July 30th. Flagstaff to Las Vegas.

We leave Flagstaff, well worth a return visit. First thing was to find a ‘Muffler Man’, these giant lumberjack statues are dotted all over and are a roadside curiosity. There is on in Flagstaff at the entrance to the Walkup Skydome sports arena. The previously mentioned Arizona Cardinals were training and there was great interest and the boys seemed to be having a good time, it was more interesting than watching the big games on the telly. Through pine forests and then into desert. We turned off route 40 at Kingman and headed up through some serious barren country, dry scrubland and a straight swathe of tarmac right through the middle of it. People live out here, I don’t know what they live off or on but I reckon they move very slowly during the day. Next stop was the Hoover Dam. Another item in my ‘Boys Book of Things you should be interested in’, though we couldn’t get a view from down the gorge which would give you some idea of its size. They’re building a new motorway and there is a major bridge being built across the gorge at the dam, I’ve seen a report on Discovery Channel about it, and yes, it is impressive. We crested a hill and there below us lay Las Vegas, sitting in the middle of the desert, the tall hotels along the strip poking through the haze. I was fascinated by the line of ‘planes coming in to land, you could see the line stretching back for miles and miles. We drove down the length of the strip and took in all the sights as well as the famous names – the drive-in chapels for a quickie wedding, Caesar’s Palace, The Flamingo Club (Donny and Marie Osmonde on stage), The Venices, Romes, Mandalays and Egypts of Nevada. We checked into the ‘Happi Inn’ right across from Luxor and they are worlds apart. The Inn was clean but a little shabby ($55 a night) with a curious odour of cheap disinfectant and/or insect repellent. First stop was for some beers and no better place than the ‘Laughing Jackalope’, a normal, if that is the word, bar. Heather, the barmaid was keeping the locals topped up with $1 bottles of Corona, I tried ‘Sierra Nevada’ another pokey Ale. With a shot of Jaegermeister we were ready to tackle the strip. Neither Willy nor myself are into gambling so it was just a case of wandering around and gawking at the people who are, but there are lots of people like ourselves there, just out for the evening, to sense this man-made marvel (quite a contrast from the Grand Canyon yesterday). Food was in order so, no better place than the ‘Harley Davison’ restaurant for some superb T-Bone steaks, what else. They have Harleys swinging over your head on some kind of production line belt thingy, which after the Sierra Nevada beer, shots and a few tinnies walking up the strip, kept my tiny mind occupied. We went to an arcade and blew $25 on arcade games and won a Bart Simpson doll each, Vegas watch out, the high rollers are in town. Las Vegas is all about you parting with your money, they’ll try anything for you to spend, spend and spend. Then, a disastrous walk along the strip trying to find the Star Trek bar which was miles away and not there when we got to the wrong place, if you understand me. Most of the centre of Las Vegas is under construction (again) so most of the ‘walk’ was through hoardings and my favourite commodity, dust. Back to our motel via an interesting taxi driver who said that he had been in Vegas for 16 years and wouldn't change it for the world, he hasn't been to Dingle or Conil. That comforting smell of whatever, though I didn’t really notice.