18.06.07 - Nevada Landing

After nearly 3 hours of freeway congestion going through Pasadena to the North of Los Angeles the traffic current begins to pick up the pace and we pull away to the North-East on Interstate 15. The sense of claustrophobia that was threatening to grab my head eased as I accelerated the navy blue Chevvy through the lanes. Mountains towered over us as the concrete strip rose up the incline of the lower banks for the first time. The automatic dropped down a gear and the car swepts uphill and through a bend. The sky filled the windscreen and sitting at the wheel at that moment gave me the sensation of banking a plane after take off. Las Vegas here we come!

The 15 weaved between weather-worn dusty mountain peaks and cliffs and finally dropped down into a vast expanse of flat, scorched earth that reached out into the rippling horizon, meeting the layers of mountain that framed the view through 360 degrees. The occasional mammouth stranded outcrop of rock jutts out of the Nevada Desert plain casting ghostly shadows across the road. The only sign of life comes in the form of the dry skeletal gorse bushes that are strewn over the entire scene. There is an unreal quality to the landscape that we could not overcome. This was more like watching a computer generated image sweeping by us.... after all I have seen the incredible special effects that were created for 'Cars' based on the Nevada landscape. This was how I would have imagined a Moon-scape to look... little martian heads popping out from stray boulders!

"Hello Earthling........ NICE CAR!"

With every junction the traffic eased and and I was happily cruising the car through the barren landscape. Advertising billboards began to spring up on either side of the road bombarding us with Las Vegas temptation and sin. The dashboard read the temerature as 103 degrees Fahrenheit and a vast towering thermostat in a small outpost of civilization on the side of the road confirmed that the desert had hit 104 F!

Occasionally we would spot a small, grim looking oasis with battered old motorcars and caravans strewn around the remnants of a crumbling shack or house. I am sure that people do live out there in the middle of nowhere but these junk yards were like something from a horror movie... I would rather run out into the desert in my birthday suit with no food or water than knock on one of those doors to ask for help for fear of chainsaw wielding psychotic siamese twins greeting me!

By 8pm the sun had dropped from view behind a peak and the Nevada desert was transformed by the changing light. The dusty mountains were assuming varying hues of blue as the shadows deepened, backlit by a warm glow from the setting sun. The cool appearance contrasted with the temerature that was still touching 93 F when finally the amber warmth was extinguished and the dark set in.

After ten hours of travelling the bright lights of Las Vegas sprawled into view. Headin there on Interstate 15 was a little disappointing as the bright lights of the residential areas dulled the effect of the brightly lit hotels and casinos. Perhaps I was just tired... although I did not feel it. We had travelled 450 miles with two stops.... one in the beautiful Santa Barbara.... the other to have a 'Big Boy' burger (alright, alright... I know I am the first to moan about junk food but who can say no to 'Big Boy'.... it is a photo oportunity after all)! It was time to drop the bags and get out into the bright lights of Sin City.

The only problem was that we did not have any directions to find the Sahara Hotel where we were staying. In true Edward fashion I did not worry about it but followed my instincts. A sliproad signposted to 'Sahara Avenue' seemed promising, and when I arrived at a junction I followed my heart. Turning right I chuckled as I suddenly saw the huge flashing Sahara Hotel sign towering over the roadside. Nice work.

I will save the Sahara Hotel and Casino for a later entry and simply say for now that this was one of the original Las Vegas haunts, dating back to 1953 I believe. I suspect that it has not changed much in the last 20 years......