This'll put you in a Vegas "mood!"

Here is a sample of the the outdoor entertainment in Downtown Vegas.

(I tried to upload a two-minute video of the music video under "The Canopy" but the Wi-Fi server was unable to complete the upload. So I opted for a shorter video.)

This is music from the band "Sixties Mania."

An evening in Downtown will make you a fan of Vegas

We joined hundreds of visitors under the canopy for an outside concert. The theme just happened to be "Woodstock." Along with the band "Sixties Mania" and the top of the hour overhead canopy 10 to 15 minute music videos you just couldn't help "getting into it!" Drinking is a "religion" in this town. We saw people carrying their napsacks full of beer, casinos sell $2.00 beers plus all kinds of weird drinking containers. People carry their drinks everywhere!
Las Vegas is a place where you truly can "get away from it all!"

Part 9 Continued - And then there is THIS Vegas!

And then... there is THIS Vegas!

Las Vegas is a feast of visual "eye candy" and something for everyone!

Part 9 - This is Vegas!

We traversed "The Strip" by bus and were continuously amazed by the way we are fooled by the way we are faked out by the distances between casinos. The sheer size of the buildings and massive "themed" structures demand space. You can see the buildings you want to go to but walking to them is out of the question (especially in the heat). But even then, you will be fooled by your eyes, into walking to the next major casino. Caution is a must every where you go in this town. The traffic is NOT pedestrian friendly... you wait for the light to walk! If it's jamb packed with people, they too may not be too friendly as well! They are just as determined to get where they're going as the people driving cars! And then, there is a great deal of poverty in the area which dictates that you be constantly aware of people around you. Several local workers gave us suggestions as to what and where to be more cautious but I will say, we never felt we were in danger along the strip and the casinos.

In spite of the basic precautions you should take almost anywhere you go today, we enjoyed our stay here in Las Vegas. Here is a tiny glimpse of the town. With that said... "THIS IS VEGAS!"

Part 8 Welcome to Nevada

While at the Grand Canyon we met a couple that told us there were restrictions on motor homes driving over the Hoover Dam. So, we plotted our course accordingly. While on the way while fueling up, we wanted to verify exactly what restrictions applied to vehicles going over the Dam. We called the Hoover Dam information number and found out that motor homes ARE allowed to cross over the Dam; they are just required to undergo a vehicle inspection. That helped shorten our expected drive very nicely!
The drive into, across and out of the Dam area was our first experience with the motor home on twisting, and (relatively) mountain type road. There was a good deal of traffic and congestion in the parking areas so we decided to return by car once we were camped in Vegas.
We were welcomed to Las Vegas by record high temperatures. Our five night stay just happened to be a heat wave that topped the charts. We arrived on Thursday with the temperature over 105’. Friday and Saturday the temperature “baked” us at 115’. Sunday we “simmered” at 108’. They say it should get back to normal at around 100’ just in time for us to leave. But fear not… IT’S DRY HEAT! … BULL!!! We’re thinking of “ditching” Gnorm and leaving him in the motor home so we can utilize the space in our knapsack for water bottles!
We “sweated” our way into the Circus Circus KOA campground and when we stepped out of the camper, the twenty-five foot walk into the Registration building was all we needed to know about “dry heat!” Once into the air conditioned building it took a second or two for our throats to gulp the cool air so we could talk to the receptionist.
It cost us a few more dollars but the receptionist wisely suggested she put us in a site where the sun would not be directed into our expansive front windows… the five bucks extra per night is worth every penny!
Realizing we were in an “oven without a door” we had to deal with the heat. We headed out on foot to experience “The Strip!” The short walk to the Circus Circus Casino put us almost in the mid-section of the 12 mile “Strip.” We learned early on to take the “Duce” bus system up and down the “Strip.” But, for our first evening in Las Vegas, we introduced ourselves to the Circus Circus, Slots of Fun, Riviera and the Sarah Casinos on foot. Judging by this "really big" slot machine, you know Vegas is serious about it's slot machines!

Fortunately, most of that was done in the “cool” of the night temperatures of just under 100’!
Tomorrow, Hoover Dam!

Part 7 - the Arizona Meteor Crater

We decided (on my pleas) to go to the Arizona Meteor Crater. As an Amateur Astronomer I certainly have an interest in such a space related event. The Meteor Crater is said to be the only well preserved impact crater on Earth. Even after 50,000 years it remains relatively pristine and as such it is much sought out by NASA for Astronaut and geological training for our space program. Even Hollywood couldn’t resist its value. You may recall the movie “Starman” starring Jeff Bridges. The crater became the “pick up” point for Bridges’ persona to be returned “home.”
Like many of you, we’ve all seen pictures of this crater, either in textbooks, National Geographic, etc. But, to drive up to it and view it from the side from a distance, one notices the crater wall rim rise up from the relatively flat land surrounding the crater. Driving to the exit of Meteor Crater Rd. we looked to see a clue as to how far the crater is from the highway. Pat could see cars parked on a rise in the land and that’s when it hit me. The impact of the 150’ space rock hitting the earth at 26,000 mph raised a wall of earth about four or five (or more) stories high. From our position we could plainly see the rim of the crater rising above the flatness of the land. Those are NOT "mountains" in the distance. That is the crater rim.
We turned onto Meteor Crater Road, drove past the Meteor Crater Campground and proceeded on the well maintained six mile road leading to the crater. The crater is privately staffed and maintained. It sits in the middle of a 350,000 acre ranch. The main building built into the north side of the crater rim consists of a museum, store, theater, Subway and dozens of interactive displays. You have a choice of whether to view the crater by yourself in a designated viewing area or take a one hour guided tour a short distance along the rim.
“Kim” was our tour guide and provided us with all kinds of crater “nuggets of knowledge.”
Due to the fragile nature of the crater and the desire to keep it in excellent shape, they no longer allow visitors to “meander” along the rim on your own. Not to mention, the walls are steep and very rocky so liability became a very real concern.
The depth of the crater has decreased due to erosion from 700’ to 500’ from the time of the event. It has a beauty all its own. For many years it was thought that the crater resulted from a volcano. But scientists just can’t leave things along. “Clues” strewn several miles away began to unravel the cause of this “moon like” crater here on Earth.
People study the moon’s craters and try to comprehend the forces that are at work when a high speed object hits terra firma. Well, here is one we can admire, “feel” and learn from, right here on Earth, and it’s a beauty!

Part 6 The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon National Park is only 51 miles north from our campground on Route 64.
Both the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert and the Grand Canyon National Parks have been cut into the ground rather than driven upward like mountains. Consequently, as you approach them (if you’ve never seen them before) the landscape “hides” what you are about to see until you actually drive into an observation point and you are captivated by the vista before you.
We entered the South Rim and the Grand Canyon hid its greatness from our view until we turned the corner and entered the first viewing point… and it didn’t disappoint us! As we stepped to the low stone wall what laid before us seemed surreal. Our first glance at the striking vastness, color and depth left us speechless. It’s difficult to comprehend that we are looking at the results of water, wind, and exposure to the elements for more than several hundred million years... and Mother Nature’s not done yet!
I’ll let this three photos left to right are the view from one viewing point speak for itself…

We drove the twenty-five mile “Desert View Drive” east stopping at each of the viewing points.
Each time we stepped to the precipice we found it difficult to imagine the massive work of nature and time before us. More than anything else we relished the beauty and size of surely one of nature’s wonders.
We returned to the main entrance and planned to take in the west drive when the clouds rolled in with rain. Our six hours at the Canyon left us in awe.

Part 5 – … Riding along in my automobile…!

We said goodbye to Branson and “headed for the hills.” North on 65 and west on 44, this is going to be a long stretch as we make our way to Rt. 40. My co-pilot guided us through Oklahoma City with ease. Traffic was fair but we quickly became irritated with the ten or so miles of road just out of the city that “shake rattled and rolled” us!
We settled for the night at a Wal Mart parking lot in El Rino, OK. I’m a tad apprehensive parking in a Wal Mart parking lot but it worked out just fine for us. Pat got to shop a little and we had a fine dessert in the nearby McDonalds. Except for the “jet like” vacuum parking lot cleaner we actually had a good night’s sleep.
We hit the road early which meant an early stop, and that was fine for us! We knew we were finally in the “wild west” when we were greeted with this sign at the New Mexico Information Center. The ride out of OK and into New Mexico turned flat. We cruised along, made a couple of stops in each states information centers (and maybe one casino) and another time zone change.
Our stop-over is mere yards from the famous Route 66 in Tucumcari, NM. The “rustic” campground is a work in progress, but it made for an early stop and time to “veg” out before we begin the climb into Albuquerque, NM. It’s really something to see a once thriving town so still and littered with “relics” of the past. Route 66 lives on in our hearts and America’s heritage.
Route 40, running through the mid west became a ribbon of asphalt guarded by the ever present mesas. These silent sentinels have witnessed the westward expansion since before the American Indian’s roamed the prairies.
Before long the flat top mesas gave way to the more rugged mountains the closer we drove to Arizona.
We stopped in the first Arizona Information Center on Rt. 40. That proved interesting; especially We got our first glimpse of the western vistas that was in store for us. Now that our interests were tweaked, some miles later, we happened upon the road sign for the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park. This leg of our journey westward will place us into position to begin seeing the beauty of the American west. We’ve started leaving early in the mornings to stop earlier in the afternoon before the real heat of the day gets the better of us. So, knowing we had fewer miles to travel today, we figured we should see what this National Park has to offer. Four hours later we exited the Park in awe!
This makes all of the days of driving worth it. Color, open space, the effect of time and exposure to the land has made for wondrous vistas and eye candy to behold. We were blessed with a crystal clear morning and temperatures that only squeaked into the 80’s by the time we left the Park.
We walked among the “Long Logs” petrified by over two million years of earthly evolution. We scanned miles of sculptured rock formations that proudly and boldly displayed their rich colors and time worn talus slopes. The twenty-eight miles we traveled in the National Park was worth the over two thousand miles it took to get here!

Heading into our stay just west of Flagstaff, AZ in the historic town of Williams, clouds began to fill the sky. We took a walk down the famous Route 66 town of Williams but it was cut short by rain. We headed back to the motor home to relax. Here we hope to drive up to the Grand Canyon and get aquainted with Flagstaff... (I hope to stretch our drive into Flagstaff to include the "Meteor Crator." I'd say that's a fitting site to see for an Amateur Astronomer!) As the sun set the rain let up and we were caught off guard by a brilliant rainbow that seemed to be sitting on top of a tiny shed just in front of us...

What a way to top of a day filled with visual treasures!

Part 4 - But we're so close to Branson, MO

As Co-Pilot, Pat takes her job very seriously. She’s constantly checking the GPS, “Next Exit” and Atlas for our fuel stop, breaks or whatever. While checking the map, she was surprised to see that when we passed through Springfield, MO, we were a mere 45 miles from Branson, MO!
We couldn’t wait to hit the next rest area to “work the maps” and whether we wanted to take a few days in Branson or not.
It didn’t take us long. Luckily, the next rest stop had a MO information center… we turned south on I-65 and into Branson for four nights!
The closer we got to Branson, the steeper the hills became! We’re driving into the Ozark Mountains! Okay, we can deal with the hills on the highway; but the entire town of Branson is built in the hills! The HHR has to work to navigate some of the terrain and you don’t park anywhere without setting the parking brake… hard! You’ve got to get used to walking on a slant in the parking lots at most of the theaters in town.
A drive down “The Strip” (Route 76) is a feast of big name theaters, restaurants, “honky tonk” stores and tourist attractions.

- Outside! Inside -

There seems to be a “box office ticket store” on every block. Watch out, most of them are “time share” or sales gimmick for discounted tickets. We were told to go right to the theater box office for tickets. Of course we didn’t know that this is basically a slow time for “top name” entertainers, so we started mulling over our show choices. We thought we’d take in one or maybe two shows. We settled on Paul Revere/Bill Medley at the Andy Williams, “Blue Moon” theater. While buying tickets, we were offered a break on the price for the matinee show of Bill Hayley’s Comets… why not!
Well, as “Virgin” visitors to Brandon, we wanted to find out which out of the 117 (or so) theaters was a really good show to see. We happened on this one “ticket” store just to find out which shows are really good. Right! We ended up getting two tickets to see “Pierce Arrow” and two tickets to see “Haygoods”… after we sat through a “Wyndham Timeshare” presentation! Hey, it saved us over $100.00 and we found out which shows were really good! Nope, NO sale! I told them, if I had the money to spend on their time share points, I’d buy a new motor home!
We picked up our ticket voucher and headed to the shows! Funny, while waiting for the show to begin we couldn’t help but notice all of the other ticket vouchers people were handing in!
“Pierce Arrow” is the name of the group and the name of the theater. We guess many of the groups/entertainers buy/purchase their own theaters. They were outstanding. We learned that most of the shows are laced with “down home” comedy in addition to music.
We took the time before and between shows to take some pictures, and you already know the star of “our trip” is Gnorm the Gnome who is rapidly becoming a “photo hog!” We drove to the outer edge of town for an elevator ride up the 270’ Inspiration Tower. I took advantage of an information center “free” ticket to the top. It was a great view and an impressive tower.
Two shows today! The “Original Haley’s Comets” and Paul Revere followed by Bill Medley. The “Original Comets” played some incredible “Rock and Roll.” It’s also hard to believe how many hits they made and made more history than we realized. The “Comets” are made up of three original members; a bass player (76), Sax player (75), the drummer (86 who never missed a beat), and two “younger” members on piano and lead guitar.

Their sound is excellent, but boy they were “working” pretty hard but they were excellent!
Paul Revere is a “hoot!” He’s really funny and the “Raiders” can put together some great music. Bill Medley is classy. During his shows he always dedicates one song to his long time partner and friend, Bobby Hatfield. He performed a variety of the “Righteous Brothers songs as well as many other well known favorites. Bill Medley is a true family man and mentioned how the “Righteous Brothers” career was and is much of his family’s lives. His daughter, McKenna, performed several numbers as a fill-in for Bobby Hatfield.
After the show Pat and I (along with the rest of the audience) got to meet the Paul Revere, Bill Medley and their band. It all made for a great evening of entertainment and one we will always remember… we know Gnorm will!
We spent the night listening to the “weather warnings” on the TV and the weather radio. Fortunately, the really serious weather was just north of us, but we got a taste of MO thunder and lightening. Talk about “long rollers.” You see the flash and the thunder seems to go on for ten seconds or so as they traverse the Ozarks. At least the weather is forecast to improve by the time we head out in the morning. Today is going to be for “downtime” and one last show later tonight.
Branson is a great town to find your way around. Just about every theater/attraction is within a ten mile radius and you can get “area” maps everywhere. There is one caveat, we just happen to be here at a week that all of the big names/shows are on vacation. That means, traffic is nil, zip, nada! We’ve driven up and down the “Strip,” crossed over from side to side and Gnorm and I walked across it nearly at will. One of the tourist centers we first visited told us don’t even think of taking the motorhome down the “Strip.” When Branson is jumping (Sep. to Dec.) it can take over and hour or more to get from one end to the other and forget crossing it.
One more day, it’s raining, Pat’s doing laundry and one more show to see before we pack up tomorrow. We just heard from Bob and Phyllis Wood, fellow WIT Club members, who are staying at the Casino River Campground in St. Louis (sound familiar).
Tonight we get to see the “Haygoods,” a group of eight brothers and a sister. And what a show it was! These kids sang, each played multiple instruments, and tap danced to a great variety of songs.

We found out what Branson is like when it's busy! Leaving the theater we turned right onto the "Strip" and into bumper to bumper traffic. All the theaters get out around the same time.

Branson turned out to be one great stop-over!

Now, back to reality... we're on the road in the a.m.