Fifth day, June 1: from the Grand Canyon to Laughlin

Along the way we stood at several iconic points of the Mother Road, sometimes small groupings of houses and businesses that arose to give hospitality and assistance to the many travelers who traveled the road from East to West. The period of greatest movement was during the Dust Bowl, when due to the sandstorms that hit many American states and Canada there was a large migration during the 1930s. I knew this exodus from the photographs of the great photographer Dorothea Lange. The first place you meet is Williams, whose name comes from that of the famous trapper (nothing to do with modern music!) And fur hunter William “Old Bill” Williams, but I discovered this later.

Another really interesting stopover we made at Seligman: here is the shop where until a few years ago Angel Delgadillo practiced as a barber. Angel is known for being the architect of the revival of Route 66 as Historic Route 66, after, following the opening of Interstate I-40, traffic on the Route was virtually gone. His brother, Juan Delgadillo, is famous for having built the Snow Cap Drive-In in 1953: in front of the place he placed a 1936 Chevrolet to which he had cut the roof, adorning it with trumpet horns, headlights and various colors, including a synthetic Christmas tree in the back. We ate a sandwich with some kind of meat at the equally iconic RoadRunner, a place selling souvenirs and various items, cafeteria and food. For those who don’t know, the Roadrunner is a typical bird of these parts, a very fast runner from which the famous cartoon “Beep beep”.

After Seligman, continuing in the direction of Laughlin, we arrived at Hackberry, an old mining town that since the closure of the mine has depopulated, becoming almost a ghost town. On the road there is the Hackberry General Store, a building recovered from the past that includes a gas station with an attached shop on the back of which there is a workshop that was used at the time when cars traveling Route 66 were often subject to breakage, failure and malfunctions. Characteristic of the store are the walls covered with dollar bills with names and dates left for souvenir by tourists, something that we will find in other places along Route 66. Another thing worth noting is the sign at the checkout counter that reads: “Warning for shoplie thieves – we do not pursue them, our rule is to execute them”!

And we finally arrive in Oatman, among the Black Mountains, a characteristic ghost town whose peculiarity is in the numerous mules that live in a free state in the town and its surroundings. In the village a sign warns not to touch the mules and to be careful because they can bite and kick. Before arriving at Oatman, after kilometers and miles of straight road, we traveled a bit of a road full of curves and finally Marco and I indulged ourselves by giving a little gas and overtaking someone slower. Even here the local saloon is completely covered with bills! In the place there are staplers and markers for those who want their memory to be attached to the wall, we also attached 1 dollar bills with our names written on them. It is said that there are about 100,000 dollars in the place. In the dusty streets and under the porches, the mules walk and nibble undisturbed, sometimes fed by tourists and shop owners. Even along the way, both while we were reaching Oatman and when we left, there were some groups of mules. You have to be careful.

Finally, after this long day, we arrived in Laughlin, staying in the same hotel where in 2002 a violent fight broke out between the bands of Californian motorcycles Hells Angels and Mongols, with three dead and several injured. In the Harrah’s Hotel I saw for the first time an immense casino in the United States, waiting to see the even bigger and more famous ones in the world of Las Vegas. Laughlin rises along the Colorado River, as for the other destinations we stayed in the hotel or in the immediate vicinity. At the hotel breakfast was served directly at the tables, you had to queue waiting for the breakfast room to open, take a seat and after a while the waitress arrived with a tray on which there was the typical continental breakfast menu: scrambled eggs, bacon and/or sausage, toasted bread, sometimes beans and diced potatoes. And then the inevitable cup of American coffee. I’ve always had this kind of breakfast, I liked it and anyway it’s not like there was any other choice, they don’t use the sweet breakfast of Europeans.

Sixth day, June 2: from Laughlin to Las Vegas

On this day the memories are a little confused: for sure I left by motorcycle and arrived by motorcycle at the Hoover Dam, the dam on the Colorado River and then for sure I arrived in Las Vegas aboard the van, perhaps because the rear wheel of the motorcycle kept losing pressure. In fact I have photos taken with my cell phone from inside the van. I’ll probably have gotten into the van at the Hoover Dam, I have photos taken by Chiara of me on the motorcycle at the dam.

The Hoover Dam is an impressive work: initially called Boulder Dam, it was built in 1935, with arduous design and huge work. Admission is free, we limited ourselves to visiting the outside because in a tour like ours, which takes us in 8 days from New Mexico to California through four states, it is impossible to stop at each attraction for the time necessary for a complete visit. After visiting the dam, our guide Stefano took us to a panoramic point from which it is possible to have a view of Lake Mead, generated by the Colorado River dam.

In Las Vegas we stayed at the Golden Nugget, already looking at the neighborhood we were in gave an idea of what awaited us on the Strip. Time to take a shower and change and Marco, Chiara and I went down to look for the famous pawnshop “Gold & Silver Pawn Shop”, headquarters of the television program “Affari di Famiglia” for a few minutes already closed. Chiara tried in every way to ask to come in just for a minute but there was no way. Bet to the Harley Davidson store right in front of our hotel and t-shirt purchase. Then we called an Uber and had it taken to the Bellagio Hotel, on the Strip (Las Vegas Boulevard). I pissed off the Uber driver because after telling her to take us to the Bellagio lw I told her to drop us off at the first possible place on the ramp to the hotel lobby.

I won’t describe everything we’ve seen, it would be impossible to say everything or leave anything out, I’ll just say that if America is “exaggerated” Las Vegas is even more so and beyond! We entered the Bellagio, the Caesars Palace, the Venetian; we saw, photographed and filmed the games of light and water and music of the Bellagio Fountains; we roamed through the reproductions of the Calli and the Canals of Venice, complete with gondolas on the water and gondoliers singing in Italian! Along the Strip girls with feather wings and headgear and… little else (practically only briefs!) They advertised I don’t know what, maybe sexy shows. So much “what happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas” (cit. film “A night of the lions”). We also played (only 15 dollars) roulette at the Caesars Casino.

It was a lot of fun, the photos above give the idea a bit (but also not enough). We then went to sleep relatively early, the next day we had the penultimate stretch of road to Victorville, the last stop before arriving in Los Angeles, crossing the Mojave Desert.