We were up, packed, and out of the motel by 5:45 am today. If we had waited, we would have taken advantage of their 7:00 am breakfast, and lost almost two hours on the road.
Our planned breakfast stop was in Kingman, Arizona, about 100 miles away. Unfortunately, when we got to our favorite Kingman restaurant -- the Kingman Airport Cafe -- we found out they’re still open 6:00 am to 2:00 pm, but they are closed on Mondays. As this was actually a couple of miles off our route, we backtracked and found a Denny’s. We had a decent breakfast, chatted with the hostess -- who used to live in our area -- and headed for Las Vegas.
This time, we just passed through Las Vegas on the freeway. Riding down the Strip would have taken too much time, and we were trying to get most of our riding done before the heat set in.
After more long stretches of desert road, we arrived at the Stagecoach Hotel and Casino in Beatty, Nevada, at about 1:30 pm. We had stayed 
here last summer, and liked it. It’s an old casino, with clean and comfortable rooms -- complete with wireless Internet. They still had our name in the reservations computer, so check-in was a breeze. Actually, the clerk apologized that she could not give us a room in the wing facing the parking lot this time. Those rooms were all taken by BMW test drivers who take cars to the desert and try to wear them out. What a job!
Because we decided it was too late for lunch, and too early for dinner, we picked up a snack at the Death Valley Nut & Candy Company and relaxed for a while. About 7:00 pm, we went to Rita’s Cafe in the casino for dinner. Both of us ordered the Lo-Cal plate -- so we could come back later for dessert. This time, the pie was heated before they added the ice cream!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Stagecoach Hotel and Casino, Beatty, Nevada -- an oasis in the desert
