2015 - October 15th, 16th & 17th - Route 66, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas & Peggy Sue's Diner

Leaving Williams AZ on the 15th around 6 PM, we drove the short 40 minutes to Seligman where we had reservations at the old-school throwback - our Supai Motel in Seligman on Old Route 66. Neon signs, quaint motel rooms, that 50's feel were all at The Supai Motel! Love that nostalgia!
Old Route 66, where it still exists, is such a fun area to drive. We wanted to take in as much of this short area as we could on our last days before returning home. After checking in at the Supai, we went down Route 66 about two and a half blocks to The Roadkill Café for dinner. This place has all the ambience that we expected. The food portions are large and the food is tasty. This is a must experience whenever close to the area!

               
               
                    
                    
                    
From home made baked bread and a fine Merlot to the main course, it was a delicious and fun evening at the Roadkill Café!

Getting on the road the morning of the 16th to follow Route 66 through Peach Springs and Hackberry on our journey to Hoover Dam and fabulous Las Vegas, we had to have breakfast at Westside Lilo's Café directly across the highway from the Roadkill Café. Again, another sight to be seen. The décor was great and the food superb! We enjoyed it all before continuing on.
   
Our Historic Route 66 journey begins!
               
              
Driving along, we stumbled onto the fabulous Hackberry General Store lifted right out of the history books. What a fun place to stop, shop, and adsorb. If you want any souvenir-type junk, this is the place! We had a lot of fun just looking around at all of the stuff and the funky displays. Don't pass this one up ... just "Get Your Kicks On Route 66!"
                    
                    
               
                                   
Within about an hour and a half, we reached Hoover Dam. We followed the crowd to the parking area that leads to the steps and walkway leading to The Mike O'Callaghan and Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge viewing site of Hoover Dam. We walked across the State line from Arizona to Nevada and took several pictures of the Dam from various spots on the bridge.
Work began in 1930 and proceeded day and night. Five years later a 726-foot-high wall blocked the Colorado River at its entrance to Black Canyon. In 1935 the newly completed dam was the highest dam in the world.

The landscape changed immediately. The waters of the backed-up Colorado spread into the valleys and basins, flooding lowlands and turning dry cliffs into lake shores.

Human geography changed, too, as the project opened the West with irrigation, flood control, drinking and industrial water, and hydroelectric power. Today, Lake Mead irrigates more than one million acres in the United States and Mexico. The lake's water can reach kitchens in Tucson, lawns in Los Angeles, or farms of the Imperial and Mexicali valleys.
               
               

               
We then drove over the Hoover Dam and by the buildings surrounding the area including passing by the Hoover Dam Sculptures - "Winged Figures of the Republic". They express "the immutable calm of intellectual resolution, and the enormous power of trained physical strength, equally enthroned in placid triumph of scientific accomplishment."
               
               
On the way out, we took the short inlet road that over looks Lake Mead. Again, this was a very interesting spot.

The Boulder Dam Project created Lake Mead. Completed in 1935, the dam blocked the Colorado River as the river turned southward here into Black Canyon. The backed-up waters formed a 110-mile-long series of basins and coves, now known collectively as Lake Mead.

Since its establishment in 1936, the recreation area around Lake Mead has been managed by the National Park Service. In 1947 Boulder Damn was renamed Hoover Dam. At that time the area of Lake Mojave, stretching 67 miles southward from Hoover Dam to Davis Dam, was added to the recreation area.

In 1964 Congress established this entire area as Lake Mead National Recreation Area. This was the first nationally designated recreation area in the country.

Boulder Basin is only one-quarter of Lake Mead. The capacity of the entire lake is more than 46 billion cubic yards --- enough to store nearly two years of the Colorado River's flow. Completely filled, the lake is 500 feet deep, and more than 500 miles of shoreline ring its basins and "arms."
We stopped on the Nevada side of the Hoover Dam in Boulder City at the Hoover Dam Lodge and Casino for lunch. The Bighorn Café inside was convenient and we enjoyed the leisurely meal.

Then off to Fabulous Las Vegas! We had to stop on the way into town at the end of the Las Vegas Strip to get pictures taken at the world-renown iconic "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada" sign. With all of the tourists, we had someone step-up and offer to take our picture and we reciprocated by taking one of them too.
               
Our booking for the night was at The Rio All-Suite Hotel Casino. We had never stayed here before and had always wanted too. How lucky to find a Groupon and be able to use it on a Friday night! The suites are wonderful. So nice to have that luxury feeling and at a good price to boot!
A timeless must-visit stop on the Las Vegas strip is the Peppermill Restaurant & Lounge, in our opinion. We wanted to have Ray and Sandra experience some of the old-classic Vegas which is getting harder to find as the years pass. We hope that this iconic restaurant never fades from the Las Vegas landscape! The Peppermill Restaurant and Lounge is a classic with a cool atmosphere, unique drinks, and amazing food and desserts! As The Food Channel puts it ... "What has fun food, tons of history, and is pink and blue and neon all over? If you know Las Vegas, you know the answer is Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge." Bring on those enormous food portions, amazing drinks, and that never-ending-neon lighting!
Sandra's "Kiss My Cucumber" and Mary Anne's "Bubble Bath" adult cocktails at The Peppermill
Larry & Ray both had a "Bloody Mary" ... Ray's first ever!
               
          

After dinner we spent some time strolling the Palazzo and the Venetian, their Casinos, public areas, and shops. We took Sandra and Ray to Venice, Las Vegas style, and the canals to see and hear the Gondoliers as each paddled guests through canal and surrounding shops. To finish the evening, the great Italian Gelato at the canals at the Venetian had to be had!
                             
               
                    
                    
Now it's Saturday, October 17th and our last day of the road trip. We packed up the Prius and stopped at one of the Las Vegas IHOPs for breakfast. Luckily we beat the Saturday morning flood of people by a little. Had a smashingly good breakfast before we were on the road again.

We have driven the road from Las Vegas to Lakewood many times so had set in our minds to stop in Yermo California, north of Barstow, at one of our favorites for lunch, Peggy Sue's 50's Diner Café. Anyone that has ever driven the 15 to Vegas knows Peggy Sue's as it sits in the middle of the desert pretty much all by itself.

Peggy Sue's is an original roadside Diner, built in 1954 with 9 counter stools and 3 booths. It sets in on the shadow of the Calico Mountains and was built from railroad ties and mortar from the nearby Union Pacific Rail yard. The owners came from Southern California in 1981, reopened the diner in 1987 and attempted to restore and preserve it in its original state. Before moving to the desert in 1981 Champ, the husband, worked for Knott’s Berry farm and his wife worked in the movies. The diner was the perfect place to display their extensive collection of movie and TV memorabilia. To compliment the cozy atmosphere of the Diner, they wanted good homemade food and great 50’s music. They used her grandmother's family recipes, made the old fashioned way. Thanks to the support of the Loyal Locals, Trusty Truck Drivers, Mighty Military, and Terrific Tourists the diner prospered and became more popular. The Diner ran out of room, so they decided to expand the Diner into a real Old Fashioned Tourist Stop ... just like they remembered when they traveled across country as kids. They opened a 50’s style 5 & Dime Store with Curios and Memorabilia, Soda Fountain, Ice Cream Parlor, and Pizza Parlor.
               
After enjoying our lunch, we continued on to Lakewood and the end of this part of the holiday, our 2400 mile road trip. But it's not over yet! We have five more days to see what we can find locally ... so stay tuned! For a complete captioned photo album of this blog entry, click this link!