Travels with Twinkles: Las Vegas, Nevada

April 15 - 18, 2018:

We decided to tow the Jeep due to the high cost of California gas and to take the less mountainous and shorter route to Las Vegas. It was route 40 east to the exit for Goffs Road (original route 66) to route 95 north. We planned to make a gas stop at Searchlight, Nevada but the gas station was backed with vehicles (many RV's) waiting in line at the pumps. As a result, we continued on eventually getting gas on route 93 and then took the Boulder Highway into Las Vegas.

We had tried calling the Riviera RV Park to make a reservation, but no one is in the office on weekends. We thought that a little weird, but the RV Park reviews were decent and the price was right, so we decided to just stop there and see if campsites were open. If not, the backup plan was that there was another RV Park nearby. The Riviera is sort of a half mobile home park and half campground with many permanents. It has full hookups, a very clean shower room, laundry, great WiFi and is very convenient to the bright lights of Las Vegas. As we arrived, we found a campground map indicating campsites that were available and moved right in, no problem.

Our first stop was a car wash for the Jeep, as it was covered with dust and we found one a few blocks away called the Charleston Carwash. It looked sort of trashy from the entrance, I almost turned around, but the attendant was courteous and it turned out to be the best car wash I have ever experienced in my life. They vacuumed it, hand washed and hand scrubbed it, hosed it off (even under the wheel wells), ran it through a blow dryer and then spent about 10 minutes toweling it dry and wiping it inside and out.

Fremont Street is around the corner from the campground and it’s only about a mile and a half down it to the “original” Las Vegas Strip” which they now call the “Fremont Street Experience”. I prefer this area in some ways to Las Vegas Strip, which is so overly gaudy, colossal and grandiose. Also in the Fremont Street area I find several good street murals, it’s a colorful area and the sleaziness seems to be more authentic to me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont_Street_Experience

The view heading down Fremont Street

Entering the Fremont Street Experience

And then under the "Big Top" in mid morning with few people out. At night it comes alive with
the the overhead canopy illuminated and all the neon glowing

The iconic Pioneer Casino Cowboy sign

On each end of the Experience is one of these stairs
to access and ride the SlotZilla Zip Line on which you virtually
fly overhead down the street

At the "Heart Attack Grill" you eat free id over 350 lbs, but you
probably can't ride the "SlotZilla Zip Line"

A very colorful mural

The dice amongst the Las Vegas desert natural environment
caught my attention

This building off Fremont was also interesting

Is this the Heartbreak Motel ?

This murals field of view and color is almost blinding

A Vegas Love is special, I was married there

This huge Praying Mantis sculpture is mounted on a truck chassis
and can be driven, it spouts out fire during an evening display at Container
Park on Fremont Street and was once at "Burning Man"

As I was walking around, I saw a sign for the Neon Museum which gives guided tours of its “bone yard” and I quickly reserved two tickets. Twinkles claimed to be thrilled to go, not sure I believe her, but it turned out to be very educational. They have tons and tons of signs, the tour guide gives the history of the popular ones and they have an interesting gift shop. They do have quite a few rules about taking photos such as, for personal use only, using only one camera, one lens, no tripod, no camera bag in hopes of keep the pros away. We learned that in downtown Las Vegas around the Fremont street area all buildings are required to have at least one neon sign while on the “The Strip” which isn’t really Las Vegas, it’s mostly LED lights and video screens these days.

http://www.neonmuseum.org

Signs in Vegas are frequently replaced, like the Casinos, and some of them are special, like art.

Las Vegas needs darkness to come alive, so with that thought in my head I head to the Fremont Street Experience area to see what’s going on after dark, it’s nuts, as expected ! It’s pretty much a carnival side show of lewdness, semi-naked men and women, trashy signs and tee shirts and aggressive hucksters trying to lure you in.

Fabulous is a state of mind

The neon helps

The lighted canopy is a cool idea, but they need to hire some old hippies
who remember how to do the psychedelic light show stuff

The street drummers on the plastic pails were the great

But you must have a corny country band these days

Also a dancing showgirl with a hula hoop

After my tour of the Fremont Street Experience I head to the nearby “Bunkhouse Saloon” to see a couple of touring California punk rock type bands. The first band was just horrible, just noise pollution, the second band, Goner, was much the same, but far better at it, I could tolerate them. The headliner, Dark Black, was more subdued, not as loud, but lacked the total abandon needed for this type of music. Actually, they were more mature musicians.

Sign for the Bunkhouse Saloon

On our final day, we went to visit “The Strip” with it’s amazing, colossal Hotel-Casino complexes. I have to admit, the structures are incredible, almost beyond comprehension, but the entertainment and the shows, are so dated. There doesn’t seem to be anything fresh, new or cutting edge going on. I can enjoy walking around for a few hours, but then I become disgusted with it all and just want to get out of town.