At first today we were again passing red rock ridges, after that we were dwarfed by the towering Beaver Dam Mountains.
It all changed after we crossed into Nevada, for the most part it was a dry desert landscape with small towns here and there.
We stopped at a smallish town just over the border to buy water and fuel. We noted most were old, presumably retired people. Our biggest surprise came when we entered the supermarket and right inside the door was a small gambling area, maybe a dozen or so slot machines! Inside the supermarket! And they say Aussies have a gambling problem lol it wasn't even midday but there were a few patrons.
$10 entry to Fire Valley State Park was good value. It was yet another version of the red rocks we've been seeing for days.
We stopped at a picnic spot for lunch and were soon the centre of attention from the local ground squirrel population. They were quite brave coming up to us and taking pieces from my salad from our hands, super cute.
We checked out all there was including some petroglyphs before setting off towards Vegas. Just out of town we saw and heard a series of F15 eagles streaking through the sky. Behind them there were some planes practicing acrobatics for the Red Bull races that are on this weekend. The traffic was a bit heavy so that entertained us nicely.
Once through the small rush hour traffic problems we went off the grid a bit and took the roads through the Mohave Preservation. It's a route I've always wanted to take but haven't til now due to time constraints. The roads were interesting, lots of dips so it made for a roller coaster style ride with Pete at the wheel lol it was mostly yukkas, joshua trees and low scrub on flat land leading back to a rim of mountains. The mountains make an almost perfect circle around the preserve like the edges of a caldera(?)
It wasn't all that scenic but it sure beat the soulless freeway with its casinos and huge billboards. Then the sun started to go down, like last night it seemed to go on forever. It dipped down behind mountains then there were lower mountains and we were treated to a sunset all over again. Even after it was gone for good the glow lingered.
We scooted along to Barstow and checked into our hotel for the night. It was getting on for 8pm so we walked over the road to an old fashioned burger joint that sells everything. Pete had a Philly cheese steak and I opted for a dona. Both were delish.
Back at our digs and I put on a slow cooker curry for another night, showered, watched a couple of shows and were asleep by 11.30.