USA road trip day 18: Las Vegas, Nevada

I wake very early and wonder if it’s safe to step outside to look for coffee. Early morning seems to have the same kind of taboo as late at night when it comes to wandering around in some US towns and cities. I leave the room and the road is busy with lone men with carrier bags. One of them comes up to me and mumbles a question, to which I respond with a classic non-reply. He then seems to call me Audrey. I hurry on before the perceived similarities grow in his crazed imagination.

Coffee from the Exxon station – glamour – and then we drive to the historic district of Flagstaff, where Rachel goes mental trying on cowboy boots. I go for another coffee, then a haircut, a root canal and a tax audit and when I return to the shop she still hasn’t decided which pair to buy. She does get some though – “they have a turquoise upper with embroidery”, apparently – and we drive to the Grand Canyon, choosing to simply walk a four-mile route along the south rim.

It’s all wonderful but I can only handle views for so long and have had my fill by the time we leave. Now then, it’s late afternoon, the plan is to just drive a small distance to Williams, Arizona, which will set us up nicely for a journey to Las Vegas the next day... But how much more fun would it be – I think to myself – if we kept driving... to reach Vegas tonight?

Rachel is initially resistant to such madness but eventually comes round to the idea about 30 seconds later. We stop for dinner a very unchainy diner – lots of truckers who look just like Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now – but my decision to have the slightly weird “chicken and fruit” (exactly as it sounds) means I am hungry as Vegas nears.

The drive is quite challenging as there are no streetlights and it’s always hard judging roads you don’t know, particularly at interstate speeds. But by the time we pass the Hoover Dam (in the darkness) we are very excited, and soon the moment we have been waiting for arrives and we suddenly see the bright lights of Vegas before us.

We then have the stress of deciding which of the many exits to take into the seemingly endless city but as usual Rachel guides us flawlessly to Las Vegas Boulevard, passing the Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace, Circus Circus, MGM Grand etc etc and then, at the end of The Strip, our own hotel (randomly decided upon) the Luxor. It’s the one with the black pyramid and the bloody great sphinx outside.

R gets us a good deal ($200 for two nights) and it’s incredibly exciting as we wheel our suitcases into the cavernous lobby – taking in the laser that shoots from the roof on the way – and up to our room. We go down to check out the casino and have a drink then decide to have a nightcap next door, at The Excalibur. It’s shabbier than the Luxor and the barman is rude and weird (tip = $0; that’s how it works, laughing boy).

I grab a tournament schedule from the poker area but the fees and structures are appallingly bad. Will clearly need to splash out a bit more, somewhere classier.

Villain of the day: Barman from The Excalibur

Hero: R for navigating us all the way to our hotel

High point of the day (copyright Helen Aaron): First sight of the Grand Canyon

T: Wheeling our suitcases up to The Luxor after a very long drive.

Low:

R: Passing the Hoover Dam but not being able to see it because it was dark

T: Waiting for the shuttle bus back to the car at the Grand Canyon.

Comments

[Anna]

Hi Guys,
I'm really enjoying your blog, it's almost like I'm there. I must say you are both looking wonderfully fit and rested, this holiday obviously suits you. Trevor, you should never rush the buying of shoes/cowboy boots, if the woman can't decide between a few styles, when pushed she will inevitably buy them all 'just in case'. Good idea to leave her to it. That root canal must have been expensive...
Enjoy Vegas!
A x

[Anna K]

I WANT TO SEE A PIC OF THE COWBOY BOOTS!!

[Joan Johnson]

I want to see a picture of a cowboy!!!!!!!!!

[Uncle Pat]

I want to see a picture of your tooth!