Yesterday, we drove out to Las Vegas via the high desert route (138-18). A few observations from that trip:
- Caltrans has done a very nice job with rebuilding CA 138. Smooth roadbed and much wider. The same, alas, cannot be said for CA 18, which is still the up-and-down roller-coaster washboard of yore.
- Victorville is having some bad times. The former Holiday Inn at Route 18 and I-15 has gone independent, and I think the Apple Valley Inn changed its name. We ate at Richie’s Diner in Victorville (which was very good — I recalled they used to be in Perris but were replaced by Jennys)
- Up in Baker, we stopped by Alien Fresh Jerky. They were selling invisible alien jerky for $1.50. Amazing what people will buy. There was also a Valero down the road with one of those claw games. As an illustration of the odds, they had rubber-banded $20 and $100 bills to some of the stuffed animals.
- What is it with white or black trucks and aggressive driving? All along I-15 it was these oversized white or black pickup trucks that would zoom up behind you (whatever your speed), and ride your bumper until you got out of the way.
- There are now so few billboards along the way. I have strong memories of all the casinos — but in particular Foxys and the Sahara — advertising all along I-15 once you left Barstow. Now there is nothing, save a few ads for M (a casino on the outskirts of Vegas) and the Orleans.
- Last night we drove along the strip. Again, it is very depressing. On the North end, there are large holes-in-the-ground and empty spaces. No one has yet built where the El Rancho Vegas was, and there are large vacant swatches where the Stardust and Frontier were, and where the water park was. The Sahara is gone and being remodeled into the SLS. I hope the Northern end comes back. In the middle are all the mega-resorts, none with the character of the old places and all overbuilt. Nothing is left of old Vegas save the old hotel portion of the Riviera. I don’t think the newer hotels have the same character. At the southern end there is still the Tropicana, but it and the Mandalay Bay (former Hacienda site) are no longer the end of the strip.
