We packed the car as best we could. We went to Giggle Springs one last time (a convenience store) to get gas, doughnuts and OJ for the ride to Las Vegas. We left town via US 95 and drove through several little towns. We had an epic fail when we drove into a new county and did not have caches loaded on the GPS to get Esmeralda County, oh well. We moved on.
A little while later we entered the town of Beatty. We saw a facilty where you could vaccume and wash the car. We thought instead of the rental car place adding fees to our rental agreement, we would spend some change to clean the car out a bit. It started getting warmer. We vacuumed it out first and then Ray rinsed it off.
We all got back in and drove over to the nearest store to use the restroom and to grab snacks for the remainder of our drive to Vegas. It seems like every building in Nevada has slot machines.
We got back in the car and headed to Amargosa Valley. It was a 34 mile side-trip to the California border and back. We all thought it was worth the quick "out of the way" to grab our first California cache. It was a cache by Clay, one of the guys who did the ET Highway and it was a traditional film canister next to a sign that said Clay Road. We got to the sign and saw the pile of rocks next to the bottom of it. We pulled over and we all got out to sign the log. It was getting warmer and we were excited we got our first California cache.
Our view from the cache towards Death Valley.
We turned around and went back to US 95. We drove through a bunch of small towns and finally we saw the metropolis of Vegas. It was kinda nice being back to civilization. Once we got into town, we merged onto the 515/US 93 towards Boulder City/border of Arizona. We got off the freeway to use the bathroom at the Sinclair gas station. Traffic kinda got busy. On the way to Arizona, our GPS took us around Boulder City instead of through town. It kinda overwhelmed Ray so Brenda got in the driver's seat. We still really weren't sure where this virtual for Arizona was.
We saw Lake Mead, last time I was here it was very low, and I noticed that US 93 was now a four-laned highway instead of a two-laned road. This also was the first time I will be going over the new bridge instead of over the Hoover Dam to get to Arizona.
Information on the Callaghan-Tillman Memorial Bridge:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_O%27Callaghan%E2%80%93Pat_Tillman_Memorial_Bridge
We got closer to our destination and realized at the last minute we were in the wrong lane. Brenda quickly switched lanes and took the next road to our left. Yes, we had no idea there was an exit off of the left hand lane. We screamed a little bit but made the turn. It would have sucked if we'd missed it. We got to a parking lot and saw the white bridge. This area was also the beginning to a trail that went up to an arch. If we would have had the time, it would have been fun to see. We read the informational boards and then walked over for our picture with the White Rock Canyon Bridge.
We got our first Arizona cache in the 80 degree weather and was briefly in Mountain Time Zone. It was almost like we went into the future to get a cache and then returned back to the past to get back to Nevada. It's like we were never in Arizona according to the time. Haha.
We got back in the car and went back into Vegas. On the way just outside of Henderson, I noticed a travel trailer ahead of us with a Cougar logo on the spare tire cover. I just had to make their day. I pulled my sweatshirt off and as we got closer I held it out the window for the people inside to notice. It was an elderly couple, probably on a road trip or snow birds, the woman was driving as her husband rode shotgun. She saw my logo on the sweatshirt and her face just lit up with joy. She honked the horn to acknowledge that I was also a Coug fan. It made me smile. It seems like wherever I go, there is a Coug fan, excited to yell "GO COUGS!"
Since we were coming from the south, we found our coordinates for the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. Last time I was here we had no idea where it was or how to get to it. Ray and I found coords on Google Maps and saved them. They had built a parking lot in the middle of the boulevard so people could visit the landmark. We found a spot and saw an Elvis impersonator. While in line for a picture, we were apprehended by a Lucille Ball impersonator working on a Podcast. She asked us if we wanted to be a part of it. We said sure and she asked us a few questions. We took a few pictures and she was on her way to another group of people. We got to the front of the line and had our pictures taken with the famous sign.
We went back to our car and put In and Out on the GPS and we headed there for lunch. Brenda and Ray had never been to one. I was very surprised and told them it was a must if you are ever in California, Utah, Arizona or Nevada. They told me it better be good or they would leave me on a street corner.
We got there and it was packed. I remembered that the lines go very quickly since there aren't very many things on the menu. We got our order in, Brenda found a table inside and Ray and I waited for them to call our number. I was so excited to have an In and Out burger. It's been almost three years.
They called our number, we took our food to our table and enjoyed every morsel of it. Afterwards Brenda and Ray thought it was delicious and can't believe they haven't been to one before.
We got back in our rental car and went to the Monte Carlo to see if we could park for free inside the parking garage. We could. Apparently they don't have any indications of who is or isn't staying in the hotel. Duly noted for next time I am here.
I needed to finish the homework I was given by my mom. I needed to get her a Las Vegas sweatshirt. We spent some time wandering around the strip looking for one. In the meantime, Brenda and Ray showed me where some of the caches were nearby. I grabbed a few of them. We also went inside the M&M store and I bought some crimson and gray M&M's. We went into the Walgreens, this is where I bought most of my souvenirs because they were cheap. I found my mom's sweatshirt here among other things.
We continued down the strip towards the Bellagio Fountains, taking pictures as we went. The weather was so awesome. I really didn't want to leave. We got to the fountains and watched the show for about ten minutes. After, we walked back to the Monte Carlo.
We went inside and made our way through the casino area and to the café we ate breakfast at the other day. We ordered some sodas and Brenda and Ray had some dessert. We sat there and talked about a bunch of stuff to waste time before heading to the rental car place to return our car.
It was about that time, we went through the lobby of the Monte Carlo and I swear the entire country of Japan was waiting to check into their rooms for the weekend. It was hard dodging Asians as we found our way out of the lobby and upstairs to the parking garage. We had a heck of a time getting onto Las Vegas Blvd and out towards the airport. No wonder...it was Friday.
We eventually got to the rental car return and found where we needed to go. The lady came out and grabbed the keys and our information. We drove that thing 1,013 miles. We cleaned out our stuff and put them on carts.
We went into the lobby of the rental car building and sat in the lobby for a while. We were a little too early to go and sit in the airport for our flights. We found out that we didn't get to hang out until our flights left. There are two concourses at McCarran and we were going to be separated. We grabbed our stuff and I took one shuttle and they took the other. I was dropped off in front of Southwest. I grabbed my bags and headed in to wait in line. I checked in and printed off my ticket. I checked in my two bags and made my way over to security.
I had a lot of time to kill before my flight. What to do?
I wandered the concourse to find my gate. It was clear at the end. I must have walked a mile just to get there. I called mom, talked to Grandma and Grammie while I waited. I got hungry so I went over to the Nathan's Hotdogs stand and got a sausage dog and a pop. I ate that pretty quickly. I went to find plug ins and found out there were only two stations and a lot of people using them. I lucked out and found a plug in for my computer and I sat there internetting until it was time to go.
I gathered my things and headed to my gate. I was in group B. I hope I don't get to sit next to some smelly person or a crying baby. I got lucky. I got the window seat next to a couple in their late 40's. They didn't talk to me the entire flight until we were landing in Seattle.
I was not happy to arrive in 55 degree rainy weather of Seattle from the sunny 80 degree skies of Las Vegas. Sometimes I really hate where I live.
I got off the plane and had to wait a really long time for my bags. I called mom, who was sitting in the cell phone lot to drive around and pick me up. I didn't recognize her car because she got new license plates. Now they are giving out the crimson plates instead of the white Cougar logo plates. I threw my suit cases in and I took over the driver's seat.
We got home at 2 a.m. The trip was well worth it.
I came home and had 6844 caches. 156 more to go til I reach milestone 7,000.
Next adventure: Visiting Willmarth and Shannon in Yakima.
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