LAS VEGAS!

Aug 03, 2004

 

Tehachapi, CA - Las Vegas, NV

245 miles

We left Tegucigalpa (OK, Tehachapi) at 6:30 AM and, after full immersion in Sundown FPS 50, we went back to route 58 toward Las Vegas. We stopped for breakfast and gas at Barstow. Ernie (the plant) seemed OK. Better than we did after a cholesterol-free breakfast at IHOP: bacon, eggs, French toast, and hash-browns. We wanted to kill some time in order to enjoy our next stop: Calico Ghost Town. Not far from Barstow, Calico was a mining city in the late nineteenth century with over 1200 residents and a blooming economy. When the silver prices dropped, it became a ghost town. It is interesting, and we visited the mine. Some buildings are well preserved ... others may even be original, but they had that feeling of gift shop that breaks the illusion. We spent a nice hour there, but no more than that. Almost more that the shops or the saloon, we enjoyed observing the small desert squirrels and a type of quail (?). And, of course, the rocks and mountains.

Every time I see the desert, I get more fascinated by it. From the road, the landscape seems the same for miles and miles, and yet it is very diverse. In some areas, it is surprisingly green, with Joshua trees dominating the dry, grayish shrubs. The mountains are majestic and naked, and the colors are beautiful. It is easy to forget the power lines, the litter along the road (I will never drink Budweiser in my life; it seems to be the favorite beer of litterbugs), the train and the occasional house with trees, and to think how was this landscape one hundred, two hundred years ago. Or how it is now, if we get some miles away from the Interstate.

We arrived at Las Vegas little after noon, and looked for a cheap hotel, not too far from the Strip. Twenty years ago, Roberto stayed at the Tropicana for $13. Things have changed; even the cheapest hotels go for $50-$60, considering all the possible discounts (maybe it would be less had we booked in advance). We went to the tourist office, and booked a room at the Boardwalk. The directions are funny: pass by Luxor, Excalibur and Monte Carlo, and your hotel is just before Paris. Our hotel is not the most interesting, and the concierges are not the nicest ones in town, but the room is comfortable. And thank God it is cool, after the heat at the Mojave Desert. The city is amazing. There is a Brooklyn Bridge and a Miss Liberty at the New York, New York casino! It is delightfully tacky, and I can't wait to see it at night. We have to watch out for the temptations, though: we have already spent 5 dollars in the slot machines, and that was before 7:00 PM! (Later) The city that never sleeps ... well, it does take a nap after 11:00 PM. We left the hotel by 8:00 PM, hoping to avoid most of the heat. The night was still very warm, but tolerably so, and we walk the entire Strip. From our hotel, near Monte Carlo, up to Circus-Circus, we walked circa 2.5 miles. The casinos are huge!! They are actually not very funny: you see one, you see them all, and I felt depressed about all those people sitting at the slot machines, looking as if they were bored to tears but couldn't leave the machine. The blackjack tables are more exciting. But it is the outdoors landscape that is really incredible. All these big fake buildings, Monte Carlo, the Tour Eiffel, the Venetian (I can't wait for Monica to see the Campanile and the gondole! The Palazzo Ducale is right in front of Ponte de Rialto, and they both face the Campanile), the shows on the streets (dancing waters and fighting pirates) make Las Vegas a huge Disneyland, or an immense shopping mall with slot machines. Gambling almost becomes a secondary feature. There are so many children around and people going back and forth on the Strip, just like ourselves, that we wondered if it is only gambling that sustains the city. (By the way, it is interesting how water is part of the decoration of all these casinos'fountains, aquaria, lakes, whatever. It is like if the desert was far, far away.) Only when we leave the heart of the strip to visit some of those old, traditional casinos, like Frontier or Circus, Circus, that we have a glimpse of how Las Vegas was twenty years ago. In these casinos, the slot machines are closer to each other; every single space is occupied by some kind of gambling experience. They must be doing something right. There are new casinos being built, as if those already existent were not enough; Caesar's, one of the most traditional casinos, is expanding; five miles before we get to the city, at the east of the highway, there were tons of new houses in construction. Our big disappointment was the food. After walking from one casino to another, we hoped to find a place to have dinner, but it was after 11:00 PM. Maybe because it was Tuesday, all the casino restaurants were closed. One or two 24-hour buffets resisted, but other than that, only McDonalds, Wendy's, etc. We ended up in a Korean barbecue place, open 24 hours. Not bad, but it was not what we expected. The shows also closed at 11:00 PM or midnight. Only the gambling went on throughout the night. After losing a total of 10 dollars, we called it a night. I don't think I will ever make my fortune at a jackpot machine ... Lise