Arizona and Las Vegas

Day 16: A great ride today from Tusayan down to Williams (to rejoin Route 66) and then along a fantastic stretch of old Route 66 from Seligman to Kingman, where we are resting up for the night. It was very hot today, well in to the 90s if not the 100s. We had a bit of a scare on the way to Williams - we were low on fuel and down to about 8 miles left with 30 miles to get to Williams! Fortunately we came to a tiny place called Valle and we were able to fill up, much to our relief. I had visions of having to hitch 30 miles to get fuel! I have to say, people are great here - a few times we have pulled over just to have a break and people have pulled up to check we are OK. One guy even pulled off the Interstate to check we were OK! There happened to be a Flintstones camp site and themed park over the road! (We didn't go in!). There was also a store selling full-sized carved wooden horses and riders - one carved horse had its tail raised up and a pile of horse-poo shaped stones behind it! Seligman was great, very much a Route 66 town but unlike many we've seen, thriving on its connection with the Mother Road. We also stopped by the Hackberry General Store (which we nearly missed as there was no warning it was coming up!). Another great little stop with some fantastic old road souvenirs and relics. Got to our hotel in Kingman (which we found without any problem!) relatively early and were able to chill out before going out to eat in a Chipotle Grill (fast becoming one of our favourite eateries). Tomorrow - Las Vegas!

Day 17: As we didn't have far to go today, we had a leisurely start and popped in to the local Harley dealer to get the tyre pressures checked (I'm not being lazy, it's just that the rear wheel valve is a bugger to get at). Then we headed north to Vegas after a drive through Kingman Old Town along Route 66.  It was a hair raising drive north and on arrival I felt like I'd been riding for about 200 miles without stopping. The wind was horrendous, definitely over limits for parachuting, and mostly crosswind, which meant for long periods I was having to lean at what felt like a 45 degree angle. Then suddenly the wind would drop and we'd be veering across the lane! As we got in to the mountains passing the Hoover Dam it was very hairy and we were being blown all over the place. Then, possibly the worst bit, approaching Vegas on a busy 3-lane highway the wind was absolutely hoofing and I had to fight hard not to be blown in to the side of the thundering "18-wheelers"! Still, we got here in one piece, melting from the heat, and once more found the hotel without any problem (we're getting good at this!). The hotel is cheap and cheerful, but clean spacious and only a couple of hundred yards off The Strip. After cooling off and relaxing in the hotel for a bit we took a ride down the Strip for Jill's first proper look at Vegas and guess what? We got caught in a thunderstorm and got absolutely soaked! It was an impressive storm, though, with huge flashes of lightening! We had a stroll around part of the Strip to get something to eat and had hoped to watch the free show outside Treasure Island but they must have cancelled it because of the storm 😒. We have an early start tomorrow - a 7.30 parade at the airport for our helicopter ride in to the Grand Canyon - very exciting!