We spent the night last night at Bullhead City, which is just across the river from Laughlin, Nevada, where none of the hotels would allow dogs. We'd never been there before. Laughlin is in Nevada, and Bullhead City is in Arizona, so the gambling factor makes the two sides of the narrow river very different. This casino looks gorgeous from a distance, but in my experience all casinos look about the same inside. Laughlin is where London Bridge was relocated, but we didn't see it.
Wish I'd had a camera to take pictures along the way as there were many great sites between Placerville Colorado, Santa Fe, and Northridge .
We just managed to stay ahead of a blizzard on our drive to Santa Fe. Had a number of bad meals in Santa Fe, and it wasn't a great time because the hotel was so fussy about dogs in the room, so I spent a lot of time in a small decorated hotel room reading tourist information on the city. The gift basket was quite nice, (although I mistakenly took a bite out of a goat milk soap that was in a tiny wax envelope marked "coconut"), and it's clear that there's a subculture of gypsy style filmmakers who make movies that no one ever sees except at film festivals. They travel from one festival to the next, hoovering cheese plates and celery and passing out promotional materials, eager very eager to network with someone who can help them make the next one.
Santa Fe has more than 250 art galleries. .. I saw the windows of many of them while walking Molly around. Any one else want to offer an impression so I don't just bitch on about a place I was only in for 48 hours? It had changed a lot since my two visits 20 plus years ago.
This morning I saw a nutty lawn ornament set in front of a permanent trailer in Bullhead City. They'd taken used tires, painted them white, then cut them to make SWANS! with rippling wings, eyelashes and slightly crossed eyes. These are the things that only a camera can properly document.
7 comments:
Sorry to hear about the bad meals, fussy hotels and the stealth soap. :0
I still think it's nice that you take your dog with you travel. Molly is lucky to have you.
I visited Laughlin about ten years ago. It wasn't anything special. You're better off in bullhead city because you get the view of the lights.
We ate dinner in Laughlin. The neon on the paddle boat casino was stunning, especially from across the river as you say. The gambling machines seem to all use tickets now instead of dropping the coins down. To me that seems like the whole fun, the big jangle of it. Coinstar (though a reverse form of a slot machine) provides the big jangle when you pour your coins in and watch it tote up.
That dog/hotel business must be really hard. Are there hotels that are dog-friendly? Or was this a specific "movie-hotel" that all the movie people stayed in?
How was the movie? Did anyone ask a good question? Did Jon have anything to wear?
I stayed at La Fonda (!) in Santa Fe once for work. It was lots of fun (except for the work part). But that was almost 20 years ago.
Linda, I stayed at La Fonda about 20 years ago too,wait no it was 27, around 1980. It was still quiet and kind of goofy in town. Now the hotel's been built out to the max, all according to strict code, but I didn't even recognize the place.
Jon's movie was received well, laughs at jokes, although the projection cropped about 1/4 of the picture and at first it was uncertain whether there would even be sound or not... gasp. Projection was feeble in fact.
Good thing he didn't spend extra for the new sweater. The crowd who shuffled in were all over 60 with hint of zombie. It was more like community center night than you'd expect from the sound of "Santa Fe Film Festival." I'm trying to control what I type about it because google has a nasty way of exposing everything.
My dear sister worked in the Laughlin casinos as a waitress for 20 years, living the entire time in Bullhead. Like so many of her co-workers, her earnings regularly cycled back into the casinos by way of her gambling problem.
Don Laughlin, the town's namesake who built the scene up from a one-horse casino was often seen flying about in his private helicopter. What does someone who suddenly has bazillions of dollars do to reward themselves and show the world they've made it? He had his beard completely removed with electrolysis, freeing himself from the labor of ever having to shave again. He looked like a very pink escapee from the wax museum.
The London Bridge is in Lake Havasu, a few miles down the river. It loses something without the severed heads displayed atop pikes, as was the case in Merry Old England.
Congrats to Jon on the movie.
Hi Sally, Just wanted to clarify a couple of notations in your email. The Riverside Resort in Laughlin does accept pets up to 30 lbs. The number of rooms is limited and reservations are recommended. And you can still play coin operated slots at the Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall. The coinless machines are the latest in technology and seem to have altered the atmosphere of any casino. Ben is correct that the London Bridge is one hour and 15 minutes from Laughlin. Although it's not the Tower Bridge, it's still pretty cool to see and the best way is from a jet boat tour from Laughlin. Glad you came to visit.
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