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Las Vegas Road Trip

Lose Yourself in the Las Vegas Experience

by Don Weberg

Losing touch with reality is an art form in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sparkly lights, glowing neon tubes, and mega hotels each with their own unique themes make Vegas the sensory overload capitol of the Northern Hemisphere, and let you put everything "reality" behind you.

While Vegas in itself is another world, just outside the chaos is another world still. Serene deserts, silent canyons, and desolate roads span for miles outside the city, and lend an almost alien feel. For split seconds, visitors might feel they're the only people in the world. Even within the city limits, buried in the noise of construction and newness, you'll find little nuggets of another time, a time when Vegas was actually a small town. Such is the setting behind our jaunt to the other city that never sleeps.

The idea was to locate some lesser-known locales while hitting a few of the hot spots in the process. Feeling the need for speed, comfort, security, and fun to put Southern California behind us, Mercedes-Benz was asked which car they felt would best suit the road trip. Their response was an absolute bull's eye, a brilliant silver 2004 C320 Sport Coupe.

Las Vegas Road Trip

Small, nimble, comfortable, and above all solid, the little Mercedes-Benz made the trip infinitely enjoyable. Well-mannered, the car never missed a beat, and was extremely predictable. Notable were the seats and road noise. Substantially silent is the only way to describe it, and for a trip that usually leaves people having to stretch and moan a little when they exit the car, the C320 buckets supported the occupants well enough that the 5 hours behind the windscreen went unnoticed, according to the body. Couple those attributes to the fact that it used just over a ½ tank of gas to get from Orange County to Las Vegas, it's got to be one of the best road cars ever.

Along the way, the town of Calico called to us. A real-live ghost town, remnants of buildings are all that remain of what used to be the main street of a bustling town. The eeriest part of the town is not the whistling wind, or overbearing aloneness despite the handful of tourists roaming around, but the cemetery. Flat out creepy, the section for the deceased was bordered by a circular rock wall with wrought iron fencing atop that. Several rough stones protrude from the earth beyond that, arousing the curiosity of who lay beneath. What brought them to their demise? How old were they?

Although entry was restricted, the cemetery offered such a close link to a past; somehow the hundred or so years didn't seem so distant. It was a surreal place, and one deserving of another trip. To visit the town beyond the little guard shack costs $12 for two people, but the eerie feeling is free.

Throughout our mid-November jaunt, dark skies loomed overhead, dropping light showers on occasion. With the exception of the ocean, nowhere on earth is the sky so plainly set than the desert. With nothing but everlasting flatness sprinkled with sage, cacti, and stones leading to distant looming mountains and lofty hills somewhere in between. It's the ultimate alone. The sky sets the tone of the stage. Through cloud breaks beams of light create an almost religious scene in the expanse. Couple that with the silence broken only by the winds and it becomes more than mystical, it becomes almost supernatural.

Back on the 15, billboards slap you with reality, advertising everything from food and lodging to Wayne Newton and The Fab 5, and of course, casinos, casinos, casinos. After all, isn't that the main reason people head to Vegas? Perhaps. But, those semi-forgotten trails of Calico bring to reality that there must be more to this glimmering town than meets the eye.

Formerly known as Stateline, Primm is the first place you can hit the slots and tables. What used to only be two casinos, Whiskey Pete's and Cactus Kate's each occupying opposite sides of the highway, has grown into a rather large cluster of hotels, casinos, restaurants, and a roller coaster. There's even a tram going from one side of the 15 to the other, allowing guests to visit both areas during a stop. Primm is also the place where Bonnie and Clyde's death car calls home. Another eerie link to an eerie time.

Within 40 minutes from Primm, you're entering the "zone" of casinos and hotels lining the right side of the highway. From here you can see what the new Vegas is all about. At night especially, when the city is lit to the hilt, coming into town is overwhelming. It starts by ascending a hill whose crest is actually glowing. The glow is from all those lights some 20 more miles into the desert. The best exit, arguably, is Sahara. It's way at the top of Las Vegas Boulevard, also known as The Strip, and it lets you travel south along the boulevard to see everything The Strip has to offer. But even seasoned Vegas-goers will tell you that when you think you've seen everything there is to see, there's something else. Take it in slowly, and enjoy it.

This trip, we stayed at a rather hidden hotel on The Strip called The Algiers. Built in the early 1947, The Algiers is a reminder of how Vegas used to be. The pink brick construction, period-fashioned lobby and lounge scream old school, and it's awesome. There's something to be said for staying at a quiet place like The Algiers knowing that directly across the street is Circus-Circus, and that south of that is everything else Vegas has become famous for; Mandalay Bay, Treasure Island, The Luxor, MGM Grand, and so on, all waiting for tourists and trustees of the odds to pass through their doors and try their hand at Lady Luck. Something The Algiers doesn't profess in, gambling. We found the hotel to be exactly what was needed, a clean, quiet place without the touristy hustle-bustle, without the noise of slots and people all over. If you need that, it's to your left a few blocks south.

Visiting the new mega palaces of greed is beyond awesome. The Venetian proved to be absolutely wonderful, never failing the eye with candy at some point or another. Complete with canals running throughout and gondolas with singing chauffeurs, it's a great place for the romantics. The Sahara was just as exciting to wander through, with tons of eye candy and places to shop, it rivals the Venetian but with a slightly more relaxed atmosphere. However, if you're looking for the utmost in luxury, accommodations, and just want to be taken care of it seemed Mandalay Bay was the hands-down winner. The priciest place we could find on The Strip, MB is striking inside and out. The initials fit, matching the striking vehicle which brought us here.

Motels of Vegas' past are sprinkled among the glitter towers, often times lost due to their size. Like The Algiers, the La Concha Inn and Glass Bottom Motel screamed 1950's fad. With a pseudo-futuristic approach to hotelism, they both looked like George Jetson designed them. The La Concha front office is a pod that looks something like a massive, deformed bunt cake, while the Glass Bottom offers a pool built above ground with little windows poking through the concrete allowing inner water viewing. At one point in time, both places had their heyday, now long past both sit abandoned, a fence around their structures. Like so much of Vegas' vast history, they too will probably be torn down, making way for another mega casino.

When the lights have lost their glitter, and the magic of the casinos has subsided, it's time to venture out beyond The Strip. Time to explore what the town isn't really known for at all. Lake Mead was the first stop.

Traveling to Lake Mead must be similar to an outing on Mars. About an hour from the city's innermost workings sets a gorgeous lake of blue within a community of red canyons and cliff walls. During the summer it must appear as a mirage across the massive desert. Again, like Calico, that feeling of alone sets in. The two-lane blacktop feels as though it's just been built and you're lucky to see three cars in an hour of travel. Going deeper and deeper down the highway you'll notice on the map there are several points to stop off near the lake, in fact, just at the entrance to the State Park is a new set of hotels certain to offer the weary traveler the absolute privacy needed. Somewhere there is a town being developed, but we were hard pressed to find it. Some people say the deserts can be as tricky as the Bermuda Triangle. Maybe. But it's certainly gorgeous, and having a car like the C320 made it that much more enjoyable.

After a few hours of travel, the gentle roads lead out of the park, and take you through some towns so spread out you can't even be certain there's an actual town. But, sure enough, there is. Two, in fact, on the way back to the 15 South. The nice thing about being in the deserts near Vegas, the 15 is the heart and soul freeway for the town. So, as long as you can get back to it, you'll be fine.

Another point of travel is the little known range called Mount Charleston. Just north-west of The Strip, Mount Charleston offers people the chance to visit some pine trees, something not usually associated with the deserts, but rising several thousand feet above the floor, it's definitely not the desert. Many roads wind through up the mountain, each with their own personality and flair, but very foresty nonetheless. Like Mead, Charleston was a great place to let the little Mercedes stretch its legs and show off its natural ability to perform in curves, up and down hills, and in the straights.

These are just a few places off the obvious Vegas path that might make the trip a little more interesting, a few dollars cheaper, and maybe even more memorable. Check it out.