We left Las Vegas about 9:00am today and headed southeast towards Phoenix. The first 'stop' was going to be the Hoover Dam, a short drive from LV. However, lots of construction near the dam and lots of signs saying trucks and buses must detour towards Laughlin. Didn't know whether we were classed as a bus or not, but when the motor home ahead of us turned, we turned too. So we ended up seeing Bullhead City a little ahead of schedule.
The road to Phoenix is generally good, although only two lane in places. It reminded me of highway 9 to Saskatoon, although different plants in the countryside. We passed through the Mohave Desert, but interestingly it was a bit rainy today and you could see the bright green of fresh growth here and there. The desert isn't just sand, but it IS very dry. Pictures show the general theme.
Near Laughlin, the road begins to climb and fall as we make our way over several ranges of hills. The climbs are typically very long and therefore slow. And there were rain showers throughout the trip, so everything was fairly dirty by the time we arrived at Sunflower RV Resort.
We talked to the camper beside us, who has a motor home and is from Henderson, just outside Las Vegas. He says that Hoover Dam will allow motor homes, but they do a security check by coming inside and opening every cupboard and drawer, and the turns near the dam are very tight for a large motor home, especially towing a car. He says that the extra 20 miles or so to go via Laughlin is well worth it.
The resort is big. We're at one end and not close to much other than the dog walk. However, the resort does do breakfast and one of the staff advised that:
- Luke AFB is close by and there were several F-16's flying patterns when we arrived
- there's an R/C field within 6 miles that does (among other things) true Reno Air Races.
