West - Day Twenty-Six - July 18, 2005

Despite thinking I would get an early start, I ended up sleeping in a bit and therefore didn't hit the road until 10:30 am. I had hoped to beat the heat of the day as I drove about three hours down to Las Vegas. However, as I began the drive, the temperature was 95 degrees. Within an hour, it was up over 100 and then rapidly hovered between 110 and 114 degrees before I arrived in the city. The max I registered on my car before reaching the hotel was 116 degrees! It is literally like being in an oven...unbelievably hot. I stayed at the Bellagio for two nights and planned to stay inside the entire time - not hard to do as everything seemed to be connected with massive structures being air conditioned to a very cool temperature. The energy usage there is mind-blowing.