite for a closer look at this community, which is attracting growing numbers of retirees with its casinos and golf resorts. It is a tidy place with a good variety of businesses.

Back on I-15, we set our sites on Las Vegas. We are plainly in the desert now. It is sunny and hot. For the first time since we left Big Spring, Texas, in mid-August, we have temperatures in the high 90s. The land is baked, and very little grows here.

We enter Vegas on the northeast side. After exiting the interstate, we pass Nellis AFB and turn south on Nellis Boulevard. Our destination is Sam's Town RV Park on the Boulder Highway. We will spend 1 week here.

Connected Again

After about 10 days with no Internet service, I'm connected again. It will take me a while to get caught up on everything I need to do, but I'll be posting new entries soon, picking up with where we left off in Beaver, Utah.

We are now in Laughlin, Nevada, after spending a week in Las Vegas. We spent our first three nights here at the Aquarius Hotel and Casino, where we had free rooms. Yesterday, we moved over to Riverside RV Park.

Please bear with me as I catch up on email and other business. As soon as I have time, I'll post new entries.