Day 13: Welcome to Las Vegas

After heroically surviving the night in the rattlesnake-infested hotel, I decided to sleep in a little longer this morning so that I could check into the next hotel at my destination later.

Because today's stage covered 260 kilometers from Springdale to the legendary Las Vegas, Nevada (my new home).

A last look at the beautiful landscape of Zion National Park and off we go.

For the first time in about 5 days, the route didn't just lead me through quite lonely highways, but once again through a major interstate. And one thing in particular caught my attention this time:

Welcome to driving in the USA *intro music*

The topic today is carpool lanes. This does not refer to a pool where cars can cool down, no, but to a lane on the far left side of the interstate that can only be used by cars with two or more people. Especially on busy interstates, you can practically see the joy on the faces of the drivers in this lane as they can just pass by the other cars. I actually had to google to finally find out the purpose behind it. Supposedly, these lanes are supposed to promote carpooling. Well, I just find it discriminatory towards lonely German drivers like me...

The question is whether cars with names count as their own passengers or not? I believe that Engelbert and I are a carpool and should be allowed to use this lane. But I better not risk it.

That's it for driving in the USA for today *outro music*

The journey led out of Utah for a few kilometers to Arizona for the last time on this trip, before I crossed the border to the fourth state of this journey for the first time: Nevada.

In the Spotify playlist 'Songs Everyone Knows', the American national anthem was playing, fittingly enough (whatever it's doing in this playlist).

Nevada can be summed up quite simply: 90% desert, 9.9% Las Vegas, and 0.1% Area 51. Accordingly, the drive through the vast desert landscape was monotonous, until suddenly the glittering Las Vegas appeared on the horizon. If some crazy person hadn't thought 'Yes, I want to open a casino here' 90 years ago, there would simply be nothing here.

Since I was still too early for check-in, I drove past my hotel and went through half the city to visit the attraction that belongs at the beginning of every good Las Vegas trip: the welcome sign.

I walked a few hundred meters along the Las Vegas Strip before heading back to the hotel due to the temperature and time. The Strip is on the agenda for tomorrow.

After another 20-minute drive through the Las Vegas traffic, I finally reached the free guest parking lot of my hotel. It is by far the largest on my trip and almost like a small skyscraper (photos from the outside will be available tomorrow). When I left the elevator for the lobby, I expected a calm, civilized reception. But this is Las Vegas, so of course the reception is in the loud, colorful, smoky casino of the hotel.

When checking in, there was a problem for the first time. My reservation was in the system, but apparently, I hadn't paid yet. I had to pay €160 for the two nights, which are actually included in the price of my trip. My travel agency has already been informed, and I hope that I can resolve this tomorrow. Tune in tomorrow to find out the resolution of this exciting storyline.

Then it was off to the 17th (!) floor to my room. It's beautiful and spacious again, and the view is naturally stunning. I quickly found the ironing board and iron, bringing the success rate to 6/9 (66.7%).

Then I headed to the second stadium tour of this trip. Once again, it's an NFL stadium and once again, it's one of the most modern stadiums in the world. The Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, was opened just two years ago and looks a bit like the Death Star from the outside. On the way there, it actually started to storm. Out of all the places on this trip, I wouldn't have expected a storm in Las Vegas.

The first glimpse inside the stadium was somewhat disappointing because the retractable field wasn't there at the moment.

But then came the plot twist that nobody expected anymore: Slowly but surely, the field was being moved in front of our eyes. And because they knew that a European was taking part in the tour today, it was even a soccer field instead of a football field. Well, maybe it also has to do with Chelsea having a friendly match here the day after tomorrow...

At a record-breaking low 23 degrees in Las Vegas, I returned to the hotel at dusk. Tomorrow, it will be the full dose of Sin City. Take care.

Leart