Gambling, Cowboys and Donkeys

We decided to bypass Las Vegas. There was just too much traffic zooming by and everyone seemed to be impatient to get somewhere else. We did stop at the Lucky Strike for lunch and a few minutes at a slot machine. It took no time to lose $10. Paul had a quick nap and we headed east. After climbing over yet another mountain pass, we booked into a pretty nice RV Park called AVI Resort & Casino in Laughlin, Nevada. Tuesday night we went to the casino. Faye really enjoyed playing the $2 blackjack table while Paul spent time on the 25 cent slot machines….and both quit after losing our agreed max of $20. The casino restaurants were offering prime rib dinners at $4.99 to get people in the door so that was payback time!
Wednesday morning, Faye did the laundry and spent about two hours listening to and chatting with four other women. They and their husbands all had a litany of illnesses and they were comparing doctors and treatments. Laughlin is apparently a good place to be ill. Wednesday afternoon we drove about 50 km through open range to Oatman, a small original cowboy and mining town up in the mountains. This town has recreated the cowboy gunfights and have wild burros (donkeys) running about the streets freely. Board sidewalks with hitching posts are on both sides of the short main street. There are old time saloons, and numerous authentic local craft shops with unusual décor and names. The whole place looks like a dusty rundown old town. Originally, it was a gold mining town and today serves as a tourist destination and holly wood movie site. The shops had everything marked down. The store clerks were desperate to sell and cut even the sale prices. Yahoo Faye!!!
Back at the park, our neighbours, Dan and Linda Olsen from Minnesota, dropped in for a visit. Dan is a retired boiler maker and a Viet Nam vet while Linda was a cosmetologist. We had an interesting evening comparing notes about our families and careers. They have a lot of RV experience and were happy to share it.
Today we drove all day to reach the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park in the historic town of Williams, Arizona. Tomorrow we take the train tour up to the Grand Canyon.

Later…..