1982 Las Vegas (8/13/1982)

Friday, August 13, 1982

Awoke to find everything cold and damp from the air conditioner. Left shortly after 7:00, stopping at the little post office to mail rolls of film. Continued driving along CA 62, passing through the town of Joshua Tree, seeing many of the funny little trees, as well as palms and saguaro cacti. We missed one entrance of Joshua Tree National Park, but entered the second. We stopped at the Visitors Center to see plants with labels, and verify that the funny little tree was indeed the Joshua Tree.

Joshua Tree National Park

We drove into the park and did not see very many Joshua trees, but wait! Up ahead we saw two animals trot across the road and as we crept closer, we saw they were a pair of Canis latrans/Coyotes! They ran off into the brush. We followed the loop road back to the town of Joshua Tree, seeing more of the namesake trees, but not as many as we had seen near Death Valley.

Dry lakes and lava

Piles of rocks appeared in the desert-like sections, and one such area was called Hidden Valley where we thought we might take a hike. We saw a man in a car ahead of us stop, get out of the car and stand in the middle of the road. He waved at us, so we stopped, only to then watch him pick up a snake! He had his foot on the snake’s head and put the body and tail end in a brown paper bag. Then he picked up the head end and slid it into the bag. I was totally grossed out and reluctant to hike in this park! So we missed looking for lizards and desert rats promised by the guide books. Back out on CA 62, Kathy did spot some lizards at the side of the road, but they were gone by the time we backed up to see them up close.

We turned north on US 95, towards Nevada.

Amboy Crater

We started traveling up and down rises in the desert, with flash flood warning signs. Dark clouds were gathering all around us and we could see lightning flashes. We were on a crash course with the storm and suddenly we were in it. Fortunately we were near the town of Searchlight and pulled in to the parking lot of a local diner, along with a lot of other people. It was dark with pouring rain, flashing lightning, and booming thunder. A windmill at the diner was twirling wildly.

During a lull, Kathy ran to get her bag of miniature games from the trunk of the car. We played a game of Scrabble, then Parcheesi. It hailed some, then the storm finally began to subside. It was still raining as we continued north on US 95, and there were large puddles and rushing water alongside the road. Sometimes the water flowed over the road, but no real flooding.

As we approached Las Vegas, we passed a car with New York license plates and we all waved vigorously at each other. We consulted the AAA guidebook to find the Orbit Inn on Fremont Street. It was a bit sleazy-looking, but we checked in anyway for $35. The lobby was full of slot machines and we were given a small book of coupons.

Coupon book cover

Coupon book inside cover

Coupon book unused coupon

Coupon book unused coupon

Coupon book back cover

We settled in our room about 17:00 and Kathy called her parents. I checked the telephone book for Pizza Hut.

We cashed in one coupon for $2 worth of nickels, and played them in the motel lobby slot machine until they were gone. Kathy did well and won an Eisenhower dollar for one nickel! But she changed it into quarters, and played the quarters until they were gone.

We walked up Fremont Street, passing casino after casino. We walked through a couple of the bigger ones to hear the sounds of bells ringing, coins jingling, and slot machine levers scringing. We realized we were not on the strip of big name casinos and Kathy asked for directions. We were actually a bit far away, so we returned to the motel to get the car and drive down Las Vegas Boulevard to the Strip, with the familiar names of the Sahara Hotel and Casino, Circus-Circus, Stardust, Sands, Tropicana, and Caesar’s Palace. We circled around in search of the Pizza Hut, but were confused by our inadequate map. We ended up at another Pizza Hut on Maryland Parkway. The waiter was a doofus who was telling us to smile. I had a salad and helped Kathy eat a medium pan pizza with pepperoni, sausage, and mushrooms.

We again drove down, the Strip, now colorful with all the neon signs lighted up.

Las Vegas Strip

Las Vegas Strip

Decided to take in a show, and went to the Stardust to get tickets for their Lido floor show. The tickets were $27 and the show began at 23:00! The ticket included two drinks and a tip, but we had heard you had to tip the maître d’ to get a good seat, and seating began at 21:30. We had an hour and decided to gamble. We used whatever coins we had, and I came out even. Then we changed $2 into nickels to play the slot machines. I hit a little jackpot, getting $6. I kept out $4 and kept playing the rest of the nickels. Since we held on to the $4, we came out even.

We went to get into the show, but were directed to a line forming on the other side of the casino. We saw the sports scores being posted, machines to play poker, a game where you shoot quarters into rakers hoping to cause an overflow into the coin collector, and a machine dice game. After a half hour in this line, we were led back to the entrance, and one by one taken to be seated. Kathy slipped the maître d’ a ten-dollar bill and amazingly, while most people were led to the back of the theater, we were led right down to the front, within a stage ramp and next to the center ramp! Wow!

A girl went around selling cigarettes and peanuts. Another was taking photos of the couples and parties at each table. We declined having a photo taken! The waiter came for our tickets and we ordered our “drinks.” Kathy had a Coca-Cola and I had ginger ale. The waiter brought us two glasses of each, thus our two free drinks.

The show started promptly at 23:00, with part of the ceiling descending with a few topless girls aboard, who participated in a flashy dance. Whoops! That was the only the first of many surprises. Most of the girls were costumed in feathers, huge headpieces, and lots of sequins. The next act was an excellent juggler who even bounced hats off his nose onto his head. He juggled cigar boxes, and his hats, and incorporated a lit cigar. He would kick himself if he goofed.

There was an African-type dance and suddenly a couple elephants were led running around the outer ramp. There was also a ring of water that curtained the stage, and when the water stopped flowing, we had a stage of ice for a skating duet. In one act there was a large waterfall in the back of the stage. An erotic dance with almost naked girls and one guy. A black light/fluorescent show with people in black working large fluorescent puppets.

Next: Utah National Parks.