A road trip TO Laughlin?

As noted previously, my most recent trip to Vegas included the renting of a BMW convertible.

When I spend several days in Vegas, I like to hit the road and see something interesting, typically away from the hustle and bustle of the casinos and the endless traffic. Once you leave the greater Vegas area, however, there aren't a lot of places to go.

Seeing nature's beauty is your best bet if you don't want to travel more than an hour away. It's not far to Red Rock Canyon, where you can loop through a scenic, rocky, somewhat interesting national conservation area. Further away you can visit Valley of Fire, a state park with similar qualities, which I found to be more interesting.

For a drive up, up and away from the shimmering lights of Vegas, Mt. Charleston is an option. There's not a ton to see up top, although there's a ski resort. There's a cool neighborhood where people live up there, built along a hillside near the top. Oddly, most of the houses are rather close to one another. Very strange.

During my spring visit to Vegas we visited the Primm casinos and outlet mall. I doubt the outlet mall is that much better than what you'll find in the Vegas area, although I don't know, as I rarely darken the doorstep of an outlet mall.

One of the best road trips I've taken was to Rhyolite, Nev., a very cool ghost town I'll write about some day. It's not a quick trip from Vegas, and I wouldn't call it a must-see destination, but if this sort of thing interests you and you have a day to dedicate to the trip, I would recommend it.

With a BMW convertible, it was essential to incorporate a road trip into our plans during last month's trip. My girlfriend didn't have any particular destination in mind, and she wasn't interested in the short trip to Primm for another shopping excursion at the outlet mall. I had suggested it because it would give me an excuse to visit either the Gold Strike, M or South Point casinos.

So I suggested we go to Laughlin. Yes, Laughlin.

I have been to Laughlin three times. Many years ago I was in Vegas with a friend and her parents. My friend knew that Laughlin was a casino town along the river, and in the early 2000s there were plenty of ads offering free bus rides to Laughlin, along with a free buffet lunch and a coupon book for whatever casino was sponsoring the bus.

In hindsight it seems like I wasted my time. I had a limited time to spend in Vegas, and we spent many hours of one of those days on a bus to and from Laughlin. Part of my interest in the Laughlin visit was to experience a trip through the desert, something I hadn't done before.

I never expected to return to Laughlin, but five years ago I did, thanks to a former girlfriend who inexplicably was being offered a lot of casino perks from the Harrah's folks. We ended up with two free trips to Laughlin in the span of a few months, and during both of those trips we rented a car and drove up to Vegas for one or two nights. They were great trips, and they demonstrated to me what a boring city Laughlin is.

So why go back? We needed a road trip destination and didn't want to give up an entire day. The daily high temperature was above average during our stay, and my girlfriend hadn't had the benefit of a lot of warm days at the pool during our five previous trips together. In three cases that was because we went around Halloween, or later, in the year. (And even during one of those Halloween trips we had a couple of nice days by the Orleans pool, given the time of year.)

I figured if we went to Laughlin, we could hit the road around 5 p.m. and enjoy the mostly boring desert landscape as the sun set, with the top down. Although the drive isn't very exciting, it's quick and easy once you get outside of the Vegas area, and the final miles into Laughlin are an interesting experience, as the altitude drops quite a bit as you descend toward Laughlin. There aren't any breathtaking views, but the drive is a neat experience.

We arrived in Laughlin at sunset and went to Harrah's, as I had a two-for-one buffet coupon from the American Casino Guide. We had dinner and quickly departed. The casino action wasn't too bad for a Tuesday night in May, but I wasn't there to gamble.

We drove up the road and parked at the Laughlin version of the Golden Nugget, but didn't go in. We went next door to the small, amusing Pioneer, featuring an illuminated Vegas Vic sign outside the building, much like the one in downtown Vegas.

The action inside the Pioneer was lacking, and after looking at a couple of old slot machines on display we walked along the river to the Colorado Belle. The Belle is a cool looking casino shaped like a paddle boat, and inside there's a microbrewery. We didn't have a beer there, and we didn't stay long. My girlfriend had a chance to walk along the river between the casinos, where there wasn't much to see. A water taxi did pull up to a dock, but there wasn't anything else happening on the river after dark. I bored her with stories about how cold the water is, which is ironic given how hot it gets in southern Nevada. Without much to see at any of the casinos, we headed back to Vegas in the dark of night.

When you travel between Vegas and Laughlin the north-south highway you take is Highway 95. It's a divided, four-lane highway. There are signs that suggest the highway is patrolled from above, which isn't something you see every day. I have no idea how often it is patrolled, but with the top still down as we headed back, a helicopter flew over us twice during the first 30 minutes or so of our trip back.

There are a couple of non-towns along Highway 95, and one of them is Searchlight. It's a town that once existed because of mining, or so the story goes, and today it's a geographic dot on the map where you can get stop for gas, food and gambling. Having stopped at the Terrible's in Searchlight in the past, I decided we should stop on the way back for a cheap beer.

I don't remember what I paid for a bottle of beer in the past during those trips from Laughlin five years ago, but it wasn't much. The "casino" at Terrible's is a modest room full of machines. I wasn't interested in playing video poker for a free drink, I simply wanted a cheap beer. They had a sign promoting pints of Rolling Rock on tap, for 50 cents.

Other than the crappy beer they'd sell in a 10-ounce cup for 50 cents at the Vegas Club downtown, I can't remember the last time I found a place selling a beer for 50 cents. I  haven't seen a price like that since I was in college, and that was more than a few years ago.

My girlfriend and I each had a pint, and then I decided to change it up to my go-to macro brew, Bud Light. I assumed I was ordering a bottle when I asked for one, but the bartender had it on tap, and poured me a pint. My girlfriend ordered a second Rolling Rock. I had no idea what the tap of Bud Light cost when I ordered it, but eventually we noticed a sign on the wall behind us: $1 for a pint, $3 for a pitcher.

The total for our four tap beers: $2.50. We left $5 for our tab when we departed.

I have no interest in returning to Laughlin, unless somehow I end up with another free trip, but it was the perfect destination for a September evening drive in a BMW convertible.

When I was in Vegas in May I would have bet against my ever returning to Searchlight. While I have no reason to expect I'll ever return, life is funny. I wouldn't bet against it.

Prime rib and cheap sneakers

As I noted once upon a time, summer is short in Minnesota. It's going to be hot and steamy the next few days, but by Labor Day we might be wearing layers of clothing for the remainder of the year.

I haven't taken a lot of time to write this summer, and I have a new Vegas trip on the horizon, and it's less than a month away. So in celebration I should probably finish chronicling my memories from my trip in May.

My May trip was for the closing of the Riviera. From my arrival on Sunday night through the wee hours of Monday night, I was a busy guy. By Tuesday it was time to relax. I spent that afternoon at the Orleans pool and had dinner that night at The Prime Rib Loft.

 I go out of my way for cheap prime rib when I'm in Vegas, and I decided it was time to try a cut above the cafe specials I typically enjoy.

I'm not a food critic, so I can't tell you how succulent the meat was, or how fluffy and delicious the baked potato was. My girlfriend and I both had simple prime rib dinners. I didn't try to eat my weight in prime rib, but there are some hefty cuts available. Our bill was less than $50 for two plates with sides, whatever that entailed. I don't remember if we had drinks of any kind with our meal, but I tend not to wash down my food with beer, wine or spirits. Or soda for that matter.

We were both satisfied with the quality of the meal and the price. We both noted that the cuts of prime rib we received were finer than what you get for $9.99 at a cafe, as they should be, and that the service was top notch. I suspect we'll be going back for dinner later this month.

When I rent a car and spend several days in Vegas I like to take a road trip. During this trip we didn't want to spend a day on the road, so we opted instead to take an evening trip south to the California border.

I made my first visit to Primm, Nev., on May 6, and it was quite an experience.

Never having driven south, I had no idea what to expect. I knew I'd be out in the middle of nowhere, but I had no idea how surreal the experience would be.

Holy crap, Primm is creepy on a weeknight in May.

The area looks cool when you see pictures of it. And it seems like a fun place to stay if you want a cheap casino getaway without all the hustle and bustle of Vegas.

We made the outlet mall our priority. I can imagine the mall does quite well on weekends as people travel back and forth between Vegas and southern California. On a Wednesday night it's almost depressing.

There are plenty of stores, several kiosks and a food court. I can imagine it being busy during the holiday shopping season. It strikes me as a place that people would happily shop at. But on a Wednesday evening, most store employees looked bored out of their gourd. I felt sorry for them.

The mall is attached to the Primm Valley Resort and Casino. It looked like a nice place, although it was a bit quiet. I was there during dinner time, so I didn't expect it to have the vibrancy of Caesar's on a Saturday night, but it was a little too empty for my liking. Little did I know.

My girlfriend found some deals on clothing she was happy with, so with her retail purchases in hand, we set out to find dinner. We bypassed any dining options at the outlet mall and casino and looked next door, at Buffalo Bill's.

Bill's looks like a lot of fun. They have a roller coaster outside the casino, and a couple of other rides somewhere on their grounds, I believe. It's a colorful, decorative building, and inside they play up the old west theme quite a bit. It's old school Vegas, a casino with a distinct theme, and dedication to it.

And it was as dead as a doornail.

I think there were a handful of people gambling in the casino, and it's not a small casino.

There was a small food court area, and one of the restaurants within it was open. It looked like their buffet was open for dinner, too, although I don't know why.

We opted not to eat at Bill's, and wound up eating at The Mad Greek Cafe, near a fast food option or two outside of Primm Valley Casino. The joint touts how great it is, how beloved it is, and it's fine, but it's not special, it's not a bargain and I wouldn't make a point to eat there again.

We finished our depressing visit to Primm at Whiskey Pete's, across the highway from the rest of the action.

Pete's has a cool Bonnie and Clyde display, including their bullet-riddled car from the 1930s. It's a neat display, and it was my favorite thing about the trip to Primm.

It was after 8 p.m. at this point and the casino had no table games open. There was a sign denoting that fact. If you want to gamble at Pete's, you play a machine. There were a handful or two of players, but again, Wednesday night is not the time to visit Primm.

Since we weren't in a hurry to get back to the Orleans that night, I regret that we didn't stop at the Gold Strike Casino on the way north. I should have stopped there just to see it, although I suspect I'd have been disappointed with the ambiance there, too.

During the drive we also passed the well respected M casino, another place I've never been to. That's much closer to Vegas than the Gold Strike, so perhaps I'll find my way there some day.