Impromptu Changes and Pleasant Surprises

The thing about impromptu changes is that occasionally they don't actually work out as peachy as you hope. When we decided to slide on past Salt Lake and go a little further south to cover extra ground getting to Vegas our overnight happened to be one of those occasions.

First there was the slightly creepy little RV park which will remain unnamed to protect the innocent. We never saw anyone working there even though we doodled around the next morning. I paid by putting cash in an envelope and slipping it through a mail slot. We did survive though. We didn't really have much choice as we were running out of time when we pulled in. The storms that ran through Nephi Sunday evening were bearing down on us forcing a stop just to make sure we didn't blow off the road. It happens that way sometimes and this wasn't the first for us. Russell, KS comes to mind as we were headed toward a concert date to see Rush last year for the opening of their R-40 tour. Driving east on I-70 we could see the storm forming and the possibility driving into a tornado stranded us in a most unusual little RV park. Similar circumstances with similar results........sadly Rush isn't waiting for us in Las Vegas.

For this traveling leg I decided to take a few snaps on my phone. Although they won't really do the scenery justice at least it gives you an idea what the area looks like.

The storms did bear down on us and rocked us all night long. I am very glad we made the decision to stop. Heavy rain, hail and brutal winds would have been our companion on the road. It's always much easier to ride out a storm at a standstill.

That out of the way we headed out of Nephi, south on I-15 heading to Vegas early Monday morning. We were greeted by more rain but it was light, bearable and made for a pleasant accent to the scenery of the Wasatch Mountains that flank the interstate all the way to the Arizona border. Several times we burst through the rain and were greeted by brilliant sunshine, then more rain, a little small hail, light snow more rain and finally sunshine at the Arizona border.




We found ourselves in a canyon of barren stone walls and formations at the Arizona border. The geological formations here are nothing short of spectacular. Seeing the layers of the earth exposed, thinking about the formation of these monolithic formations I often find myself feeling rather insignificant in these places. This was definitely one of those times. If you ever have a chance to make the drive to Las Vegas from the north on I-15 do it, you won't be disappointed.

We came into Vegas in the early afternoon after picking up an hour by moving into the Pacific Time Zone.

We're set up at Arizona Charlies. It's not anything spectacular but does the trick for the right price. We're just far enough away from Freemont Street and the Strip to not be bothered by any of that traffic but close enough so it's still convenient.

I would like to write more but it's getting to be evening and there are things to do on the strip. As far as I can tell this change of itinerary like the unexpected, pleasant scenery on the drive down is working out pretty.

Viva Las Vegas Baby!!