The Last Post......for now.

Thursday 8 November  2018

I spent the day walking around town and people watching. I also picked up my Ticket for the Elvis show I was to see that night. There is just a sensory overload in Vegas.... so much to look at it's overwhelming.

I went to The Wynn Casino for lunch - the biggest buffet I've ever partaken of. There was every type of food you can think of and you could eat till you exploded. I was fairly restrained
under the circumstances but I enjoyed it anyway.

Wynn Casino Buffet

I took some cash out of an ATM and got my first glimpse at one of these. I got it changed fairly quickly because all American money looks the same to me - I might have tipped the doorman a $100 in error.

I'd like a bucket full of these

The famous Bellagio Fountains. Magnificent.

At 6 pm it was time for Elvis and I literally had a front row seat. This "Elvis" has twice won the gong for the best Elvis impersonator  in Las Vegas and he was really good. I recommend this show if you're going to Vegas.

Guess who?

Friday 9 November 2018

I was up early with a big drive ahead of me - Las Vegas to LA took about 6 hours. The drive itself was fairly uneventful but things got interesting as I approached Los Angeles - from about 50 kms out the traffic just gets heavier and heavier and more and more aggressive. I found that if I tucked myself behind a truck in the slow lane the pressure was off a bit. I finally made it to Enterprise Car Rentals at the airport and was glad to hand over the keys.

I stayed at the Hilton awaiting my late night Qantas flight back to Australia. The flight itself took off an hour late and we battled head winds all the way back and re routed due to storms. The flight took 14 1/2 hours and I was pretty well done.

I got a BIT concerned when the pilot told all passengers and crew to take their seats and do up their seat belts. That's all he said and in a flat monotone voice and then I saw this wriggly line on the monitor.

OMG!!!! Later he said we were manoeuvring around a storm. It would have been nice to know that before I scratched my will on the back of the seat in front.

Well - this trip is all over and I've had a ball. Thank you to those who followed the blog and for your kind comments.

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.