Journey's End

Journey's End

So What Have You Done To Make You Feel Proud?


Wednesday 9 April 2008

Riding Route 66 again .. on our return to Sin City

Wednesday, April-02

We leave the Grand Canyon’s South Rim region and head south for just over 50 miles and end-up back in Williams - on Route 66, which, just a couple of miles west of town, simply disappears into a merge with Interstate-40. It seems that we have no other option, therefore, then but accept I-40 (W) as our way out.

We nevertheless look for the first opportunity to jump back onto 66, which happens 22 miles later, at Ash Fork & Seligman. So we’re once again travelling along a section of Historic Route 66, which I can tell y’all, right here and now ..

.. is probably the straightest, most boring and featureless tar-snaked road I have ever had the misfortune of riding upon. This, of course, is not to say that the whole of US-66 is the same .. of course it’s not; indeed, I'm sure that my brief encounter with the 'Main Street of America' is far from the overall reality.

Originally stretching from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas - this state of Arizona - and New Mexico all the way to~~> Los Angeles, California, the landscape of this [1920s-built] ‘Mother Road’ would, no doubt, have been diverse and wide-ranging. But unfortunately not for me .. and not today here in Arizona.

Having said that, how could you not like, and indeed embrace, any highway that runs through a town named ‘Peach Springs’ [as we did]; and with a roadside restaurant called “Roadkill” .. wherein the menu lists food items such as:

- ‘Cheeseburger with Cheese’ and
- ‘Dead Chicken’

I guess, you just gotta love it all for these reasons alone!

Along the way to today's destination of Kingman City – situated around 105 miles [169 km] southeast of Las Vegas - we call-in at The Grand Canyon Caverns for a guided tour around the underground 150ft deep cave network, which incidentally has nothing in common - not even any commercial connections - with its northern Grand Canyon [per se] cousin other than there is supposed to be an subterranean airway connection between the two places. Air takes about 15 days to interlace between them.

Our young guide, Keylani, makes a decent stab at showing us around the labyrinth of dry limestone caves, despite only having done the job for just a couple of weeks.

Here's a mumified bobcat - about 150-160 years old. The poor ol' bugger must have wandered into the caves and fell down here from the surface - broke his hip in the process .. now he's history .. literally.

During the early evening, fellow ST-rider [1100], George Catt, who lives in Kingman, meets-and-greets us at our motel. We all ride out for something to eat & drink at one of Kingman’s local haunts ...

.. “Maddog's Doghouse Sports Bar & Grill” hosted by Bill [& wife Debbie] - complete with Motorcycle video surveillance parking; AND a 4-5 ft-long live lizard looking on ... a bloody excellent place to go for a beer + a bite to eat .. highly recommended :o)

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Thursday, April-03

I am most grateful to George for his assistance in getting me out of a bidofa jam regarding replacement parts for my recently - eh-hem - 'modified' RH-side mirror & mirror housing. I needed somewhere, an address, conveniently located (ideally en route) to which the parts could be sent. George did not hesitate with his offer of help in this regard - and provide further support for the other members of this small touring group.

I'm looking forward to seeing George again next month - during mid-May - when we both should be attending the same ST-rider meetings: (a) 'CampSToc' at Meadows of Dan, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia; and (b) at FriendSToc V, Canaan Valley Resort, West Virginia.

See you there George, I owe you a pint of beer .. at least.

So my trusty STeed is soon all fixed-up again ...

.. and quite soon after breakfast is fully restored to its finest digital-silver glory .. :o)

The ensuing 105-mile northwest rideback up to Vegas is fast - and still colourfully bordered with the Springtime's wild flowers

Passing through ...

.. and across Hoover Dam.

Then, within the hour, we're riding down the north end of Las Vegas Blvd, aka "The Strip", towards our pre-booked 2-nighter stopover destination of the Stratosphere Tower - Casino & Resort Hotel. Maybe this might be a bit of luxury for us foreign biker travellers, who are more accustomed to 'budget-type' motels along the way.

That afternoon and evening Ellen & I walk the entire 4-mile length of The Strip - with diverting excursions along the way - and then all the way back again.

[I'm still nursing the blisters to prove it .. :o( ..]

We found the 'Venetian' Hotel complex to be THE most impressive of The Strip's venues. Hosting The Phantom of the Opera, this is just part of the outside frontage ..

.. and this is a little corner of the inside .. that's right the inside .. the sky is just a painted ceiling!

This is part of the Venetian's HUGE lobby area.

Bally's Hotel & Casino, with the Paris Resort & Casino in the background.

The 'Hardley Rideable' Café

We continue on and walk pass 'New York, New York' Hotel & Casino ..

.. as the dusk descends ..

.. when The Strip takes-on a completely different guise and persona .. as you can see above and below





The 'Venetian' frontage at night .. awesome




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Friday morning, April-04

We eat a hearty breakfast the following morning in the Stratosphere's 'Roxy’s Diner' - A '50s-style rock 'n roll restaurant, where the singing wait staff also entertained while they served us: ham, eggs - "over medium, please - thank you" .. "yer welcome" - and sausage links, hash browns .. with wheat toast. Great voices too .. I even offered to manage these two young crooners all the way through to the Finals of the next series of American Idol .. :o)

Shortly after breaking our fast we take a look around the massive ground floor .. at the gaming facilities in particular

I nearly get thrown outta the joint for taking this pic of gamblers throwing their hard-earned away at a blackjack table .. the suckers!

The usual pretty 'bums & t#ts' keep the punters happy.

The rest of the day we continue our wandering and luckily secure a couple of half-price evening tickets for, conveniently, our very own hotel's ‘American Superstars’ show.

There's a few scary rides on offer along The Strip too. You won't be catching me on one of them though!

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BTW, the Michael Jackson and Christina Aguilera tribute artists [look-alikes] were bloody brilliant. The other performers were just ‘so-so’.
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The rest of the night-time is a photoless - and a memoryless - blur. As the four of us - Mack & Dave, Ellen & I - gamble away just a bit more than 'loose change' at the tables; party 'on down' at the in-house nightclub; and eventually get to our beds by around 05:30am the next morning, Saturday-05, which is the day that ...
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Saturday, April-05

.. Ellen must take her temporarily leave return to Blighty .. to cut the grass and trim the hedges back home .. and earn some more beer money in between time .. ;o)

At midday I escort her to the local McCarren Int'l Airport (LAS) where she soon departs for Denver Int'l Airport (DEN), and thereafter she'll fly onwards to London Heathrow (LHR).

I'll see her again at Atlanta Int'l Airport (ATL), Georgia, on Saturday May-02, when we'll complete the final phase of this fantastic two-stage American tour together .. from a departure point somewhere a long way east from here, sometime during the weekend commencing Friday, May-23, or very shortly thereafter.

That evening I want to be alone again .. just for a change. So I buy myself a five dollar 'all-day' bus pass and hop on one for 'downtown' Vegas .. which is located in exactly the opposite direction from The Strip. Eventually I end-up at Freemont Street, where there's bright lights - and live entertainment.

There's quite a party goin' on around here in this huge mall .. [Take a look at the 'inert' roof-ceiling BTW] ..

.. AND there's, of course, the inevitable gamblng houses everywhere!

After approximately 30 minutes of just soaking-up the atmosphere, everyone looks up and focuses on the high-up (90 ft) canopy, which is .. a giant LED screen!

'Viva Vision', the biggest BIG screen on the planet. More than 12 million lights are up there in the canopy ..

.. and 550,000 watts sound pumped to speakers throughout the venue to produce an incredible array of eye-popping imagery and heart pounding music.

.. Ab-so-BLOODY-lutely ..AWESOME!!

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MY SUMMARY: It is difficult not to have a good time in Las Vegas, there is something definitely alluring about this city - although expect to have your pockets lightened ‘pleasurably’ here. BUT they seem to extract your hard-earned from you in such a way that .. you want to go back and do it all again! Just how do they do that ..??

I suppose, as long as this game can continue .. Las Vegas has it made.

BUT .. I for one won't be back!

.. or will I? - just maybe .. perhaps!

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!

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