Day 16 - Las Vegas a go go

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Sadly it's time to leave and continue our journey on towards Las Vegas today. Loaded the car to the max (thank goodness we got a big one!) and hit the highways again. Tried to locate the Ontario Mills Outlet Mall which should have been on our way but somehow missed it (bugger) and before long we're out in the desolate, barren countryside that is inland California. Drove on a 6 lane plus highway an average of 80 miles per hour all the way - plenty of cops out and about and generally the drivers are good. Tons and tons and tons of trucks on the road, plus we saw a massive long train which was loaded entirely with truck trailers.

Had a stop off at Calico Ghost Town - good for a break but expensive and not really worthwhile. Shantytown is much better. Interesting little bits of history but it was too small and way to HOT (100 degrees) to enjoy.

Crossed the border into Nevada without realising it (I'm sure there wasn't a large signpost) - and noticed that the scenery just kept getting bigger and more barren. The only living things were the Joshua Trees. Came across these towns, huge multi-storey casino's and massive outlet malls in the absolute middle of nowhere. I'm talking 40 minutes out of Las Vegas in the middle of the desert - what the???

Arrived finally at the Desert Rose Resort in Las Vegas after a few wrong turns (thanks to TomTom - thumbs down) at around 4pm and were quite pleased with our 2 bedroom apartment for $120 per night. Just a block from all the action and plenty of room to move. The kids were as happy as puppies playing in the extra space for a few hours.

Then we hit the Strip - well, actually we walked into the gigantuous MGM Grand Hotel and promptly got lost for an hour! We went this way and that way without a clue where we were heading - we just couldn't get out!!!! Finally found the Rainforest Cafe and sat down for a bite to eat. Not half as good as the San Francisco version, so we're really pleased that we went up there.

Found M&M and Coke Worlds (yes - I kid you not). Four storeys of each! Then strolled down the Strip to the Bellagio to watch the fountains dance to the tune of the Pink Panther.

Everyone completely knackered by now, so we called it quits and dropped into bed at about 11pm.

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