Following is a nice day trip with a variety of experiences.  From the Las Vegas Strip, head East on Tropicana or Flamingo a few miles and take U.S. 93/95 south towards Boulder City and the Hoover Dam. Avoid the U.S. 95 turnoff near Boulder City and proceed over the Hoover Dam on U.S. 93.  Follow 93 all the way to Kingman, Arizona. Look for the old railroad bed and historical markers along the stretch and recall that this was a stagecoach route not too many years ago.

Once in Kingman, check your gas and be sure you have at least half a tank. Locate Route 66 westbound in the town and be sure to visit the Route 66 Visitor's Center and gift shop on Andy Devine Avenue.

Leaving town on the original roadbed, you will parallel I-40 for a mile, then cross the railroad tracks and go under I-40 out into some raw desert.  Follow this westbound for about 25 miles enjoying the desert terrain and thinking about the millions of travellers that used this route in the heyday of the old highway.  You will ascend some hills at Sitgreaves Pass that are not well protected by guard rails. Many families would actually pay tow drivers to take them through the curves and hairpin turns on this segment of Route 66.

Look for the Gold Road Mine along this stretch and decide if you want to take a 45 minute tour of a contemporary mining operation.  The mine was open until 1998 and may reopen if the price of gold makes it feasible.  The tours are from 10 a.m. 'til 5 and are $12 for adults and half for kids under 12.  Continue west for 2.5 more miles.

Just when you are sure you have left civilization behind, you will come into the "ghost town" of Oatman, AZ.  Oatman is actively inhabited by a group of mavericks that enjoy the tourists that visit their shops and feed the local burros. Yes, they sell feed and the burros roam the street and even try to enter the shops. The Oatman Hotel is the site where Clark Gable and Carol Lombard enjoyed their wedding night.

In Laughlin, you can visit the strip of casinos and have an inexpensive buffet.  Room rates in Laughlin run from inexpensive to cheap!  You may elect to stay a night.  If it's not too hot, you can walk the riverfront from casino to casino or even decide to take the boat ride up the river to the Davis Dam. It is not necessary to cross the river to get back to Vegas. Just take Highway 163 out of town and then follow U.S 95 into Boulder City and back to Vegas.  Check your gas before leaving Laughlin! Halfway back, you will come to Searchlight, NV - a good rest stop.

At the main intersection (NV 164), you can elect to:

a) Proceed straight on to Boulder City and Las Vegas.  Consider taking the Nelson turnoff to visit an old mining site.

b) Turn right and go 14 miles to the Cottonwood Cove Marina at Lake Mojave.  Check out the small Searchlight Museum on the way.  Or . . .

c)  Turn left, drive through a Joshua Tree forest to Nipton, California.  Visit the old hotel and general store in Nipton.  Continue on to I-15 and back to Vegas through Primm & Jean, Nevada.