The McKenzie's Official world tour site
# Friday, 13 February 2009
LAS VEGAS TO DEATH VALLEY TO LOS ANGELES!

We found a friendly campground called Riviera RV Park in Las Vegas, Nevada.  As soon as we went into reception to check in, the lady joked with us saying that it was not possible to stay there, as our steering wheel was on the wrong side (poor Nessie!)

There was a lovely pool there so the children took advantage once more and met up with some new friends. In the evening Phil fell asleep in the chair outside and he was surprised that when he woke up a couple of hours later -the sky was lighter than when he had gone to sleep! The city and lights of Las Vegas had come alive for the evening shift!

The next day we took the bus into town which made life very easy and we went down ‘Las Vegas Boulevard’ affectionately known as ‘The Strip’ (or Casino alley!)  in the centre of Sin City!

“Circus Circus” was a great place to get a taste of this life, as it allowed children into some sections and had a variety of games for them to do. There were even live circus acts every half hour or so, which showcased a variety of circus talents, from unicycles to limbo dancing! Phil just had to chance his luck at the big time (where the children were not even allowed to linger) – a very new experience for him! He was playing for 200,000 U.S Dollars and a Ford G.T Mustang car (in red!) I was concerned at what Phil thought he was going to do with it – after he had won it! But alas -not to be this time although Phil was quite happy after a good few hours of entertainment –he came away 49 bucks up-what a result!!

We had a fantastic time at XTREME MAGIC starring Dirk Arthur at the Tropicana. Without giving too much away, this show involving Dirk and his team of female dancing assistants producing a variety of tigers from out of nowhere and then a helicopter onto the stage! We left the show dumb-struck and confused as the explicable was no longer explicable! This was indeed extreme magic, not to be tried at home but definitely recommended to go and see! I don’t think that any of us will be satisfied with a card trick again! This makes us realise once more how lucky we all are to be having many extreme experiences on Macswayround.  It was interesting and encouraging to be able to watch a TV clip that showed us how these animals are not just used as a tool to make a show. Dirk talked about how he is dedicating his life to these monstrous cats and is involved in a number of breeding programmes and projects around the world to help promote the ever deceasing number of these creatures in the wild. During this show we also got to see the only ‘Ligar’ in the States (so we believe)– and he is half lion and half tiger! What a combination!

We tackled the busy streets by sitting on the bus and went ‘Downtown’ to see the Fremont Street Experience! The light shows run at regular intervals throughout the evening on the biggest screens in the world and neon lights shone all around us as we wandered through the street. We saw the Neon Cowboy that has become a famous symbol of Las Vegas and a motorbike stunt show called the Thunder Dome - where as many as three bikes whizzed around a ball cage, only narrowly missing each other at any one time!

We needed a day to recover from the buzz and fast pace of life around Las Vegas! So when our batteries were re-charged we took off across the Nevada desert and mountains over to the Death Valley National Park. We travelled through the Armargosa Desert and were intrigued by Area 51 along our journey too.

We camped at Texas Spring in Death Valley and the children set to work collecting information to become Junior Rangers for a third time! Death Valley is known as the hottest, driest, lowest spot in North America. As its name suggests lives have been lost here due to the extreme summer heat.  Its harsh desert climate results from a rain shadow effect created by mountains which are uplifted to the west.  We saw the view from Zabriskie Point which was a colourful landscape of gullies and mud hills at the edge of the Funeral Mountains. Badwater is a salt flat land (5 miles across) and at 282 feet below sea level, is the lowest spot in the Western Hemisphere.

Death Valley has more abandoned mines than any other National Park, all of which remain dangerous today. There were warnings, especially for Keane Wonder mine which was one of Death Valley’s most successful gold mines. So much rock was mined there that the entire area became unstable and began to collapse and there is also signs of toxic waste from cyanide and other toxic chemicals which were used to extract the gold from the ore. This area is closed to the public until it can be made safer as breathing this contaminated air is not a wise idea.

It was good that the children had to work hard answering questions about all the other National Parks that we have been to so far – to be awarded their 3rd Junior Ranger badge! We drove out of the valley with the China Lake Naval Weapons Centre each side of us and maybe we were unwittingly a moving target as fighter planes soared directly over Nessie!  We met a young German guy who asked Phil for help with his inverter. Stephan was a nocturnal photographer who will wait as long as it takes to get the correct photographic conditions (and we may be talking days here). We saw some examples of the superb quality that this high standard of patience and equipment can produce and we wish him luck in his current project.

We stayed at the Paramint Spring RV Park and Phil was taken back as this was the first place that he could not hear a dawn chorus. However, this was compensated by being able to hear and capture on camcorder a pack of coyotes as they voiced spine tingling howls across the valley. We continued our journey to Victorville, California.

FACTOIDS-

·         Las Vegas translates to “The Meadows” in Spanish.

·         Las Vegas gained its name in the 1800’s when this green valley and desert spring waters offered a respite for tired travellers who were making the journey along the Old Spanish Trail on their way to California.

·         In 1905, 110 acres of land was auctioned and in 1911 this was incorporated into a city-Downtown Las Vegas.

·         In 1931, Navada legalised casino gambling and liberalized the state divorce law by reducing residency requirements to six weeks.

·         These changes impacted on Fremont Street as now it was no longer a dusty whistle stop -but a haven for fun- seekers!

·         In 1959 the famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign was created by resident Betty Willis.

·         The Las Vegas Strip is an All-American Road, a prestigious federal designation awarded to roads which are recognised nationally and internationally for their outstanding and unique qualities!

·         The Strip is the only scenic byway in the world that has the distinction of being as scenic and unique at night as it is by day!

·         During the middle of the 20th century Las Vegas continued its march towards becoming the gambling capital of the world.

·         Fremont Street introduced the use of Neon lights and today this ‘Glitter Glunch’ has the largest light show screen in the world!

 

·         The extreme conditions of Death Valley have attracted hardy, adaptable, and sometimes eccentric human inhabitants!

·         Along the 27 mile stretch known as the ‘racetrack’ at Death Valley-rocks mysteriously slide along the dry lakebed, leaving behind long tracks for visitors to ponder on!

·         Walter Scott – a western cowboy known as ‘Death Valley Scotty’ – claimed that an elaborate Spanish-style mansion was built by gold from his fictitious mine. In reality, it was the 1920’s vacation home of his wealthy friends! Today it is known as Scotty’s Castle!

·         Throughout history and still today the Timbisha Shoshone people live sustained in Death Valley by their ‘valley of life’.

·         In 1904 gold was found and this sparked the last American gold rush. It drew 10,000 people to Death Valley!

·         In 1994, in order to protect its extraordinary natural and cultural landscape, Congress made Death Valley a National Park, enlarged its size and designated most of it as wilderness.

 

WILDLIFE HITS-

·         Coyote-heard and seen outside Nessie!


Friday, 13 February 2009 08:11:58 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [0]  USA

Comments are closed.