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Published: September 2nd 2014
It Turns Out That This, Indeed, Is A Joshua Tree
On The Way From Apache Junction AZ To Las Vegas NVA thunderstorm awakened me about 6 AM on Wednesday, August 13, 2014. Typically, the monsoon rains erupt in the afternoon, last a few hours and subside by early evening. There was nothing typical about this storm. I arose, got my morning routine started and checked the weather radar to plan my departure from the Countryside RV Resort in Apache Junction AZ. Seeing that the storm was merely a squall line that should clear the area in an hour or two, I sipped a couple of mugs of steamy joe as I leisurely started preparing the interior for travel. After all, the office didn’t open until 8 AM, and I had to pay my electric bill. Monthly rental rates typically do not include electricity whereas daily and weekly rates do.
My journey from Apache Junction to Las Vegas NV required a trip across a sizeable chunk of Phoenix metro, and waiting for the rush to subside was further justification for an unhurried exodus. The rain subsided and the sun was blazing by about 8:00. I got everything ready to go and walked to the office to pay Ms. Edison. The trip across Phoenix was totally uneventful. I did stop at a
The Colorado River Below Hoover Dam
On The Way From Apache Junction AZ To Las Vegas NV “grove” of what I believed to be Joshua trees between Wickenburg AZ and Wikiup AZ. Further down the road, I happened upon a road sign touting, "Joshua Tree Parkway of Arizona." Except for paying $1.10 per gallon more for gasoline in Wikiup than I had been paying in Phoenix and one two minute cloudburst, the rest of the trip to Las Vegas was uneventful as well. (I bought only ten gallons in Wikiup and filled up in Kingman AZ for $0.05 less than the Phoenix price.)
As I approached Las Vegas, I entered the Lake Mead Recreational Area and noticed several “roadless bridges” over US Highway 93. When I stopped at a scenic vista, I learned that the bridges were constructed to provide bighorn sheep a safe migration route from one side of the highway to the other. It seems the sheep prefer a route over the highway vs. a tunnel under the highway. Makes sense to me! I also spotted signs noting the Lake Mead Visitor Center and the Nevada Welcome Center both of which I chose to visit when the Pilgrim was not in tow. Check-in at the Duck Creek RV Park in Henderson NV was uneventful.
Thursday found me heading to the aforementioned informational facilities where I was enlightened with a couple of new tourist opportunities. I then headed for downtown Las Vegas. I can only say that a lot of people must lose a lot of money to pay for those flamboyant edifices! I passed the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop made famous via the History Channel program “Pawn Stars.” There must have been 30-40 people queued OUTSIDE. I have no idea what the wait time was for entry. An ambulance approached from my rear. Actually, the drivers did a remarkable job in four lanes of bumper to bumper traffic – tightening up the ranks and merging into the newly created spaces to give the emergency vehicle passage. I stopped at Silver Sevens for a $7.77 prime rib dinner. Pretty tasty!
About 7:30 Friday morning, I set out for Valley of Fire State Park in Overton NV. I had decided against visiting the park during my planning process but was convinced to add it to my agenda by the agent at the Nevada Welcome Center. Actually, I would have visited the park regardless of my intent because I did intend to take the
NV 169 scenic loop. It turns out that NV 169 is the spine that runs through Valley of Fire State Park.
According to my truck thermometer, the temperature was 92 degrees when I arrived at the park about 9:15 AM so I didn’t partake of anything longer that a short walk to the numerous points of interest. Many of you know I have defective color perception. The rocks might have looked different to me than to most but they sure were pretty nonetheless. I found the park unique and beautiful and would suggest the park definitely is worth the short drive from Las Vegas for those interested in scenic beauty. In fact, I would suggest that anyone travelling I-15 northeast of Las Vegas in the daytime is foolhardy if sheheit (my all-inclusive, asexual, generic, singular pronoun – go ahead, say it fast) bypasses this unique, breathtaking two-hour diversion.
I continued back toward Overton from the park and stopped at the Lost City Museum. The original portion of the Lost City Museum was built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps to provide a place for the National Park Service to exhibit artifacts that were being excavated from Pueblo
Grande de Nevada. These Anasazi Indian sites were being threatened by the waters of Lake Mead as it backed up behind the newly built Hoover Dam. Eventually, when the lake was filled to capacity, about five miles of sites (approximately 25 percent of the sites that had been discovered) were inundated or undercut by the water. A modern addition to the museum provides space for more artifacts and displays. I found the museum superficially interesting, and it was on the way. I cannot say that the museum is a “must see” for any but the most serious anthropologist.
Saturday I had only one cup of coffee in the Pilgrim before taking an ample supply of joe “to go” and hit the road about 6:45 AM. I had a big day planned. Planning of the trip began when I spotted the Extraterrestrial Highway on the Nevada highway map. Essentially, it is that stretch of NV 375 between US 6 and US 93. I didn’t know if the terrain resembled a landscape from a distant planet or if the moniker was generated by the strange top secret aircraft flying over the region from Area 51. After deciding to commit to the
exploration of the Extraterrestrial Highway, I decided to continue west to Tonopah NV and complete a loop back to Las Vegas vs. embarking on an out-and-back trip over the same route – makes sense to me.
I planned to drive the loop counterclockwise because there are a couple of attractions near the end of the loop off NV 160 that I could add in if there was time. I tried to enter a couple of small towns in the GPS but neither was in the database so I decided to enter Tonopah and catch US 93 off US 95 on the way out of Las Vegas if the GPS tried to take me in a clockwise direction. Before I knew it, I was out of town and heavily invested in a clockwise loop. No problem. There was a Plan B which included a scenic drive along the Nevada/California border that also intrigued me. Those who know me or follow my blog know I am a sucker for a scenic drive.
I continued heading northwest on US 95 until I reached Beatty where my stomach dictated that I engage in a gastronomic encounter. With a belly full of eggs,
bacon and taters, I continued on to NV 266. There I turned to the west on a “scenic byway” that took me through some rolling hills and then to the northwest along the state border. Surprisingly, there was quite a bit of agriculture going on in the area. When I got to Tonopah NV, I fueled the truck and headed east on US 6 for the Extraterrestrial Highway. About five miles before I got to the junction of US 6 and NV 375, I encountered a yellow caution sign warning of “Low Flying Aircraft.” Might it be a left-over from the early days of the stealth testing?
Regardless, the terrain is not ETish except for one feature I spotted across the valley in the direction of Area 51. The mountainside feature looks somewhat like a human palm print with six or seven fingers radiating from one side of the “palm.” It might be a natural geologic feature. It might be the work of some high school pranksters. It might be of the extraterrestrial!!! )(*^$^&_)* An aside – For those of you who don’t know or might have forgotten, double clicking on any picture will kick you into a photo
viewer.
The Extraterrestrial Highway ended at US 93 – the highway I intended to take out of Las Vegas for a counterclockwise loop. Alright! Now, I’ll learn the errors of my ways. After 43 miles, US 93 merged into and followed I-15. I should have taken I-15/US 93 until US 93 split off about 12 miles north of Las Vegas. Since I will be using US 93 to reach my next destination, Ely NV, I got a valuable lesson.
Had I been thinking, I would have driven the loop on a school day and taken advantage of the Saturday to visit “school trip” locales. It will take me a while to get thinking like a professional tourist again! Some might say the 575 mile loop that took me almost 12 hours was a waste of time and fuel. They might say the terrain was stark and boring. I will admit I have driven more breathtaking scenic roads, but the Tonopah loop was beautiful in a western kind of way. The geology of the rock formations is intriguing. Most importantly, my curiosity was satisfied!
Very few attractions on my list are open on Sunday morning. The only exception
is the Clark County Museum in Henderson NV. Although small, the museum is quite comprehensive. There are three outdoor exhibit areas – the Mojave Gardens Outdoor Classroom, the Heritage Street of Historic Homes and an area of sundry subjects including a Paiute Indian Village, a ghost town, mining equipment, a farm and ranch display and railroad equipment including a passenger depot. The Mojave Gardens Outdoor Classroom features representations of different local ecosystems. The Heritage Street of Historic Homes has four residential structures exemplifying various stages of Clark County history as well as a print shop, a wedding chapel (where else but in Las Vegas) and a chapter from the early days of a Mobile America. This unique display has a sample motor court, i.e. motel, and a V-E-R-Y small travel trailer.
Inside, small exhibits cover several subjects one would expect to find in many museums in the west but add two unique subjects – steamboats on the Colorado River (obviously, before the construction of the Hoover Dam) and an extensive, interesting exhibit of historic gaming paraphernalia. My only criticism of the outdoor exhibits is that documentation is almost totally absent. Perhaps the brilliant sunshine raises havoc on the signage.
The Village Is Very Well Done
Clark County Museum - Henderson NV Don’t be misled – this is a small museum but very well done. The historic gaming machines themselves are worth a visit.
After stopping for a famous $2.99 Las Vegas breakfast, my next stop was the National Atomic Testing Museum. Being a certified baby-boomer, I was born shortly after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II but grew up during the age of nuclear proliferation. In the 1950s, I learned Duck and Cover and how to survive an atomic blast but, even with only single digits of longevity on Planet Earth, I understood why my father didn’t build a bomb shelter and wondered if I wanted to be around for the aftermath.
The Manhattan Project was so secret that Vice President Harry Truman was unaware of the project’s existence until April 24, 1945 – after he had become President. Trinity, the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, was conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945. Shortly after entering the museum, a group of visitors enters the GZ (Ground Zero) Theater for a multimedia simulated atmospheric bomb blast complete with noise, seismic floors, moving chairs and
blast wave. The development of the bomb, atmospheric and underground testing, natural and man-made radiation and the atomic culture of the 1950s are discussed. The museum is very interesting, particularly for those who lived through the nuclear arms race, but this attraction is not an action-packed or photographic extravaganza. Because of its uniqueness, I will recommend the museum in spite of the (what I feel is somewhat excessive) admission fee.
Next, I stopped at The Mob Museum. The visitor immediately is whisked to the third floor. One of the neat parts of the museum is the property itself. The attraction is housed in the historic former U.S. Post Office and federal courthouse building. The courtroom on the second floor is where one of the 14 national Kefauver Hearings was held in 1950. The hearings, chaired by Sen. Estes Kefauver, were intended to expose organized crime. A multimedia presentation is made in the courtroom.
As one would expect, the story of the genesis and growth of the mob and well as the law enforcement efforts to keep the mob in check are outlined. The exploits of many of the mobsters are well known but the background of enforcers such
as Joe Pistone, who infiltrated the Mob by posing as small time jewel thief Donnie Brasco, and Cuban-born Jack Garcia, who successfully worked his way into the Gambino family, are much less well known. Artifacts and methods relating to law enforcement’s role of eradication and control of the Mob such as weapons and wiretapping tools are on display. Visitors can listen to real FBI surveillance tapes from the day.
Interactive exhibits and touchscreen monitors abound. There are historical exhibits such as the barber chair where Albert Anastasia was assassinated and the actual wall, complete with bullet pockmarks, from the garage where the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was executed (oops, sorry). An in-depth look at Las Vegas, the ultimate “open city” that attracted Mobsters following the Kefauver Hearings, is made. In spite of the hefty admission fee (this is not a zoo, there are no animals to feed or veterinarians to pay nor is it a railroad museum where there are locomotives and rolling stock to maintain), I must recommend The Mob Museum because of the superior quality and uniqueness of the attraction.
On Monday, I headed for the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Red Rock Canyon was
designated as Nevada's first National Conservation Area and is located only 17 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip. Red Rock offers a 13-mile scenic drive and more than 30 miles of hiking trails. The visitor center hosts exhibit rooms, a book store and helpful park rangers. Unfortunately, all the red rocks are found in the first couple of miles of the scenic drive. I found the drive pretty and the landscape interesting but must confess I had been quite spoiled by the seemingly endless red rock display in Valley of Fire State Park on the previous Friday.
I had come across something that had made me aware of the Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings NV. It sounded like it truly was a genuine slice of Nevada history. When I checked out the web site, I discovered a Ghost Burger is on the menu. That’s it. I had to stop for a sandwich and a beer. What a great establishment. A local and I struck up a nice conversation, and a fella down the bar bought the house a round of shots. Oh, by the way, the sandwich was quite tasty but the price was a little scary.
I
Abundant Color Is An Understatement
Valley of Fire State Park - Overton NV had a great time in Las Vegas in spite of the fact that both my local friends were out of town the week of my visit. I did go into the casinos – TO EAT. For once, the gaming institutions didn’t make a nickel off good ‘ole Uncle Larry. I plan to return to see my friends, and there still are at least three attractions I didn’t get to visit. Perhaps then I’ll have a little time to gamble!
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