We had hired a car for collection from Treasure Island at 10am so we planned to leave Caesars Palace around 8am, and stop for a Denny's breakfast on the way.
As we were packing we could not help noticing that some damage had started to occur to our bathroom ceiling and a drip had started from the floor above. We could hear constant running water and figured someone up there had an overflow and was asleep. The hotel staff were concerned when we called them to explain and shortly afterwards we heard the water be turned off. But the damage was already done. See photo evidence.
Oh dear. That might cost some guest a pretty penny.
We packed and checked out without incident. A few last photos from Caesars Palace reception area. It's huge.
Di is the tiny figure next to a column on the left.
It was pretty easy to wheel our bags down the strip but we had to stop and laugh at the lipstick marks on this statue. One down below too...
After a quick, but average Denny's breakfast, we were early for our car hire. The lady serving us convinced us to upgrade based on the type of trip we had planned. America has finally come into line with the rest of the modern world and an economy car is a tiny hatchback. For the several thousand miles we planned we needed something bigger, and preferably a sedan. A VW Jetta was perfect and we were soon pleased about paying for the upgrade. It's far better suited to us.
On the road we had booked into the Neon Museum/Boneyard for an 11am tour.
Of course we were early but the tours before ours were full so we had to wait. We wandered through the rough neighbourhood of the area just north of downtown Las Vegas to the local 7/11 for a coffee.
Funny how quickly the guy behind the counter recognised we were Australians. Might be the fact that Hans called him Mate. We enjoyed the sun and drank our coffee outside near the Neon Museum. And took a few photos while waiting.
The Neon Museum has donated some restored neon icons to the City of Las Vegas for display along the Las Vegas Boulevard. This one caught our eye. Must be great when lit up at night.
The entry buildings to the museum are old "conch shells" from a hotel entrance. It works.
Our tour started right on time and we wandered into the "boneyard". So many fantastic old signs in various states of repair. Or disrepair.
Our guide provided a really good history of Las Vegas, which was really interesting. Las Vegas was a small railway town initially and didn't become the Casino place we know today until the late 1940s. Prohibition may have helped...
A pool hall entrance character was removed because he became outdated. Might be the mullet hairstyle. Worked in the 80s but beyond that...?
The obligatory selfie!
The old Stardust sign is iconic and great to see it was saved from scrap.
As too the Sahara.
Hundreds of old neon signs and so many interesting ones. Including the Moulin Rouge which was only opened for a few years and catered for the African American people. They were then not allowed in white folk casinos (unless they were serving behind the scenes).
Caesars profile has always been on Caears Palace signs. Di can't match the nose!
It was a great 1 hour tour and highly recommended.
By 12.15pm we were on the road, leaving Nevada and heading to Page in Arizona for the next 3 nights. Hans was very comfortable behind the wheel - so easy for us to get back into driving on the right side of the road. Took no time to re-adapt.
Our path took us from Nevada to Utah to Arizona to Utah and back to Arizona. The way the state lines are drawn meant we kept cutting across them. And to add to the confusion Utah is on a different time zone, 1 hour ahead.
The road was interesting in some places where it wound through the mountains.
We hit Utah again around 2pm/3pm at a highly town (we can't remember the name) and spotted this sign. We got so excited.
We HAD to stop here for lunch. We've missed Cracker Barrel. An old favourite from our 2013 travels. It serves southern country diner meals in a homestead setting. Very quaint and good value.
Hans looks very happy. Di too but she was too hungry to pose for a photo. The food was good (a fish each with southern style sides). We took the spare corn bread with us for later consumption - it's delicious.
We reached Page, AZ about 6pm - too late to visit the visitor's centre. However, we noted that dinosaurs bones and tracks are famous in this area.
And the location of the visitor centre just above the Glen Canyon Dam was fabulous. You can see over Lake Powell which was created by the dam being built in the late 1950's. In fact Page, the town, is the same age as Hans.
Our trusty VW Jetta. We were already loving it and pleased that we made the switch.
We checked into Americas Best Value Inn and headed over to the local supermarket for some supplies for the next few days. A snack dinner of chook pieces and potato salads was plenty. We did not need much after a late lunch.
Our hotel seemed to have a few contract workers staying but they were all quiet and in bed by 10pm and so were we. A big driving day but we were so happy to be out on a road trip again.
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