First day of September, and we're leaving Las Vegas early in the day. There's some kind of facility in the middle of the desert a short distance outside the city. It looks like it might be a solar-power plant, which would definitely be a good location for it; however, it's equally possible that it's a zombie-manufacturing plant. You never know. (What? Am I the only person who watches these movies?!)
Still, we haven't entirely left the Vegas weirdness behind yet: there's a wide-load truck hauling half a house. A minute later, another wide-load truck with the other half of the house. Actually, scratch that. It's a whole caravan of houses, all cut in half. Guess they're relocating an entire neighbourhood. :-)
Today is a long-drive day, from Vegas to Tuscon (with a brief planned stop in Phoenix). We're seeing proper desert scenery now - definitely things got drier and more desert-like around Vegas.
What else do we see? A lot of nothing. Sometimes, the road-side signs even admit it. ;-)
It's another hot day, even in the car. Maybe it's because I'm just not used to the sun, but I always feel like I'm roasting here. And although long sleeves sound counter-intuitive for the desert, I'm so glad I have them. My shirts are lightweight enough, and I don't like the sun beating down on my skin. Maybe it's because I'm just not used to it, but I always feel like I'm roasting. I'm a turkey in a hot oven, and those little cool zones in Vegas are nothing more than little spritzes of cooking oil to keep me from shrivelling up completely.
Or maybe that's just the feeling of Vitamin D being generated. Like I said, I guess I'm just not used to it. :-)
We take a different highway to bypass Hoover Dam, because there's a whole lot of construction going on there and long delays are expected (we must have lucked out and timed it right when driving into Vegas - it was quite late in the day when we went over the Hoover Dam, and traffic wasn't bad in spite of the road restrictions).
It's mid-afternoon by the time we reach Surprise, AZ. What's the surprise? I don't know. The only surprising thing that I note is that it's as flat as Saskatchewan, with less greenery and more cactuses. The temperature outside the car is now 43C. Thank God for A/C!
In Phoenix, we manage to NOT get lost in the 5-lane freeway traffic. The GPS has lane assist, which helps (when she's not trying to kill us).
We arrived at Stephen's special tourist stop - the Heart Attack Grill. There's an ambulance parked outside, and the front door has a big warning that 'this establishment may be dangerous to your health.' As soon as you go in, a waitress dressed as a sexy nurse "checks you in" to the facility. She gives you a hospital gown and a wrist band. Then you can look over your "medicine list" (menu) and choose your "prescription" (fatty food).
We both went with the Single Bypass Burger, which was the smallest option (1/2 lb), and the all-you-can-eat Flatliner Fries (which are fried in pure lard). Stephen had a Coke; although I knew it was probably a dumb question, I asked if they had Diet Coke? No. They don't have anything "diet". In fact, they spit when you say the word "diet". So I went with water.
I hate to say it, but the food was pretty yum! (Isn't that always the way, though? The worse it is for you, the better it tastes.) Still, I ate only half my burger and carrried the rest away for later.
The waitress told us that a nine-year-old girl once ate the entire quadruple bypass burger. And one guy ate one, then ordered another and almost finished that one. Yikes. If you eat a quadruple bypass burger, the nurses will wheel you back to your car in a wheelchair. If I ate that much, I'd have to be wheeled back on a gurney.
So, that was our only stop in Phoenix, then it was back on the road to Tucson.
When we arrived, we found another EconoLodge, although this one was a bit more downscale than some of the others. We have no idea whether this is a good part of town or a bad part of town (although the grotty little liquor store right next door might be a hint).
It's hot in Tucson. It's hot in our EconoLodge room - I won't stay until I'm convinced that the A/C is working. It is working, slowly, so we unpack the car. There is no cold water in the taps - there's only hot water and not-quite-so-hot water. Whatever.
Rather than sit in a hot hotel room, we decide to head out and give the A/C a chance to catch up. So, we head for the Tucson Mall! There's something called REI (Recreational Equipment something-with-an-I), which is a big beautiful store with outdoor equipment and clothing, and I think I'm in heaven. It's just like MEC! And then I realize, it IS just like MEC. It's the American version of MEC (or MEC is the Canadian version of REI), and I need a membership. Oh. I deflate into sadness. No purchases for me. :-(
However, consolation waits for me elsewhere in the mall - they have a Cinnabon. Hello, yummy delicious cinnamon bun. Stephen opts for a Mint Oreo blizzard from DQ. (Yes, another day of bad food choices for us.)
That's the excitement in Tucson so far!
Still, we haven't entirely left the Vegas weirdness behind yet: there's a wide-load truck hauling half a house. A minute later, another wide-load truck with the other half of the house. Actually, scratch that. It's a whole caravan of houses, all cut in half. Guess they're relocating an entire neighbourhood. :-)
Today is a long-drive day, from Vegas to Tuscon (with a brief planned stop in Phoenix). We're seeing proper desert scenery now - definitely things got drier and more desert-like around Vegas.
It's another hot day, even in the car. Maybe it's because I'm just not used to the sun, but I always feel like I'm roasting here. And although long sleeves sound counter-intuitive for the desert, I'm so glad I have them. My shirts are lightweight enough, and I don't like the sun beating down on my skin. Maybe it's because I'm just not used to it, but I always feel like I'm roasting. I'm a turkey in a hot oven, and those little cool zones in Vegas are nothing more than little spritzes of cooking oil to keep me from shrivelling up completely.
Or maybe that's just the feeling of Vitamin D being generated. Like I said, I guess I'm just not used to it. :-)
We take a different highway to bypass Hoover Dam, because there's a whole lot of construction going on there and long delays are expected (we must have lucked out and timed it right when driving into Vegas - it was quite late in the day when we went over the Hoover Dam, and traffic wasn't bad in spite of the road restrictions).
It's mid-afternoon by the time we reach Surprise, AZ. What's the surprise? I don't know. The only surprising thing that I note is that it's as flat as Saskatchewan, with less greenery and more cactuses. The temperature outside the car is now 43C. Thank God for A/C!
In Phoenix, we manage to NOT get lost in the 5-lane freeway traffic. The GPS has lane assist, which helps (when she's not trying to kill us).
 | |||
| Stephen is admitted to the Heart Attack Grill |
We both went with the Single Bypass Burger, which was the smallest option (1/2 lb), and the all-you-can-eat Flatliner Fries (which are fried in pure lard). Stephen had a Coke; although I knew it was probably a dumb question, I asked if they had Diet Coke? No. They don't have anything "diet". In fact, they spit when you say the word "diet". So I went with water.
I hate to say it, but the food was pretty yum! (Isn't that always the way, though? The worse it is for you, the better it tastes.) Still, I ate only half my burger and carrried the rest away for later.
The waitress told us that a nine-year-old girl once ate the entire quadruple bypass burger. And one guy ate one, then ordered another and almost finished that one. Yikes. If you eat a quadruple bypass burger, the nurses will wheel you back to your car in a wheelchair. If I ate that much, I'd have to be wheeled back on a gurney.
So, that was our only stop in Phoenix, then it was back on the road to Tucson.
When we arrived, we found another EconoLodge, although this one was a bit more downscale than some of the others. We have no idea whether this is a good part of town or a bad part of town (although the grotty little liquor store right next door might be a hint).
It's hot in Tucson. It's hot in our EconoLodge room - I won't stay until I'm convinced that the A/C is working. It is working, slowly, so we unpack the car. There is no cold water in the taps - there's only hot water and not-quite-so-hot water. Whatever.
Rather than sit in a hot hotel room, we decide to head out and give the A/C a chance to catch up. So, we head for the Tucson Mall! There's something called REI (Recreational Equipment something-with-an-I), which is a big beautiful store with outdoor equipment and clothing, and I think I'm in heaven. It's just like MEC! And then I realize, it IS just like MEC. It's the American version of MEC (or MEC is the Canadian version of REI), and I need a membership. Oh. I deflate into sadness. No purchases for me. :-(
However, consolation waits for me elsewhere in the mall - they have a Cinnabon. Hello, yummy delicious cinnamon bun. Stephen opts for a Mint Oreo blizzard from DQ. (Yes, another day of bad food choices for us.)
That's the excitement in Tucson so far!
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