September 17     164 miles     LAUGHLIN, Riverside RV Park     ($23.54)

East on Route 66 to the Colorado River, then north into Nevada 

We followed Route 66, running east across the Mojave Desert, parallel with the much busier highway 40. After 26 miles we paused at Ludlow, where a packed 'Dairy Queen', fuel station and motel serve both roads. Then the 66 swung south, its surface getting rougher, past Pisgah Crater, a black extinct volcano, and through near deserted-Amboy 29 miles further on (its school closed; Roy's Café and Motel clinging on to life). The road closely followed the railway line, very busy with long freight trains carrying containers in both directions. Pausing for a photo opportunity, we counted 106 wagons hauled past by a Santa Fe diesel engine.

We lunched in a Route 66 memorial layby, in the company of one spiny lizard and an elderly couple going the other way, heading home to Palm Springs. They'd been in Nevada and were gleefully letting off fire-crackers they'd bought there (illegal here in California)! We were all surprised to see a fully loaded tandem go by, ridden by 2 young men who waved without stopping. The first cyclists we'd seen this visit.

102 miles from Newberry, we rejoined highway 40 at 2,700 ft. At South Pass, 10 miles further on, the GPS registered 2,603 ft before a 16 mile descent to Needles, on the Colorado River. A plain of green irrigation spread below us, a welcome sight after the scrub and yucca plants of the desert. To the east, across the river, lies Arizona, but we turned north, following the Colorado Valley up a minor road. After 21 miles we crossed the state line from California into Nevada, the Silver State. Now we may gamble and let off fireworks.

Another 10 miles or so to the casino city of Laughlin. Driving through on the Needles Highway, we almost missed the city, tucked along a bend in the Colorado to our east. We noticed the Library (luckily open on a Saturday afternoon) and stopped for a map and an hour's free internet. On to the huge RV Park opposite the Riverside Casino, with over 500 places on 5 levels. Minimal facilities but full hook-ups, and with the oppressive heat  down at 590 ft, electricity is essential to run the air-con.

Before dinner we took a walk along the riverside, amazed at the crowds, the pleasure boats on the river and the resort casinos (including the 'Colorado Belle' built like a paddlesteamer, complete with moat). We do prefer Blackpool's Golden Mile for taste and variety, though!

September 18/19     104 miles     LAS VEGAS, KOA 'Circus Circus'     ($30.41)

To the Casino Capital of Las Vegas, celebrating its centenary as Sin City

A rapid ascent out of the Colorado valley, from 590 ft climbing 1,000 ft in 5 miles. Through a scrubby desert of bare hills, resembling spoil heaps, we eventually crossed a pass at 2,255 ft, then another at 2,945 ft. The vertical profile on the GPS displayed a smooth wedge shape, very different from the saw-tooth peaks of New Zealand. Joining the narrow highway 95, we continued north across a dry plateau at about 2,500 ft. There was no sign of wildlife (or roadkill) to feed the odd eagle soaring overhead, but plenty of RV's and motorbikes out in the sunshine. The sense of wide open spaces and empty wilderness experienced in Australia is strangely lacking here, due to the constant traffic.

After 38 miles at a crossroads is the old silver mining settlement of Searchlight at 3,539 ft. Here is a casino, fuel station and store, McDonalds, RV Park and motel – what more does a traveller need? The onward road to Las Vegas became a 4-lane highway, with wide shoulders and central reservation. It met road 93 from Boulder City at the Railroad Pass (2,350 ft), marked by a casino, then turned west onto the busy 215 freeway, dropping down to 2,000 ft and into Las Vegas.

We took the exit signed 'Las Vegas Boulevard', seeking the KOA on Circus Circus Drive, just off the stretch of Las Vegas Bvd known as 'The Strip'. This turned out to be about 2 miles south of the Downtown, at the northern end of the Strip and truly within walking distance of the famous casinos. With over 400 places, a swimming pool, 4 well-equipped 'Comfort Stations' and wireless internet connection, we checked in for 2 expensive nights and made a late lunch.

The wireless internet was having problems and access to it was sporadic, though we were assured that the 'Hotspotzz' technicians were onto the case! We were able to write postcards of Route 66 and catch up with the laundry (with automatic washers and driers - no hand-washing or outdoor drying allowed, even in this hot dry climate!) Also rang Virgin Atlantic Airways to confirm our LAX-Heathrow flight in early November: how slowly the year has gone, yet how suddenly it draws to an end!

'The Strip' was best seen after dark, when the millions of lightbulbs and digital screens powered by the Hoover Dam's generators burned bright, making the night air even hotter. The first evening, we walked about 4 miles, just taking in the scene with a break for fish & chips at Denny's. Next night we went out later, after eating, and walked 6 miles return, to the southern end. We were astonished by the crowds (actually walking the pavements – very un-American) and by the size and grandeur of the themed casino/hotels we passed.

Opposite the campground is the Sahara, built like a Sheik's palace with its Casbar Lounge and Moroccan banquets. (Suspend your disbelief!) Progressing south, we passed Circus Circus, a huge concrete and glass big top, which tempts customers with 'Free continuous circus performances'. Of course, there's no such thing as a free …! We were gullible enough to investigate and take our seats for the 'Next performance 8 pm' – it was a 5-minute stint by a young male acrobat, impressively double-jointed – then a promise of a trapeze artiste at 8.30 pm!

In between, of course, the audience scatters to buy drinks and play the gaming machines. The stairs and exits took some finding, with no windows and deliberate disorientation techniques! But dress and atmosphere were very casual and no-one appeared to object to inelegant tourists wandering into the casinos to look, take photos, buy a meal or drink, use the rest-room, watch the cabaret, or whatever. Try that in Monte Carlo!

The casino themes got more ambitious as we proceeded. In front of Treasure Island sailed a full size galleon, floating against a back-drop of cliffs with a crew of 'sirens' (scantily clad rock-singing girls) who performed 4 times a night, culminating in a firework display (weather permitting – which it did). A second boat under full sail appeared, sank, was raised and sailed off again.

The Venetian came with a replica of St Mark's Square, complete with singing gondoliers punting their punters round a mini-canal! Mirage was also fronted with water and fountains, plus a volcano which erupted every 30 minutes into rings of light and fire. Inside was a zoo and dolphinarium – even the hotel reception desk had a background of fish trying to get out of their aquarium! Caesar's Palace would have impressed any Emperor, with statues, a steaming Trevi Fountain, Cleopatra's Barge inside … all in the best possible taste. Paris had French cuisine – and its own Eiffel Tower for the best view of the Strip, next to a two-thirds replica of the Arc de Triomphe! And so it went on, as far as New York, New York resembling Times Square.

The grandiose casinos were interspersed with smaller ones, restaurants of all kinds, Madame Tussaud's waxworks, wedding chapels, the Folies Bergere at the Tropicana, the Liberace Museum etc. All this entertainment for free! Of course, you pay for shows starring names like Celine Dion, Barry Manilow, the Cirque du Soleil … Tribute shows are also popular, with impersonators of Elvis, Sinatra and the Rat Pack – a poster at the Riviera claimed 'Jay's Tribute (to Neil Diamond) is my favourite: (signed) Neil Diamond'. Wonder if they get royalties?

What was at the heart of all this splendour? 'Slots' and 'Craps'! 'Slots' are the slot machines, present in their thousands in each of scores of casinos. 'Craps' require the slightly more sophisticated arts of card games. One sign read 'The Only Bingo in Town', so the competition isn't making much progress!

It did feel safe to mingle with the crowd along Las Vegas Blvd - we saw no fights or drunks, and security patrols rode bicycles! Maybe the side and back streets, which we didn't explore, housed a sleazier clientele?  Later, in a supermarket queue, idly thumbing through (but not buying) the 'National Enquirer', we did read that Tom Cruise had been noticed in a Las Vegas brothel, so there obviously is more going on than meets the eye!

Two evenings of this satisfied our curiosity, the sights both attracting and repelling at the same time! And we didn't place a single bet. Those who were playing with Lady Luck looked far from lucky – vacant silent faces stared through empty eyes at the machines, hunched, overweight, cigarettes and drink to hand, alone in a crowd. Off-season as it was, acres of 'slots' remained unplayed.

Margaret preferred her native Blackpool – at least it's by the sea rather than in the middle of a desert! Barry prefers his native Hull where most excitement is down by the fish docks when a rare trawler comes in.