Day 72 - 10 Mar - Needles, CA to Las Vegas, Nevada

Odometer: 129,434 Weather: sunny 80 degrees

Photo: Fatty & Flubby Farkle in front of the Wynn hotel & casino. It's positioned so that it catches and reflects the sunset--amazing!!

We are traveling historic Route 66 to Las Vegas. It’s a beautiful day for traveling—the Eldorado Mts on one side and the McCullough Range on the other. The land is flat and the landscape much the same as the past few days but as every cloud floats by or the sun changes it’s position, the colours, textures, and shades of the mountains also change.
We stopped for gas—Wayne nearly had a bird—it was $4.19 a gallon so it wasn’t a ‘fill’ this time. A decision to go over to the Wagon Wheel Restaurant for breakfast was in order and it was a good decision. The waitress called us both ‘Honey’—she’s a biker babe—but the food was good and we decided that was brunch as well as breakfast. Both of us are a little amazed at what we are seeing in photos of ourselves! There a whole lot more to both of us than when we left!
Las Vegas was on the horizon by 1 pm and Gertie got us to the KOA Circus Circus right downtown on the ‘strip’. We got set up and were so exhausted by the effort that a nap was in order before we started exploring. By 4 pm we were ready to head out and went first to the Circus Circus hotel next door. It has ongoing free circus acts and from the ones we saw in the hour we were there, they are clearly first rate.
We decided to head down the strip for a bit. It doesn’t take long before we realize that it’s going to take more than a day to see everything! It’s Times Square x2 and we feel a bit like country bumpkins…mouths open and necks craned to look up at the various hotels. They are gorgeous and each of the newer ones have tried to out-do the others around them. We stopped and watched the pirate show outside the Treasure Island hotel….pretty damned impressive….pyro-technics and all. By the time the show ended it was getting dark and the strip was lit up and looking beautiful. I love this kind of stuff and while I’m sure that too much of it would become too much after a while, it’s still new to me and has all the glitz that I like...me & glitz won't surprise anyone. Now if I can just resist the impulse to buy the glitz t-shirts, purses, & all the other stuff, I'll be okay.
We hit a few souvenir shops along the way and then between Wayne’s foot and my back, we decided that we’d better head back before we had to call 911. We’ll have a good night’s sleep and then give it our best shot tomorrow. Once couple who live here told us about a couple of the hotels that we really must get to in order to see the water shows or other free shows and they are at the very end of the strip so we’ll check out the double-decker bus that runs up and down Las Vegas Avenue and see if that cuts out some of the residual pain and lets us wander longer.
Until next time, take care everyone. Let us know when the snow leaves and we’ll start heading for home. We did see a bit of snow on one of the higher mountains in the distance…….we didn’t like it.