Day Trips Around Las Vegas, Part 1

Hello again,

Once we arrived back in Las Vegas, we went to the RV repair facility and found out that they were done with phase one of our repairs.

Phase one consisted of trying to figure out what was actually damaged and what parts and labor were going to be needed to make the repairs.

While price and availability of the parts was being determined, they told us we could have our motorhome back to live in.  We were happy to move back into our home after we moved it back to Arizona Charlie's RV Park.

When we checked back with the RV repair facility in a couple of days, we found out something interesting.  Our motorhome is a 2009 model, and that is considered old in motorhome years and because of that, they were finding that some of the needed parts were either very hard to find or no longer available at all.

That information made it impossible for them to give us any type of a timeline on when the repairs might be completed.

Believing that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, we started visiting the service counter every day.

After a few days, it was determined that all of the parts except one were available.  The manufacturer of the motorhome, Fleetwood, said that the wiring harness that we need is no longer available but the shop will be able to build us a new one by replacing each damaged wire, one at a time.

All of the price and labor cost information was then sent to the insurance adjuster for his review.  The adjuster called us a couple of days later and said he was so busy that he hasn't had time to review the information and approve payment for the repairs yet.

We assured him that we would be checking back every day to keep the project moving forward and he promised us that that would not be necessary because he would get on it in the next few days.  We will see.

In the meantime, we continued to explore the Las Vegas area.  That is the reason that we came here in the first place.  There is so much to see and do here.

One nice day trip is to Red Rock Canyon.  It is about a 45 minute drive from our RV park and is well worth the drive.



The red rocks just jut up out of the desert.  You can't really get a feel of just how big these rocks are until you get a little closer.

We were there on a Saturday and the rocks were crawling with climbers.  The white arrow points to some climbers. 

These people are NUTS!





There were an amazing variety of rocks.







Everywhere we go in the desert, we find more evidence of people who came before us.  



These day trips have taken us over an area that covers thousands of square miles by car and these people did it on foot in a very harsh environment.  

Many of the petroglyphs continue to depict aerodynamically shaped objects ?????



Closer to Las Vegas, we again used Roadside America to find interesting things that you would never expect to see.

One of those interesting things is a home owned by Lonnie Hammargren.

The home is located in a nice residential neighborhood and you would never expect to see it in such a neighborhood.

We were unable to go into the residence because it is a private residence but it was so interesting from the outside that we did some on line investigation and came up with some amazing information.

The home is owned and occupied by retired neurosurgeon and former Nevada Lt. Governor Lonnie Hammargren and his wife Sandy.

Mr. Hammargren is now around 80 years old and is a huge memorabilia collector.  On the state’s annual Nevada Day, which celebrates the state’s admission to statehood in 1864, he opens his Las Vegas abode to visitors for an open house.  This happens in October and we missed it.

Our research on line describes some of his collections that include an indoor barbershop brothel, an underground mine, a mini Taj Mahal, a T-rex replica, and an animatronic tiger, to name just a few things you might find. 

Though most of his collection has been built on donations, Hammargren has also spent $10 million out of his own pocket on purchases, construction, and maintenance.

He built his home museum in 1969, has lived there since 1971, and has no intentions of ever leaving. 

In the basement beneath the garage, Hammargren has created an Egyptian burial chamber, fully outfitted with a golden sarcophagus, where Hammargren has instructed that he be buried.

Lonnie Hammargren’s Egyptian burial chamber and sarcophagus. He says he’ll be preserved in “absolute alcohol.” Or “Absolut alcohol.” Either way, we love this guy.

Hammargren has an interest in space travel and briefly worked with NASA, and there’s a half-scale model of the space shuttle Columbia. He also has items from daredevil Evel Knievel’s jumps because he treated him after failed stunts.












The collection started in a regular home on a regular residential street.  As time passed, they purchased several adjoining homes and expanded the collection.  The fronts of the houses look almost normal from the front street side.





The front of one of the houses has a roof that looks like a Mayan Temple.



They have completely enclosed and connected the back yards to house larger displays.

The wall that encloses the back yard is very tall but many of the displays are so tall that they are visible from the street that runs along the back of the homes and that is what we were able to see and that is what grabbed our attention and showed us just how gigantic this collection really is.

There is even a Bat Mobile parked in the driveway.



More back yard art.








Here is a video that is worth watching about the house and the man who dreamed it.   VIDEO

If that isn't enough information for you, click HERE  for a link to even more!!  

We are continuing to explore while we wait for our motorhome and we will keep you posted.

Get out there and see something as soon as you can!!!!

Tom & Suzie