Beatty NV - Wednesday
We arose from out slumbers in the Egyptian palace (sic) and at 9 am prompt, the pneumatic drills recommenced. The TV, which had been on the blink finally gave up completely when I moved the cable for the modem which was stupidly tied up behind it. Hello Las Vegas – 
I’m happy to be saying goodbye to you to be honest. Lovely room mind you, just the Luxor is on the way down I think, character is not existent and attention to non-earning element non-existent. The building works don’t help with the noise of drills and banging echoing around what is an engineering marvel. Large areas are sheeted off and in the middle of what should be Egypt is a Body works exhibition in modern black exhibition enclosure. It just seems a desperate measure to earn some more.
We packed and dropped the key in the express checkout and headed out taking care to keep our sense of direction to avoid dragging our luggage across the gambling hall in a roundabout route again. All these damn places are designed so that you cannot go in a direct line to where you want to be; you must go passed and around gambling opportunities.
Fortunately, we parked in the covered area. There is no assistance to the self parking area, doors are manual, no moving walkways. Its a long way and its bloody hot and it’s not even 10 am yet. Car loaded, water drunk. Let’s get breakfast and think positive. [in fairness, Lynne is not a patch as negative as I am]
Luxor had nothing to offer so we crossed through to Starbucks in Mandalay where we enjoyed Latte and pastries for breakfast. We had an amble around and went outside so we could see Luxor in daylight. Outside, away from the building and now relaxed to be moving on, the pyramid and the surrounding decor are actually very impressive and my mood continues to improve with me actually enjoying looking around. We head across the gaming hall again to return to the car park and have to stop at a one armed bandit which has a handle; turns out its cosmetic and you have to push a button. (“Not that button bacon brain!” – our kids will understand) We put in a $1 note for 4 x 25c credits and promptly will $3 = 12 credits. Pressing the button it takes a couple of runs before we notice that it bets 2 credits every time unless you force 1. They have you everytime. So, we wasted our winnings and left Las Vegas $1 down.
I volunteered to drive down the Strip, clearly in a better frame of mind, and we realised how far we had walked last night. The South end of the strip where all the big hotels are has some huge building enterprises ongoing then there is a stretch between the South and the North which has no identity, running down to near Circus Circus which is at the southern end of what we considered the North Strip. I’m afraid to say that we both thought the north strip was a dump. Not even Blackpool on speed, more like brown ale. Tacky in the extreme and if you were lodging down here you would have severe difficulty getting to and from the South Strip – we gave up on buses last night to move along it as the queues were horrendous.
Then the Wedding chapels started to appear. The disappointment that must come from the use of some of these must be unbearable. Some are barely white painted sheds with a bit of wrought iron. Typical signage reads, “A Famous Las Vegas Wedding Chapel”; the “A” is however buried between two red painted hearts so that you only really see, “Famous Las Vegas Wedding Chapel”.
We leave Las Vegas laughing. I will never return but I am very glad to have been (for one night).
As we drive to our next point on our journey, Death Valley, my spirits are low. The journey end is in sight, there are now signs for Los Angeles and it is confusing. Las Vegas has broken the flow of the journey for me and there was so much of it I didn’t like.
We stop for lunch with yet another McDonalds salad and do some re-planning of routes. We agree on targeting the southern section of Death Valley and then coming out to a town to the east, Beatty for which Lynne has found a pamphlet indicating accommodation.
We fill up with fuel before entering the national park, a good precaution as the air con drinks the stuff.
Death Valley!!
Time getting on and we only have a few hours before dark. We turn the road to Dante’s View. This is about 23 miles and we are a little concerned over the time usage but the view from the top into the lower reaches of Death Valley is unbelievable. The panorama of mountains enclosing the valley presents all hues and down below the dry salt flats of Badwater stretch out. This is not what either of us expected and it’s looking good.
We descend and enter the main valley before turning south to Badwater. Here, we are around 200 ft below sea level. The temperature is 113 F/ 45 C and it 6pm evening with sunset only 1 ½ hours away. A small pool of water is always present here which is not poisonous but is so full of salts that it is undrinkable. Dig a hole anywhere and water appears 6in down just like on the beach at the seaside if you go on the sand the sea has just retreated from.
Running North, we take a diversion to see the Artist’s Palette
where the rocks present a range of colours from rich golds, pale greens, blues, purples and reds. The sun is setting and the rocks are all lit up with the low sun and around us the shadows build enhancing the strange beauty of this extraordinary place.
Describing this place is difficult; it is full of contrasts and surprises and presents a strange but captivating beauty. We meet hardly any Americans but are surrounded by Italians, Germans and French.
As the sun sets we drive out of the valley to the East and to
Beatty. We find a motel quickly which has a good selection of tourist cars already parked and looks OK. They have a room for us at a measly $50 (£25); it is clean, comfortable and homely though appears to have no Internet in spite of advertised. We are recommended to Rita’s Cafe in the Stagecoach Casino for dinner and walk up the road with the stars and the moon overhead. A good dinner is enjoyed with a beer, a rarity on this trip and we return to the lodge happy and tired.
Statistics: Miles today: 239 miles; Miles so far: 4,585; Fuel added so far: 234 gals; States: Nevada, California, Nevada; Time Zone: Pacific (UK-8)
We arose from out slumbers in the Egyptian palace (sic) and at 9 am prompt, the pneumatic drills recommenced. The TV, which had been on the blink finally gave up completely when I moved the cable for the modem which was stupidly tied up behind it. Hello Las Vegas – 
I’m happy to be saying goodbye to you to be honest. Lovely room mind you, just the Luxor is on the way down I think, character is not existent and attention to non-earning element non-existent. The building works don’t help with the noise of drills and banging echoing around what is an engineering marvel. Large areas are sheeted off and in the middle of what should be Egypt is a Body works exhibition in modern black exhibition enclosure. It just seems a desperate measure to earn some more.We packed and dropped the key in the express checkout and headed out taking care to keep our sense of direction to avoid dragging our luggage across the gambling hall in a roundabout route again. All these damn places are designed so that you cannot go in a direct line to where you want to be; you must go passed and around gambling opportunities.
Fortunately, we parked in the covered area. There is no assistance to the self parking area, doors are manual, no moving walkways. Its a long way and its bloody hot and it’s not even 10 am yet. Car loaded, water drunk. Let’s get breakfast and think positive. [in fairness, Lynne is not a patch as negative as I am]
Luxor had nothing to offer so we crossed through to Starbucks in Mandalay where we enjoyed Latte and pastries for breakfast. We had an amble around and went outside so we could see Luxor in daylight. Outside, away from the building and now relaxed to be moving on, the pyramid and the surrounding decor are actually very impressive and my mood continues to improve with me actually enjoying looking around. We head across the gaming hall again to return to the car park and have to stop at a one armed bandit which has a handle; turns out its cosmetic and you have to push a button. (“Not that button bacon brain!” – our kids will understand) We put in a $1 note for 4 x 25c credits and promptly will $3 = 12 credits. Pressing the button it takes a couple of runs before we notice that it bets 2 credits every time unless you force 1. They have you everytime. So, we wasted our winnings and left Las Vegas $1 down.
I volunteered to drive down the Strip, clearly in a better frame of mind, and we realised how far we had walked last night. The South end of the strip where all the big hotels are has some huge building enterprises ongoing then there is a stretch between the South and the North which has no identity, running down to near Circus Circus which is at the southern end of what we considered the North Strip. I’m afraid to say that we both thought the north strip was a dump. Not even Blackpool on speed, more like brown ale. Tacky in the extreme and if you were lodging down here you would have severe difficulty getting to and from the South Strip – we gave up on buses last night to move along it as the queues were horrendous.
Then the Wedding chapels started to appear. The disappointment that must come from the use of some of these must be unbearable. Some are barely white painted sheds with a bit of wrought iron. Typical signage reads, “A Famous Las Vegas Wedding Chapel”; the “A” is however buried between two red painted hearts so that you only really see, “Famous Las Vegas Wedding Chapel”.We leave Las Vegas laughing. I will never return but I am very glad to have been (for one night).
As we drive to our next point on our journey, Death Valley, my spirits are low. The journey end is in sight, there are now signs for Los Angeles and it is confusing. Las Vegas has broken the flow of the journey for me and there was so much of it I didn’t like.
We stop for lunch with yet another McDonalds salad and do some re-planning of routes. We agree on targeting the southern section of Death Valley and then coming out to a town to the east, Beatty for which Lynne has found a pamphlet indicating accommodation.
We fill up with fuel before entering the national park, a good precaution as the air con drinks the stuff.
Death Valley!!
Time getting on and we only have a few hours before dark. We turn the road to Dante’s View. This is about 23 miles and we are a little concerned over the time usage but the view from the top into the lower reaches of Death Valley is unbelievable. The panorama of mountains enclosing the valley presents all hues and down below the dry salt flats of Badwater stretch out. This is not what either of us expected and it’s looking good.
We descend and enter the main valley before turning south to Badwater. Here, we are around 200 ft below sea level. The temperature is 113 F/ 45 C and it 6pm evening with sunset only 1 ½ hours away. A small pool of water is always present here which is not poisonous but is so full of salts that it is undrinkable. Dig a hole anywhere and water appears 6in down just like on the beach at the seaside if you go on the sand the sea has just retreated from.Running North, we take a diversion to see the Artist’s Palette
where the rocks present a range of colours from rich golds, pale greens, blues, purples and reds. The sun is setting and the rocks are all lit up with the low sun and around us the shadows build enhancing the strange beauty of this extraordinary place.Describing this place is difficult; it is full of contrasts and surprises and presents a strange but captivating beauty. We meet hardly any Americans but are surrounded by Italians, Germans and French.
As the sun sets we drive out of the valley to the East and to
Beatty. We find a motel quickly which has a good selection of tourist cars already parked and looks OK. They have a room for us at a measly $50 (£25); it is clean, comfortable and homely though appears to have no Internet in spite of advertised. We are recommended to Rita’s Cafe in the Stagecoach Casino for dinner and walk up the road with the stars and the moon overhead. A good dinner is enjoyed with a beer, a rarity on this trip and we return to the lodge happy and tired.Statistics: Miles today: 239 miles; Miles so far: 4,585; Fuel added so far: 234 gals; States: Nevada, California, Nevada; Time Zone: Pacific (UK-8)
1 comment:
"Beatty for which Lynne has found a pamphlet indicating accommodation"
Mum has a pamphlet for something? Surely not! ;)
Post a Comment