Tonopah Nevada to Las Vegas - Interesting day!

Wednesday 7 November 2018

An update on the food situation at the Mizpah Hotel - very nice.

NY Cut Steak

Oats for breakfast to make for steak

Tonopah Nevada to Las Vegas is 211 miles (229 kms) and the road is excellent all the way. About 20 Miles out of Tonopah there's a small mining town called Goldfield which is amazing.  I've never seen so many old cars - every old house had at least half a dozen old beat up wrecks in their yards. So many in fact that there is something called the International Car Forest. The road out to it is atrocious with big holes and bigger rocks and was a bit scary. Especially when the GPS directed me down one road and there was just a big drop. I guess the road must have got washed out at some stage. It was a pretty precarious 86 point turn that got me out of that predicament and I was so glad to get back to the bitumen road.

Goldfield Nevada

Goldfield

Tree Forest

Tree Forest

I stopped at Beattie for fuel and a Subway and all was good till I tried to take some money out of the ATM using my Travelex Card. I'll never get one of these again. I've had all sorts of issues with it and each problem entails a 15 minute phone call to fix. This time Travelex thought the transaction may be fraudulent because I was in the desert. I pointed out it's a travel card and should be able to be used anywhere. Their only answer was try again in Vegas. Luckily I still had some cash on me and I'll keep it that way because the card cannot be relied on.  When I was in Los Angeles I was using it as my go to card for Uber rides. Every three or four rides it would reject payment.  The next time it would work again. GRRRR>

This is one of those casinos that
are out in the middle of nowhere

40 miles out of Las Vegas I got two flashing lights on my dash and a beeping noise. I pulled over and then the car wouldn't start. This car is a 2018 model with only 5000 miles on it so I thought it weird. 

I tried to call Enterprise Car Rentals but I had no phone signal. I ended up calling 911 and asked for the Highway Patrol to come. They were so nice. I didn't fancy being stuck out in the middle of the Death Valley, alone, with a broken car.  They turned up and the officer had a look around. It appears I had somehow kicked it into 4 wheel drive but we couldn't work out why that would cause the problem. He managed to fix it but I still have another hazard warning light on the dash which Enterprise can sort out when I get to Las Vegas.  It seems I have a history in my travels with the Highway Patrol and I think they are the most remarkable, friendly helpful people.

There's no other way to say it - driving in Vegas is scary. so much traffic - fast traffic - and so much roadworks which made my GPS not as helpful as it normally is. At one stage I pulled into a Mcdonalds for half an hour - not to eat - just to get off the road and chill out.

Las Vegas isnt pretty in the daytime but it's magical at night.

I'm staying at the Bellagio and it is probably the poshest place I've ever stayed - loving it.

I had a token gamble and put $20 in a poker machine and it disappeared immediately.  I think that will do me for now lol

Bellagio Lobby

Bellagio Book In

My room

My view - I'm on the 17th floor

My bathroom

Bellagio Foyer

Foyer

I was fairly pooped after my adventurous day and after going out for food and successfully getting some cash from the ATM I went back to enjoy my posh room.

Into the Nevada desert

Tuesday 6 November 2018

Firstly - thank you to all of you who contacted me re my anxiety/panic attack on Sunday offering good wishes and help if needed. I really appreciate it. I'm feeling mostly better and am taking things very easy and will continue to do so for the remainder of my trip. Thank you again.

I left Lake Tahoe this morning in -6C temperatures thinking it would warm up as I headed into the Nevada desert. It didn't lol. Still biting cold but the sun is shining.

I made a bit of a blue yesterday. One of the things on my list of things to do was fill up with petrol and that somehow slipped my mind. I was on the road for nearly an hour before I realised I was under a 1/4 full. Yikes. There was nothing in sight for miles and miles, just a flat desert and a long straight ribbon of road.  Just as I was getting a bit concerned I came across one of the many Casinos that just pop up right out in the middle of nowhere and yes there was a gas station so I was back on track.

Having a low tank is very unusual for me and I put it down to the events of the last few days. It won't happen again.

On the way I stopped for lunch at a place called Hawthorne Nevada and they had the biggest USA flag I've seen.

Nevada Desert...or a moonscape?

No petrol station in sight lol

My destination today is Tonopah, an old mining town in Nevada and about 2/3 of the way to Las Vegas. From Lake Tahoe it's 240 Miles (386 kms), again on excellent roads. I feel Nevada must reinvest the Casino revenue into building safe inviting roads. My stop was mainly to break up the drive to Vegas but I'm glad I found it. It's a very old town and half of it has been done up and half is falling down. It's a very "western" town and some of it looks like there should be a dirt road and horses tied up to hitching posts outside the saloon.

Jim & Belle Butler

Lincoln Continental - not in good nick lol

Early mining equipment

Local garage

I'm staying the the Mizpah Hotel. It was built in 1905 and is 5 stories high. According to legend Wyatt Earp kept the saloon, Jack Dempsey was the bouncer and Howard Hughes married Jean Peters in Tonopah. These claims have been debunked by disbelievers but I would like to think I'm sleeping in a hotel where this actually happened.

Now they tell me there is a ghost - "The Lady in Red" and many guests have seen her - allegedly.  Apparently she was cheating on her husband and he shot her dead in a jealous rage. The hotel was closed in 1999 but was bought and the new owners  renovated it and it reopened  in 2011.  The renovations have kept the last century feel about it the place and it's almost a museum in the lobby. I love my room.

Hotel Mizpah

My Room

 

My Room

 

The door to the original safe. I guess
 it was for all the silver they mined

Check out the typewriter

Another big old safe

If you are ever making the drive to Las Vegas I really recommend you do a stop over here. There are also 3 casinos in town - only small ones but more than I would imagine.

I'm going to shower and jammy and get into bed early tonight as I'm watching the results coming in on the midterm elections. Very interesting so far!!

Lake Tahoe, Nevada...or California - depending on what side of the road you're on :)

Monday 5 November 2018

Some comments from Mark Twain about Lake Tahoe

• "surely the fairest picture the whole world affords"

• "to breathe the same air as the angels, you must go toTahoe"

• "Lake Tahoe would restore an Egyptian Mummy to his pristine vigour"

Mark Twain

I had a good sleep but still not feeling as well as I hoped so I've decided to have a quiet day and catch up on a few things. 

Three days worth of blogs and a trip to the supermarket for supplies all done. I also finally found a T Mobile to renew my US sim card for the rest of my trip. It cost fifty dollars for a month with unlimited data. I've only got a week left and I could use my Telstra sim but at  $10 per day with limited data it means T Mobile is the cheaper option and I'll still have all my Telstra data when I get back. I can't afford to run out of data here because I'm relying on  my phone GPS to find my way.

I went for a walk down to the lake and I'm running out of superlatives to describe it. To paraphrase someone we all love to hate.....It's the best....it's yuge....it's the biggest...it's the wettest etc etc. This may be the only time me and him agree. lol.

Theres some chilly weather pending but I'll be heading into the desert from tomorrow so my weather will only get warmer - I think.

Lake Tahoe

Even the fast food buildings fit in with the ambience of the place

KFC

McDonalds

The lake is 1645 feet deep - it holds 39 trillion gallons of water.
It's 22 miles long and 12 miles wide.

Popping in and Out Of Oregon and California and Nevada

Sunday 4 November 2018


Thomas picked me up for breakfast at Debbie's Diner and I ate way too much - Canadian bacon, sourdough toast, poached eggs and a very big and crunchy hash brown. YUM!

Debbie's Diner

We said our farewells and I'm sure Thomas will pop up in Australia at some stage in the near future.

It was the end of daylight saving when I awoke and I couldn't for the life of me work out what the hell the time was. Backwards....forwards.... it doesn't take long to get out of the habit. I finally worked out I had an extra hour up my sleeve so I got on the computer and wasted that lol.

I filled up with petrol in Oregon because that's one of only two states that actually pump your gas for you. No more smelly petrol hands.

I drove off, heading for Lake Tahoe, Nevada. As you drive along you pop out of Oregon and into California and then you are in Nevada then back into California. Every time I entered California a voice came over my radio saying "Welcome to California". Scared the hell out of me. My Lake Tahoe Hotel is actually a few feet back in California so I've certainly done some state hopping today. If I cross the road I'm back in Nevada lol.

Medford to Lake Tahoe is 363 Miles (584 Km) and according to Mr Google it should take just over 6 hours. About three hours in I was not feeling well at all - one of those nasty anxiety attacks that plague a lot of us. I pulled into a small town and strolled around for about an hour until things settled down and then headed off again. These things happen and are disconcerting - especially when you are in another country.

I stopped for a pit stop at a Wendy's Hamburger Joint - I love the door handles.

I took it steady for the rest of the way and luckily the roads are excellent - big wide freeways right up through Reno and Carson City with a wonderful drive into Lake Tahoe (the town - not the lake, silly!)

I booked into my hotel and had a quick bite to eat at the Subway nearby and as I was still not feeling 100% I had an early night.

My hotel has a spa bath right in my room - might give it a whirl tomorrow.

The shower on the left has two
nozzles. This room is obviously not
 designed for 1 old lady.

Sitting room just off the lobby.
Very cosy