Grumpy Bulldog Does America Day 38: Leaving Las Vegas

You probably know about Occam's Razor, which basically says the most probably solution is usually the correct one.  Today was some Occam's Razor in leave the hotel in Vegas.  Really ever since I checked in, I wondered how guests were supposed to get out of the parking garage when they checked out because to get out of the garage you have to swipe your key.  If you turn in your key at the desk to check out, then how do you get out?  Well I guess you could just pay if you had a parking lot ticket when you came in.  That might be expensive if you stay a few days.

My brilliant solution was to put my stuff in the car, leave the garage with the key and then find somewhere else to park real quick to check out.  Though I found out is that the garage was pretty much the best place to park because the meters on the street are those computerized ones and it kept wanting a three-digit number but there were only 2 digits on the curb.  So I ended up going back in and getting a ticket.  I figured at worse I'd only have to pay $2.

But you might guess what Occam would say the easiest solution to this problem is, right?  If not, take a guess.  Dah dah dah dah dah dah dah...

The solution is:  you don't turn in the keys!  They just let you keep them.  Because they're a Vegas casino and probably don't give a shit about little plastic keys.  I went down to the front desk and found that out.  Which made a lot of sense.

I can honestly say now that I gambled in Vegas.  I found a "penny" slot that took dollar bills.  Instead of pulling down a lever you hit buttons like on an arcade game.  I got two pulls and lost them both.  So I'm out a buck.

I went to McDonald's again for breakfast.  Some people are so lazy that they leave garbage sitting on a counter when the trash is literally three feet away.  It's almost as lazy as people who throw paper towels right next to the garbage in the bathroom.  Some old guy tapped me on the shoulder and wanted me to yell at the lady cleaning the dining room.  Whatever, grumpy old man; can't talk, eating.  I just threw it away with my stuff.  I had an extra dollar and was tempted to gamble it away too, but I resisted the urge.

Finally I could begin the long, arduous journey to Phoenix from Vegas.  I ended up backtracking to by Hoover Dam, only this time I kept going into Arizona.  I had to go through more mountains, though not quite as steep as Wednesday when I nipped a corner of Arizona on the way to Vegas.

At Kingman US93 merges with I-40 and I stopped to get gas and lunch.  Though first I stopped at a Safeway to use the bathroom and get some cough drops.  I ended up going on a little bit of old Route 66 that runs through the town before stopping at Golden Corral for lunch.  I got some fried/grilled chicken, a fried green tomato slice, some fried okra, and some cookies and carrot cake.  So you know a real healthy lunch.

The traffic in Kingman was fucking terrible.  I mean it was backed up like I-75 in Detroit during rush hour--after a Tigers afternoon game too.  Except Kingman is a lot smaller, so I don't know what the hell was going on there.

But I was glad I stopped there because after US-93 breaks away from I-40 there's really nothing for about 100 miles or more.  Not any real towns, just the occasional gas station or something.  Between that are hills, scrub brush, and cacti.  There was a neat stretch with these piles of rocks that I suppose are natural.

I started at 10am-ish and by 4-ish I was in the greater Phoenix area.  Though there was still a ways to go to get to the Extended Stay in Scottsdale.  I'm here until I think next Friday.  Really I don't feel compelled to do a lot of touristy stuff because I made the museum circuit in 2008 and they probably don't have a bunch of new museums since then. 

Instead I have a fairly long To Do list of more mundane things I need to get done.  At the top of the list, I saw a Comerica Bank branch so I'm going down there to see if I can finally get something done with my freaking ATM card.  Probably not because they're fucking morons.  Among other things I need to stop at a CVS and see about getting prescriptions refilled and since I've passed 5,000 miles on this journey (and a lot of them hard miles) I should get the car an oil change--and another wash because a lot of bugs splattered on the windshield along the way.  There's a Starbucks just across the street from the motel so I should get some writing done.  I have an idea for a Halloween-themed erotica story that obviously would be good to write/publish before the 31st.

And if you're wondering why I didn't go to the Grand Canyon, I already did that in 2008 too.  The only thing I'd want to do that I didn't do before is ride a mule.  The mule would probably be less enthused about that proposition.

I was thinking earlier of a good analogy:  every ship has to put into port once in a while.  I've been "out at sea" since I left Oregon about 10 days ago, so it's time to put into port and take on supplies.  I did some of that tonight when I stopped at the grocery store, though I'm sure there are other things I'll need to buy before I leave next week.

Anyway, I might not have a lot of pictures to post over the next week.  Lucky you.

And here are a couple of pictures of the Scottsdale sunset I took with my phone:

And for Andrew Leon, here's the Proof that I was at Hoover Dam: