Westward Ho!

Day 6
It was National Park heaven during our one day journey through Utah. Looking back, we have no idea how we managed to see all of this stuff in one day! The southern part of Utah is gorgeous. I have never seen such primitive, unspoiled land and natural beauty. The most picturesque stretch of land I've seen.

Our first stop was at Arches National Park, a place I had heard a lot about. The giant red rock formations were so pretty. I took a lot of pictures, but photos don't do this place justice. At right is a picture I took of a yucca plant--it amazed me how much wildlife and flora the park had. Arches is also blessed with a diverse landscape. Up close, you can see sharp fire-colored rocks, but over the horizon your eyes meet snow-capped mountains!

If you plan to visit Arches, be warned that you have a hike a bit in order to see many of the arches and balanced rocks up close. And bring a bottle of water or two. Even in early May, the heat was scorching.

We headed over to Natural Bridges, another national park in the state. Unfortunately, this place was very lame. There were only 4 natural bridge formations to see and, while impressive in their age, they could not compare to the arches that we had seen only hours before. Don't waste your time touring Natural Bridges. Go to Arches instead.

We passed through Moab and saw Mexican Hat. Mexican Hat rock is pretty disappointing. It's very small, but it does look like a little man wearing a big sombrero. It's not worth a special trip to see, but it's worth seeing if you're already there.

Of course, here is a photo of the most "famous" stretch of highway that leads to Monument Valley, and you can see the huge monoliths in the background.

The highlight of our Utah adventure was, without a doubt, Monument Valley! We oohed and aahed and took lots of pictures. We stopped the car and found ourselves saying "oh yeah, that's from THAT movie," and "oh, that's from THIS movie..." It was funny. The road to Monument Valley was the worst on the trip. Half of the way there, you have to drive on dirt and gravel down the side of a mountain! Very scary! This is NOT a drive that should EVER be made by an R.V. or large truck!

The daylight disappeared on us and we didn't have time to see Zion National Park. Well, let me rephrase that. We actually DROVE through Zion around 1:30 a.m. It was dark and scary and creepy, especially when we had to go through a dark tunnel. I would NOT recommend driving through here at night. We did see lots of animals, though, and the moonlight and soft animal noises were beautiful. Too bad we didn't get to see the scenery in the daylight, because I can imagine that it was very cool.

We were on the road very late because we couldn't find a hotel room ANYWHERE! We were almost certain that we were going to have to sleep in the car! If you're driving through the area, book a room in advance--take our advice!


Days 7-9
We left Utah the next morning after getting breakfast at Dairy Queen (hey, it opened at 10 a.m., what can I say) and headed to....Las Vegas! We knew that a return trip to Las Vegas was inevitable, given the amount of fun we had there last year! We still didn't stay long enough, but we knew we'd be back soon. This time we took a side trip to Laughlin to check it out. Laughlin is pretty cool, but only for the watersports. The casinos pale in comparison to those 45 minutes away in Vegas, but if you're into boating and jetskis and waterskiing, this is a truly happening place.

We were amazed at how much the city had changed in a year. Casinos had been demolished and new ones had sprung up. The entire Strip looked completely different. L.V. is truly a chameleon city! It changes so often! The new jewel in Vegas' crown in the New York New York hotel and casino. I wasn't too impressed with it--it's neat from the outside, but I found the casino to be too loud, huge and confusing. The rooms are disappointing and be prepared to walk a LOT to find your room through the "maze." (For up-to-date Vegas information, check out my Honest Las Vegas Advice Page).Plus, their slot club really reeks. Matt rode the Manhattan Express roller coaster and gave it a big "thumbs up." The ride costs $5 and the lines are very long.

Days 10-13
We finally made ourselves trudge on to California, where we would begin our new apartment search. You know the outcome of this story--after driving all that way, we decided that Los Angeles, while a nice place to visit, is NOT a place we would want to live (at least not now, with no $$). I didn't remember seeing RAZOR WIRE on all the road signs, or not being able to breathe in the smog, or seeing cops handcuffing people everywhere, or sitting in freeway traffic for 5 hours when I was just a visitor.... Before we called it quits, we decided to visit Disneyland once again. (Nobody's perfect, right)?

We got our butts out of Los Angeles and headed back toward....Las Vegas! The hardest thing in the world was to turn around and come back home, so we were very depressed for a few days. And what better city to lift your spirits?

On the way to Vegas, we stopped at the Mad Greek to get a famous strawberry milkshake. We only ordered ONE, which was a huge mistake. I made Matt go back and get another. The Mad Greek is a little shack in the middle of the Mojave Desert, and its shakes are to DIE FOR! If you've never had one, you are missing one of life's little pleasures.

While in the desert, we noticed a little roadside stand selling lots of plaster crap. This place had anything you could ever desire, all handmade and (obviously) hand painted. We just HAD to stop and look at the giant cactus, life-sized Mary and Jesus, the frogs, mice, etc. etc. And boy, are we glad we stopped! I turned around, and there it was--a 70s singin' Elvis Presley!

Wow! It was the tackiest thing I'd ever seen, and now it is sitting in our living room. Matt tried to bargain with the guy, but Elvis wasn't cheap. For $18, we got a deal. As the man said to us, "He's a beaut, ain't he?" Everybody loves Elvis.

With Mr. Presley safely tucked away in the back seat, we took off for Vegas, baby, Vegas!!


Days 14-15
On our sad return trip, we did Vegas the "right" way. When I say the "right" way, I mean staying first-class for a week. The highlight of our trip was our stay at the Mirage, undoubtedly the nicest Las Vegas hotel. We felt quite out of place there, since most of the guests were much older and "well-to-do." The pool is something that shouldn't be missed. It is worth paying the pricey cost just so you can go swimming! The Mirage's pool comes complete with multiple hot tubs, slides, and beautiful waterfalls and caverns. And make sure you get a frozen drink from the pool cabana bar! They taste so good that they'll make you forget how much you paid to stay there.

Of course, we couldn't afford to stay at the Mirage every night, so we moved around a bit. We stayed at the LuXor again, and it was still nice. We also got a great deal on a jacuzzi suite at Treasure Island (for $120), so we checked in there for one night. The room was nice but modest. And all of the fixtures (even the SOAP dishes) were glued down!! Nothing like being treated like a thief! The staff at TI was very attentive, though, and everyone was extremely friendly and helpful, unlike employees at the Mirage.


Day 16

Today we decided to drive the famous Area 51 loop from Las Vegas to Rachel, Nevada. Last year, Nevada christened the "Extraterrestrial Highway" due to the lore surrounding UFO sightings and the famous Area 51 along the route. The entire loop took us 8 hours to drive, and we only stopped a few times. You should count on at least 10 hours if you stop and eat and like to dawdle a lot. Also, make sure you tell somebody where you are going (in case you get lost--there's NOTHING out there), fill up your gas tank whenever you can, and make sure to carry at least a gallon of water per person! I can't stress that enough!



Our first stop on the ET loop was in Beatty, a nifty little town. Beatty's claim to fame is its legalized prostitution. Note how the "Shady Lady Ranch" and "Angel's Ladies" are both members of the Chamber of Commerce. We had to see one of these brothels, so Matt called one at a phone booth and we drove out to see it.

We didn't go inside or anything, but there were plenty of satisfied customers there during the middle of the day. Angel's Ladies Brothel even has a private airstrip where regulars can be flown in.

Near Beatty is the incredible ghost town called Rhyolite. This place was amazing. The town was born as the result of a gold strike in 1904 and many of the buildings (including a train depot, general store and bank) are still in excellent shape. They are crumbling, of course, but it's amazing that they have weathered the elements for so long. On the edge of town sits the Bottle House, a small shack made out of old glass soda bottles. The house was built by a 76 year old miner in 1906, and it is amazingly well preserved. Another nifty "attraction" in Rhyolite is an abandoned artists' colony. There are a few extremely bizarre sculptures made out of scrap metal, a gigantic "Lego" naked lady, some freaky bicycle sculptures, and this odd piece titled "The Last Supper":

There is absolutely NO evidence of civilization on the ET Highway. There are a few towns, but they are very far apart. If you drive this highway, make sure you keep your car full! Trust us! We hardly passed anyone on the road (with the exception of a few birds and coyotes).

After a long drive we finally made it to Rachel, Nevada, the UFO seekers headquarters and the home of the famous Little A'Le'Inn. The Little A'Le'Inn turned out to be nothing more than a biker bar/shack, but they have a great gift shop and it looked like you could get some pretty good grub if you had the time. There are lots of photos of UFO sightings and such inside, so make sure you go and take a look. (There is also a time capsule out front that was left by the film crew of the movie "Independence Day").

We asked about directions to Area 51--you know, that secret military base where the government is keeping the aliens that crash-landed in Roswell? Well, we got a map and followed the directions precisely. We followed dirt roads to the "white mailbox" and followed the milage exactly. We were a bit nervous being on military land and all, but they guys at the A'Le'Inn told us not to worry--the first offense fine for trespassing was only $600. Great. We saw a couple of signs warning us to "turn back" and the the "use of deadly force authorized." We were really shaking now, but the guys a the A'Le'Inn said that as long as we didn't cross any of the orange boundary markers, they government henchmen couldn't interfere with our activities. We were also warned that near the boundary marker there would be a white government jeep with cammo-clad guards and surveillance cameras watching us. As we kicked up dust on the road, we saw a white jeep in the distance. When we stopped the car to get out, both of the doors opened and men got out to look at us. It was so frightening. We felt like wimps, but it was really creepy. I told Matt that those guys could come down, shoot us, flatten our car and nobody would ever know what happened. Plus, we knew that the government wouldn't care to hear our explanations. If you cross the boundary, even by accident, you're toast!

I'm not exactly sure what is going on out there, but it is definitely something the U.S. government does NOT want you to see. I'm almost convinced that there's some alien stuff out there. I mean, Area 51 is out in the middle of NOWHERE! Of course, there's really not that much you can actually SEE, but the experience is definitely worth it. But remember to heed the advice of Agent Mulder: "Trust no one."

We didn't see any UFOs, but we were searching the night sky. Apparently there are thousands of UFO sightings in the area every year. I'd love to go back and do more "investigative" explorings, but not without a crowd of experienced people. I'd probably never go back there again with just one other person. It was that scary.


Days 17-19
Back in Las Vegas, we decided to visit the Stratosphere Tower, the newest resort at the far end of the Strip. The Stratosphere has an awful location and is just steps away from the dirty and nearly "seedy" part of Las Vegas. I didn't think I'd like it at all, but I was wrong! We are new fans of the Stratosphere! The casino is great, and their games are fun fun fun! Plus, we played for a few hours and got 2 comps to the coffee shop! Talk about nice! We were treated like royalty here, even though we are FAR from being "high rollers." The Stratosphere is the place to play, if you ask me.

You should definitely ride to the top of the tower. The ride only takes a matter of seconds, and the line never had a wait longer than 5 minutes when we were there. Go at night, if possible. The glittering lights view far outweighs the daylight view. We didn't ride the roller coaster or the Big Shot on top of the Tower. I was ready to get down (I'm afraid of heights, you know)!

We also went down to Fremont Street and, I'm sorry to say, this place is a dump! There are lots of strip joints, and the topless dancers hustle for customers on the street. Plus, most of the employees at the casinos there are very surly and rude--it ranks right up there with the unfriendliness of Atlantic City. I don't care HOW great the gambling deals are, I would NEVER want to park my car there or STAY there, much less take kids there! Yuck! Very very dirty and creepy looking. I'll take the touristy and SAFE atmosphere of the Strip, thank you very much! The much-touted Fremont Street Experience is nothing more than a shoddy light show. It sucks--don't waste your time.

We waved goodbye to Las Vegas and set out towards one of my favorite states, Arizona.

Keep Driving!

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