Laughlin, NV
Tuesday morning we cancelled our tee time at Mountain Falls Golf Course - too windy and cool. After some shopping at the exclusive, yet ubiquitious, local Walmart, we had breakfast at Mom's Restaurant. A local establishment back in a strip mall which we had found years ago. One of the few places you can go back to and enjoy a great meal. .
Headed south from Pahrump through the desert to Shoshone, and then over to Baker, CA. Travelling through all desert with not a lot of traffic (OK, there was no one else on the road).
There are a few off-road destinations areas and it looked like people were camped out in the desert for the Thanksgiving weekend. According to one sign, it was the Kingston Range Wilderness. Interesting countryside, probably the north end of the Mojave Desert. It's a far cry from what people think of when they envision California - it's certainly not LA, San Francisco or San Diego. Just like the northern part of California is mostly rural country, the southern part is mostly desert.
We arrived in Baker, CA which is a bustling area mostly devoted to restaurants, fast food shops, gas stations, etc. Mostly famous for the tallest thermometer in the world - even though it was high, the temperature was still low. I guess because of its' location on I-15 between LA and Las Vegas, its' a convenient stopping point in the middle of the desert.
We traveled on I-15 for a while to the cut-off to Nipton, NV, another small town in the desert (all right, it was the only small town around). The road from Nipton to Searchlight is called the Joshua Tree Highway. The Joshua Trees only grow between about 2500 and 4500 feet elevation and they certainly were prolific along that route. Must be pretty when they bloom. The cut-off takes you from I-15 through Nipton to Searchlight, NV (home of ex-Senator Harry Reid). Then we head south to Laughlin through more desert, but this time on a beautiful four-lane highway which connects Las Vegas to I-40 in Needles CA (think Harry had something to do with that?).
Coming over the mountains to the Colorado River Valley is always a great view. From travelling through noting but scrub brush, chapparal, and cactus, you come to Laughlin, NV and Bullhead City, AZ. It's really pretty at night because of all the lights, but also a welcome sight during the daytime.
We're staying at Harrah's and we decided that the suite we were in was big enough to stay the winter in. Missing a kitchen, but then there are plenty of places to eat around here. Think they would mind if we just stayed for a couple of months? The gaming gods would have to be pretty friendly for that to happen.
Weather is cool with a little breeze - still not quite golf weather. So far the golf clubs are doing nothing but providing ballast in the trunk. They don't even help with traction since we have front-wheel drive. Oh well, maybe it'll be better in Tucson. Weather forecast for today and tomorrow is not looking good. The storm which battered Reno and the Sierra yesterday is heading for Las Vegas and southern Nevada today. Still nothing like Paul and Sandy are experiencing in Denver, but they are expecting snow in Las Vegas. That should be interesting.
Headed south from Pahrump through the desert to Shoshone, and then over to Baker, CA. Travelling through all desert with not a lot of traffic (OK, there was no one else on the road).
We arrived in Baker, CA which is a bustling area mostly devoted to restaurants, fast food shops, gas stations, etc. Mostly famous for the tallest thermometer in the world - even though it was high, the temperature was still low. I guess because of its' location on I-15 between LA and Las Vegas, its' a convenient stopping point in the middle of the desert.
We traveled on I-15 for a while to the cut-off to Nipton, NV, another small town in the desert (all right, it was the only small town around). The road from Nipton to Searchlight is called the Joshua Tree Highway. The Joshua Trees only grow between about 2500 and 4500 feet elevation and they certainly were prolific along that route. Must be pretty when they bloom. The cut-off takes you from I-15 through Nipton to Searchlight, NV (home of ex-Senator Harry Reid). Then we head south to Laughlin through more desert, but this time on a beautiful four-lane highway which connects Las Vegas to I-40 in Needles CA (think Harry had something to do with that?).
Coming over the mountains to the Colorado River Valley is always a great view. From travelling through noting but scrub brush, chapparal, and cactus, you come to Laughlin, NV and Bullhead City, AZ. It's really pretty at night because of all the lights, but also a welcome sight during the daytime.
We're staying at Harrah's and we decided that the suite we were in was big enough to stay the winter in. Missing a kitchen, but then there are plenty of places to eat around here. Think they would mind if we just stayed for a couple of months? The gaming gods would have to be pretty friendly for that to happen.
Weather is cool with a little breeze - still not quite golf weather. So far the golf clubs are doing nothing but providing ballast in the trunk. They don't even help with traction since we have front-wheel drive. Oh well, maybe it'll be better in Tucson. Weather forecast for today and tomorrow is not looking good. The storm which battered Reno and the Sierra yesterday is heading for Las Vegas and southern Nevada today. Still nothing like Paul and Sandy are experiencing in Denver, but they are expecting snow in Las Vegas. That should be interesting.
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