Alaskan Trip Journal

Date: Monday, August 4, 2003

Starting Location: Long Beach, CA

Destination: Las Vegas, NV

Trip Description: Today, we began our trek eastward. Our first task was to return the convertible. After that, we headed out of Los Angeles, toward the Mojave Desert. It began to really heat up as we crossed the mountains that surround the LA area. The desert is a really interesting place. We took the drive gently, because we didn't want to overheat the engine. There were two long uphill sections on I-15 between Riverside and the Nevada state line. We saw a few cars that decided to quit on the side of the road. Luckily, we didn't join them.

We pulled into the Las Vegas Oasis RV Resort for the night. After showering and cooling down a bit, we took the campground shuttle bus to The Strip (Las Vegas Boulevard). We enjoyed dinner at the Aladin Casino, then played the slots. I won $4 on the nickle slots. It was fun. We left the casino and walked south, back to the Tropicana where the shuttle would pick us up. The streets are full of people. The crowd consists of tourists and Jerry Springer fans, if you know what I mean. There were plenty of people handing out flyers and personal advertisements. It is a carnival atmosphere, much like the state fair.

Laura and I returned to the RV at 10. We watched the news and weather. Tomorrow's weather looks to be windy with a high near 104°. Today's high temperature in Las Vegas was about 104° also. It was probably hotter in the Mojave Desert. For me, it's not terribly uncomfortable. There is no humidity, so you aren't dripping all over the place. Laura is not as comfortable with the heat. Hopefully there won't be too many more days like this.

Our goal tomorrow is to see the Grand Canyon. We're not sure how far we will drive beyond that. We'll just try to stay cool.

Photos:


We avoided this exit.

somewhere in the Mojave Desert

a dry lake near the Nevada state line

Joe almost hits the jackpot.

Laura takes a spin.

The Strip on a hot August night
Click for Las Vegas, Nevada Forecast
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