Las Vegas - May 5

Saturday, May 5th

Breaking tradition of never letting sanity getting in the way of my optimism, I decide to ride the shortest way to Las Vegas, instead of the undoubtedly much more scenic one down through the valley. I want to get there early. On the way I make a brief stop at Zabriskie Point, if only because Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni made a very 1970s movie of that name back in 1970 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbvIBtjCyI4). Still it's a great view of yet another type of rock formations.

Zabriskie Point, named after the mining business owner C. B. Zabriskie who effectively turned Death Valley's economy into being based on tourism. (The usual rules apply, when watching iPhone pics like this on a computer scree)

The road then leads me to the delightfully named town of Pahrump in Nevada, where even the gas station I enter has slot machines (in Danish; 'one-armed thieves'). Nevada is big on gambling, and apparently of other sins too: Yesterday I was told the town has a lot of brothels, though mainly I notice the many gun shops. And the signs.

I also notice a Harley trike parked in front of a leather shop, and as I need some of the latter to repair a glove, I stop by the place. Owner Paul and his buddy Terry - who clearly have known each other for a while - stand outside, and Terry turns out to be the first American I've met on this trip, who recognizes the MZ. I end up following him home, in order to tage pics of a 1930s Harley racer he has built, but now wants to sell. Who knows, maybe some of the bobber guys back in Denmark might be interested, if the price is right.

Paul, the leather shop man, posing with Terry's mongrel H-D trike.

Very stylish 1930s racer with all sorts of interesting bits. Terry built but never rode the thing, and wants it to have a new home; email 'mickeyfins@bellsouth.net' for details only if seriously interested. Btw, it's the camera lens that makes Terry look small. He's really much bigger than this. 

On the way out of town the engine dies abruptly, when I turn on the headlight. Replacement fuses blow too, but if I want to make it to Las Vegas before sunset, I will have to deal with electrical gremlins later. Glad at least it didn't happen last night when I went star-gazing. Rumours of Las Vegas hotels being ridiculously cheap don't refer to the neighbourhood I end up in, so even at half the rate of the $160 Death Valley place, I grit my teeth and check into a place within walking distance the famous Las Vegas Strip.

While Las Vegas does have a one-third scale Eiffel Tower, just like the casino I saw in Macau last year had, the US version of this profitable business seems to cater more to regular folks, rather than James Bond style highrollers arriving in exotic cars. Inside the casinos electronic slot machines by the thousands, accompanied by loud music, bring back memories of the pachinko parlors in Japan, except here everybody is also walking about in the indoors air conditioned gambling halls and malls.

Repent my sins? Now why would I want to do that? And how, when I can't even remember half of them, or much less recognize them as such....

Los Angeles to Guffey, Colorado.