Leaving Las Vegas
000 You Only Need to See it Once
Drunky • Rock-a-Hula Water Park • Mohave Desert, CA • Day One
The Trip officially started on Sunday, April 13 around noon, when Rick Louie and Mile Criswell were scheduled to arrive in Vegas. Mike Tully and I opted to fly in the night before to avoid an un-godly early flight from the east coast. That meant a night in Vegas! Yippee!
Dick’s Last Resort Bar, Excalibur Hotel
My brother-in-law once said about Vegas, “you only need to see it once.” Boy, was he was right.
On our only night in Vegas, Tully and I saw the lights from the taxi ride to the hotel. We saw the casino we were forced to walk through to check into the hotel. And we saw every Vegas movie stereotype as we navigated our way to our room: the slot machine addicted patrons, the overweight intoxicated bachelor party spilling beer on themselves, the bachelorette party chicks posing with Thunder from Down Under models.
Due to our late arrival, we bagged our planned photowalk along the strip, opting instead for a drink at the hotel bar, Dick’s Last Resort, where the bartender made lame “dick’s” jokes as he was pouring my beer—THREE times!
Our time in Sin City was growing old quickly, and noon Sunday was fast approaching. Tully and I retired to our room for some long-overdue sleep. The next morning (seemingly five minutes later), Rick texted. He had landed, picked up the rental, and was on his way to the hotel. He arrived. We headed back to the airport to pick up the other Mike, Wiz.
Bagelmania
On our drive back to Harry Reid International, we experienced more of Vegas: Billboards advertising the various magicians, ventriloquists, burlesque shows, and one in particular touting a female self-pleasure device promising an experience “Better than your ex”. The device looked weird.
We picked up Wiz and stopped for a late breakfast and one more very Vegas thing; Siegel’s Bagelmania, where valet parking is mandatory and a Frank Sinatra impersonator serenades you as you wait for your table. Dude had a great voice
After a GREAT breakfast, we were finally leaving Las Vegas. Our Route 66 Photography Adventure had begun. First stop: the abandoned Rock-a-Hula Water park in California’s Mojave Desert.
Featured image at the top. A couple more below.
Rock-a-Hula
Turnstyles
000 About This Series
From April 12 through April 20, 2025, I was on a Route 66 Photography Adventure (The Trip) with three good friends and like minded photographers. This series is recap of The Trip in stories and images.
All of the images were shot on that historic road or within a couple of miles of it. Neither the images nor stories are necessarily presented in chronological order.
Enjoying the series? Drop a comment.