5/29/2016 Sin City, Memorial Day Weekend, & Freaks on Parade

Thank you to all the veterans (and their families), all that gave some and those that gave all, for your service to our country! And that goes the same to all the first responders nationwide. 

Well, we were planning to take Hwy. 80 east through Nevada on our way to Utah. Mother Nature altered that plan, as she usually does. Snow and ice in the Sierras still causing a mess, Hwy. 80 closed for at least a day, the southern desert route became our new path. We got a chance to stop for a couple of days in Paso Robles to see our new granddaughter Hailey again (oh yeah, and parents Chad and Crissy too). The Vines RV Resort was once again our home for a couple of days but this time, the freeway noise was a bit more noticeable throughout the night. Oh well, what do you do when you have limited choices? 

From Paso Robles it was off to Las Vegas. We took our usual route through the Tehachapi Pass on Hwy. 58 into Barstow where we connected with Hwy. 15 and on to Vegas. We chose a repeat stay at the Main St. Station Casino RV park in North LV, $17 per night not a bad deal for 50A full hookups on level asphalt. Jeanne really wanted hookups for the AC and laundry chores, and the temps were starting to rise making a strong case against boondocking in the area, like at Lake Mead’s Government Wash area. Even though the RV park is just a few blocks from “homeless central” and their dining facility, the casino runs constant security folks on bicycles through the park and in all our stays there we have not encountered any safety concerns in the park.

We spent 4 days in Vegas. Being the extremely  judgmental, untrusting, uncaring, insensitive, unforgiving, non-politically correct person that I am, and much to the chagrin of my lovely wife, I am going to endeavor to describe the two polar opposite worlds that exist in this area, Las Vegas proper (hereinafter referred to as downtown) and North Las Vegas. Downtown is a constant traffic jam in and around massive, decadently extravagant architectural behemoths. There are some “interesting” folks walking around, with the occasional homeless type, but nothing to the extent of North Vegas. North Las Vegas lays claim to “Fremont St.” It is almost like a large indoor mall where you can walk several blocks past shops, bars, casinos, and several stage areas where live bands entertain the masses. In stark contrast to downtown, Fremont St. is jam packed full of derelicts, drunks, tweakers, and freakazoids of all types. Tattoos, body piercings, hair colors & styles only found in an LSD psychedelic flashback, flesh in all manner of dress and undress, and the nearly constant barrage of extremely aggressive beggars is on constant display during the 24 hour “parade of losers” here. (Oh crap, is this the future of America?)???!!!?? An interesting dichotomy, entertaining and disappointing at the same time, to say the least. But the musical entertainment was good. We saw a group called the Tony Marques Band which did some good covers of various rock bands and country groups. And the headliner for this Memorial Day Weekend was at the Outdoor Free Concert series, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Other than the numerous drunken fans, a couple of near-miss fights, and the occasional whiff of green death in the air, Joan Jett put on a great show. I do apologize for the terrible quality of some of the photos here. What can I say, I was having issues!

Now begins the serious weather watching. We are aiming for St. George, UT to begin some more Utah exploration and hoping to make it to Arches and Canyonlands NP’s this time, as long as the temps don’t approach scorching. We shall see…