2014 - Day 11 - Third USA Trip - Some Days I Just Never Learn!

Today we decided to venture away from the bright lights of Las Vegas and head to a little town called Oatman, Arizona.  The Bear found this little town on the map when we were planning our trip and it looked remarkably quaint.  In fact it promotes the fact that it is a real working town albeit small and features burros (donkeys) that wander freely through the town.  The drive was less than 3 hours from Vegas although would lead us from Nevada to Arizona.

We left shortly after breakfast to make the most of the day, heading towards the town (for want of a better word) of Searchlight.  We planned to get to Oatman via Searchlight, Laughlin (on the Nevada/Arizona Border where Nicco ironically spent last night) and Bullhead City.  I was a little full after breakfast so given that it was a fair distance to Searchlight, undid the button and fly on my jeans in order to travel comfortably.  I settled back with my camera and as per usual, photographed anything that moved or was stationery as well as everything in between.

By the time we reached Searchlight we were a little bit peckish, needed fuel and also required a bathroom.  I am ridiculously germ phobic when it comes to loo’s especially off the beaten track however was fairly much busting by the time we got there.  I would have thrown a leg over a cactus if required.   It became obvious fairly quickly that the only place that might have hosted a lav was at a place called “Terrible’s”.  This was a gas station that doubled as a McDonalds, and just for laughs, a Casino.

In the USA if you need to get fuel, you need to go into the gas station and pay for it before putting it in your car.  If you have paid too much then you simply go in and retrieve change.   So….we pulled up at “Terrible’s” and the Bear got out to pay for the gas and I got out to run to the loo.  Big mistake.  I had completely forgotten that my button and fly on my jeans was undone, so the second I got a few steps away from the car, I lost my strides.   Panicked I didn’t know whether to go forward or backward but as it turned out I could do neither whilst my pants were around my knees.  The population of Searchlight, 2 gas station patrons, a staff member and a goat saw me in all my glory.  I yelled out to the Bear for help and he ushered me back to the cover of the car where I promptly zipped up.  Bless him.

I would like to point out that they must make them tall in cowboy country.  After I had been to the loo and went out to wash my hands, I wanted to fix my hair which had been blown about in the desert wind.  However, I was too short for the mirrors.  I moved along the wash basins further (cringing at the filth on them) but they all stayed at the same height.  I even looked under the basins (the germs under there had fangs) just in case they had bothered to consider dwarves but no, no short people mirrors. None behind doors….none on the ceilings.    As a last resort I tried jumping up to see my reflection however a woman (well I think it was a woman.  If it wasn’t it was a damned ugly lady-boy…..or even perhaps a pretty horse) who had witnessed my stride dropping outside walked in, and I figured that I had raised enough questions in the town for one day. 

With that drama over and done with we were back on the road.  Nevada has the longest and most straight roads I have ever seen in my life and whilst there really is nothing to photograph, I decided that one can never have too many photos of a long, straight road.   The landscape is harsh in a different way to the Mojave Desert but equally as baron.  As we got closer to the town of Laughlin it had all but become simply rock.  There was little evidence of even a cactus growing.   I found it hard to believe that Nicco’s tour group would have found a place out here to spend the night.  However just as Vegas arises from the desert, so does Laughlin.  It is by no means the size of Vegas and actually is a relatively small town the lies on the Colorado River but it still houses several large Casino’s. 

The Colorado River is absolutely stunning.  It is wide, full, and fast flowing.  It obviously is a playground for jet skiers, water skiers, swimmers and paddle boats.  I walked down to the edge of it and would have to say it is the clearest, cleanest water I have ever seen in my life.  I was rather fascinated by this ugly town on a beautiful river and insisted that we stop at another gas station so that I could buy a fridge magnet just to show that I had been there.  (I tried that in Searchlight, but despite the fact that you could play slots right next to the engine oil, I couldn’t buy a damned fridge magnet).

Onward and upward we continued further into country that the cowboy movies were made of.  In fact, I would not have been at all surprised if we had have seen “The Duke” (John Wayne) on horseback.  Yes he is deceased however it was like stepping back into 1969.   The Bear and I stopped for our obligatory selfies with the landscape in the background.   I also did my customary fake attempt at hitch hiking just for photo purposes.  Unfortunately an old couple thought I was serious. *insert a rare embarrassed look here*

Climbing up into what I can only describe as Arizona’s answer to Hanging Rock, we finally came across the town of Oatman.  Well what an absolute surprise.  It is tiny and quaint.  There is no internet.  In fact I don’t even think it has a gas station!  But there were stores for those passing through and a charming character that I have never seen before.  Oh….and there was the burros.  A number of them…..two cute babies and several adults.  The main (and only) street was littered with burro poo and torrents of burro pee but the combined aroma along with the dry desert air added to the ambience.  I thought it was genuinely charming.

The local folk put on a skit as a way of raising funds to upgrade their facilities. It was very entertaining and well worth seeing.  In one of the stores there was a collection jar begging for help to update their toilets.  I kid you not.  The Bear is was in his glory having animals to harass (he is just impossible) and I believe that this is firm proof that he misses my dogs and his veiled attempt at rejecting this as being possible is rubbish.  Unfortunately I was the one to wear the wrath of one of the burros which gave me a swift boot up the butt nearly knocking me over.  I am told it was just looking for food so I can only assume I look good enough to eat.  (Yeah….thats it.  I look like one big carrot.  Not. Not even a bale of hay.  More like the whole barn!)

We decided to grab another bite to eat at the towns “saloon” which served simple food such as burgers and nachos.  Iced drinks were served in styrofoam cups and iced tea was served out of stained plastic jugs.  I don’t like iced tea, drinking out of Styrofoam cups and definitely don’t like drinking anything that came from stained plastic (refer to previous comment about germ phobic!) but fortunately I was able to get a can of Coke.    With our bellys full we said a final goodbye to the burros and left the town before sundown.  Actually we left mid afternoon but I just wanted to say sundown.  I might add that I again found that I had to undo my fly and button again as I really had, had too much to eat.

We were keen to get back to  Vegas as tonight we had tickets to see Tim Allen – as in Tim the Toolman.  He was in Vegas for one night only and we managed to secure tickets!  Very exciting!   The drive was a good 3 hours and although the show wasn’t until 8pm at The Venetian we wanted the opportunity to have a shower and change.  We pulled up in the driveway of our hotel around 6pm and jumped out allowing the valet to look after our vehicle whilst we bolted upstairs.  There was just one thing that I forgot though.  One would have thought I already would have learned?  You guessed it.  I had forgotten to do up my fly and button again, and lost my strides in the driveway of the Marriott Grand Chateau not far off the Las Vegas strip.   Now who else do you know could say that their audience base had increased a thousand fold after only one show?!