Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Viva Las Vegas/Hoover Dam!
















After a couple of weeks of a semi-drought the rain has returned...just in time to save my browning grass. Yesterday we got a few showers, then last night the thunder storms hit with a vengeance...not as bad as Wrigley Field in Chicago got hit, but we received plenty of rain, and more is on the doorstep. The good news is, by Saturday, and the Bar Stool Open, things look real nice, upper 70s and sunny...hopefully the weather folks are correct on this prediction.




For more on the Bar Stool Open click here:

Photos from the fun, coming next week.

March 2003....towing to Las Vegas.
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When I purchased the Jeep Wrangler in late 2002, I planned on towing it behind the RVs I was to deliver...but planned on limiting myself to 1000 miles...this would usually include Florida, the Carolina's, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Texas...and those locations shorter. Anybody, at any age, that has ever rode in a JW for more than a few hundred miles in one sitting, knows they can beat you up. Thus the 1000 or so mile limit. Well I've broke that limit on several occasions....the first time was in late winter of 2003, when I decided to tow the Jeep behind a BT to Las Vegas...why? Hell if I know....

I decided to fore go the shorter trip across the Rockies, basically because there was still plenty of snow in the mountains....so once again, I took the trip across the southwest, then up to Vegas from Kingman, Arizona. This adds a hundred miles or so to the trip, but usually(but not always) the weather is less of a factor.


I made it to Las Vegas, dropped off the RV, stayed the night at my usual haunt, The Gold Coast Hotel and Casino, which is located off the strip. I like the GC, usually reasonably priced, and besides, if I arrive with time on my hands, I just park the RV in the lot, live in it a couple of days and the lot is free....they treat you right at the Gold Coast...and I have probably won more than I've lost there....although I am not a big gambler....I limit myself to $100 a day in loses...my first trip there I won over $900 the first night at the Black Jack table....and still am on the plus side from that trip over 5 years ago.

I usually fly back from Vegas, because the flights are usually reasonable...this time however, I wanted to "see the sights" and see how I would hold up driving the Jeep 2100 miles back to Celina. All-in-all, the trip back was a bear....but I made it....the long stretches got me off the I-40 area, and I did get to see some nice areas of Arizona and New Mexico....as well as the Ozark area of Missouri. At the top of the blog are some photos of Hoover Dam, still a marvel in my eyes and mind....and my home in Vegas, the Gold Coast.

Sam is back from Alberta, Canada. Hal made it back from Dallas, loaded down with a player from the NHL Dallas Star's belongings...he's headed for New York(to drop this guy's stuff off), Boston, then to New Jersey...he hopes to be back by Saturday AM....he is our 4th player in this year's Bar Stool Open....hopefully will stay sober enough to get some nice shots of the event....this being the 8th year.



back later>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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photos-photos of the Gold Coast sign and a view from the room. Lake Mead and Hoover Dam, and Mead and some Mountain Goats I saw along the way.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad things are going well up there. I envy you the rain, we could sure use it.

BRUNO said...

I had an "old" '82 CJ-7 many years ago myself. LOVED the hell outta it! Even if that particular model had a few very weak points, the worst of which was that easily-broken rear axle---not to mention the rear short-shaft issues of the transfer case! Nothing a conversion-kit couldn't fix!

But I especially liked the fact I could park it---almost literally!---anywhere, in any position, and come back eight hours later, squeeze in, and leave through a slot about HALF the width of a standard car or truck. Gained me more than one head-start from a crowded parking area!

Yeah, the RIDE was horrendous! Very little gross vehicle weight means very little spring movement, as well! And if summer was HOT, then winter was friggen' COLD, times TWO!

But I'd do it again, in a heartbeat...!

PRH said...

Axle still breaks Bruno/but the transfer case problems are a thing of the past.

The rain has been good hermit, but not too much, which is the way I like it.

Buck said...

Nice pics, Pat.

Shrinky said...

My goodness you guys sure do get around, don't you? It's been torrential rain here all week long (sigh) more forecast for tomorrow.

I'm not much of a gambler, tho' I'm sure I could be if I allowed myself to be. My first visit to a casino I won at roulette. I grabbed my winning and headed for the door. Except it wasn't my winnings, it was the "dolly" they place on your number to signal a win.. I had them chasing me all around the tables to get it back again! (Blush)

BRUNO said...

Put a Dana-conversion axle under there---that'll stop the breaks!

Of course, it'll also stop about one-months' worth of income, as well...!

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