Hump Day

 

Our last day here was a beautiful cloudless sunny day with a light breeze and cool temperature.  What better way to try out our new bike tires than with a nice ride.  From our rv park we accessed I 515, connected to I 15 south through the heart of Las Vegas.  South of town NV 160 took us west through the beautiful Mojave Desert

toward the southern end of the Spring Mountains.

As we approached the mountains, the desert changed from grass and shrubs to shrubs and Joshua Trees and agave plants.  FYI, Joshua Trees are not really trees but a type of agave.  They were named by Mormon pioneers who thought that they looked like Joshua with his arms raised to heaven.

Las Vegas sits at an altitude of 1781’ feet above sea level.  As we cruised, the road led us upward so gradually that our only real clue was the cooler air temperature.

We “went over the hump” at 5490’,

then gradually down again into the Pahrump Valley—2695’ elevation,

or, as the locals say “over the hump to Pahrump”.

Our ride today filled three purposes.  One was to take one last ride in this area. Another was to use the gift certificate we won when we were staying here last week.  The third was to enjoy one last visit with our friends Nancy and Kirk before we leave this area tomorrow.  We managed to accomplish all three.

The certificate was for this place—the Stage Stop Casino, bar and restaurant.

The restaurant is connected to but closed off from the rest of the building which is a bar with some casino games, some slots, a stage and a dance floor.

Cooling our hot pipes while we wait for our orders.  We first met Kirk and Nancy in Portland, ME at the Elks rv park.  We took a couple of bike rides together. When we parted we promised to look them up the next time we were in Pahrump.  We’re glad we kept that promise.

Nancy and Kirk had plans after lunch, so we said goodbye (for now) and took a small side trip in Pahrump before we headed home.  We took NV 160 to Homestead Rd.  On the way we passed this place, said to be where wealthy Las Vegas casino owner Ted Binion had a secret silver vault.  When He died under suspicious circumstances in 1998, one of people accused of his murder was apprehended digging up the vault where the Nugget now stands.

At the west end of Homestead we did a drive-by of the famous Chicken Ranch,

and its next-door neighbor, The Resort at Sheri’s Ranch, just to say we did. Bordellos are legal in the county that Pahrump is in. Prostitution is legal in Nevada — but only in counties with under 700,000 residents.

We pulled a uey, headed back to NV 160 and headed out of town.

The desert is dry, but it does get rain.  When it does, it tends to flash flood.

Again the gradual rise,

through the pass,

where there are trees in the high desert,

and gradually back down

to Las Vegas.

As we crawled through the afternoon traffic on I15, we had time to appreciate the highway art in south Las Vegas.

Metal sculptures of mules,

snakes and lizards,

and bighorn sheep.

Back home we tucked in for our last night here.

Beautiful view from our back door of the sunset and the new moon.

Off to Arizona tomorrow