Friday, May 18, 2012

The Drive to Las Vegas…

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Vegas 004Before leaving the Phoenix, AZ area we stopped for a stroll through the town of Scottsdale and then also toured the Arizona State University campus. We had stumbled into a nice park near old town Scottsdale and simply enjoyed the walk through their gardens dotted with art sculptures. The LOVE sculpture to the right really caught our eyes…

The next day the drive to Las Vegas Vegas 011didn’t start off as well as we had hoped as there was a rollover accident on Interstate 10 that resulted in a fatality and traffic was at a stand still. Before retirement this would have really steamed me but during retirement waiting in traffic is not as bad… although it is still irritating. Finally the traffic cleared and we were on State Road 60 heading north through the northern Arizona Sonoran desert. We drove 217 miles where we stopped near the city of Kingman AZ for an overnight stop.

AllthornJoshua TreeThe next morning I woke up and looked out our front window to see a burrowing owl staring at me… Crazy!!! After this owl encounter we headed out once again on State Road 93 for the remaining 118 miles to Las Vegas. I love driving through the desert and taking in all the subtle pastel colors that the landscapes offer. The ruggedness and vastness of it all forces one into introspection… Into the Mojave Desert we pass many sculpted rocky peaks of rusted hues and then suddenly we are amongst a field of the vastly different pool at the oasis resortlooking Joshua trees. But as we climb we leave the Mojave desert behind and we notice the vegetation changing as we are creeping into the less spectacular Great Basin Desert.

But it is in the Great Basin Desert that we arrive to our destination the Oasis RV Resort for three nights. Another beautiful resort and with the PA discount we are here for $27.00 per night… and check out their pool…. fabulous!  We settle into our site and head to downtown Las Vegas to catch the Fremont Street experience.

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Vegas 018Parking is free at the Main Street Station. We checked out several of the downtown casinos and gambled just a little bit since this night we were there to enjoy the light show. If you haven’t been to the Fremont Street Experience you really should go. The sights and sounds of Vegas are everywhere as the eclectic tourists and colorful locals wait for the hourly light show. In between shows there are several different bands performing and we particularly enjoyed the Neon Country group as they sang one of our favorites “Red Solo Cup”… “I’ll fill you up… Let’s have a party…

Viva Las Vegas…

6 comments:

  1. Cute little owl. A PA discounted price of $27 is kinda high, would hate to pay full price there.

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    1. it's Vegas Teri - everything is higher here...

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  2. Scottsdale...can you say RICH!

    We loved Freemont Street. The have done such an excellent job of revitalizing that area. Glad you got a chance to visit there.

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    1. yes indeed, lots of "haves" in Scottsdale... and not in Fremont, loved our time there and may go back...

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  3. The Freemont st Experience alone is worth the trip to Vegas. Enjoy your time there.

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  4. Cool photos! Bet Vegas is HOT, HOT, HOT!

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