It seemed like such a short stay in Salt Lake City, but I had to leave and drive south to Las Vegas. After a hearty breakfast and packing my car back up, I hit the road. This was going to be my second longest day of driving, but at least the scenery in Utah is better than Nevada (sorry, Nevada). The only noteworthy event was when I saw a sign saying "Speed Limit Test Ahead". I didn't know what that meant until I saw my first ever "80 MPH" sign. Like wow! That's fast. I guess they figured since everybody was doing 80 anyways, they might as well see how many people die in car accidents on this 14 mile stretch of freeway. Even the big-rigs were allowed to go this speed.
Most of the trip I had my windows rolled down because it was so nice outside, but as I got closer to St. George it started getting hotter. By the time I got to Vegas it was over 100 degrees. Once in Vegas I made the mistake of following my GPS. I knew the shortest distance to my friend's house was on the new 215, but that road was not on my GPS maps. So at one point my GPS had me make a left turn into a park-and-ride. But don't worry, I made it to Mark's by 3 PM, where in less then one minute he offered me a beer.
We had no plans for this 4th of July weekend, and ended up hanging around the house. Unfortunately Mark had to work the 9 PM to 1 AM shift that first night. I had trouble sleeping, but when I got up to use the bathroom at 2 AM Mark was home and said "Ready for a shot of Jack Daniels?" So we did a shot of JD and that helped me sleep better.
The next day (or later in the morning), we had a really good breakfast at a local restaurant I forgot the name of. We decided to celebrate the 4th of July by setting off legal fireworks, having a BBQ and playing in the pool. Mark and Jayne invited their neighbors over, who brought their dog Sasha. Sasha was very happy to see me as it had been a whole year since I saw her last. Once the sun set, you could see and hear fireworks all over the neighborhood, some illegal ones shooting up into the air. We could barely see the ones being set off at the Red Rock Casino, but since we were there last year that was OK.
Too much excitement for one day. I went to bed by midnight so I could wake up early the next day to try to beat the south-bound flow of cars leaving Las Vegas.
The next day I once again packed my car and said goodbye to Mark and Jayne and thanked them too for their hospitality. Once on the freeway, I quickly caught up to traffic and saw a sign that said "Heavy traffic - long delays." Not good. Luckily, traffic cleared up a few miles past the state line and I got home before 5 PM, with a stop in Barstow for a lunch at the Carl's Jr. I always eat at.
It was a fun-filled summer vacation, but all too short. Had I an extra week I would have driven further north, like into Canada. Maybe next year.
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