Las Vegas Road trip

Who takes off on a motorcycle road trip in Feb???  Well, for the past 3 years it has been us.  :)  We love an adventure and love to find roads that we have yet to travel and this trip was no exception.  We take off and head to Bakersfield for the night enroute to Las Vegas.  Our Valentines dinner consisted of Hooters wings at 11pm which was exactly what we wanted.  LOL  A quick overnight in Bako and visit with an old friend and off we headed across the desert.

Our reason for Vegas was an old friends wedding.  1st wedding for my 50 yr old friend.... definitely a reason to celebrate!!  Wedding chapel in the Bellagio hotel and party bus for the reception!  What a great way to party with your friends and cheaper than buying everyone dinner!  Who would have thought that a bunch of middle aged fat people would enjoy stripper poles, 80's music, vodka cranberry and cruising the strip... well, my friends of course!  Kind of funny that our kids have done the party bus excursion but this was our 1st time.  It definitely won't be our last!
Our party bus with the Big Daddy!
http://www.partytourslasvegas.com/las-vegas-limousines.html#.UTLTSzDqmQw

We stayed at The D Hotel in downtown Vegas on the Fremont Street experience.  It used to be the Fitzgeralds Hotel and is decorated in old Las Vegas charm.  Nice rooms, comfy beds but still the old a/c and heat units and the caulking in the bathroom could use someone who prides themselves on perfectionism!  Having said that, the location is fabulous, the slots and gambling minimums are far less than what you get on the strip, and they are home to the dancing dealers.  I would definitely stay here again but it's not for everyone, but comparing $69/night to $369/night it was an easy decision for me!
http://www.thed.com/

We did try the new BurGR restaurant at Planet Hollywood.  This is Gordon Ramsey's restaurant and the food was great and the service even better!  It's exactly what you would imagine from a Gordon Ramsey restaurant.  AND you must order the truffle, parmesan french fries... they are the best in life!!
http://www.planethollywoodresort.com/restaurants/ramsay.html#.UTLT2DDqmQw

Activities in Vegas included an excursion out to Lake Las Vegas which was great to see but I was a bit disappointed that this area isn't finished in development.  We drove through Lake Mead National Park which  was beautiful scenery and ended at Hoover Dam.  The last time we were at the dam the new bridge was not complete so it was exciting to walk on the new bridge and look down (scary!) at Hoover Dam.  What an awesome sight!!  We drove over from Nevada into Arizona and then back and then went down to drive over the dam.  All these experiencing are even more awe inspiring on the bike.  Open air and sunshine!!

Our drive back to Northern California included a detour through Death Valley. So this is another place that I've always wanted to go and now cannot wait to go back.  The scenery is so dramatic.  First you go up, up, up and then down, down, down.  Sands dunes, salt flats, and tall mountains surrounding you.  It is the hottest, driest and lowest place.  It is a land of extremes.  Another national park that is awe inspiring riding on the back of the harley and being able to take it all in and put my senses on overload!  The lowest sign we saw was 190 feet below sea level, but again, I cannot wait to go back to experience all that this park has to offer!