Days Four and Five

Thursday morning we slept in a bit then headed into downtown Flagstaff to look around, well, I looked around while Jay nursed his altitude sickness with a cup of coffee.  Spending the night around 7,000 feet above sea level can require a bit of adjustment.  I, perhaps because I got used to skiing in Colorado this past winter, was unfazed by the thinness of air, and was excited to see a new town. Downtown Flagstaff was full character and it is definitely a town I'd like to come back and visit again one day. There was an interesting mix of people, seemingly from all walks of life.  There is no telling what number of them were tourists or locals, and I didn't have the time to start an impromptu poll.  After Jay finished his coffee and I finished speed-walking the entire historic downtown district, we were on our way to Vegas!

I-40 in Arizona is pretty empty.  I've never really had to worry about planning ahead for gasoline, partly because my hybrid gets stellar gas mileage, but mostly because I've never lived in a place where there were limited fuel stations.  However, on I-40 in Arizona, you better plan ahead.  I had no issues, but let me just say the "next service station 53 miles" sign could be posted perhaps 1000 feet or so before the exit, not under the exit sign itself, okay?  After a few hours on 40, we exited onto 93 towards Vegas. This road is flanked on both sides by empty dessert and the temperature on my car was pinging at 112 degrees (little did I know that I would hardly see temperatures below 100 until I got to Berkeley).  While the empty roads a few days prior was giving me opportunity to reflect, it was now beginning to drive me mad.  I was quite ready for civilization after seeing hundreds of miles of rock and sand.

Our first heavily populated experience occurred at the Hoover Dam.  As we approached the dam, we had to go through a security checkpoint, which I suspect is a new addition since 9/11.  The checkpoint wasn't particularly rigorous, in spite of having everything I own in the back of my car, covered by black blankets, we were just waved through. Jay's guess, and he is probably right, is that there is a bit of profiling going on, and they were not worried about two white guys from North Carolina.  But maybe we're wrong. The dam itself is amazing.  I love how the road snakes down the side of the mountain to curve across the top of the dam and then back up the other side.  It seems the builders, who built the dam in only 4 years, were so informed by nature.  They chose the past of least resistance, and the road looks really "natural" in its space.  However, using the road will not last much longer, currently a larger bridge is under construction.  While it is majestic in it's own right, spanning the gorge several hundred feet above the dam, it will be sad when people will no longer use the dam as the primary roadway.

Shortly after the Hoover Dam, we approached Las Vegas.  The city was pretty easy to navigate by car, and we were parked and checked into our hotel in a short amount of time.  I toured around the hotel a bit, and eventually Jay and I went down to one of the restaurants in the hotel for dinner.  I've been to casinos before, but never Las Vegas, and it is something else.  Our hotel has a huge sport betting room which looks like command central from NASA.  Jay made a good observation, most of the people look brainwashed, just sitting in hundreds of seats facing the TV screens, not talking to anyone. We didn't watch too long.

 Hoping it would be cooler, I hit the streets after the sun went down.  With a low of 91, the temperature didn't drop as much as I had hoped.  I ended up buying some water from a street vendor fearing I was going to go into heat stroke.  I walked the entire strip that night, going into several casinos and watching all of the hotel shows (water show at Bellagio, etc) and returned to the hotel later that night.  Not having any money to waste, I didn't get to any shows in Vegas or even gamble one penny.  My intention had been to spend my limited $20, but I decided I enjoy my money more than playing a game... :)  Vegas was a fun experience and one day, I'm sure I'll go back.

The next morning I took my car to one of the Toyota Dealerships in town and had it's regular service.  I wasn't planning to have it done until I got to Berkeley, but it was due and I figured after the long drive, a check-up was in order.  The appointment was quick and surprisingly only a few dollars more than what I was paying in North Carolina.  Jay and I grabbed breakfast, and we were back on the road for our final day of driving.    The route between Vegas and Berkeley was just as empty as I-40 in Arizona had been.  I was beginning to wonder where all the people lived!?!  The lonely road was still full of character, and the terrain and ground cover changed beautifully as we traveled north through California.  From the rocky desert, through the windy hills, we would finally find ourselves in the much cooler bay area and Berkeley, CA around 8:00 PM, Pacific.  After sitting for a few minutes, we unpacked the car, and settled in a little bit more.  After a week of traveling, it is nice to be, home.