Day Seven: Las Vegas
A chance to have a lie-in and lazy day for some, but we were
up early as usual for a trip out to the Hoover Dam. Made sense to get up there before the day got
too hot, and it was a sight that had to be seen, but a little bit of extra
sleep would have been nice.
OK so I’m a sucker for a massive feat of engineering and
this sure fits that bill, but everyone who took the trip came away
impressed. It is a mahoosive lump of
concrete holding back water when you come down to it. OK, lots of little lumps stuck together (fact
gleaned from the museum bit – if it had been poured as one large block the core
would still not have set). That lump,
though, is just wonderful. Lots of
totally unnecessary architectural details and flourishes (Art Deco ones at that
because of when it was built) that add nothing to the functionality but make
the thing gosh darn pretty to look at.
It was also interesting to see just how much the current drought is
affecting Southern California – the water level in Lake Mead is visibly low and
flow through the dam was obviously nowhere near what they are capable of.
The bridge across the river from the Hoover Dam, just to be a confusing picture of approximately the right place!
The busyness of the last week caught up with us after this
though, and following a brief walk around the overbridges crossing the roads by
our hotel (OK, I wanted to get some nice high level bus photos, so sue me!) we
crashed out for the afternoon. A lovely refreshing
sleep but I am sure many would consider it a total waste of time in Vegas. We wanted to be ready for the evening though.
Another optional excursion beckoned – this time for a show
and a meal. We hadn’t really thought
about whether to see a show or not before we flew, knowing there was this
option on the trip anyway but not wanting to commit until we had more of a feel
for the place. A couple of folks from
the coach went off to see other things – some to Rock Of Ages, and one couple
to see Celine Dion – but once more this was a trip that appealed to most of
us. And what we saw was the Ratpack
tribute night over at the Rio. Excellent
sound-alikes (and not too bad on the looks either) recreating the feel of the
heyday of the crooners, with some slightly odd updates. That jarred a bit to me – just when you are
getting the Sinatra vibe he cracks a joke about video poker or Viagra. I felt it should have been left as a paean to
the ‘50s. Still good, just a bit
odd. This was followed by the Rio buffet
which I believe is billed as the biggest in town and certainly had enough
variety to keep us trying more dishes than was safe for the waistline. Burp.
Day Eight: Las Vegas to Visalia.
Another day basically given over to travel, but with some
interesting stops along the way; the first of these being the “ghost town” of
Calico. This had been “improved” with a
paved main street which kind of killed the atmosphere for me, but accessibility
has to be considered these days. And it
was possible to wander off down the old dirt tracks to really see the way it
used to be. Add in a couple of cowboys
wandering around and some tasty pancakes in the saloon and it made for an
enjoyable enough diversion.
There was another truck stop visit (where there was a chap
selling fantastic fruit) but mostly the day was spent driving through the
desert. We passed some amazing solar
power stations and also Edwards Airforce Base (but at an extreme distance so
nothing to see) but nothing really sticks in the mind.
Our hotel that night was in Visalia and was once again very
nice and comfortable. We had dinner in
the town at a sports bar (hilarious, given my total lack of interest in nearly
all sport, but excellent steak). And
that was that really. Probably the least
thrilling day of the holiday.
Day Nine: Visalia to Modesto
Of course what that sub-header doesn’t mention is the via
point… In this case Yosemite National
Park - another absolutely beautiful highlight of the trip for me. A long and winding drive in and out again to
reach the main scenic spots and visitor centre, so inevitably not as long at
the heart of the valley as we might have wished for, but everywhere you looked
something stunning caught the eye. While
we had a sandwich we were plagued by friendly squirrels and also blue Jays
which was interesting, and then we had a wander up to the falls and through the
woods. Really peaceful (despite the
crowds in places) and the redwoods are a joy to behold. So big and yet fitting in to their
surroundings perfectly. Add this to the
list of places I’d like to go back to.
Modesto was odd. Most famous for being where George Lucas grew up and inspiration for American Graffiti (although it wasn’t filmed there as the town had changed too much in the intervening years). I had a post-arrival wander down to the bus station as it was over the road from the hotel, but otherwise not much to see. We ate in the hotel restaurant (perfectly OK) and that was about that.
A bus in Modesto!
