The day after we saw Jersey Boys we [...]]]> It’s still Anzac Day here in the US, and it’s the last day of our trip. We’re flying home from LAX tonight and have a few hours to spend/waste/use fruitfully until we take the rental car back to its ‘home’ and check in at the airport.

The day after we saw Jersey Boys we walked up to the iconic ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign. Along the way we dropped into New York New York, Luxor and Mandalay Bay, the last ‘megacasino’ on the Strip. We caught the bus back to our hotel and needed an afternoon nap to recover from the walk! In the evening we took another bus to downtown Vegas to see the older casinos and the Fremont Street experience, which is a light show along several blocks of the Fremont St Mall. As it was Easter Saturday, there were plenty of people and lots to see and hear. There were 3 stages along the Mall, with bands playing covers of popular songs. There’s a lot less glitz and sparkle in the Fremont St casinos than in the megacasinos along the Strip. We walked through the Gold Nugget and found an ATM which dispenses gold bullion! A 1 ounce coin or bar was around $1700. So if a punter got lucky in the casino, s/he could convert his winnings straight to gold. I did win another $10 on a 1 cent machine, but took the paper money and left.

We spent Easter Sunday driving from Vegas to Los Angeles, and today we have been packing, throwing stuff out and checking out the competition (Barnes & Noble and Borders). We dipped our toes in the Pacific Ocean at Redondo Beach, so we can now say that we have travelled right across the USA.

So … after one month, 4 time zones, 21 states, temperatures ranging from -8C to 30C, some fantastic meals and a few utterly forgettable ones, accommodation ranging from a 2-person tent to a hotel suite on the Las Vegas Strip (and lots of Motel 6 rooms with free morning coffee until 10am in between), we have added nearly 8000 miles to the red rental car, had a great tip, gained an extra 30 or 35kgs of luggage …. and hopefully not gained any weight personally!

Thanks for travelling with us, it’s been fun.

Feet in the Pacific

We are staying for 3 days in Las Vegas, in a place we have stayed at before, the Jockey Club on the strip. When we stayed here six years ago, it was a couple of buildings with a huge carpark around it, next to the Bellagio Casino.

The Jockey Club in 2007 [...]]]>

We are staying for 3 days in Las Vegas, in a place we have stayed at before, the Jockey Club on the strip. When we stayed here six years ago, it was a couple of buildings with a huge carpark around it, next to the Bellagio Casino.

The Jockey Club in 2007 after we last stayed.

Las Vegas being Las Vegas, therre is always something new being built. We booked into the Jockey Club online, then drove down the strip to find not one, but two Casinos had been built near it.

The Jockey Club, now surrounded by the Cosmopolitan Casino

Its a great place to stay. We have a suite with a kitchen (a bid step up from camping or motel 6), and its right on the Strip.

We had been saving up our pennies. (We are so glad Australia got rid of 1 and 2 cent pieces, they are such a pain), to play on the slots (pokies). However we found pokies don’t take 1 cent pieces (pennies) anymore so we each inserted a dollar note. Greg lost his dollar within 2 minutes, while Judy won $124.

Just part of the Bellagio Flower Garden- all inside

We went into the city centre to view the Morman temples in Temple [...]]]> Salt Lake city is a nice looking city. There are mountains (currently covered in snow) both West and East of the city. Even in the centre of capitalism there are no houses built on the mountains, so its a great view.

We went into the city centre to view the Morman temples in Temple Square.

Morman temple Salt Lake City

We headed South on the I-15 towards Arizona and Nevada. It was cold in Salt lake City, but gradually got warmer as we got further south. By the time we reached Arizona, it was warm, and we had left the snow on the mountains. We had a great drive on the I-15 through Virgin River canyon.

Virgin River Canyon Arizona

The it was into Nevada, and we got our first views of Las Vegas covered in haze. The it was time to hit the peak hour traffice (5pm) driving into Las Vegas. 6 lanes all crawling along.

It was very cold in the morning -8C, with a thick layer of ice on the windscreen of the car that we [...]]]> We stayed in West Yellowstone, just outside of the park. The town is almost completely closed. Even the hotel we stayed in with a few other guests was being renovated around us.

It was very cold in the morning -8C, with a thick layer of ice on the windscreen of the car that we had to scrape off.

what happens when its -8C

cars across the road that look like they have been buried all winter

We headed south through Idaho, through lots of frozen landscape.

filling at a service station, lots o mud, and slush and piles of snow

Eventually we made it to Salt Lake City. We stayed close to the centre of the city.

The reason I was so interested in visiting Little Big Horn, the site of Custers last stand, was this game I played as a kid in [...]]]> We arrived too late at the Little Big Horn National Battlefield monument to see it, so we drove 20km further onto Hardin, intending to return the next day.

The reason I was so interested in visiting Little Big Horn, the site of Custers last stand, was this game I played as a kid in the 1960s/1970s:

Battle of the Little Big Horn game

We drove the 20km back to the Little Big Horn Battlefield memorial. There is a visitors centre with a history of the battle. The most impressive thing is the headstones of Custers soldiers (and indian warriors) scattered around the battlefield marking the place they fell.

Custers last stand. The hill, and the memorial at the top of the hill.

We then headed west on the I-90 towards Billings Montana.  The weather has been cold, and windy, but not much rain (and no snow!). We left the I-90 at Livingston to head south towards Gardiner the entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Along the way we found some Bison wandering over the road:

Bison wandering next to the road (and on the road) on the way to Gardiner Montana

Mountains north of Yellowstone

After our snow problems getting into Colorado, we were wary of getting caught by snow along the route. The shortest route according to google maps took us through Teton Pass, which according to [...]]]> After deciding that since Yellowstone National park opened for spring on Friday morning, we would detour (2,000km) to Yellowstone National park.

After our snow problems getting into Colorado, we were wary of getting caught by snow along the route. The shortest route according to google maps took us through Teton Pass, which according to the webcam was covered in snow. So we decided to go via I-25 north into Wyoming, and then across the I-90 to Gardiner.

Wyoming is even more rural than Kansas.

Big Horn mountains in Wyoming

And it only got colder.

We left Colby in rain, that gradually changed to sleet, and then when we crossed the Colorado border, snow. It was difficult driving along the interstate through snow and slush, having semi-trailers pass throwing up loads of water [...]]]> It was a cold morning in Colby Kansas, about 1 C.

And it only got colder.

We left Colby in rain, that gradually changed to sleet, and then when we crossed the Colorado border, snow. It was difficult driving along the interstate through snow and slush, having semi-trailers pass throwing up loads of water and slush over the windscreen, making it almost impossible to see. An SUV following us slid off the road onto the median strip.

Evenutally we drove through the snow areas to get to completely snow-free areas. We are staying a great hotel we got cheap on hotel.com, in the southern part of Denver.

parked having a break from driving in the snow, colorado

We avoided the toll road to Topeka, travelling on a state road. Once we left Topeka it got very rural with not much around.  Onece we past Salina it got very flat.  Our choices of places [...]]]> The long journey over the midwestern prairie. We drove through Kansas City, which is in Missouri not Kansas.

We avoided the toll road to Topeka, travelling on a state road. Once we left Topeka it got very rural with not much around.  Onece we past Salina it got very flat.  Our choices of places to stay were getting more limited as we got into western kansas, as the towns are much further apart.

Eventually arrived at Colby in the evening. Colby has a population 5000 people and is nearly 1000 metres above sea level.

Windgenerator in Kansas

It was then back on the I-40, which we [...]]]> We left camp in the Smokies, driving through the are north, which was very green and beautiful.  Along the sides of the highway, there were fields of wild daffodils, and many blossom trees – spring has only just started in this part of the US.

It was then back on the I-40, which we last left in the Texas Panhandle (north texas). All was good, we drove through Nashville Tennesse without dropping below 50 mph (80 kph), which tells you two things.

1. That the USA Interstates are very good at getting you through large cities with no congestion.

2. We are not country music fans.

Then it started to rain. In the 19 days we have been in the USA, we have seen two cold fronts sweep across the country. Both times there have been severe thunderstorms and tornados. Yesterday a tornado almost completely wiped out a town in Wisconsin. However this is just normal life in the US. They get severe storms and tornados often.

So we were on the I-24 heading north, and it rained more and more and more. The traffic slowed and slowed. It was hard to see the tail lights of the semi-trailer only 100 metres in front. It was very, very heavy rain. We heard on the radio, some areas received 3 inches of rain (75mm) in only an hour or two. There were tornado watch warnings for Tennesse and Kentucky, areas that we were driving through.

The rain continued on and off (although not so heavy) until we got to Paducah Kentucky.