Trip Report – Southern Adventure January 2014

It’s not a circus without a few clowns, right?

Pam & Mike’s Southern Adventure 2014

Jump to:

Day 1: On the road from Terrebonne to Laughlin
Day 2: Pig-in-a-poke and how the other half lives
Day 3: Two clowns visit ghost towns. And donkeys. Lots and lots of donkeys.
Day 4: Taking the dam road to Las Vegas, with a stop in a dam town for a little antiquing along the way.
Day 5: Scary Clowns and Elvis is in town.
Day 6: Old school tech day with pinball and fusees, and we totally ignore the possibility of Stranger Danger.
Day 7: “More, Please” at Red Rocks and CarsLand Vegas Style.
Day 8: This Circus has no clowns, but I hear the high wire act is pretty good.
Day 9: What kind of clowns go into Mexico just for cheap booze? That would be us.
Day 10: Capybaras and Condors and Red Pandas, oh my.
Day 11: California Mis-Adventure?
Day 12: Disneylast

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This all started because we were channel surfing.

A few years ago we sat bored in front of the tv on a rainy Saturday. This doesn’t happen often as Mike never sits still. Even when he’s sleeping he’s still moving. The cats find him decidedly un-cuddle-worthy on that account.

Basically, the only way I can get him to relax is to feed him massive quantities of beer and Chinese food.

I, on the other hand, am a cat’s dream – overly warm, with plenty of extra padding, and I can sit for hours without moving. At least someone appreciates my Zen-like skills.

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Day 8 – This Circus has no clowns but I hear the high wire act is pretty good.

We slept in this morning again, knowing that tonight will be a late one, and tomorrow morning hideously early.

I tell Mike we’re going to the Springs Preserve. No “pick your fave out of a list of options”, I’m putting my foot down because I know he’ll enjoy it once we get there.

The Springs is a complex that includes a natural history museum, the Nevada State museum, a Desert Living Center, and outdoor gardens. It sits on 180 acres just 3 miles from downtown, but it feels a million miles away. It’s cool and quiet, smells wonderful, and gives your eye something to dwell on that’s not flashing or made of neon.

We see you there Stratosphere.

The whole thing is built on the site of the original artesian springs that gave Las Vegas its name and started it as a town. The springs were used by the Native Americans in the area for years, then John Freemont and Kit Carson camped here in 1844. I’m sure Freemont would be thrilled to know his name is now in lights on a street named for him. Okay, “thrilled” is probably not the right word, “baffled” might be closer to the truth.