Nevada Trip

I wanted to mention our trip to Las Vegas in Nov. 2006. Theresa checked with the Harley dealer in Vegas about renting a couple of bikes. No problem all you need is a credit card, motorcycle endorsement on your driver's license and know how to ride proficently.
We caught a flight out of Jackson, which was late on leaving, flew into Dallas, and on to Las Vegas. It was night when we finally arrived, but the lights of the town lite up the otherwise barren country side as we approached the airport.
We got a rental car to use on the trip to the Grand Canyon, that is something I think we shouldn't have done. We should have got the bikes instead for that trip too. Live and learn. We drove down to Needles Ca., stopped for gas, bought a map and went to planning a little detour. I saw that Route 66 was just north of there so we struck out. The Colorado River runs along the west side of the same road. Each side of the river had lush green crops growing, but you could see on the east side of the road nothing but desert.
The road took us to Oatman, Az.. Signs along the hwy were warning drivers of wild burros crossing. The town of Oatman consist of hwy 66 and some old buildings on each side of the road. You could have stuck the whole town in between the driveways to my house. The road was blocked of with people everywhere. We couldn't go anywhere, it's the only road ,at first I was thinking accident. We parked and ask for some info. A lady told us it would be opened back up after the gunfight. Sure enough, after the smoke cleared, we saw tour buses on the other end of town. You had to watch out for the burros, they would sniff at your pockets for something to eat, and they were in the middle of the road and on the front porches of the buildings. The burros were let loose by the miners after they had given up prospecting. It was a really neat little town.
When we had an open road we headed up the crooked and narrow hwy 66 pass old gold mining places. There was one functioning gold mine you could go down into but we were running low for time so we forged on up in the mountains toward Kingman. The road had a few places you could pull off to view the terrain and it was pretty.
Hit I-40 at Kingman to speed up where we could see the sunset at the Grand Canyon. Almost ran over some kind of goat with horns as we drove into the park. He was blending in with the terrain and the fool though he had the rite-a-way. After watching the colors of the canyon in the fading light, we went to check in at the lodge. No parking space so I let Theresa out to check in ,circled the area. I saw what I thought was a full mounted mule deer standing in a fenced yard because it wasn't moving. Another loop around the area and the son-of a-gun was standing on the side of the road. I could have tapped him on the nose. Later on there were deer all over the place. I guess because it was the only green grass around.
Our room was about 30 steps from the rim of the canyon. That night at 2:00 I heard a noise out side the window, it was 2 elk clattering their horns together. Pretty neat.
Next morning we saw the sunrise colors of the canyon. It was pretty cool that morning. Ate breakfast with a couple from Virgina who worked in Washington,D.C. Took in some of the sites, too many for us in that short of time, and head to Boulder Dam on our way back to Vegas.
We picked up the motorcycles the next morning bright and early, we were headed to Death Valley. Theresa was riding a Heritage and I a Fatboy. The dealer has 600 bikes that they rent out.
Left Vegas, went through Red Rock Canyon, on to Pahrump which was having a big powwow. Met and talked to a couple of Indians on motorcycles that going to it and told us about it. It was a lot of people there, big rodeo, and carnival rides.
We road into the valley at Death Valley Junction . There was an info building, restroom and telephone. Theresa wanted to find a place for the night but the phone didn't work. Neither does your cell phone anywhere in the valley. I told don't worry, she could stand guard while I slept and I would do the same for her. We did make it to Stovepipe Wells where they have a kind of motel. Can't drink the water in the room, you have a water jug to take out side to a faucet.
It was a desolate place out there, but at the same time had a beauty to it. Where we went into the valley, rocks, boulders were everywhere. At Stovepipe Wells you had the sand dunes . And at the south end there was the salt lake.
The next day we went to Scotty's Castle, went to a hydraulic volcanic eruption site, and came back through the Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. It was getting late when we made our way out of Death Valley by way of Shoshone. The lights were shining bright in Vegas and the air was cold as we came down the mountain. We took the bikes back to the dealer around 10:00, called a cab and headed back to our room at the casino.
Next day we flew out heading home. I still want to go back, It's so much more to see. We didn't spend much time in Vegas because I wanted to see what was in the country. And it's still a lot of country to see.
There's so much you can write about on a trip like this, but I'm not a good enough writer or typist to do justice to it.
Till later.