Day Seven - Where's the Dam Tour ???

Today we had two clear destinations in mind. We pulled out of our campground in Williams, AZ and set out for the Hoover Dam and Las Vegas.

Of course, as it has been throughout the trip, it didn’t take long to find a slight detour. When coming in the previous night I saw a marker right outside the campground for the Great Western Trail (http://gwt.org/). I’d heard of it before but was unaware that it ran right through our present location. The trail starts in Canada and more or less stretches all the way to Mexico. IT is certainly on my list of future trips. This morning I stopped to read the marker and took note of part of the route nearby.

We were off to an early start anyways so I couldn’t resist checking it out. As we took off down the forest roads that made up the trail in NW Arizona, we were very impressed with the scenery. The thing I was impressed with the most though was the quality of the forest roads themselves, which were smoother than any of the highways we’d driven through in Oklahoma… After 10 miles or so we turned back and hopped back on I-40, wishing all the while I was still on those beautiful back-country roads.

We hit the Arizona-Nevada border a few hours later and were greeted by a “Homeland Security Checkpoint”. Being in a “RV” we were immediately flagged and we had to pull off to the side for an inspection. After a brief chat with the officer and a quick peek in the camper we were back on the road. Rounding the corner at Boulder Canyon the Hoover Dam came into view.

After a quick sandwich out of the back of the camper and some advice about California from the family who parked next to us, we headed off for the Dam tour. The entire setup has been recently redone, with a new ticket office, presentation room, and exhibit center. Getting to go inside the Dam was one of the highlights of this trip so far for me. Pictures just don’t do it justice. The tour only gives you a glimpse of the inner workings of the dam but it was still well worth it.



Leaving behind the engineering marvel of the Hoover Dam, we began our short jog over to another man made attraction of the west, Las Vegas. Vegas in a sense is just like the Grand Canyon, all the pictures, stories, movies, and such that you see and hear about it never truly prepare you for the sheer size and spectacle of the place.

Our campground was located right on the Vegas strip right next to the Circus Circus hotel, casino, and amusement park. After checking into our site and cleaning up a bit, we took off down the street to take in all the sights and sounds. Vegas is well known for a variety of things, primarily the gambling, and throughout the night we try to take in a bit of everything.

We first explored the casino we were staying at. Circus Circus is a carnival themed casino and hotel which prides itself on being “family friendly.” The way it does this is by having not only gambling areas, but also a full midway with carnival games and prizes, live circus acts throughout the day, and the “Adventuredome”, a full indoor amusement park complete with log ride, roller coaster, and other traditional rides and games. The adventure dome is a good example of just how large everything in Vegas truly is.

For dinner, we enjoyed the traditional Vegas buffet at the Frontier, one of the older casinos. There we gorged ourselves on all you can eat prime rib, baked ham, country style ribs, peel and eat shrimp, and an assortment of pasta, fruit, and deserts.

Leaving the Frontier, we then began to take advantage of the free shows offered along the strip. At the mirage we saw the salt water aquariums, which contained the largest and the freakiest puffer fish that either of us had ever seen. It was also there that we saw the Beatles “Love” Theatre and Revolution Lounge. (Both of which made Lindy quite giddy.) Down the street we enjoyed the performance of the fountains at the Bellagio. We also were able to catch the Sirens Pirate show at Treasure Island. Of everything we’d seen at Vegas, this had to have been one of the raunchier displays. This was surprising considering it was performed right in front of the Casino by the public sidewalk.

After enjoying the food and the shows, the last thing left to do was spend a bit of cash at the slots. We tried our luck at the Bellagio and Caesar’s Palace. Caesar’s is another example of how crazy the layout of Vegas truly is. We entered Caesar’s on one end, played a few slots, and then tried to find our way out. An hour later we had found three night clubs, a full mall, a saltwater tank filled with sting-rays, and yet still could not find a way out. When we finally did resurface on the street, we had been through three stories of shopping mall and were about two+ blocks from where we had originally entered.

A few dollars poorer, we decided it was best to call it a night. We noticed on our way through Circus Circus that there was a Mustang and BMW prize at two of the slots, so we decided to get some rest, sleep in, and try our luck again in the morning.