Posted 12:15 PM by John A. Seafisk

Viva Las Vegas

So I spent the weekend in the largest city in Clark County, Nevada. (No, not Henderson.) It was fun, enjoyable, relaxing, slightly profitable.

My drive began right after work Thursday evening. Drive? Yes, I happen to like the drive from the Los Angeles area to the Las Vegas area. I have never been a big fan of flying....It's not that I'm afraid of it, I just get annoyed with the whole process. Also, since I am using my car to get to Vegas, I can go where I please in Sin City without trying to get cabs, or worse yet, get rides from relatives.
So I head north on the 5. Out in L.A., the lexicon for speaking about the freeways is to always inclued the article "the" in front of the number (ex: The 405, The 134, The 101, etc.) It's quite warm as I head out. Surprisingly, there isn't much in the way of slowed or stopped traffic.

When I gets hot, I turn on the A.C. It then gets too cold, so I switch it off. Then it gets hot, so back on it comes. I do this for the whole 5-hour trip. Guess I'm just too hard to please.

A tip for those who drive from LA to LV: Most folks take the 10 to the 15...while it may be nice to visit all the Foothill communities along the way, you'll likely be seeing them from the 10 at 20-25 mph. The route I usually take is as follows. And I offer this to you dear readers as a gesture of appreciation for sitting and trying to read all this drivel, er, personal introspection:

-5 North to 14 North (Lancaster/Palmdale exit)
-14 North to the town of Mojave, right turn at 58 East (Bakersfield)
-58 East (partial freeway, partial divided highway, partial 2-lane road) to 15 North (Las Vegas)
-15 North to The Strip, choose among your own vices to explore.

Simple, isn't it?

There nothing quite like driving through the Mojave Desert in the middle of the night....the only lights on the horizon coming from the white dots of headlights from the other direction & the dimmer red backlights stretching out in the lanes in front of you...complete
darkness on either side, save for some mountains outlined in the moonlight.

Of course, it also helps having cool air blasting you from the panels, as the Beatles & Tom Petty blare from your CD player. "Running Down A Dream" is excellent auto fare.

I hit the town of Baker at 10:50, 10 minutes before the Del Taco closes. If I was 15 minutes late, I'd be out of luck, since Baker is the only sign of civilization within the next 80 miles or so...halfway between Barstow & the Nevada state line. I glance at the World's Tallest Thermometer standing outside the Bun Boy Restaurant. 99 degrees. I thought to myself, "Wow. I need to eat there at some point."
After a quesadilla or two, I'm back on the 15. I was slightly disappointed with my meal, since this particular Del Taco did not have Mr. Pibb at its soda fountain. But, being in the middle of nowhere, thirsty beggars can't be choosers.

As I climb over the mountain pass known as Mountain Pass (no services this exit), I see in the distance the neon glory that is Primm, Nevada. This town, or actually, collection of large casinos, sits right at the Nevada-California border. It's a welcome sight to those travellers who have tired of seeing nothing for the last hour or 2. And I mean it's right at the border...the casino parking lots start immediately at the border. Only 45 miles to go.

Actually, it ends up only 12 miles to go. I stop at Jean, similar to Primm in that it is just a place on the Interstate to hold a couple of casinos. Unlike Primm, there is no stateline running along the edge of its parking lots. I bask in the glow of its jumbotron screens announcing that they now comp gas. I view the lines & lines & lines of slot machines, ready to slurp up all your quarters or nickels or whatever denominations you choose to pump in. But I view these quickly, since the only reason I stopped is to use the restroom.
Back on the road, after 20 miles...thar she glows: The Las Vegas Strip.

But I bypass the strip and end up at my relatives' house.

More later.