3 different varieties of arid & bleak.

Small matter of getting to the airport to pick up the hire car. Since we had 24hr bus passes it seemed to make sense to get the airport bus & then take the car rental shuttle. The buses were very frequent after all or so I thought. Helps if you read the timetable. Got to the bus stop to find we had a 30 min wait - oops. The rental car place was easy enough to get to - a world away from the operation at Exeter, in fact the car rental place was probably bigger than Exeter airport in it's entirety. Got into a heated discussion over unpaid fees for the car. It was paid up front in advance, which was accepted but sometimes the 2 companies get the taxes a bit wrong. Why should I have to pick up the tab. Manager called & sorted. All for ... 24 cents. Checked car - all ok. Stopped off at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign - people were queuing for a photo opp & some chancer was charging to take photos even though a sign said it wasn't allowed. Pushed on, picked up stuff & headed out of Vegas or at least we tried. Many wrong turns. Eventually headed out to the bleak Nevada hinterland. Flat, arid & inhospitable. Crossed the border into Arizona & things got more rugged & grand but still bleak. Every now & then signs pointed to unseen places - their existance seemingly implausible. Stopped off for food in Mesquite & finding shops proved a challenge - fast food easy, casino / resort not a problem. Into Utah & things got impressive - just beyond Hurricane there was a historic viewpoint - expected some sort of border skirmish with the Mexicans. In fact it was the site of a rocket test track.Read more