“Viva Las Vegas with you neon flashing And your one armed bandits crashing All those hopes down the drain Viva Las Vegas, turning day into nighttime Turning night into daytime If you see it once You’ll never be the same again
I’m gonna keep on the run, I’m gonna have me some fun If it costs me my very last dime If I wind up broke, oh well, I’ll always remember That I had a swinging time
I’m gonna give it everything I’ve got Lady luck please let the dice stay hot Let me shoot a seven with every shot Viva Las Vegas Viva Las Vegas Viva Las Vegas Viva, Viva Las Vegas”. Elvis Presley, 1964
You’re just as likely to see Elvis Presley live in Las Vegas as you are to see Michael Jackson live. In all cases when visiting this city established by the mob, it’s important to read the fine print. Lol.
After leaving Quartzsite, Betty & I are finally heading north, back to Canada. As usual, we are not driving too fast, starting with a brief visit to Emerald Canyon Golf Club, just north of Parker, Az.
I have driven here before, but with golf balls on the driving range again, not the Smart or motorhome.Unlike the Quartzsite course, this one is lush and green. Even the tee boxes are immaculate.The putting greens are real grass, so I used my real putter on this one.After our time in the desert, it is always an adjustment to experience this oasis on the banks of the Colorado River.Our first night’s stop after leaving Quartzsite was at mile marker 195, a free BLM spot just north of Lake Havasu City.Our home on wheels hadn’t had a wash since SPI, so I was happy to pull into a full-service wash in Kingman, Az. It’s sparkling again. Yeah!The Interstate north had lots of ups and downs. While it was overcast, fortunately there was no rain until after we had stopped for the night.The last pic showed one of the many downs. This one shows one of the many ups.As we crossed from Arizona to Nevada, over the Colorado River, the Hoover Dam was just the other side of this guardrail. We didn’t stop to get a better pic… BTW, due to recent droughts ,one can see how much lower the river is from normal levels.Entering a state Betty & I have never visited before – Nevada.Betty was finally able to add state #46 to our sticker map. It has been over 5 months since we added a new state. Two more to go on this trip – fingers crossed.Maybe appropriately, our first night in Nevada was spent in the parking lot of the Railroad Pass Casino. (for free.)We are now in the Boulder Beach campground, a short drive from Hoover Dam and Las Vegas. (site 9, loop A, $20./night.)Our site overlooks Lake Mead, and a rainbow appeared (far right) soon after we arrived. A good sign for a pot of gold at the casinos? Betty says “No”.As we took the Smart on the Interstate into Las Vegas, the famous Strip came into view in the background.The Luxor Hotel & Casino is the pyramid in the centre of this pic, taken from the highway. The two of us dined in their food court for $90. Ouch!Las Vegas is one of the most popular entertainment destinations in North America. But as mentioned, Betty & I have never been here before. So much to see with a deja vu effect – given the number of movies and television shows filmed here.Who knew that you didn’t need to go to New York to see the Statue of Liberty?Or to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower?Or to Egypt to see the pyramids?All this and more can be seen just by driving down the Las Vegas Strip. BTW, we didn’t get out of the Smart on the Strip, so the pics might not be as cropped as well as they could be.We drove past block after block of impressive hotels, including the Bellagio, with its fountains appropriately choreographed to Elvis’ “Viva Las Vegas“. The huge Caesar’s Palace is on the right.Betty & I wondered if this driverless vehicle would have been able to keep up with our Smart in Boise, Idaho. lolNo trip down the Las Vegas Strip is complete without noting the dozens of wedding chapels. Apparently, Elvis was singing at this one.Betty & I didn’t feel a trip to Las Vegas was complete without taking in one of the many shows. Cirque Du Soleil was too expensive for us, so we chose the Blue Man Group in the Luxor Hotel & Casino, as advertised on this sign outside the Mandalay Bay Hotel. BTW, the promotional screens up and down the Strip rival Times Square, with an increasing level of depth and clarity.The Blue Man group was a high energy, unique, interactive performance. The percussion, using a wide range of instruments – including drain pipes – was amazing!Bright screens and strobe lights added to the sensory overload. But it was all fun…As we left Las Vegas we hoped to follow the warning to drive carefully. Whether we come back soon is another matter…
“I’m gonna keep on the run, I’m gonna have me some fun If it costs me my very last dime If I wind up broke, oh well, I’ll always remember That I had a swinging time…
Viva, Viva Las Vegas”
While Betty & I didn’t gamble while here, we hope you can take a chance to have a swinging time somewhere, without losing your last dime. lol.
“This is the end Beautiful friend This is the end My only friend, the end Of our elaborate plans, the end Of everything that stands, the end No safety or surprise, the end I’ll never look into your eyes again
Can you picture what will be So limitless and free Desperately in need of some stranger’s hand In a desperate land
This is the end Beautiful friend This is the end My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free But you’ll never follow me The end of laughter and soft lies The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end This is the end.” Jim Morrison, The Doors (1967)
Despite being a big fan of Jim Morrison and The Doors – having seen them perform live at Cobo Hall in Detroit – I can’t fully explain why I would choose this morose, nihilistic song for this final post. If music had been added to this blog, maybe a trumpet playing “The Last Post” would have been more appropriate. But The Doors song has been sliding around my brain for the past couple of weeks, while Betty & I have made our way north – back into Manitoba.
The sticker map on our motorhome door is as full as it’s going to be on this trip. West Virginia, NWT and Newfoundland & Labrador are still missing, but those would need to come on future journeys. There are no roads to Hawaii or Nunavut, so they are excluded. lol.
Our overlandish odyssey over the past seven years has been a joyous blessing (with one year off to deal with health issues and a couple of years of limited travel – surviving the coronavirus)! It would be far more fitting to finish this blog with the Beatles version of “The End”. Maybe you’ll need to read further to see how it concludes. Lol.
The Mojave Desert surrounded us for most of our time in Nevada.
After leaving Las Vegas, each of our nine northbound stops was for one night, with the exception of Provo, Utah, where we stayed a second night to dump our tanks and fill up with fresh water. Until we reached Nebraska, most days were spent in mountainous terrain.
The scenic Northshore Road took us past many interesting rock formations on our way to I15. For a short, spectacular stretch, I15 cuts across a section of northwest Arizona between Nevada and Utah. On the most amazing portion, from Littlefield, Arizona to the Virgin River Gorge in Utah, Betty took a series of videos from the passenger seat. Just a 7 second video of this amazing route. Veterans Memorial Highway is a breathtaking stretch of road that we seemed to descent for at least 10 minutes, although I lost all sense of time as we marvelled at the landscape. all around us.I15 northbound provided many changes of scenery.Northbound into another new state, with tailwinds pushing us forward..
We had been apprehensive about how our motorhome would perform, given many previous issues traversing the Rocky Mountains. But our old boy has never ran so well as it did on this trip back to Canada!. The Banks Power system, coupled with a new fuel pump added last summer, provided power to spare going up and down the many steep grades.
We began to see stormy weather forming in Utah.Our plan had been to drive eastbound on I70 to Hittle Bottom campground, a free boondocking site near Moab, Utah, just past Arches National Park. But blowing snow reduced visibility. As we were unsure whether the storm would continue, we decided to change our plans away from a very scenic area which may have been hidden in clouds and snow.We drove as far east on I70 as Salina, Utah, spending a free night at a Shell service station parking lot.The next day we headed northwest toward Salt Lake City, with snow capped mountain tops all along the way.Passing one of a number of Mormon temples in Utah..Approaching Provo, Utah, storm clouds surrounded us, with a clear roadway still ahead.We decided to take a break for a couple of days, making a rare stop at the Provo KOA. The sites are extremely tight, with only partial picnic tables available on some sites. But we were able to dump our tanks, fill up with fresh water, and pay a brief visit to the local Costco.Leaving Provo on April 8, we decided to stop for lunch at a roadside pull-off, in order to catch the solar eclipse.It also gave us a chance to add state #47 – Utah – to our sticker map.We had mainly clear skies for the solar eclipse, staying in our motorhome and holding our cameras out the door for pictures. Being a fair distance from the moon’s orbit, we experienced a slight shift in colour, but nothing too spectacular. It was a fun break from driving, though.Passing over higher elevations, there was often snow on the roadside. But the highways north and eastbound were clear.We finally reached I80, which carried us eastbound all the way to Omaha, Nebraska.Strange rock formations continued to greet us on our eastbound journey.With the highway near Green River, Wyoming going straight through the rocks!When we stopped for the night at the Rock Springs, Wyoming Walmart parking lot, Betty was able to add our state #48 sticker. Yeah!As became her practice, Betty added a pic of the Nebraska sign when we passed it. While the interstate was in good condition, gusty cross winds across the mid-west led to some white-knuckle driving.At Sidney, Nebraska, we spent a free night in the parking lot of Cabalas World Headquarters.Using Freecampsites.net, which has been a regular habit, we found free overnight parking in the Twin Lakes Wildlife Management Area, just west of Lincoln, Nebraska.On a final portion of our trip north on I29, we entered Iowa again for a short stretch.Then South Dakota, where head winds reduced our gas mileage and increased the noise level.Choosing a South Dakota State Park (Union Grove) over the Sioux Falls Flying J, we enjoyed our last campfire as the sun set over the prairies. While we were the lone overnighters in the park, we still had 30 amp service and water at site #19E, the only pull-through that we would fit in.Fargo’s Walmart parking lot provided a quiet night, as it often has done in the past. Note that a full service wash in Fargo returned the shine to the old boy, prior to crossing back into Canada.As it’s still too early in the season for our spot at Town & Country to be open (snow on the ground again this morning…) our motorhome is parked for a week at Arrowhead RV park in Ile Des Chenes, Manitoba, just south of Winnipeg. Note there are no leaves on the trees yet, but we hope spring is not far away!
Every aspect of this journey was a marvelous blessing! Betty & I have been tremendously fortunate to experience so many great people and places. In well over 200 posts, this blog has chronicled our travels across most of North America. While there is never an end to the possibilities for adventure, we have more or less reached the goal set out at the beginning of this blog in November and December, 2017.
Hopefully you and we will have more joyful, memorable journeys to come. But for now – this is the end…
“Oh yeah, all right Are you going to be in my dreams Tonight?
…Love you, love you,
Love you, love you…
And in the end The love you take Is equal to the love you make.” John Lennon, Paul McCartney (1969)
Thanks for reading and joining us vicariously on this overlandish odyssey. For each of us, may the end of one journey lead to the beginning of another.
