We drove to Las Vegas, Nevada, not to gamble, but merely to pick up friends who were flying in from back east and going camping and kayaking with us in Utah.
We planned to stay on the outskirts around Lake Mead or at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area ,
http://www.redrockcanyonlv.org/ , BLM's inexpensive primitive and scenic area outside LV.
A dangerous Pacific Storm was predicted so we decided to go on into LV to see what we could find. Sure enough, the Walmart parking lot had signs up saying 'no camping. ' We also had read that some casino's allowed free RV camping, but since we were not interested in gambling we opted to search elsewhere.
We did read on an online forum that some folks had stayed successfully at the Sam's Club parking lot in the city of North Las Vegas, NV, after asking permission the security guard, who turned out to be a camper himself.
Not an option for us to drive that far, since the storm was fast approaching, with gusts predicted at near hurricane strength, 70 mph !
We did an internet search from our vehicle using our mobile laptop connect card, and found a coffee shop which sounded interesting and that had free wi fi. Using Google Maps, we found it and parked in the strip center parking lot behind it. The storm was picking up strength. We were surrounded by buildings on three sides and somewhat protected from the wind. After surfing in the coffee shop until closing time, we hinted to the young manager that we might spend the night... He thought that was just fine.
Adventure travel? Sort of, with the high winds and all. Also, Las Vegas reportedly has a high crime rate.... But we followed our intuition that this place was safe. We are not encouraging to do like we do, just sharing our experience.
What has been your experience ? Please leave a comment or three!
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Not only is this a great place for breakfast, lunch, or "tea", the gallery part of the shop is very interesting and quality as well.
