Life Beyond the Vegas Strip? Yes, There is One!

Early to bed the night before and on East Coast time, we were up and at 'em pretty early, eager to hit the road.  Day 2 on the bike started about 8am....eerily quiet on the strip and the streets wide open. The only people up with us were the elderly heading to the penny slots & the partiers from the night before stumbling towards their rooms. 




First stop on my list was Valley of Fire State Park. Located about 50 miles northeast of the strip in Overton, Valley of Fire is Nevada's oldest state park.

In our haste to see something other than the bright lights, we left without coffee or breakfast thinking there would be a quaint diner or roadside stop along the way. No such luck..bring some snacks or water, there's nothing, not even a vending machine that I could find at the Visitor's Center...towards the end of the trip I started to wonder if I was going to die of dehydration and become food for the hawks circling above. Oh, and fill the tank. These are all common sense things, I know...but some of us are more book smart, than street smart.

Anyway, admission to get in to the park is $10.00. Hours are 8:30am-4:30pm. There is a clean restroom with working toilets and a small area with picnic tables right after the entrance. Suggest the ladies stop here, I didn't see another one until the visitor center. Guys, you do what you want, but I know I am not the only chick who prefers a toilet to a porta-potty or a rock with a rattle-snake lurking...be kind to your woman. It's the little things.... 

Driving in to the park, it was easy to see how this attraction received it's name...The vivid colors and fiery rock formations were an incredible backdrop against the blue sky.  The sandstone rocks get their formations from the winds and rain battering against them; some formed in to pretty cool shapes, such as the BeeHives and Elephant Rock.

I've spied my own rock formation in the lower right hand corner...doesn't it look like the lion in front of the MGM Grand? See it? Or have I spent too much time in Vegas?? Perhaps...

My view from the backseat...

The old man was getting a little frisky behind these rocks...but again, the rattlesnakes...

Found some interesting tidbits from the web that I wish I had known before we visited. And if it's on the web, it has to be true, right?  Several movies and television shows were filmed here, and in fact one of the sets remain from the movie, The Professionals, with Burt Lancaster. Also filmed here were the Mars scenes from Total Recall, though I am no longer a fan of Schwarzenegger so who cares? What an a$$hole he turned out to be...Team Maria, holla. But I digress....another cool scene filmed here was from Star Trek Generations where Captain Kirk fell to his death...It's been fun! (Kirk's last line, you non-trekkies). This ride has been fun too, but I'm thirsty, and hungry...

Honey, do you think there might be a little cafe around the corner here?

Or here?

My fave picture below...taken from the backseat...not bad for an amateur, eh?  

Smooth, flat black-top for miles, Fire Valley National Park is a perfect place to spend a day outside the strip. But not when you are starving, and thirsty, and bitchy...

How many more freakin' rocks are there for god's sake...get me the hell out of here...ahhh, change in color must mean we are almost back to civilization...

Please tell me this is not a mirage that I see...up ahead I spot a palm tree, and a neon Budweiser sign...an oasis in a sea of sand.  Mmm, beer...and food, please? Gold Mine Tavern in Henderson, NV was a wonderful site after nearly dehydrating and starving to death...not really, but close. Lunch! But wait, Gold Mine does not serve food...time to watch a grown woman cry.  Waaahhhh. The sweet bartender then tells us to go grab some food next door and bring it back to bar...

And right next door Detriot meets New York at the Motor City Coney Island.  Take a guess what they serve here? Did you guess hot dogs? Ding, ding, ding...you got it. Not my favorite meal, but it certainly did the trick. They even walked the food over to us at the bar. Very friendly people and the food was delish.

After lunch we had a bit of time before we had to return the bike. We were going to get every penny out of the rental so made our way back towards the strip and stopped at a few places along the way. The Crown & Anchor is a British Pub on Tropicana Ave.

Of course there is video poker machines at the bar...don't all bars in Vegas them? And it couldn't be Vegas without cute waitresses, right?  If you squint really hard, you can see the bartender in her school girl uniform.  Not friendly though, and that is what you are looking for when you go to bars like this, right guys? Guess when you look like that, you don't have to try so hard with the personality...

Bangers and Mash 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...

Last stop was back to our new favorite Vegas bar, Double Down Saloon.  Mentioned in previous post, had to have some a$$ juice..this is how the locals drink it...twinkie dipping. A twinkie and a shot for 5 bucks...happy hour drinks half-off. Place rocked.

Met some great people, enjoyed the beautiful ambiance...

We got back to the rental place with only minutes to spare...a great day on the bike.  Oh, and in my last post I was bitching about being on the glider, or glide...on the bike for 8 hours flat and jumped off it like a school girl...no aches, no pains...I felt like I was riding around on a barcalounger the whole day.

Day did not end here though...back to the hotel and had a celebratory cocktail...not sure what we were celebrating...life, I guess.

Then decided to walk to the Harley-Davidson Cafe a few blocks down the strip. Passed the Bellagio fountain show, never disappoints...

Made it to the HD...far from a biker bar, more of an Applebees, but you still have to go at least once while in Vegas...

You might even run in to a Bachelor party there...oh, if his fiancee could see him now...

Capped off the night with a sighting of Flava Flavvvvvv....only in Vegas!

Yea, boiiiiiiii!

Contact Info:

Valley of Fire State Park

Overton, NV

(702) 397-2088

Does what happens in Vegas, actually stay in Vegas?

Perhaps, but since this trip was rated PG-13...well, maybe an 'R', I thought it'd be okay to share. I've been to Vegas many times and usually do the same thing, gamble, drink, shop, repeat. This visit, I wanted a taste of life outside the strip...is there life beyond the strip, you ask?  Why, yes there is, thanks for asking! Here's my version:


First up, before we even checked in to hotel, we made a reservation with EagleRider Motorcycle Rentals located on Arville Street, few minutes away from strip. We've rented from another company before but prefer this one now because they pick up and drop off at hotel so no cab fare - about a $40 savings RT.  I know this, because they forgot us...after calling they told us to take a cab and they would reimburse fare. Finally arrived, they didn't have our reservation and were completely out of bikes. At this point, I'm thinking Divine Intervention is at work here and we should just call it a day. Plus, I'd been up since 3am and was beyond bitchy...though I didn't show it...I've worked in Customer Service, I know the drill...you get more bees with honey than with vinegar, and in this case, honey got us a bike. Whew! Not sure where it came from and wasn't our choice of bike, but whatever. Rolling with the punches.

After taking a spin around the building, we were off...on our turquoise Ultra Classic. Ick, was my first reaction. Now, I have to admit I have discriminated against this bike, seemed to me to be a two-wheel version of a mini-van (don't get mad at me if you ride one, I eventually come to terms with it!).

I have fought tooth and nail my entire adult life to stay away from a mini-van...yes, it is convenient, yes, there is plenty of room, blah, blah, blah...but where is the coolness factor? There is none and I felt the same way about the Glide...yes, it is comfortable, yes there is more room, but isn't it for old people? Stuck in traffic on the strip, with bobble-head rental helmets, the only thing missing was a neon-orange flag poking up off the back. To get some of our coolness back, we went to the first dive bar on my list - Double Down Saloon, on Paradise Road, which is behind the strip...somewhere, I suck at directions.

The sign out front indicates Double Down is the 'Happiest Place on Earth'...I thought that was Disney, but I'm thinking a bar that makes a bacon martini might have Mickey beat.

First stop was the restroom, there was some pretty good art in there. Do you think Picasso did his best work sitting on the john? Looked like some artists may be wasting their good talent on bathroom walls. Oh, and the toilet was duct-taped together with some cardboard. Some ladies might be horrified, perhaps even some men, but not me...I was starting to like the place...

Since I had been on the plane all day and hadn't had a chance to eat, I was starving. This was dinner...

Unfortunately, food is not served at Double Down, though you can get a twinke and some a$$ juice for $5.  And, in case you were wondering what a$$ juice looks like...here it is.

Actually sweet and more of a girly shot. Needing some food, we ventured off to Mr. D's Sports Bar and Grill at 1810 South Rainbow Blvd. It's a bit a way from the strip but known for being biker friendly and has cheap beer. Our kind of place.

 After surviving a long winter, the bikes under the lit palm trees were a welcome site.

Beers were a couple bucks, burgers and sandwiches were around $7 and were delicious.

Busy inside with a local crowd. People wanted to know how we found the place, but I don't divulge my secrets...unless it is on my blog...for the whole world to see. Found both places on yelp.com.

During our conversation, we learned that our bartender was also from Massachusetts, not far from where we live...it's small, small world...says the top she was wearing. I kid...just jealous, don't listen to me.

A beer, a sandwich and stick a fork in me...DONE. Longgg day of planes, trains and automobiles...and motorcycles, so we hopped on the bike, rode back to the hotel and parked in the free parking garage. Plenty of spots and the majority of hotels on strip have them, so not to worry if you decide to rent.

9pm in Vegas...in bed. Viva las Vegas!  

To be continued....