Day 4 – Las Vegas to Williams, Arizona

by tailored on November 23, 2011


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We woke early in Vegas and had breakfast at the French restaurant right in front of the Eiffel Tower replica.

We had a middle-aged women as our waitress who made everything very fancy due to her French accent and ability to carry large amounts of plates at the one time.  Bloody impressive if you ask me. 😉

Huge meals for not much money.

Everything is bigger in Vegas

Everything is bigger in Vegas - Pancakes included

Harry and I sat and talked for a while before taking one last walk down the strip.

Finally Lost My $500

Then it was back to the hotel for one last punt – I decided before I got to Vegas that I was going to lose a maximum of $500 or win $5,000.

In a surprise to no-one, I lost.  But for the amount of gambling I did in Vegas I was happy to leave just $500.  Had a blast for that $500.

We had a quick and easy checkout and then we headed out to Boulder City.

We continued out of the city and up over the relatively small hills that surround the city  The GPS had us, I thought, heading away from Boulder City, so I pulled off the highway to check the maps.

There was a Park Ranger there having his lunch.

Lost in Boulder City?  Means You’re Using A TomTom

I said, “Mate, I think we’re lost……”

“You’ve got a TomTom haven’t you and you’re headed to Boulder City,” he replied.

Impressive!

Psychic??

Either he’s a psychic or lots of people with TomToms get lost looking for Boulder City.

Turns out he ain’t psychic and a quick check of the map had us heading back the way we came to Boulder City.

Boulder City was a small and basically empty town.  We filled up (fuel was $3.58 a gallon – $20 to fill the Harley from empty).

It was from there that we took the turn to the Hoover Dam which took us along a long downhill stretch with a view of the water.

We checked out the Dam and then headed along Highway 93, a plain desert highway, to Kingman, Arizona in the Mohave County.

Hoover Dam

Checking out the Hoover Dam

We found a small coffee shop for a quick bite.

I managed to drop the bike for the first time here as I was backing it into a park.  Bloody heavy thing!

It was there, at about 2 pm, that we realised that there was no way that we would make it to the Grand Canyon that night so we agreed that we would go to nightfall and then stop at the next appropriate town – we aimed for Williams along Route 66.

We left the café and went onto Route 66 for the first time – that was the one road both Harry and I were looking forward to riding along.

On Route 66

Beside an old Route 66 sign

This section was pretty much like I had expected it to be – heaps of small towns that were completely deserted or in the process of dying.

It was lovely riding the historic route (we rode a fair bit of it along our journey) – along the side of the road there were heaps of abandoned farms and houses and a lot of abandoned vehicles littering the bushes.

We left that section of the road – flat desert road with mountains in the distance – at about 4 o’clock as we turned at an intersection in the middle of Seligman.

We headed along Interstate 40 into the town of Williams.

My Old Trick – Always Ride Through The Town

One of things I’ve learned when touring around on a bike is to never take the first hotel you see.  Always ride through the town to the end, then back again and pick the nicest hotel for you.

Williams is a lovely little tourist town, keeping alive Route 66 with memorabilia and the feel of a 1950’s town.

We decided that we would try a Motel 6 (that’s my review on Trip Advisor) – $45 for a double room – as I knew that they were all over the country so thought it would be good to try it and see what they’re like (we hardly saw another one on the trip).

Dinner at Cruisers Cafe 66

We headed out for dinner at Cruisers Cafe 66 – try the Buffalo Wings and the local beers.  Both delicious.

We walked back to our motel via a hunting shop and took a look at what a lot of locals do as their sport.

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Day 3 – Las Vegas, Nevada

by tailored on November 22, 2011


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A cruisy day seeing the sights of Las Vegas, that included lunch in a Sports Bar in the section of Miracle Mile shops – with the waitresses dressed as Cheerleaders, we didn’t much care of what the food was like.

Turned out the food was good, so that was a bonus!

Wandered the streets checking out the different hotels and tourist attractions.

I booked us tickets for the David Copperfield show on later that evening.

(I would post up some photos here, but some dickhead lost the SD card from the camera we used for on-the-go shots – that would be me.)

We returned to the hotel and took the bike out for a look around – rolling up the Strip on the Harley, had a photo taken infront of the ‘Welcome to the Fabulous Las Vegas’ sign (lost it!) and more.

Then it was into Caesers Palace casino – wow, what a place this is.

Caesers Palace

Caeser's Palace - Wow, what a place

Harry took great delight in buying a shirt associated with The Hangover film.

Harry from The Hangover

Harry strikes a pose

We had dinner at the ‘Trevi’ restaurant, which was next to a replica of the Trevi fountain.  It’s in a large indoor area that has been painted (and has the lighting effects) so that you feel you’re outside.

The first thing they asked is whether we wanted a table inside or out which, seeing as though the outside area was still inside was a strange question to be asked!

We sat outside and had a great meal.

David Copperfield – We Were Going To Disappear After A Dull 1st Half

Then it was off to watch the David Copperfield show at the MGM Grand, navigating the Mexicans handing out the cards of local hookers.

Now, David was pretty dull for the first half and I was going to suggest to Harry that we leave.

Glad I didn’t, because the 2nd half was 100 times better and he pulled off some amazing tricks that left us all stunned.  Ended up being a great show after a bloody dull beginning.

Back To The Flamingo For More Drinking & Cavorting

Back to the Flamingo for more drinking, gambling and checking out the cage dancers.

At one point I was playing blackjack – the gorgeous Croupier was wearing a top and a g-string, the half naked Cage Dancer was directly above her.

And beers were free.

Geez I love Vegas!

 

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Well, this wasn’t we had planned for Day 2 of the trip.

Harry and I waited around in Death Valley for Paul from Las Vegas Eagle Rider to turn up.

Stovepipe Wells Village

Harry checks out the village (it's tiny)

And that he did at 12.30 after a 4 hour drive from Vegas (sorry Paul!).

It was into the big Eagle Rider 4×4 with the bike trailer on the back and off to find the bike, about 37 miles away.

That took a while because the road the bike was on was closed to vehicles over 25 feet – Paul’s truck and trailer was way beyond it, so we had to head out of Stovepipe Wells on Highway 190, down the Panamint Valley Road and then off to the Trona Wildrose Road where the motorbike was happily sitting waiting to be collected.

Broken down in Death Valley

Lazy bike having a rest

The Push of Shame

Paul had a crack at starting her up but she refused to co-operate (thank goodness for that, I would have felt a right idiot if she started up just fine!), so it was the Push of Shame into the trailer for her.

The Push of Shame

The Push of Shame into the Eagle Rider Trailer (Paul sitting relaxing, me pushing!)

We then settled back for the long drive into Vegas.

Eagle Rider couldn’t have sent out a better guy than Paul – loves working for Eagle Rider, a great guy to chat with and made us feel like this 8 hour drive we’d subjected him too was nothing.

Sure, his jokes were rubbish (nice bloke, but he’s not half as funny as me – and you can tell him that if you ever meet him!), but a great guy.

Again, sorry Paul!

We Hit Vegas After Dark

I can’t remember what time we hit Vegas but it was well after dark.

Paul made it as simple as possible for us – it was literally pull into the Eagle Rider car park in Vegas, hand us the keys, point us to our hotel and we were off.

I always reckon the way to tell if a company’s customer service is any good is to see what happens when things go wrong.

Having a bike break down in the middle of Death Valley – smack bang between LA and Las Vegas – would rank up there as about the worst.

But the guys from Eagle Rider’s had us organised after 1 call and the service couldn’t have been better.

So, no risk with Eagle Rider.  Simply no mucking about if there’s a problem.

2 Corners & We’re On The Strip

After turning a couple of corners, Haz and I were on the Strip.

Vegas Baby!

As you do, we roared up and down the Strip having a look and then found our hotel – the Flamingo Las Vegas ($31 a night for a double room), one of the original casinos in Las Vegas.

Parked in the car park and walked in checked in and started our Vegas fun.

View from the Flamingo

View from the Flamingo - all for just $31 a night

Out & About

We headed out into Vegas and checked out the Fountains of Bellagio and then headed inside for dinner.

After a great meal at the Bellagio buffet (all you can eat for $30 a head) , it was off to the gaming tables.

One For The Punters

I’d read somewhere that the average punter lost $168 in Vegas.  So I made my first bet $170.  Heh, I didn’t want to be average!

Sure enough I won that and doubled up.  $340 on the next hand and another winner.

I was $510 up in Vegas in 5 minutes – how easy is this!  (We all know how this story is going to end!)

A Bit More Sightseeing

A few more hours of wandering around Vegas and we were heading to head back to The Flamingo and bed at about 2 am.

The thing that really struck me about Vegas was, apart from the guys handing out the cards of hookers on the main strip, that it’s remarkably devoid of sleaze on the main strip.

No obvious strip clubs or hookers.  It’s got a real family feel in the middle of Vegas.

Kids Can Walk Through The Casinos

Children are allowed to walk through the casino, but not loiter.

That is, walk through but don’t stand about watching.

When In Vegas…………..

Harry, being 6 foot 3 and very manly (that’s what he tells me anyway), got away with standing watching me have a bet.

Later in the night he thought he’d better get in the spirit of Vegas and break a law, so he had a $50 bet on black on roulette.  Up it comes – allowing him to brag about his 100% winning record in my gambling career.

Harry collects in Vegas

Harry collects in Vegas (photo is cut off because I had to rotate it)

I was hoping he’d get caught and thrown out.

If he pleaded that he was staying in the hotel with me, I was going to deny all knowledge!

 

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The Start

by tailored on November 20, 2011

After packing pretty lightly (we took a minimum of clothing – our plan was to discard dirty clothes like socks, jocks and t-shirts along the way and buy cheap replacements as we go), we headed for the Brisbane Airport and a 13 hour flight.

Looks a lot – but once clothes, boots and helmets are on it was very little

Now, I’ve seen some trip sites where people give detailed accounts of the flight – but there ain’t a lot to say about a plane trip.

We jumped on a QANTAS plane leaving Brisbane, Australia at 10.50 am on Sunday November 20, 2011 and arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday November 20, 2011 at 6.50 am.

Yep, we arrived before we left!  We’re time travelers.

Security, Customs, Bags Collected – Out Into LA in 6 Minutes!

After everyone telling us how difficult it is to get into the USA through security, customs, etc we breezed past and we’re out the door into the air of LA just 6 minutes after we got off the plane.

The Eagle Riders office looks quite close on the map, but it’s beyond walking distance so we grabbed a cab ($15).  A few minutes later we pulled up, grabbed our gear and went in.

Within 1/2 hour, after signing the paperwork, checking the bike (a Harley Electra Glide) and getting a briefing we were ready to go.

2 excited lads about to have a wet ride out of LA

We packed our gear into the 2 side panniers and Top Box with ease – we had a pannier each and the Top Box for communal stuff.

Harry set the GPS up and we aimed for the small town of Palmdale, just north of the Angeles National Forest.

The menacing clouds meant it was on with the wet weather gear, the first time of what we assumed would be many times (it rained once more – for an hour – during the entire 5,000 mile ride)

A few circles around the car park with Harry on the back to familiarise myself with the bike and we were ready to roll.

Tight Right, Loose Left

A quick note here for riders used to driving/riding on the left hand side of the road.

Before we left a mate said to me, “I’m sure tons of people have told you this, but all you have to remember for turning corners is “Tight right, Loose left”.  That is, if you’re turning right, turn tight.  if you’re turning left, go wide and loose.”

I just said it to myself every time I had a corner coming up and all was well.

How We Were Going To Navigate Across The USA

Our plan to navigate our way across the USA was to use a GPS  ($70 on special from Amazon) to get us into and out of the big cities, and to use a Rand McNally Road Atlas ($12) to find the roads less traveled (off the big highways) once we were out of the cities (this turned out to be a fantastic way to travel.  We never really got lost and found some wonderful country roads).

Day 1 – LA to Death Valley

Our aim on Day 1 was to get the hell out of LA and head for Death Valley, some 290 miles/465 kms away.

Like a few trips I’d done before, it’s always a relief when you finally get going.  Harry and I had been planning this trip for a while and you get a bit sick of talking about it and just want to be doing it.

Now we were finally doing it, a sense of relief washes over you as you realise you’re finally doing the ride.

Just as we hit the San Diego Freeway (we headed up the 405 to San Fernando so we’d get some easy freeway riding in and get used to the bike) it started pouring rain.

That made the first hour of the ride a bit tricky, but it was a case of find a car and follow that, which we did.

After a while the pelting rain stopped and the sun came out.

Once we were off the freeway (pain in the ass to ride in the rain), the valleys started opening up and we saw some lovely desert hills.

These Harleys Are Noisy!

The bike was pretty comfortable to ride, but gave a bloody awful screeching noise when changing gears.

I’d never ridden a Harley before and assumed this was normal as it started happening pretty much as soon as I started changing gears once we left the freeway.

Once we got to Palmdale we headed along the El Mirage Road towards Adelanto, which is a desert road, fairly featureless aside from low lying shrubs and the occasional desert tree.

The abandoned houses and closed roadside businesses we saw were to become a regular feature of small town America.

We pulled into a Gas Station in Adelanto to fill up on petrol/gas, get out of our wet weather gear and grab a bite to eat.

Always Prepay For Fuel

American gas stations have had enough of people filling their tank and fleeing that it’s all prepaid now.

You aren’t getting a drop of fuel until you pay.

So after a few minutes of trying to get fuel, I finally figured out you need to prepay.  So I tried with my credit card, then my travel cashcard and both failed.

International cards failing at the pump happens about 75% of the time – of the security measures, one is you have to input your 5 digit zip code/postcode, which international visitors to the US don’t have.

I wandered inside and the guy charges my card for the gas and I fill up.  If they charge you $20 and the tank only takes $15, the difference is automatically credited back to your card.

We spent a bit of time chilling out inside the Gas Station and grabbed a bite to eat – we all know the jokes about Gas Station food and this Gas Station is where all those jokes started from.

The sandwich I had was about 3 years old and tasted like and old shoe.  Not that I’ve ever eaten an old shoe, but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t taste so great.

Up The Three Flags Freeway

We headed off up the Three Flags Freeway (Highway 395) towards Death Valley, about 4 hours away.

It was easy highway riding and when we got off the 395 at Johannesburg and headed along Trona Rd, traffic was minimal and the desert views were breathtaking.

On the way to Death Valley

On the way to Death Valley

Too Noisy Even For A Harley

Changing gears kept giving me this awful noise and I was convinced there’s no way a bike should be this noisy – not even a Harley.

When I got into Death Valley I’d give the motorbike hirers a call and ask a few questions.

Heading To & Into Death Valley

Along winding mountain roads, past the dry Searles Lake that gets mined for 1.7 million tons of industrial minerals each year and into the valley along the Trona Wildrose Road.

This is a little used road off the main road, that heads to  the 190 just west of Stovepipe Wells (where we’d booked our first night’s accommodation).

It was almost 4 pm when we headed into the valley on this not often used (the road can’t take vehicles longer than 4 metres, so that rules out a of recreational vehicles, motor homes, etc)  desert road.

Broken Down In Death Valley

That’s when the bike broke down.

One minute I was riding along, the next I’d lost all drive.

Broken down on the side of the road in Death Valley

Broken down in Death Valley

Surprisingly, no amount of cursing fixed the bike and so we were stuck.

In Death Valley.

Getting dark.

It was -1 C.

Bugger.

It looked like the drive belt had come off and fallen down.  When it fell down, part of it had melted against the hot bit of machinery it fell against.

Over the next hour or so I tried to get the drive belt back on without luck.

Harry Heads For Help

By this time, we’d made the decision to head for help and after a half hour or so a car came trundling along the road.

We flagged the driver down and asked if he’d give Harry a lift to Stovepipe Wells Village (where we were staying), some 37 miles away.

Mark and his wife Zoe were kind enough to take Harry in and headed for Stovepipe Wells.  The plan was for Harry to wait until dark to see if I could fix the bike, and if I hadn’t arrived, call for help.

Joe dropped Harry at Stovepipe Wells and they told the Manager what was going on.

The Search Party Was On Its Way!

The Manager got on the phone and within a few minutes I was the subject of a search party!

Bloody hell – what a great start to the trip!

Mark headed off and Harry headed to his room to relax, watch some TV, drink champagne and live it up whilst I froze to death in the aptly named Death Valley.  What a son!

Park Ranger Tries To Figure Out If I’ll Die

A Ranger soon turned up for Harry and asked questions about my:

  • age
  • fitness level
  • if I had water
  • how many warm clothes I had
  • etc

The answers (old, not very, yep, lots) were communicated to the guys looking for me (Mark and Harry had a fair idea of where I was, but weren’t that confident).

Local Copper Came Along & Sorted Everything

Just as I were deciding on what to do next, along came the local Policeman on his last sweep of the valley trying to find me at 7.30 pm.

Officer Scott was brilliant and within minutes had it all sorted.

He radioed he’d found me, we pushed the bike to the side of the road, wrapped it in police tape and we set off for the drive to Stovepipe Wells.

That’s how I managed on the first night in the USA to get delivered to my hotel in a police car.

Probably not the start we were expecting, but all part of the adventure!

Called Eagle Rider – “I don’t care…..”

I called Jeff King from the LA Eagle Rider store and explained the situation.

Jeff and Eagle Rider couldn’t have been better.

When I told him I’d left the bike on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, with police tape around it, Jeff said “I don’t care …………………………..about the bike.  All I care about is that you and your son are okay and that we get another bike to you as soon as possible so you can continue your journey.”

Within minutes Jeff had a plan – as it was 8 pm on a Sunday night they’d send out a guy with a truck to transport the bike first thing in the morning, pick me up, go and find the bike and then transport us to Las Vegas (our next port of call).

Jeff also offered a bike be brought out to us at the same time so we could ride into Vegas, but I thought it best if we ride in the truck as it would be pretty late getting into Vegas and I didn’t want to be hitting any animals wandering the desert roads.

Harry and I then headed for dinner at the hotel as our first day drew to a close.

[ Day 2 – Death Valley, California to Las Vegas, Nevada ]

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