Road Trip — Beatty and Rholyte, Nevada
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After spending the night in the tiny historic town of Beatty, Nevada, the eastern entrance to Death Valley, I spent part of the morning exploring the area by looking for a few geocaches. After checking out the Death Valley Nut and Candy Company in town and the Daisy Mine on a dirt road just outside of town, I headed west towards the ghost town of Rhyolite. The town has several building structure frames still standing and a railroad train depot that is fairly complete. On the edge of town is the Goldwell Open Air Museum which has some interesting and thought provoking sculptures from the artist Albert Szukalski.
Road Trip — Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
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Yesterday during a taxi ride, we were talking about seeing streets or places named after your name, and our driver mentioned “Bonnie Springs” was just outside of Las Vegas, so of course I had to swing by it on my way out of town, just to get a picture of it for my friend Bonnie. It’s a historic mining town, with what looked to be one extremely rustic western motel. As I head north, I took the scenic bypass tour of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (RRNCA) which is more beautiful red rock, which I’m really liking a lot.
Road Trip — Las Vegas, Nevada
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Today, Bonnie, Jim and I went to the Vegas Strip and wandered around a bit and did some gambling and some drinking, just like you’re supposed to in Vegas. The next morning brought the Saturday college football games on 9 gazillion screens in the sports bar. After lunch, I said good bye to Bonnie and Jim and started my meandering back towards home.
Road Trip — Las Vegas, Nevada
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I met my friends Bonnie and Jim at the Rio Casino and it was great to see them again. I checked into on of the really nice suites there, got ready and then we all went to dinner at Hugo’s Cellar in the 4 Queens Hotel and Casino on Fremont Street. After dinner, we enjoyed the Fremont Experience and watched the show “Above and Beyond” on Viva Vision over our heads–very cool. Back at the Rio Casino, we went up to the top for a drink at the Voodoo Lounge, the rooftop bar on the 51st floor. It was extremely windy up there, so much that we took our drinks inside and watched the bartender give a fantastic show of making a smoking zombie drink for another customer.
and here’s a little video of the Viva Vision show:
Road Trip — Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada
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Time to leave the Valley of Fire State Park and travel through the Lake Mead National Recreation Area to Las Vegas where I’m meeting friends. Not very many people on the road, but that’s okay, it makes for a nice ride through the desert landscape., I stop at Callville Bay Marina for lunch and get a really good look at Lake Mead. The sandstone formations of the area are so interesting to look at with all their different colors and formations.
