Category Archives: Travels with Maria

Blogging from the road.

Snowbirding 2017 Postcards: The Las Vegas Strip Walk

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One of my very favorite things to do when I come to Las Vegas is to take a very brisk walk along the Strip, walking through hotels and their shopping areas. I start at one end — normally Mandalay Bay or Luxor — and walk along the west side of Las Vegas Boulevard northbound. If I’m feeling very energetic, I can usually get up to Treasure Island. Then I cross the street and I take an equally brisk walk down the other side. This is not a straight line walk; sometimes I’m on the sidewalk, sometimes I’m on a casino floor, sometimes I’m in a shopping area. I zigzag my way north and then south. I do this early in the day, always before noon, and I usually start around 8 or 9 o’clock in the morning. That’s when Las Vegas is just starting to wake up but not yet fully engaged.

I did that walk today, although I only got as far as Caesars Palace. I like Caesars, although I’ve never stayed there. I always visit it when I come to town. It was kind of neat to see sashes over the statuary proclaiming Caesars 50th anniversary. It’s really an historic hotel casino, mostly because it’s one of the first on the strip. It used to be a very classy joint inside, but now not quite as much. Everything gets tacky over time in Las Vegas.

One of the reasons I didn’t get any further than Caesars is because of time constraints — I was supposed to meet some friends for lunch. The other reason is that I’m simply out of shape and couldn’t keep up that brisk pace for more than what turned out to be a total of 5 miles. Who says hiking needs to be done in the woods?

I did do some shopping in Caesars Forum Shops. I bought a couple of pairs of jeans and a sweater. I also bought dark chocolate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in the Hershey’s store in another casino.  As I mentioned on Twitter, it was a real pleasure to be able to walk through a shopping area without having to stop at every single watch shop or men’s shoe store. That’s one thing about my wasband that I don’t miss it all.

Anyway, these are some of the photos I took along the walk. One of the things I love about Las Vegas is how surreal it is; I think some of these photos illustrate that.

Snowbirding 2017 Postcards: Luxor and Blue Man Group

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After a 5 hour drive from Walker Lake to Las Vegas, which included a harrowing drive on slippery roads near Goldfield, Nevada, where cars were spinning off the road everywhere, I arrived in Las Vegas shortly after 2 PM. With tickets to see the Blue Man Group at 7 o’clock, I thought I had plenty of time to relax, take a shower, get dressed, and go get some dinner before the show. I made dinner reservations for 5:15 and at 4:30, I headed out. That’s when I actually looked at my ticket. It said the show time was 4 PM.  

Shit. 

Long story short: The very nice folks at the box office traded my 4 PM ticket for 7 PM ticket. The amazing thing about this? I still had a third row center seat, on the other side of the aisle from where I would’ve been sitting at 4 o’clock.

So I had dinner and saw the show exactly as I had originally planned. It was a great show and afterwards I got a selfie with one of the cast members. I also took some photos of Luxor before leaving. 

I first stayed at Luxor when it was about a year old and there was still a boat ride that went around the circumference of the pyramid. That was back in Las Vegas’s idiotic family days, when they thought they could build casinos to attract families. Luxor had game arcades in the space currently occupied by restaurants and shows. It was a weird place but I could get a suite in the corner of the pyramid that included a Jacuzzi right in front of the big window. I could soak in the tub and watch the happenings on the Strip far below me while tour helicopters flew by. 

I’ve been to Vegas more times than I can count and I’ve been there by myself most of those times. I seem to enjoy it more on my own, making my own decisions about food and shows and how to spend my time. I don’t gamble and I’m not much of a drinker but I do love to walk through the casinos to see what outrageous new things they’re showing off. I’ll do my casino walk tomorrow morning — it’s a great way to get exercise.

Snowbirding 2017 Postcards: Camping at Walker Lake

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After a very long day of some very boring driving through the high deserts of Oregon and Nevada, I finally approached my overnight destination of Hawthorne, NV. I had only a vague idea of where to stay so I was quite pleased to see the sign for BLM “dispersed camping” on the shore of Walker Lake. I pulled right in. Five minutes later, I was parked on a level (!) spot on a little hill overlooking the lake. Managed to take a few last light photos from my back door. Note the blowing dust — it’s windy here!

Dispersed camping, if you’re not familiar with the term, refers to an open camping area where you can pretty much camp anywhere you like. This is common in the area around Quartzsite, AZ, where I usually spend most of January. Camping like this is usually free and there usually aren’t any services, although this one appears to have pit toilets and a garbage dumpster.

The wind has died down with the disappearance of the sun. One good thing about this spot is that when the sun rises, there’s nothing blocking its warmth from reaching the Turtleback at dawn. 

Snowbirding 2017 Postcards: Page Springs Campground

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A wonderful BLM campground with at least 30 sites along Blitzen River in the Malheur Wildlife Refuge (yes, that one). Deer roam freely at sunrise and sunset. Very few fellow campers. Pit toilets, water, campfire rings, and picnic tables. Incredibly dark skies. And quiet. What else could you want for $8/night?

Photos from this morning — the first day with blue skies since I left Wenatchee on Wednesday. 

Snowbirding 2017 Postcards: Blitzen Creek Hike

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Went for a short 1.5 mile hike on the Blitzen Creek trail. The trailhead was about 100 feet from our campsite at the far end of the Page Springs Campground. The trail winds along Blitzen creek through mostly tall grasses with lots of side trails the take you right to the waters edge. The canyon was still pretty much in the shade when we got started with the sun had reached rhe opposite canyon wall by the time we were on our way back. It was a short hike just to get my blood going before today’s long drive.

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