DECEMBER 31, 2016 – Year End: Barstow to Las Vegas (part 2 of 2)

From Barstow I drove to Baker for Alien Fresh Jerky and a few caches. An hour later I reached the Nevada border at Primm. Here’s the view from my Buffalo Bill’s hotel room. That’s a roller coaster (not working) track.

In the morning I was shocked to see ice on my Subaru. It was a lifetime first for me. The onboard thermometer read 29 degrees when exiting the parking lot.

Twelve miles closer to Las Vegas I stopped for 2 caches, one of which was in the middle of this under-freeway tunnel. Below then Above (GC1APBR).

A few minutes later I found The Last Spike SHM (GC68VWM). The site commemorates the location of the last railroad spike connecting Los Angeles to Salt Lake City in 1905. Appropriately, a train passed by.

Up ahead in the distance I saw a shimmering sight. Seven columns of stacked florescent boulders were backlit by the sun shining off of rainwater in a “dry” lakebed.

It was now 45 degrees, warm enough for tourists to swarm. I looked for the best photo angle and then saw where all the Asians were standing with their cameras. It WAS the best angle. On the minus side, everyone who stood there now has the same picture. The cache at the site is Stonehenge in the Desert (GCH1TZ).

Nearby there was a very wrinkled example of a Beavertail Cactus.

Still a few miles from Las Vegas I made extra sure that no one was home before I reached for this cache.

I parked in a small clearing and hiked to 3 easy caches behind this sign. The area was littered with used shotgun shell casings. A driver ignored the sign and drove his huge truck past me.

Caches close to parking tended to be smalls. Ones that were hundreds of feet away were mostly larges, probably placed on the assumption that only cachers will have a reason to walk to GZ. As a desert hiking cacher, I’m always glad to see this ahead.
In midafternoon I reached the southern edge of the Las Vegas Valley and found a small string of park & grab caches that ended with a lamp post hide at this overlook.

I enjoyed the view, played with my mobile ham radio, and then dropped off a travel bug on my way back to Primm.