October 13, 1998.  Tuesday.  No time.

   Day 14.  No miles.  Las Vegas, Nevada was approximately 200 miles
from this small town.  By the time I woke up and ready to go, my dad
was up and we were the only people left at the Clown Motel.  The
whole parking lot was empty, except for a lone black Rodeo with a
rooftop ski box.  We were the last to arrive and the last to leave.
Now that I've picked up my dad, I was really in no rush to make it
anywhere.
   While on the road, I suddenly got an upset stomach.  At first I
thought it was the sandwich from the convenience store the previous
night, but then I figured it was the unwashed grapes my dad and I had
eaten yesterday:  they still had that white powdery stuff on it.  My dad
also needed to use the bathroom.
   We made a stop at Scotty's Junction so I could buy some postcards
and look for some Nevada stickers.  We ended up using the bathroom there
since no civilization was in site.  The owners had a sign on the bathroom
for customers only, and $1 for non customers.  I ended up paying $2 for
4 postcards.  I don't think they would have enforced us to pay.
   We made a quick stop at Saragosa Valley, a town which consisted of
a long building which consisted of a restaurant, pool hall, and general
store.  Across the street was the only rest area for hundreds of miles.
This was highway 97.  When I went in the store and asked the owner if
they had any bumper stickers, he (his wife was also there) said they
only had brothel bumper stickers.  This confused me at first until I
looked around and saw dirty magazines and other "memorabilias."  I had
forgotten that prostitution was legal in Nevada.  As I stepped outside
to take a picture of the "city," I saw on the side of the building a
brothel with at 24 hour service sign.  Dang, was this man and his wife
pimps?  I guess pimps come in all sizes, colors, and shapes.  I didn't
mention this to my dad, and we drove on.
   About 4 pm in the afternoon we made it into Las Vegas.  We stopped
at a fast serving Japanese restaurant, Teriaki something on the north
side of town at the Targe shopping center, and ate
a very late lunch.  I encouraged my dad to try food we've never eaten
together before because it's not everyday we can drive around the
country dining at different restaurants.  At this time we were almost
out of gas and fueled up here at this shopping center also.
   After eating, I found our way to Las Vegas Boulevard.  This is the
strip which people see on tv all of the time.  This is where Sin City
comes to life.  I personally don't like to visit large cities on my
roadtrips because people aren't as friendly and there's some risk to
having the Rodeo broken into.  The feel of a big city is not as sincere
as a small town where everyone has an individual appeal:  Everyone I meet
out in the small towns have a personal touch which I can't describe. 
But I know my dad really wanted to visit a town like this, much different
than our hometown of Houston, Texas.
   As we were driving down Las Vegas Boulevard looking for an inexpensive
place to stay (as I've heard many people say), an older African-American
man in a new car got our attention and asked if wanted to buy a ring.  I
just shook my head and we moved on.  This is when I really had my doubts
about hanging around this city.
   But we drove on.  Seeing the many hotels and casinos down this busy
street.  Undoubtedly, this must be the busiest street in Las Vegas, if
not the whole state, and possibly one of the busiest in the country.
   We ended up asking a parking attendant at Park and Pack about a place
to stay, and he said the San Remo was advertising $59/night stay a couple
of blocks down.  We ended up staying here.  I was hoping we could win
the rent back at the casinos.
   The check-in is on the same level as the casino.  The clerk asked me
if I was old enough to play, and I replied that I was more than old
enough.  We checked into our room and headed on out to hike down Las
Vegas Boulevard.  When we were about to exit the building, there was
a young woman in body hugging shorts and a tight shirt walking out ahead
of us.  My first assumption was that she was a woman of the night- a
prostitute.  Not a very nice thing to think of someone, but here in Las
Vegas, prostitution is probably rampant.
   We walked to Las Vegas Boulevard and crossed over a couple of walking
overpasses.  Then I decided to enter this souvenir shop to look for some
bumper stickers, and low and behold, I saw the young woman and we looked
at each other.  I was looking at the stickers when I turned to the counter
and she pulled out a $100 bill.  Generally I don't pay attention to what
others pull out of their wallets at the counter, but in this case I just
had a feeling.  I've always thought that to survive in this world,
wilderness, or on the streets, you have to be aware of your environment.
   The store did have some stickers, but I thought $4 for a bumper sticker
was kind of steep.  My dad and I walked on down the boulevard with the
megaload of other tourists.  I never saw that woman again.
   It was a lot of fun to see the crowds of people.  Seeing people away
from their home and hopefully having a time of their lives.  Just hope
they don't gamble away their life savings.  I noticed there weren't many
children in this area.  Las Vegas is a cool place to visit, but Nevada
is not a great place to raise children.
   As we walked, groups of Hispanic people were handing out these booklets
with nude women and advertisement for sex.  These booklets could also be
found in the many metal boxes around the area.  And the ground was littered
with a whole load of these literature.  One of the men (women were also
handing them out) gave my dad a copy, and I told my dad to give it back.
My dad had thought it was something else until he looked at a page or two.
Then I explained to him that prostitution was legal in this state.  That's
one reason it's known as Las Vegas is known as Sin City: gambling, 
prostitution, quick weddings, sightings of Elvis, etc.
   We stopped at Harrah's casino and played for a bit.  I lost $140, and
my dad lost $20 or so at the 5 cents slot machines.  Neither of us are
big gamblers.  After losing, we decided to take a walk again.
   Our next stop was Holiday Inn, which had a casino and a buffet.  We
were interested in the buffet since both of us were starving.  After
eating, we stayed and played blackjack for a bit.  Minimum bets on many
tables were $3, which is really good.  At one point or another, we were
up $100, but kept on playing until we lost it all back.  We should have
stopped while we were ahead.
   While walking back to the San Remo hotel, we took a few pictures.  
Even late in the evening, many tourists were still walking the streets.
That's what I like about this place, a somewhat feeling of safety.  But
I know in big cities, people are generally worried about themselves and
their families only.  It's human nature to protect yourself from the
indifferent culture of a large city.
   At the bus stop near the hotel, an mid-30's African-American man
showed me a camera and asked if I wanted to buy it.  We just walked on.
At the hotel, I took a shower and went to bed, while my dad went
downstairs to try to win the money we lost.
   The hotel is poorly designed.  When one of the neighbors take a
shower, the shower noise is very loud.  On this weekday, I didn't hear
or see many people on our non-smoking floor.