From Las Vegas to Laughlin

Finally we hit the road. We said goodbye to Las Vegas and set off this morning. 9 bikes and 1 car, that's our convoy, and our first destination took us back through Boulder City to the Hoover Dam. Boulder City was established because of the Hoover Dam, as during its construction in the 1930s, many thousands of workers needed to find accommodation nearby. Actually, Las Vegas itself was also born because of the Hoover Dam, even though the city has been around since the 1900s. But the many men needed entertainment and distraction, and Boulder City was very religiously inclined.... so no wine, women, and song. They quickly made these pleasures available in LV, and that's how all the establishments started.

The Hoover Dam itself is an impressive structure, and when you consider that it was built from 1931 to 1935, you can only marvel even more at the architectural and construction achievement.

From the Hoover Dam, we continued through the desert to the Eldorado Mine, which has served as a backdrop for many movies. Today, it looks like a huge mix of an antique shop, junkyard, and classic car collection. You have to watch out for rattlesnakes and cacti called Joshua Trees.

Back on the interstate towards Laughlin, our destination for today. It was a long and monotonous drive through the desert, and we all struggled with temperatures reaching 44 degrees, hot desert winds, and a sense of bleakness. Some of the pillion women even nodded off on the motorcycle. :-)

In Laughlin, we checked into the Aquarius Casino Resort, so we still get to experience staying in a typical casino hotel.

Insight of the day: 44 degrees is just too much for motorcycle riding.