Monaco Pre Rally 2015 in Pahrump, Nevada

March 14 - 21/2015  Weather 78 to 83 forecast, night low 59  - quite good for an elevation of 2700 feet.  We have moved 50 miles to the west of Las Vegas to attend a Monaco International Pre Rally.  The club rally is being held in Pahrump, Nevada.   When we told someone at the RV park in Vegas we were going to Pahrump the comment was "why?  there are only horses and whores in Pahrump"......   nice guy!  Well there is ranchers and brothels here that is true!

View from our RV Park of Spring Mountain Range

Actually there are quite a few nice RV parks in here and we are staying at the Best Western Pahrump Station RV Park while some of the others are staying at Preferred RV Resort.

we are the coach on the left side of the picture

All the Rally events are taking place at the Golden Nugget Casino.  There are about 150 Monaco coaches coming into this pre rally.   The big rally of 2,000 coaches will be in a few weeks in Pomona, California (near L.A.) but we are not attending that one as we plan to head east and meander  across the USA then north to Ontario, Canada in the next month.

Agenda for Rally includes breakfast, dinner, entertainment and seminars

There are activities and information sessions everyday for 4 days.  It gives you a chance to talk to other Monaco Coach owners and the Manufacturer about questions or travel that might be just what you want to know.   We hope to make new friends, learn lots, have some fun and of course preview the new Monaco model coaches for sale! 

Monaco Preview Party

A few years ago Monaco brand was bought out by Allied Recreation Group, and the Monaco will continue to be in production.    ARG has many coach brands - Fleetwood, Monaco, American Coach, Holiday Rambler, Trek, Safari and Beaver.  It is always a good idea to own a coach that is still in production as the company will continue to service your older model.  Ours is a 2003 and we have had many conversations with Monaco Service and been extremely satisfied with the service response and ability to still buy service parts and get assistance.  Something to keep in mind if you are looking to buy a used coach. 

What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.

Closing out our stay in Vegas,,,,,, and there are a few humorous things that we want to share.   Las Vegas is "over the top".  You will see things here you don't see anywhere else.  And yes you can do things too, but those aren't for the blog:)

Bra Travel Case  -  Billy says you don't need these when your on a Harley :)

In case your Bra's want to take a trip to Vegas  - really?

A Faberge egg the size of a person

Elvis Wedding Chapel with people going in to get married

Larger than life - front end of a Heritage Softtail Harley at the HD Cafe

Valley of Fire

March 12/2015 Weather 80 and Sunny, low 60.   A great day to be alive:)

North shore of Lake Mead Recreation Area

nice sweeping road with a wonderful vista

Today we are taking a ride east of Vegas about 50 plus miles as the crow flies.... So it will most likely be 100 + miles by the time we take all the scenic drives through the north shore of Lake Mead Recreation Area and The Valley of Fire State Park.

Picnic area and trail - I had Billy check for lizards and snakes first!

We have Bottles of water and granola bars in the side bag since there are no restaurants, gas stations, tourist concessions in the State Park.   There is a Visitor Center (water available) and a few rest stops with primitive facilities along the drive.

A biker couple ahead of us driving in the Valley of Fire

We are going to tell you now if you go to Las Vegas and can only choose 1 site seeing trip this has to be it.  The Valley of Fire is designated a National Natural Landmark.

Look at the colours - red, brown, gold, yellow, green

We know we said see Hoover Dam and Red Rock but this Valley of Fire is "mesmerizing", "stunning" - the rock formations are in every spectrum of the rainbow - red, yellow, gold, brown, even some strands of green and blue.   

Unbelievable scenery to drive into

The rocks are so red that with the sun shining they are said to be on fire. We have been to Sedona to see red rocks but this area has a wilder untamed feel, not covered in tourist traps and housing.  Remote to civilization.  It is a postcard in every direction. 

Red and yellow moon scape

Another scenic drive, can't believe they all look different but so gorgeous

The desert is coming alive now in March, the dead looking pieces of vegetation are blooming!!!!  My mom the gardener would love this.   

beaver tail cactus - they are everywhere along the road

Bear paw poppy -  wish I could bring these home to Mom

Oh my goodness and have you ever seen such a wonderful spot to park your camper????  Water and power available.  Can you imagine watching the sunset and sunrise here.  Life doesn't get any better than this.   We are putting this State Campground on our bucket list.  We would love to come back and stay here for a few days and soak in the natural beauty of this place.

This should be the cover picture on a camping magazine!!!

Close your eyes and think of having coffee outside your camper in the morning - ah what a life

Red Rock Canyon

March 10/2015 Weather 78 sunny, low 56.  Another beautiful day.  Riding to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area today.

driving towards Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock National Conservation Area showcases the side walls of rock formations up to 3000 feet high.   This area is about 15 miles to the west of downtown and has a 13 mile scenic loop that takes you up close to the canyons and hiking areas.   Again today we used our National Park Pass to take the drive. There are several spots where we saw rock climbers traversing the faces of the rocks.  One area is named Calico Hills - the rocks have a mottled appearance,  making them very unusual looking.

Calico Hills

Rosey inspecting the rocks at Calico Hills

With spring coming to the desert the Joshua Trees are starting to bloom here, we saw them in Southern California but not yet in bloom, so that was really cool!  The Aztec Sandstone are rusty red and some layers are soft yellow.   

Joshua Tree in bloom

We found several other bikers out for a ride today too,,, one fellow mentioned that on the weekend the 13 mile loop can be bumper to bumper so mid week is a perfect time to enjoy less crowds.  Good timing!

motorcyles out for a ride - ours on the left

Vegas Baby

March 7 - 14/2015 Weather unseasonably warm, 10 degrees above normal this week 74 to 80, nights mid 50's.  Stunning !!!  We are lucky again.   The drive from Laughlin to Las Vegas was short about 100 miles, with some elevation climb as the city sits at 2,001 feet above sea level.   We are coming from being on a a slow burner (Laughlin) to the frying pan ( Las Vegas).

Oasis RV Resort Fountain from the Lobby

Oasis RV Resort swimming pool

 Our campground is south of The Strip a couple miles - Oasis RV Resort.   It is a huge park, very busy and quite nice.  Where are we?  Look at that outdoor fountain from the lobby with fancy etched glass doors and marble floors .....and a resort swimming pool.  Wow!!!  Hey it's Vegas:)

Welcome to Las Vegas  (Harley Davidson Dealership)

We have never been to Vegas before.   Not kidding.  And "no we haven't just crawled out of a RV cave".   Ha ha.  We don't gamble but there are so many things to do in Vegas we are sure to have a good time.  Drinking, Dining, Shopping, Shows, Attractions, People Watching, Events, Sports, oh yeah Gambling too!   What to do first?   Let's go to the Strip.

Luxor Casino and Hotel - looks like a glass pyramid

New York New York Casino and Hotel

Paris Casino and Hotel - looking through the fountains from the Bellagio

Tickets for shows?  Got two for Jeff Dunham at Planet Hollywood - he is a comic ventriloquist.  Puppets.  Really  Hilarious......we never stopped laughing for two hours.  

hilarious show

Driving and walking down the strip is a treat;  the casinos are incredible pieces of architecture and you never know about the people!

Show girls.... love the boots?

mime

mime sitting on air????   with the Belagio Casino and Hotel in the background

Casino Camping

March 1 -7/2015 Weather Temp dropping to 64 - storm front coming; then forecast is 74 for the rest of the week. BUT wind gusts of 30 mph too for a day.  Storm coming across from L.A. to Arizona.  Rain? Wind? Cooler?
And the rain came late in the afternoon and stayed all through the next day, more of a drizzle but lots of gloomy looking clouds. Then the sun came out but very windy for the day.   No motorcycle riding for a couple of days.  We haven't seen disturbed weather in well over a month.  We have been very spoiled with excellent weather this winter.

AVI Casino KOA  campground - nice view in the background

We moved just outside of the main strip of Laughlin, Nevada today.  This is the first we will have camped at a Casino.  Maybe it doesn't really count to most Casino Campers as they stay right in the parking lot, often dry camping.   We are taking the full hook ups across the street at the Laughlin/Avi KOA.   It is pretty much a parking lot too, but we pay $21 a night for full hookups vs $8 a night for nothing.   We figure its worth it as we would have to run our generator for power and that takes diesel fuel or liquid gold plus the noise !

Casino Camping - no hookups just park where you will $8

Just moving 55 miles and crossing the state border from Arizona to Nevada we lost an hour in Nevada.  This state also has legal prostitution in brothels and no state income tax.  Quite a change just crossing the river!!!!

So tonight we will walk across the street to the Casino and take advantage of the early bird 1/2 price dinners.    Not often do we stay where we can walk to restaurants, bars, gambling, bingo, movie theatres so it will work great with the couple of days of inclement weather. 

Riverside Casino and the RV Park

Harrah's Casino in Laughlin - view from across the river Bullhead City, AZ

We kept wondering why Laughlin was a casino town when only 90 miles away Las Vegas awaits with all its glory or sin......  Haha.  In the 50's it was a small town of miners and Davis Dam construction workers.   Don Laughlin owned the 101 Club in Las Vegas in 1964 and saw this town as a potential tourism spot right on the Colorado River.   He bought the town and put up a motel with 8 rooms, and 12 slot machines, 2 gaming tables. If you were hungry he had a 98 cent chicken dinner!  Now it is known as the Riverside Casino.  The town flourished up until 1997.  There are about 9 other casinos still on the strip and riverfront.  Our first ride around it looks a little quiet and sedate to us.   Someone had told us it was Vegas on Geritol.  Hmmm......  Maybe.

Old slot machines on display at Don Laughlin's Riverside Casino