Nevada-Friends visiting Las Vegas-State 14 of 49 on our RV Adventure-Part 1

If you are a first-time reader, welcome to Lora and Erics RV Adventure Blog. You can read about us at http://www.LoraandEricsRVAdventure.com. We started in December 2017 with a goal to complete 49 states before heading home to North Carolina.

Welcome to Nevada. Nevada is defined by its great expanses of desert, and by the 24-hour casinos and entertainment for which its largest city, Las Vegas, is famed. Las Vegas is home to elaborate theme hotels and luxury resorts that line its main thoroughfare, the Las Vegas Strip. Average temperatures is 88° F during the day and 60° F in the evening.

The time from Williams, AZ to Las Vegas, NV is 3 hrs. 17 minutes (214 miles). The trip is nearly all highway. It is amazing to see the rise in temperature from Williams to Las Vegas.

The scenery changes dramatically as we approach the Desert. The A/C in the truck works overtime as the heat punches through the windows.

Our original plan was to stay at Silver View RV Resort, 1600 Silver Creek Rd, Bullhead City, AZ. The distance from Las Vegas was about 1 hr 30 minutes. We have friends in town in two separate times and Lora has a Periodontist checkup and cleaning with Dr Jeffery Wang, DDS, I felt it would be easier if we were closer. After searching Campgrounds near Las Vegas and Parks, I found Riviera RV Park, 2200 Plams St, Las Vegas, NV. Our reservation is from May 6th through May 16th.

The reviews for Riviera RV Park were mixed, but what appeared positive was the campground was under new ownership since December and the more recent reviews bragged about the hard work the new owners are doing to improve the image. When arriving it is apparent there is change occurring. The RV Park is about 2/3’s full-time residents. Most are retired elderly or mid-aged working adults. There are two young women down from us that work at the campground with the bathrooms, pool, laundry, painting, and cleaning.

We arrived around noon, so we had plenty of time to get setup and relax before making plans with our friends Kay and Linda. Kay and Linda arrived last Thursday for 5 nights. They are here for the renewal of vows Wedding of Linda’s nephew and wife. It just happened we were going to be in the area at the same time.

We text Kay and Linda to announce we were here. We did not want to impede on any of their plans. They agreed to have me pick them up and I drive them back to the camper for a short time. This would also be the first time they seen the new camper and truck.

The distance from the campground to the Las Vegas Strip is less than 5 miles. A quick 11 minutes, I was at Circus Circus Resort and Casino picking Kay and Linda.

Bella B was so excited to see Linda and Kay. She goes crazy happy whenever she sees someone she remembers before we left for our adventure. We sat outside the camper and they had a couple beers and snacks. About an hour later I drove them back. Instead of going to Circus Circus Las Vegas, they wanted me to drop them off near the Golden Nugget in Old Las Vegas. Downtown Las Vegas is party central. Music was blaring, there was an area blocked off full of people and lights. We agreed to meet again for Brunch the next morning at Circus All You Can Eat Buffet.

We ended the evening speaking with the Maggie and Brenna down from us for a short time. They are from Nebraska and Colorado. Maggie is going to school to be an electrician. She also does welding and carpentry. The weather for the next few days is supposed to be record heat for Las Vegas.

The next day we text Kay to determine what time should we meet. We agreed to 10:00 am.

We parked at Circus Circus Self-Parking. Self-Parking free for guests and visitors. To park closer to the middle of the strip, free parking areas, include Treasure Island, The Fashion Show Mall, and the Cosmopolitan. Always check Google to see if they are still offering free parking. Taxi, Lyft and Uber is also a great way to travel.

Circus Circus Las Vegas is a hotel, casino, and RV park located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. Circus Circus features circus acts and carnival type games daily on the Midway. Circus Circus is the largest permanent big top in the world. The Lucky The Clown marquee at the entrance was constructed in 1976. Circus Circus was opened on October 18, 1968. The brunch at Circus Buffet was around $17.95 per person. There is an omelet station, breakfast line, salad, fruit, desert, Mexican taco, ham carving station, and minimal lunch items. The food was ok for a buffet. We took a couple of pictures together and after Breakfast we said our good-byes and wished them well for the remainder of the trip.

The temperature highs are supposed to be near 100°F. We drove from one end of the strip to the other end. We stopped just after the Welcome to Vegas Sign to find an attraction.

We searched Google and TripAdvisor for an attraction near Las Vegas. I see Seven Magic Mountains. Internationally renowned Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone’s Seven Magic Mountains is a large-scale site-specific public art installation located near Jean Dry Lake and Interstate 15, approximately ten miles south of Las Vegas, Nevada. Comprised of seven towers of colorful, stacked boulders standing more than thirty feet high.

The exhibition opened May 11, 2016 and was originally scheduled to be on view for two years.

Due to the incredible success of Seven Magic Mountains since its opening, artist Ugo Rondinone has expressed a strong desire to explore ways to keep the artwork on view at its current site. The Producers are currently working on an extension plan that would enable Seven Magic Mountains to remain on view for several years into the future. While the plan progresses, they can state with certainty that, at a minimum, the installation will remain on view through the end of 2018.

There are several dozen visitors at the site taking photos next to the rocks. The boulders are stacked in 7 columns. Each stone is painted green, yellow, orange, pink, blue, black, purple, red, white, and gray. It is a short visit, but most unique and a hidden gem. We hope the project becomes a permanent attraction if the boulders color is maintained.

We punched in attractions nearby once again and found Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. We headed in the direction. We were getting low on gas, under 100 miles, but felt we were ok to pass through Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

We used our National Park Interagency Pass to enter. We stopped by the Visitors Center first. There were warning signs to drink plenty of water. The Red Rock Canyon is amazing. The temperature at Red Rock Canyon is about 10°F less than Downtown Las Vegas. The 90°F was still very hot. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is a 13-mile loop with many stops for viewing, hiking, climbing and more.

We stopped at the first stop. I wanted to walk down the hill, Lora did not want to, so she went back to the car. I walked down to a spot where people take pictures on the rocks. The red rocks and patterns were amazing to see. To see some boulders balancing on edges is amazing. I would love to have time to hike one day. I headed back to the truck and Lora was in the truck running the engine. The fuel mileage shows 58 miles before empty. The fuel gauge is nearly on “E”. Even though the loop is only 13 miles, the speed is slow. Seeing the mileage drop down to 52 with still 10 miles to go, I decided to lets just drive through it. We can take our time when we take Denise and Jackie later in the week. It will also be cooler later in the week.

After we got out of the park and headed to find gas the mileage improved back to 56 miles before empty. We stopped at the nearest gas station. Paid $3.36 per gallon. We stopped at Autozone to pickup some window film to cover the sun roof window. The heat is intense through the roof.

We went to Walmart next to pick up food. Then headed back to the campground.

The next day was expected to be near 100°F. Not yet adapted to the temperatures we decided to relax and stay inside all day. The temperature high for Las Vegas reached 99°F.

Our third full day was expected to be even hotter. Highs were expected to be near 105°F. I wanted to find places to park for free near closer to the middle of the strip. Treasure Island and The Cosmopolitan claim to have free self-parking for guests and visitors. The Cosmopolitan was free based up to May 11th. We stopped at Treasure Island Self-parking.

We walked through the shopping area on the way to the Strip entrance. A woman from a makeup store enticed Lora to take a few makeup sample. After that she was sitting in a chair sampling some facial cream, each time doing only one side of her face then doing a comparison of each side of her face in the mirror. She fell in love with the difference and bought $299.00 in revitalization cream for the face and neck. We had the package held while we walked around the strip.

The outside temperatures were hot. Lora and I had both one bottle of water. We walked to the Venetian across the street.

We stopped at a gallery to look at some stunning pictures for sale.

We then walked around the shopping area before heading back out.

We walked towards the Bellagio.

Our goal for today was to see The Conservatory at the Bellagio. The heat was intense outside. We walked down the street to Bellagio. It was nice to feel the A/C from the shops off the street with the door open. Once we got to the Bellagio we followed the signs to The Conservatory. The flowers and designs were amazing to see. The also have small birds in cages in the Japanese Garden display. The area is small, but well worth the trip to the Bellagio.

We headed back toward Treasure Island. Lora was getting slower and slower from the head her hip. We also needed to eat. We walked through The Flamingo and visited the duck, humming bird and flamingo court yard for some photos.

We walked out to one of the cross streets to the strip where there were restaurants and shade.

We wanted to eat light, so we seen a hog dog shop named Haute Doggery. Lora ordered a Detroit Coney Dog and fries and I ordered a Steak and hot dog loaded with cheese fries. Also had a class of wine and beer. Total cost was close to $40.00. Lora was not impressed with her hot dog. I had plenty of me steak and toppings. The cheese fries were good too. The food was not worth the cost in our opinion.

We had to walk past the Venitian and cross the street to get to Treasure Island on the other side. We missed the cross way and had to pass Treasure Island on the other side to a above head cross walk that takes you into The Fashion Show mall. The heat was brutal. Lora had to stop twice. I gave her my bottle of water to drink. We stopped at the mall for a few minutes before heading back out to cross over a side street to get to Treasure Island. We stopped by the Make up Shop to get our package. Lora once again was in the seat getting a free facial with more expensive products starting at $4,000.00. By the time he was finished the cost had reduced to $1,500. He tried hard, but I was not going to bite. We took our package and heading home. The final high temperature for the day was a record high of 104°F.

The evenings cool down fast and we decided to take a dip in the pool. The pool was too cold, so we sat in the hot tub. The hot tub felt so good. There is a cold front moving in from Colorado that will help to bring temperatures back to the normal highs for the next 4 days. Just in time for Denise and Jackie to arrive tomorrow.

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