November 24: Death Valley to Audacious Nevada. Starting mileage: 38,354.
We woke up early, intent on seeing another desert sunrise. And of course, coffee was the first thing on the agenda. Today, we’d go from Death Valley to the bright lights of Las Vegas, Nevada. We’d pass through Nevada’s desert landscape of ghost towns, old towns, and vast empty spaces where it is hard to imagine the gambles that people took to make homes and a living here.
Desert Accident
I went to the reception area to get a cup of the always-on brewed coffee, as an incident was unfolding in the lobby. A woman and man talked quietly to the manager, while another man sat dazed in a chair. The couple had found him in his upside-down car on the side of the road about an hour from here. There was no cell phone service to call 911. So, they revived him, got him out of his wrecked car, into their warm car and now were here to get him help. He sat in a chair staring into space, blinking slow, mouth agape, and his hands reaching up to hold his head like he was checking to see if it was still there. With his mussed-up bed-head hair, motorcycle boots, leather jacket, and jeans he looked like a musician, except for the leather briefcase at his feet.
As I refilled my coffee cup, an ambulance and a park service ranger arrived. The couple repeated their story, left their contact information, got some coffee, said goodbye to the wrecked guy, and left. He was waving off an EMT when I went out to take photos before sunrise.
About an hour later when I returned to the lobby for another cup of coffee, the accident guy was still there. Now he sat outside by the fire-pit, briefcase heeling close to his boots, smoking a cigarette, and staring out at the desert. His bewildered expression was a reminder to drive carefully on these roads. The number one cause of death in Death Valley is not the heat–it is the single-car rollover. He was lucky to be alive.
Daylight Pass
We filled up before leaving Stovepipe Wells and pulled out on CA-190 going northeast to Nevada. The road took us past the Devil’s Cornfield, and then up to Daylight Pass in the Amargosa Mountains. We went from zero elevation to 4,316 feet above sea level in about 15 miles.
The Ghost town of Rhyolite
A ghost town was near our route. Rhyolite was established in 1905 after gold was discovered in nearby mountains. After big investment in infrastructure, by 1907 Rhyolite had a railroad station, electric lights, water pipes, telephones, newspapers, a hospital, a school, an opera house, and a stock exchange. The town’s population hit about 5,000 in 1907–08. Imagine the pluck it took to turn a tent city of miners into a cultured town in just three years.
Alas, Rhyolite crashed fast too. First, the gold ore was exhausted, then financial panic. All three banks closed by March 1910. By the end of 1910, the mine was operating at a loss, and closed in 1911. Out-of-work miners moved elsewhere. According to Wikipedia, “All the newspapers shut down by June 1912. The post office closed in November 1913; the last train left Rhyolite Station in July 1914, and the Nevada-California Power Company turned off the electricity and removed its lines in 1916. Within a year the town was ‘all but abandoned’, and the 1920 census reported a population of only 14. A 1922 motor tour by the Los Angeles Times found only one remaining resident, a 92-year-old man who died in 1924″.
Beatty and Amargosa Valley
Shortly after Rhyolite, we came into the little town of Beatty. These desert towns all seemed to have a wild west, devil-may-care feel–heroically or recklessly navigating the boom and bust. Maybe it was the number of faded hotels, or the aging industrial elements, or the needy houses, or the general emptiness of the place. I wondered about the people who lived in this harsh desert environment, the few residents who live with so many strangers passing through.
Hoover Dam
It was early afternoon when we drove into Las Vegas, so we decided to drive on to Hoover Dam before checking in and relaxing.
Wow! Hoover Dam is famous for its scale, and the ingenuity of the people who imagined and built it during the Great Depression. And I’m here to tell you, it’s big! Its base is 660 feet thick–wider than two football fields are long. It goes more than 700 feet down into the canyon–about the size of a 60-story building. It holds back the Colorado River, and created Lake Mead in the Black Canyon. Until the bypass bridge was built over the canyon in 2012, US-93 passed across the top of the dam, carrying traffic between Arizona and Nevada.
We drove over the dam looking for parking. And I have to say, the closeness of a very big Lake Mead on the one side and the empty air above the Black Canyon on the other side gave me a fright. Its a little terrifying to think that we are confident enough of having tamed nature to drive over the concrete holding all that water back! We crossed back over quickly, and parked in the garage. At a safe distance, we gawked at this amendment to the land. I tried to keep an eye on the dam, and the giant bridge that throws a shadow on it, as we got our pressed pennies and ice cream cones.
Las Vegas!
We followed the power lines into Las Vegas, listening carefully to Siri as she directed us to the correct turn lanes, and the legal U-Turn spots so that we could get to our hotel. I’d found a place in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip that had a reasonable price for us and the car.
After check-in, we took a walk as the sun went down.
The sidewalks were unbelievably crowded. It was Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Everyone must have come here for the holiday weekend. And everyone must have been completely starstruck by the bright lights. No one watched where they were going. Groups of people walked 5 across, taking the entire width of the sidewalk. After a few minutes of getting hit and jostled, we walked arm-in-arm, with me closer to the oncoming people so that Mama Lucy didn’t get pummeled by the crowds. I stiffened my shoulder and gave as good as I got.
We walked through the Venetian, enjoying the lights, the gondolas, and the sights and sounds of this crazy, audacious desert city.
November 25: Las Vegas. Starting mileage: 38,580.
We may have been the only early risers in Las Vegas. I think the other people out and about at breakfast were the people who’d been out all night.
It was once again, time for laundry and another oil change, and we’d decided this Saturday morning would be “chores” time. First, we found a 24-hour laundromat not far from the hotel. It was a quiet, friendly place and our three loads were done lickety-split.
Next, we found another Bozarth Chevy dealer. They’d been good to us in Denver, and so, we’d made an appointment for the second oil change of our trip. Turns out, this establishment also found a few things wrong with the car–and took a couple of hours to put in brake fluid and a new filter. By the time we were turned loose, our chores finished, it was almost time for dinner and the nighttime show that is the Las Vegas Strip.
Show girls
Did I mention the show girls who also parked at our hotel? We’d been seeing tell-tale signs–a yellow boa in our parking spot, feathers in the elevator, and glitter on the buttons. And today, we saw scantily-clad girls arriving to do their thing on the Strip tonight. Two girls were changing into pink outfits in the parking garage. Two other girls were in the elevator when it opened on our floor. They had their hair tied in tight buns covered in silver glitter. They wore silver bikini bottoms, silver knee-high boots, and the rest was a combination of smartly-placed pasties, white feathers, and silver beads. As we’d seen last night, the girls work in pairs, charging for photographs with tourists on the streets. We smiled and made chit-chat with them about the cool weather that was expected tonight as the elevator slowly made its way to the ground floor. Brrr.
Las Vegas Gambling
We walked over to watch the Dancing Waters at the Bellagio. And then had a a wonderful dinner at Mon Ami Gabi, right across the street. Later, we sat in “Paris” watching a group of young men sing Motown and songs from the 50s/60s. And of course, we gambled. I’m a reluctant gambler and only risked $20–it was all too quickly gone. My Las Vegas souvenir was a ticket to claim my remaining $0.40 in “winnings”. Mama Lucy had better luck at the slots and played for a little longer, but never heard the bells and whistles indicating a million dollar win.
I still felt lucky. My big win was going on this trip. And that night, I felt so lucky to get Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and take a seat with my mother on the Las Vegas Strip to just watch the crowd and the lights. What a place! Who had the idea to build THIS in the desert? What audacity…to even exist…a mirage, an oasis in this empty desert land.
Select photos are available on my Etsy shop.
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