HONEYMOON IN VEGAS

Having been married a few days earlier, we set out to Las Vegas for a short honeymoon. But we didn’t stay put in Vegas very long…

We flew out very early Tuesday morning, arriving in Las Vegas at 7:50 AM. We picked up our Nissan Altima at the car rental place. And thankfully we were able to check into our hotel at the New York New York Hotel & Casino. We spent the rest of the day being lazy, taking naps and watching the Game Show Network. From our hotel window we were able to have a view of the Floyd Mayweather vs Conor Mcgregor press conference. Their big fight was taking place a few days later. In the evening we attended the Cirque Zumanity show at our hotel.

On Wednesday morning we headed south in search of new counties. We headed south on HWY 95 out of Henderson into California. Once we reached HWY 62 we headed east, crossed the Colorado River into the city of Parker, Arizona, and our first new county – La Paz. We continued south on HWY 95, drove through the city of Quartzite, headed south another 13 miles, and crossed into Yuma County. From there we turned around and went back to Quartzsite. The naked bookstore was closed. But we did find the cemetery and grave of Hi Jolly – camel driver from the failed U.S. Camel Corps of the 1800’s.

After leaving Quartzsite we headed west on I-10 back into California. We briefly turned into Joshua Tree National Park, vowing to return to it later in the day. We then turned south onto HWY 86 at the town of Mecca. About 10 miles later we entered Imperial County. Once we got into Salton City we went west on the Borrego Salton Seaway and entered San Diego County. Shortly thereafter we entered the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

We continued another 20 miles until we actually reached the city of Borrego Springs. The surrounding fields of the small city feature 150 metal statues created by artist Ricardo Breceda. The giant statues thrusting out of the California desert are an incredible sight to see, and was well worth the extra time it took to get there.

Upon leaving we headed back north, and stopped for supper at Bill’s Pizza in Palm Springs. After eating we went north on HWY 62 into the city of Joshua Tree, and into Joshua Tree National Park. We took a very brief hike then got back into the car to go back to our hotel. Our return drive took us through the Mojave National Preserve as night fell. And we felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. Eventually we hooked back up with the I-15 and made it back to our hotel.

On Thursday morning we got up at 4:30 in the morning and headed out about 5:15. We had a long driving day in front of us. We headed north out of Las Vegas on HWY 93, HWY 318 and HWY 375 – the latter of which has also been dubbed “Extraterrestrial Highway.” From there we got onto HWY 50 – the  which is known as the “Loneliest Road In America.” Are initial destination was the city of Carlin. Along the way we traveled through Lincoln, Nye, White Pine, Eureka and Elko Counties.

At Carlin we headed west on I-20 towards the city of Winnmucca. We went through Lander and Humboldt Counties on the way. At Winnemucca we stopped for lunch at Port O’ Subs. We also went a few blocks further to cross into Pershing County.

Our next destination was Lakeview, Oregon. At one point we had to double back about 10 miles because we weren’t certain we had enough gas to get there. And we had a long drive to the next gas station. We eventually wormed our way through on HWY 140 and crossed the border, picking up Harney County. A few miles later we entered Lake County.

We filled up the gas tank again in Lakeview, gearing up for the final stretch south. About 10 miles south on HWY 395 we crossed into northeast California and Modoc County. We continued south almost all the way to the Nevada border, and traveling through Lassen County on the way. At HWY 70 we turned right, went about four miles, and crossed into Plumas County – our final new county of the day. From there we had another 30 minutes to go. So we headed directly to our hotel – the Nugget Casino in Reno. After 16 hours and 1000 miles on the road, the hotel was a welcome sight.

On Friday morning we left around 8:00 AM for our final drive back to Las Vegas. We headed east on I-80 towards the city of Fallon, and Churchill County. At Fallon we turned south on HWY 95 and drove all the way through Mineral County. As we left Mineral County, we crossed into Esmeralda County – thus completing the state of Nevada for us. But we were not done for the day!

At the city of Coaldale we went southwest, eventually getting onto HWY 264. We followed it all the way into California to the small city of Oasis – population 22. Once we crossed the state border we found ourselves in Mono County. We even found a lone cow on the side of the road. In Oasis we turned south for about a mile until we crossed into Inyo County – our last new county for this trip. But we still weren’t done for the day!

We got back onto the main highway (which took us back into Nevada). From there we continued southwest until we reached the city of Beatty. Just to the west of Beatty stood the ghost town of Rhyolite – which featured the impressive Tom Kelly Bottle House. The ruins of the town have also been featured in a few films.

We continued west for about 10 miles, crossing back into California, and into Death Valley National Park. We drove through the park, eventually reaching Badwater Basin – the lowest elevation spot in the United States. At 282 feet below sea level in the blazing sun, it’s no wonder one of the hottest temperatures ever recorded on Earth happened right there. On this day the temperature reached a whopping 121 degrees. The hot breeze felt like it was burning both my eyes and nose. But it was an incredible experience.

After we left the park we headed straight to the Mirage Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. We took in the seafood buffet for dinner, then headed right to the theater for the Cirque Beatles Love show – which was incredible! After the show, we went right to our hotel in Henderson and went to bed. Our flight home the next day was leaving at 6:30 in the morning.

When it was all said and done, we’d entered 22 new counties and had covered a lot of new ground. Several of these counties were very large! So what’s next? That remains to be seen. At present there are no trips planned. But we have a lot of Southwest points and gift cards. So it wouldn’t surprise me if a weekend getaway (or even a road trip) took place before the year ends. So stay tuned!

                                                NEW COUNTIES - 22

                                                TOTAL COUNTIES FOR 2017 - 171

                                                ALL TIME COUNTY TOTAL - 1694

NORTHERN MINNESOTA!

For the 4^th of July long weekend we decided to visit our next–door neighbor, Minnesota. There is a vast area in the northern part of the state – counties that are rare visits even for county collectors. Our goal was to finish them all off – and see part of North Dakota in the process. As this was a last minute trip, we didn’t have any major sights lined up to go visit. Of course the area, while very beautiful in the summertime, is pretty remote. There are a lot of lakes and very few cities.

We decided to leave from my in-laws’ home on Sunday morning. They live about an hour from the border. We followed HWY 8 into Minnesota. Once we reached the city of Cambridge we turned north on HWY 65 and drove into Kanabec County, our first new county of the road trip. We continued in a general northerly direction and entered Mille Lacs County. At one point the road we were on actually hugged both counties at the same time.

As we passed by Mille Lacs Lake we crossed into Aitkin County. We headed west through the city of Aitkin, and entered Crow Wing County about five miles later. Shortly thereafter we turned north on HWY 6. About 15 miles later we entered Cass County and further on, Itasca County.

Following HWY 46 and HWY 72 we wormed our way further north picking up Koochiching, Beltrami and Lake of the Woods Counties. Finally we reached Roseau County, and the city of Warroad – the northern-most point on our trip. From there we took a southwest path towards North Dakota on HWY 11. We followed this into Kittson County. At the city of Donaldson we took a detour south on HWY 75. Two miles later we crossed into Marshall County.

From there we turned around, got back on HWY 11 and drove right into North Dakota and Pembina County. At the city of Drayton we got onto I-29 and headed straight for our hotel – the Baymont Inn & Suites Grand Forks. We picked up Walsh and Grand Forks Counties on the way. After a quick stop at Jimmy John’s for a late dinner, we retired to the hotel for the night.

On Monday we had a rather leisurely drive (for us anyway) of about 6.5 hours. There wasn’t a lot of excitement on the drive however. So it seemed longer. We started the day by picking up two “bonus” counties in North Dakota. We went south on I-29 with a destination near the city of Hatton. A few miles north of it we entered Traill County. The next county required a drive on a gravel road through what appeared to be a corn field. There was no sign. But nonetheless we briefly crossed the “road” and turned around in Steele County. No county left behind!

Leaving North Dakota behind we headed east on HWY 15 back into Minnesota and Polk County. We drove around the city of Crookston and headed northeast until we reached the city of Dorothy and Red Lake County. At Dorothy we drove a few miles north on HWY 3 and briefly crossed into Pennington County.

We then headed both south and east towards the city of Mahnomen– where we stopped to get lunch at Subway. We picked up Norman and Mahnomen Counties on the way. Five miles later we got onto HWY 113 at the city of Waubun. We went east and stayed on the road for about 40 miles. Along the way we crossed into both Becker County and Clearwater Counties. The road ended one mile into Hubbard County as well, where we got onto HWY 71 and headed due south. We followed this all the way to the city of Wadena, and Wadena County. From there we headed in a southeast direction on HWY 10. We were able to follow this road all the way to St. Cloud, where our hotel was. On the way we picked up Morrison and Benton Counties. St. Cloud actually is located in three different counties. We had to take a brief three-block detour to pick up Sherburne County before heading to our hotel – the Country Inn & Suites by Carlson – St. Cloud.

Since we had plenty of time for a change, we decided to take in dinner and a movie. So we picked Mexican food at the LA Casita Restaurant. Then we headed over to the Marcus Parkwood Cinema to see the film “Baby Driver.”

On Tuesday we had about 9.5 hours of drive time to get home. But we still had 12 counties to reach. So even though home was east, we started our day by heading west. We entered Kandiyohi County, eventually reaching the city of Willmar. From there we headed northwest, crossing into Swift County. Once we were in we turned due south at the next road and followed a gravel road into Chippewa County.

From there we finally set out back east towards home. As we headed towards the city of Stewart, we picked up Meeker, Renville and McLeod Counties. From Stewart we headed towards Henderson, picking up Sibley County, crossing the Minnesota River and entering Le Sueur County. Our last destination city was Dennison. Once we reached it we had picked up Rice County and Goodhue County – our last two new counties of the trip. Goodhue County also happened to be the last county bordering our home state of Wisconsin that we had not yet been too. Apparently our route also got us very close to some "Little House On The Prairie" sights. But we didn't have time to stop and tour.

All in all we picked up 39 new counties in the two states – not bad for a last-minute impromptu road trip. We didn’t have any extra activities planned. So we didn’t see much more than the countryside. But we still had plenty of fun. What’s next? That remains to be seen. We’re getting married next month. But a honeymoon is not yet planned. There’s a good chance we may spend a week in Las Vegas. But if we do that… bet money we won’t stay put in Vegas for that entire week. So stay tuned!

                                                NEW COUNTIES - 39

                                                TOTAL COUNTIES FOR 2017 - 149

                                                ALL TIME COUNTY TOTAL - 1670


7/17/17 UPDATE: We recently realized that in putting our county list together, we had inadvertently failed to include two counties that we had previously entered. On a summer, 2014 road trip, we went to Disneyland in California (Orange County). And upon leaving Disneyland for Las Vegas, we entered Riverside County as well. So even though it says 1670 total counties in this post above, the actual number at the time was 1672.