The Blinding Lights, The High Desert and Osmond Country

The trip out of California was un-charted territory for me and I was excited to see the high desert around the Mojave Desert through Victorville, Apple Valley and Barstow. It was also exciting because I had never set foot in Las Vegas either, another destination along I-15 to Salt Lake City. Up and around San Bernardino and it was on to the desert. The temperatures were somewhat moderate considering and the countryside looked interesting to me. There were lots of signs advertising large plots of acreage for sale and it looked like some were taking advantage of that deal and putting up homesteads in the middle of scrubby looking vegetation and barren land. When I was in real estate, a broker of mine always said "price cures everything". This must be the case, the price would have to be right to put up a house in the desert for me! It sure sounds like the the classic "...want to buy some land?"

Lots of states have nice welcome signs that call attention to their attributes and how much you're welcome. When you get to Nevada, you know it. There is no doubt that you are crossing into the land of fantasy, fame and fortune. Primm, Nevada sits right on the California-Nevada line...or in this case, Nevada-California line! Blam...there it is, in your face, the first tall, well lit gambling monstrosity is right there...inches from the state line. I don't even remember seeing a welcome sign...just the brightest lights in the world advertising everything from 2 hotdogs for a buck to a steak dinner for $9.99 24/7...oh, and a ga-zillion chances to strike it rich. It's all broadcast in millions of candle watt light power. This was certainly a show of illumination for light freaks at nightfall in the desert.

Now, if I thought Primm, Nevada was something special...not far up the highway, Las Vegas itself was a whole 'nother ballgame. There is no question or pondering that you have entered Vegas. In fact, you can see the glow from miles away. In all its blinding glory in the night sky, I can't think of another place I've ever been to that is such an overload on the sense of sight. I didn't know what to look at...I just kept looking at everything as I passed through. The Luxor Pyramid looked intriguing as well as New York, New York....with what looked like a life size rendition of the Statue of Liberty. When every other town and Indian Reservation in America gave the green light to gambling...they must have put a plan of action on steroids in effect in this town. The Bellagio, the Wynn Casinos...Trump...every one of these spots look a land of fantasy and great fortune. So wonder it's one of America's..and the world's most desired vacation destinations. Stick a one million candle power light in my eye, promise me a pile of cash and place a bottomless drink in my hand. By morning, prop me up besides the craps table and give me a dark pair of sunglasses to battle morning sunlight. You almost need those sunglasses at night here. A place like this could send an old homeboy like me over the edge...quick. I've got to come back to this land of sensory overload...put it on the list.

It was late nighttime when I finally passed into Utah. A little tamer, a little cooler...cooler than I'd felt in days and still good drive up to Salt Lake. Parts of I-15 had a speed limit of 80 miles per hour. The highway offered some nice stretches of road to make time. I stopped at a small convenience mart for the actions of nature or as Bob Swensen used to say, "I've got to talk to a man about a horse." I purchased a one liter bottle of diet coke because it was cheaper than the 20 ounce...go figure on that one. When I paid the cashier, she said "you're the first person to actually hand the money to me and not throw it on the counter...one of the other cashiers is so mad about that she wants to quit." Wow, I told that I thought Utah people were of the nice sort...like the Osmonds. She replied "not necessarily" and thanked me profusely for my "kind deed". Glad I could make someone's day, I guess. I've never given it a second thought...you make a purchase, you hand the clerk the money. How hard is it? Well, maybe hard if the item is expensive or overpriced, but it's not the clerk's fault. Another sign of the degradation of society I guess. Cedar City must not be the gentile side of Utah.

I made it to Salt Lake City for my delivery and then headed over to the Flying J for a little shut eye. It was a decent haul up here from Los Angeles. The air is nice, the mountains are scenic and my on board computer just spit out an opportunity to Idaho Falls, Idaho. I hadn't counted on Idaho...the land of famous potatoes, but here was another personal frontier and another state closer to all 50. That's my goal. I'm looking for America where ever I can find it. What lay ahead would be one of the best legs of this trip out. Onward, ho...or IdahHO that it is.