Three states and a strip

As usual, I got up early to get going south. Next stop : Las Vegas. Salt Lake city was just a stop, but I did some walking just to see if there was anything there to look at. As I walked, I noticed a familiar sound, and turned to see what it was. Yup. A tram moved along the street. That's a first. Except in San Franscisco. This morning, I wanted to drive by the mormon temple. So I plotted it in on the GPS and drove there. It wasn't far away, but I found no parking spot nearby, so I ended up just shooting a picture of it from the street. And then I plotted the address for my hotel in Las Vegas.

Mormon temple

This time, the drive was only on interstate 15 south. But it still involved some stunning views here and there. And I was intrigued to see that I just touched the state of Arizona. And it was a beautiful touch at that. A drive through a canyon down from the highlands. The temperature rose quite significantly. From around 20C to over 37. The descent actually reminded me of a shorter version of the drive from Dombås to Åndalsnes in Norway. Starting on the planes, and descending into an ever deeper valley.

Chillin' at a rest stop

After about 6 hours, Las Vegas appeared on the horizon. A cluster of tall buildings in the centre of a shallow valley. The way to my hotel led me right past "the strip". Wow! What a display of opulence! My hotel was at the opposite side. Both in style and in location. I found that it was actually on the same street as "the strip", but just 5 km away. So in the evening, when the sun had set, I decided to walk the distance. After all, I had mostly been driving the last few days. And I normally walk 2 hours a day. It was a good walk. Although as per usual, the sidewalks had a tendency to disappear in the middle of nowhere. I walked to the Luxor. Took some pictures and walked back. I stopped at the famous Las Vegas sign and took a selfie. The spot was filled with stag-parties and hen-parties. Girls and boys with far too little clothes and far too much to drink waltzing around screaming and shouting like the world depended on it. On the other side of the road was th "parking lot" for private jets. Large and small. Old and new. Stacked, racked and packed. This was truly the valley of the rich. And those who wanted to be. And ended up making others rich.

Las Vegas on the horizon

The strip

Selfie, trying to avoid catching the half-nude, hammered,
screaming hen-party nearby

Parking lot for the super rich

The next day, I found that there was a backdoor that led directly to my car. So I took that elevator down instead, so I didn't have to lug my stuff all the way down to the reception. As I pressed the button, I noticed a "business card" stuck into the panel. A picture of two girls. One with her legs spread right in your face, showing everything. "Special offer : Two girls for $99". You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me! I felt the need to wash my hands afterwards. I felt dirty just touching the buttons in the elevator.

I checked out of the hotel and drove out on the highway. As I ascended up from the valley where Las Vegas is located, there was a few lines from a song that rang through my head. It was the start of a song by Chris Rea. Most people have never heard this part because it is never played on radio. And I thought to myself : "How fitting".

"She said 'son what are you doing here
My fear for you has turned me in my grave'
I said 'mama I come to the valley of the rich
Myself to sell'
She said 'son, this is the road to hell' "

                        - "Road to Hell", Chris Rea