On the first day of our extended weekend that we are going to spend in the Laughlin area we decide to visit some places on the way and we know exactly what we want to see - an arch in the middle of the wilderness stretching west of highway 93. The road towards the area is uneventful and we park at the beginning of the sideroad towards the arch from where we start the hike through the remote area. Not so remote that we don't see a new windmill right near the beginning of the trail but else there is no one else on the trail and the views around are great as soon as we start climbing up a mesa.
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| Start of road to arch | Windmill near the road |
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| Expansive views | Road starting to climb |
The road that we follow decays rapidly and even has an impassable trench in the middle. As soon as we reach the top the going becomes easier and the views of rock formations are impressive. At the end of the road we stop not sure what to do but then we look down and...there is the arch. It is a standalone arch and it is surprising to us that it isn't more famous given that it is quite beautiful.
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| Not many cars are using this road | Interesting formations |
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| Arch in the distance | Close up of arch |
On the way back we stop almost at every corner to take in the great views. The landscape is illuminated beautifully by the falling sun and the cacti seem to be shimmering in the light. It is almost otherworldly and the fact that we find these new interesting spots even after so many years in Arizona is a reason that we enjoy living here so much.
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| View on the way back | Lake in the distance |
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| Road through the cacti | Beautiful road to walk |
As the sun reaches the horizon there are exceptional views of the sunset - the colors are beautiful and when framed against the mountains it looks almost like an artist painting. After the sun sets we walk to the car watching the stars and see a few falling stars. And then we drive to Laughlin where we stay at one of the casinos on the Colorado river near the downtown area. The room is acceptable and we fall asleep as we are tired after our walk.
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| Sunset view | Looking in the distance |
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| Sun setting | What beautiful colors |
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| Mountains against the sunset | Otherworldly |
Today we start our day with a short walk along the promenade in front of our hotel before deciding to eat breakfast at Denny's. The food is quite good and inexpensive compared to other options around our hotel.
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| Promenade in Laughlin | Colorado River in Laughlin |
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| Breakfast at Denny's | This looks delicious |
Our goal for the day is to visit a bighorn sheep preservation area nearby where we hope to see even a few sheep. The road off the main highway is not bad and soon we arrive at our chosen parking place from where we decide to hike in. The sign on the road into the valley is mentioning that it ends in 1 mile but as we will observe it is not true however it becomes worse the further we go. The are is quiet and deserted and quite barren - typical Nevada desert compared to the Arizona one which seems a bit more full of vegetation.
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| Walking through the bighorn preserve | Road through the wilderness |
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| Not necessarily true | Typical Nevada desert |
There still are plants however they are rare and the more interesting to observe how they can live on this sparse landscape. Sometimes looking around we feel like we are on an alien planet with no vegetation. We keep an eye open for sheep however the only thing we see is a small hole in the mountains quite far away.
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| Lonely cholla in the desert | Rock window in the distance |
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| View from a hill | Desert plant |
After some walking we arrive in the interior valley of the range which is surrounded by steep mountains all of it prime sheep habitat. While we don't see any bighorn sheep we explore the different hills some of them having great views of the area that we are coming from.
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| Getting into bighorn habitat | This is more like it |
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| More vegetation here | No bighorn unfortunately |
As it is already getting late we decide to return to the car and are treated with another nice sunset which however isn't as spectacular as the one the day before. The road back to the hotel is uneventful and back in our room we eat dinner from our supplies before going to bed.
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| Road out at sunset | No other cars around |
On the last day of our trip we decide to visit more in Laughlin and start with a walk along the promenade towards downtown. The Colorado River is full of birds and there are ferries moving from dock to dock even though must of the docks seemed to be used more by ducks and seagulls than by people.
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| Colorado River View | Birds on the river |
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| Boat dock used more by ducks | ...and seagulls |
We pass multiple casinos from which the most interesting is a floating casino in the form of a steamboat which has a moat that is full of ducks and carp. Nearby we visit the Gem and Mineral Show in a tent like exhibition hall which we enjoy especially the different fossils that are on sale.
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| Fake paddleship casino | Fishes and ducks in the casino moat |
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| Hotel in the distance | View from hotel |
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| Exhibit hall | Downtown Laughlin |
The last attraction that we visit is the free Car Museum which is actually spread across two halls. The first one inside the casino is more impressive with lots of cars from different periods.
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| Car museum | Many cars |
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| Old Ford Model T | Interesting early cars |
Even though the museum is focused on cars it also has a few motorcycles including the one of Emilio Scotto a world renowned traveller around the world on motorcycle. While we haven't heard about him before we are impressed by the description of his exploits especially in Africa.
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| Emilio Scotto motorcycle | Lots of motorcycles |
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| Interesting looking car | More stable motorcycle |
And then we leave for home and decide to take a shortcut using dirt roads to arrive at highway 93. The shortcut starts in the little hamlet of Yucca and continues through Joshua tree forests and mountains over a few mountain passes to 93 and it sheds about 50 miles of travel even though it takes probably the same amount of time. On the way we stop for another beautiful sunset over the Joshua tree forest - this trip we are spoiled by the great sunsets. The rest of the trip is uneventful and we arrive home late at night just in time to prepare for next days work day.
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| Interesting Yucca sight | Lonely Joshua tree |
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| Sunset over Joshua forest | Great colors at sunset |
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