After several unsuccessful attempts at getting out of town for some Vegas time,
I was finally going to get out. School and our move to the new apartment had
prevented enough plans and this time I desperately needed the rest and relaxation
that a vacation would give me. And I had some big plans. I was going to head
towards Las Vegas a day early so that I could spend some time in Yosemite/Tuolomne
Meadows and Death Valley before three comped nights at Main Street Station and
2 more nights at Rio.
All those comped nights were too good to pass up and the plan was for me to drive down and enjoy myself in town for a few days. Dan was flying in on a free Southwest Airlines ticket on Sunday to spend a few days with me and then we'd drive home together on Wednesday after celebrating Dan's birthday together on Tuesday. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? But things never work out quite as smoothly as you'd think.
I was ready to go. I had traveler's checks and maps and picnic foods to enjoy at Tenaya Lake. While walking back from the laundry room at our apartment complex it started to rain. Not little sprinkles, but serious, "you'd think it was winter" type of rain. Back in the apartment, the local weatherman said that snow was expected above 7000'. Bummer. I could guarantee that meant snow over 10,000' Tioga Pass.
I woke up on Thursday morning and called the California road information line to find out that in fact, Highway 120 was closed. Dan still had hopes, but I knew that I was going to be staying the night somewhere other than Lone Pine, CA.
Dan helped me load up the truck with our luggage and he said good-bye and headed off to work. I hit the highway and the new route to Vegas for the first time since our move. I headed over the bridge and onto the highway towards Tracy, CA. By the time I hit Livermore it was raining really hard and it didn't look too much better when I was able to get glimpses of the Sierra through the clouds.
I turned south towards I-5 even though Yosemite was the other direction because I didn't have much faith in the roads. I stopped at the first rest area I saw and called the road info line. It was windy and raining and cold. I had packed and was dressed for 100+ degree temperatures in Vegas. I hadn't even thought to pack a jacket!. The highway over Tioga Pass was still closed at 11:15am so I hit the phones and changed my reservations from Lone Pine to Primm.
I called and booked a room at Buffalo Bill's for $21.95 plus tax. Considering the Best Western I had booked in Lone Pine was $60 for the night and the fact I didn't have to pay the money for the annual pass to Yosemite, I was already ahead about $100. :)
I got back into the car and made myself comfortable for the next 7.5 hours of driving to Primm. I had brought some books on tape. I selected an unabridged Stephen King story - the Sun Dog from Four Past Midnight. 6 hours of distraction.
The weather stayed pretty cooperative except for the occasional gust of wind or rainsquall for most of the drive, but I could see it looking rather ominous off to the east. It wasn't bad until I turned onto highway 46 and the big rain started. I snacked on cheese, crackers and salami in the car, so there was no stop for lunch, but I couldn't resist a soft serve cone at a Dairy Freeze I passed along the way.
Things got a little interesting when I hit a huge hail/rain storm in Bakersfield. I pretty much drove by following the taillights of the truck in front of me through the mess. It was quite scary and all the while I had to worry about the paint job on the new truck that Dan obsesses about on a regular basis. After surviving the hailstorm, I drove into a giant dust storm that turned into mud once it hit the wet car. I'm sure that the car will look wonderful when it hits the valet parking at Primm.
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Big rain drops nearing Bakersfield
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Dust storm on the other side of Bakersfield - turning
to mud on the windshield
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Cold and rainy afternoon in Boron
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The beautiful town of Hinkley - where the Julia Roberts
movie, Erin Brockovich, takes place
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Some other views of the cloudy skies over the desert
from Lost Hills to Mojave, CA
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Besides wind, rain, a brief rest stop and phone call in Boron where I froze to death at the phone booth and stopping for gas in Baker, it was a direct drive to Primm. I made it there just before 7pm. I pulled right up to the valet area. I was glad it was sheltered because Primm was surrounded in a big dust storm. In about 3 minutes the valet had my car and the bellman had my 4 bags (ugh!) on his cart.
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Dust storm as I approached Primm
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Check in took just a minute or two. I was in the computer with no problems despite having made reservations just 7 hours earlier. The check in clerk was friendly and gave me a non-smoking room with a king-sized bed and a view of the pool. She said that the rooms with a view of the pool are better because they don't have the roller coaster noise.
I was in room 849. I walked down a long hall of rooms to an elevator and then back down another long, dark, low ceilinged hall. Apparently the décor here is Buffalo Brown as everything is the same dark brown color.
In the room I was greeted with the shocking carpet, but noted it was in better condition than our room at Whiskey Pete's last year. The bathroom has the same body/hair shampoo dispenser in the sink and shower area. This room has no tub, but the shower has some kind of seat in it in case you get tired during lather rinse and repeat.
The room is nicer than our room at Whiskey Pete's was. I'd recommend you consider spending the extra $3 for the room at BB's because of this. The décor is basically western with fake cowhide and birch branch furniture. It's actually sort of cute in a really Knotts Berry Farm tacky kind of way.
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The view of Buffalo Bill's from the Highway Exit
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The view of the roller coaster from my room - #849
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The view of the pool from my room
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Views of the bed / TV / Table area. Notice the faux
wood wallpaper.
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I wonder if Circus Circus knows about this carpet
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I am 6' tall and this is what the hallway looks like
to me. That ceiling is about 6'7" high. Basketball players will have
to duck their heads on the walk to the rooms
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I kind of think this chair is cute in a tacky, Knott's
Berry Farm kind of way.
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This is one of the two "seat" areas in the
shower. I'm not sure what they're for if not for sitting, but who needs
to sit down and rest in the shower?
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After getting in the room, I called the belldesk and left a message asking for my baggage to be delivered. After that I called home to give Dan my room number and say hello. During my short telephone call, Mike from the bell desk arrived with my bags. He was very nice and I'd estimate that the bags took about 4 minutes to get there.
After unpacking a few things I needed for the night, I went downstairs and the first order of business was changing my address at the slot club. There was no line and the process was very quick.
The casino isn't huge, but there's a decent selection of video poker. Unfortunately, nothing is full pay, but I did what I could. I played some bonus poker and some multi-draw poker until I was too hungry to play any more. I went to La Salsa and got a quesidilla to go and ate it up in my room. I watched a little TV and went back down for another hour or two of video poker. I looked all over for the Family Feud slots but wasn't able to find them at Buffalo Bill's. Maybe they're next door at Primm Valley.
I ended up losing my small budget for the night ($50) and calling it a night. I walked out to the pool area and sat on a chair for some fresh air. It was too windy and cold for pool time. Maybe later in the week at the Rio I'll make it down to the pool.
Back up to the room and turned on the 11pm news. I caught the teaser for KVBC Channel 3 just in time to hear that they were going to be talking to the Binion Jurors. SCORE!! I was almost glad I lost my limit. I said almost!
The news segment wasn't too shocking - nothing new to anyone who had been following
the case closely, but it was great to hear it. After the news I was surprised
to find out how exhausted I was. Bed time for Sonya so I can check out and get
into Las Vegas.
