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Where is Lily?

 
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mjames1229



Joined: 23 Dec 2009
Posts: 406

PostPosted: Jun Fri 24, 2011 6:22 am    Post subject: Where is Lily? Reply with quote

She was Twittering updates on her trip to Las Vegas, but yet it appears she has left this board to wither and die.

I'm getting the WDs from not reading any new Vegas/Reno reports, and she was going to be my lifeline.
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stan_allen



Joined: 19 Dec 2005
Posts: 1129

PostPosted: Jun Fri 24, 2011 8:05 am    Post subject: She's simply having too much to bother with posts just now. Reply with quote

I guess that would be called "Twithering", when promised Twitter updates die out and wither away.

Let's hope the WDs don't turn into DTs - Lily, we need some TRs!
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JD



Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 956

PostPosted: Jun Fri 24, 2011 10:15 am    Post subject: TR in one week Reply with quote

If you can wait a week, I'll be there, computer with wi fi in hand.

Anyone within 20 miles of I-5, stick your thumb out...I can only transport 15 with luggage.


But I need encouragement to keep them going...takes away from my free drinks (and recovery) time.
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LilyJDragonfly



Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 425

PostPosted: Jun Fri 24, 2011 6:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I should do something about this Trip Report promise, eh? All right then. I'll get on it tonight.....
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LilyJDragonfly



Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 425

PostPosted: Jun Thu 30, 2011 9:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So here's the Reno/Tahoe portion and The Desert Drive:

The route: Olivehurst, CA to Sacramento to pick up car. Off to Reno for an afternoon, then Lake Tahoe for the night. Then, two nights at Bally’s in Las Vegas, one night at Red Rock in LV, and a finishing dollop of three nights at Fremont Street.

The gamblers: LilyN (that’s me!) and The Dog (that’s my charming husband and co-conspirator)

The details: So driving from Sacramento to Reno is about two and a half hours. It was a sunny and nice day. Things were going along swimmingly until we got about twelve miles short of the Nevada state line when traffic literally stopped on I-80. People were parked and walking around. Thanks to having fancy phones, we found the CHP website with a blow-by-blow of what was happening. At first, I thought it was a code for something. “Bee truck accident,” it said. What could that be? Turns out, it was bees, like bumble bees. A whole truck of them smashed into another truck just before where I80 narrowed to one lane. The accident occurred at 10:45am. It was 12:05pm when we got there and turned the car off. There was nowhere to turn around. We hung out and enjoyed the breeze. Finally, about 2:15 or so, we got to drive again.

Arriving in Reno around 3:00, we parked at the Cal-Neva and made our way to cash that 30-to-1 BCS ticket for Auburn that we bought on a whim last summer. We bought another one (same odds, same team) and eased over to the El Dorado to swipe our cards and play the Goldfish machines. The El Dorado has a powerful gas station-style air freshener that permeates everything. I’d really like to gamble there as I dig their logo and like their neon, but that aroma! Oy. Also, I have lost plenty of dollars there in the slots and never get so much as a discounted room offer, in spite of my Gold card status.

So on Wednesdays, Silver Legacy offers its Celebrity and up card holders a free buffet. We had planned on having this for lunch, but the bees buzzkilled this plan so we had it for dinner. As always, an excellent buffet choice in Reno. The “free” buffet wound up costing me at least a hundo in slots. And, much like El Dorado, no offers from them…. well, save for the free buffet and tin of mints I scored from their swipe machine. Also, I once got a free pen from their swipe machine.

We cruised through Harrah’s in Reno for a moment as The Dog had received a $10 freeplay and he promptly lost all that. I saved my cash for Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.

And now, off to Lake Tahoe! It was further than we thought (more than an hour from downtown Reno) and when we arrived, we pulled in to valet and were greeted with excellent and personable service. We had a comped executive room and it was kicking! The room size was nice with a bay window overlooking the lake and mountains and two bathrooms. Each bathroom was equipped with a circa 1983 TV that worked. We will return here.

A decent win on Lord of the Rings got me back to even and almost offset losses from The Dog. It had been a long day of sitting in traffic and we sacked out around 10pm.

The next morning, I was up at 5am and had to wait 30 minutes for the coffee joint to open (note: Harrah’s in Reno & Lake Tahoe do offer in-room coffeemakers & coffee, but I hate that weak coffee). I played a few more rounds of Davinci Diamonds and the Quick Hit machines… the Quick Hits used to be really good to me. Now they know they can sucker me over and never give me the free game bonuses and I’ll keep playing anyway.

By 8:30, we were packed and the car was waiting downstairs. Checkout, much like checkin, was quick and painless.

In spite of its immediate proximity, we did not go to Harvey’s or any other Lake Tahoe casino for this trip. However, we totally plan on coming back if we can score another comped room. Also, I heard there was a Sigma Derby at the Montebleu there in Tahoe.

Next, The Drive. From Lake Tahoe to Las Vegas is around eight hours, no stops. We’d rented a convertible and brought sunscreen. We got some bottled water and gas right outside Tahoe and then hit the road. For miles. And miles. And miles. About an hour in, there was a gas station. It was $4.99/gallon…. contrast that to Tahoe at $3.67/gallon. Then, nothing. We crossed in to Nevada and my handy foldout map from AAA indicated there was a town called Basalt where we would be turning south. When we arrived at this point, there was nothing. Not even an abandoned house or storefront. http://maps.google.com/?ll=38.010788,-118.275365&spn=0.004066,0.009645&z=17&layer=c&cbll=38.010851,-118.275322&panoid=VTzOSm4g-nBmT5jr2mB3LA&cbp=12,300.01,,0,19.16

So from nothing came more nothing. Then a tiny town called Dyer and free range cattle and dirt devils. Then more of the same. And some more of that. However, during this drive, we found an AM radio station that came in: KHWG, pronounced K-HAWG during the VERY infrequent station identifier breaks and commercials. In fact, I don’t think we heard more than three commercials in six hours of listening. We did get hours of pleasure listening to old-school country, you know, Gram Parsons, Patsy Cline, Hank Wms Senior, and so on. Overall, an excellent station for ambience in that part of these United States.

Soon, we came upon 95 and aimed the car south towards Las Vegas, passing the Shady Lady Ranch and at least one more brothel. (For those curious about visiting a legal Nevada brothel, I believe Shady Lady is the nearest to Las Vegas and that’s about two hours north of the town - http://www.shadyladyranch.com/main.html). We stopped in Beatty, NV for gas (the first place for gas since Benton, California) and popped over to the Sourdough Saloon for lunch and a beer. Sourdough Saloon offers Three Nopes for a Buck. Here’s how it works: You give the bartender a dollar. She hands you a cup of dice. You have to roll a five of a kind. You get three tries. Each try that you fail, the bartender will say, “Nope”. Should you manage to actually roll a 5OAK, you get the jackpot. It was at $212 when we tried and $214 when we left. We had pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, and beans for about $5/each. Tasty and icy cold beer, to boot.

And then, on to Las Vegas. Almost there, we came upon a fenced area with concertina wire, guard tower, and a blue bus. “Ahh. A prison,” I declare. The Dog begins to laugh. “Nope,” he says, “but close. It’s Creech Air Force Base.” Oops. (And The Dog is active duty Air Force… his buddies at work got a good laugh out of this.)
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LilyJDragonfly



Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 425

PostPosted: Jun Thu 30, 2011 9:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Vegas portion is partially posted on the Vegas Message Board forum here:

http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67250

And for the record, we're doing a PROPER Reno trip next weekend!!
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JD



Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 956

PostPosted: Jun Thu 30, 2011 11:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Americana Music festival in Virginia City July 8-10...bring your dueces
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LilyJDragonfly



Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 425

PostPosted: Jun Thu 30, 2011 1:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ooo-wee... we might just pop down for that on Saturday afternoon!
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stan_allen



Joined: 19 Dec 2005
Posts: 1129

PostPosted: Jun Thu 30, 2011 1:58 pm    Post subject: Bumblin' around Reply with quote

Love the play-by-play of the road tripping! I've always wondered what that drive from Tahoe to Vegas would be like - can you elaborate on the route(s) you used? I couldn't quite piece it together...

The bee-truck crash sounds like something out of a cartoon. I mean, really! It could only have been more perfect if the truck it crashed into was carrying a cargo of sugar, or sunflowers, or stuffed toy bumblebees....

Great stuff; thanks for sharing!
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LilyJDragonfly



Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 425

PostPosted: Jun Thu 30, 2011 2:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is route we traveled:

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Harrah%27s+Lake+Tahoe+Casino,+Stateline,+NV&daddr=Bally%27s+Casino,+Las+Vegas+Boulevard+South,+Las+Vegas,+NV&hl=en&ll=39.078908,-112.609863&spn=9.521945,23.939209&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=75.175813,191.513672&geocode=FQuKUgId_uDZ-CFZDhaMD19Zxg%3BFewMJwIdLJoi-SmzqqZtOsTIgDE3i2FhEB0R5A&mra=ls&z=7

Our route back was similar but we sidetripped into Rhyolite, a ghost town outside of Beatty. In fact, lemme get on task and get the photos offloaded so I can finish the TR!
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LilyJDragonfly



Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 425

PostPosted: Jun Thu 30, 2011 2:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And the whole bee truck thing - apparently, the bees were pissed and stinging anyone even coming near the situation. They had to call in another beekeeper and then get a water truck up there (mind you, the road is one lane coming in and going to Nevada and there are no turn arounds anywhere). If you spray bees with enough water, they just go limp and you can scoop them up.

Here's a newslink about it: http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/I-80_Reopened_After_Bee_Truck_Crashes_Releases_Swarm_123961389.html
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remano



Joined: 20 Dec 2005
Posts: 717

PostPosted: Jun Thu 30, 2011 3:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice TR. Thanks for posting. I'd be interested in the LV part of the trip, too.
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LilyJDragonfly



Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 425

PostPosted: Jun Thu 30, 2011 3:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One of the pics I shot in Rhyolite:

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Mammothgambler



Joined: 25 Dec 2005
Posts: 619

PostPosted: Aug Sat 06, 2011 4:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks for another awesome report! That's crazy, I saw an orange truck overturn on the interstate in Florida once, which was chaotic, but I can't imagine swarms of bees everywhere!

Oh yeah, you did the Tahoe to Vegas drive, what a blast! I'll never forget the first one I had several years back. Right over there by the Shady Lady and Dyer is where you turn to get to my neck of the woods, it's the most direct way to LV (once you're over those 3 mountain ranges, it's all good)! Good thing you all knew where to gas up, it's kinda random out there and I've had to rescue a few friends here and there. If you're ever through Beatty again, the Stagecoach Lodge is a fun little stopoff, not a bad little casino, awesome bar, and the restaurant is great. Grabbing a few bags of chocolate from the Death Valley Nut & Candy Company is also crucial!

Mammothgambler
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LilyJDragonfly



Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 425

PostPosted: Aug Sat 06, 2011 7:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's funny you mention the Death Valley Candy Co... the children are just now finishing up the Chewy Scottie Dogs we bought there! We also bought a big bag of dark chocolate covered orange sticks, but those were quickly consumed long ago....

We stopped there because we knew there wasn't any place to buy supplies after we passed that point towards Reno. They have a Subway there, plus a shop that sells NFL logo stuff and ghost pepper sauce.

I had scoped the route a bit on Google Maps and noted the lack of amenities so we took advantage any time we spotted a gas station! It was a cool drive listening to KHWG (God, I hadn't listened to Gram Parsons for years! I was surfing the stations and finding nothing and then Gram's voice sings out....) but I don't know if we'll do it again. We're leaning towards canceling the December LV reservations and just doing Reno for that week...
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