Nevada's Logandale Trails

Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.

No ATV riding is permitted in the Valley of Fire. We visited last year and would have loved to have gone back but with no cell, no internet and not even ATV trails to tempt us, we decided to look elsewhere for someplace we hadn't been and someplace we hadn't seen. Here is the blog I posted last year.

About 50 miles northwest of Las Vegas is the little town of Logandale.  We took a trip up that way on Monday.  It wasn’t necessarily to see the town.  Actually, other than gorgeous homes and a few ranches, there wasn’t too much in the town itself.  Well, we did see a post office and a gas station but that was about it for the town as far as what we saw.  We really went to check out the Logandale Trails.  The Logandale Trails take in the Northwest corner of the Valley of Fire. 

Our site at the park in Las Vegas was ours through Sunday if we wanted to stay put.  A storm was due in on Friday and forecasted to hang around until Monday or Tuesday.  Storms aren’t fun and we’ve had more than our share of them this winter.  Either way we didn’t particularly want to stay in Las Vegas.  It’s another one of those been there, done that things.  The problem is if we decided to move up the road a little to the Logandale Trails, it had to be a short stay because we wanted to be gone before the winds and rain returned.    Obviously, we weren’t thrilled to think about riding in the rain.  We just weren't sure what we wanted to do.  We never really know until after we've done it anyway.

The camping on the Logandale Trails was an option and it was free.  We saw a total of five RVs in different areas.  What we did see a lot of was tour companies out of Las Vegas leading OHV groups. If you camp there, you’d probably really be by yourself at night but have lots of company during the day.

On Tuesday Terry got an opportunity to finally tour the Mob Museum.  He’s not one who normally loves all museums but he did want to see this one and especially since we were so close.  I’m not going to add much on it because I already did a couple days ago on my Mob Museum blog.  You can check it out here.

After our tour of the museum we headed back to the motorhome and made a big impromptu decision.  We decided to move.   I had dreaded the move-out since we moved in because I knew it’d be a hassle and we’d have to ask several folks to move their vehicles.  We also had to deal with the trailer and yadda yadda.  Asking others to move their vehicles was common on this row.  It’s the only way some could get their RVs out and we had watched many struggle.    However, upon our return to the park we discovered the two RVs across the roadway from us had pulled out.  We had a window and our escape would be easy so we left.

Next stop Utah but we weren’t sure where.  We had no idea where we were going but we did know where a couple Wal-Marts were. 

‘Tis life on the road.

The Mob Museum – Las Vegas

“This is truly the underworld uncovered. No embellishments. No glorification. We present the facts, and let you become the jury.”  - Mob Museum

Less than one month ago a new museum was opened in Las Vegas.  It was the Mob Museum.  We hadn’t heard about it but Sandie had.  She asked us to check it out for her.  That I did.  After going through it the first time, we’re already planning a repeat visit next week.  There is so much in this museum.  It’s not like some we visit and just skim through.  I wanted to read everything and view all the pictures but that takes time.  I had left Terry back at the motorhome with Duchess but I knew he’d want to see this one too.  That’s the plan for next week -  a return trip.

The mob was everywhere.  It was in everything where money could be had.  If you can think it, they were there doing it.  They also left a trail of dead behind them.  This museum was nothing short of fantastic and educational.  Many artifacts had been collected both belonging to the mobsters and those that brought them down.  One of the most popular was the brick wall from the bloody St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.  

Photos, stories and memorabilia are on display.  There are guns, pictures, personal items, videos and numerous stories and details.

Meyer Lansky - “We’re bigger than U.S. Steel.”

 

Mobsters were targets of each other.

Lucky Luciano - “There’s no such thing as good money or bad money. There’s just money.”

There have been many Mob bosses, but Lucky Luciano is considered the true father of modern organized crime

 

The mob had it’s hand in prostitution.  Money was there. The mob had it’s hand everywhere that money was.

Sam Giancana -“I own Chicago. I own Miami. I own Las Vegas.”

 

Many true-life displays were at the museum.

John Gotti - “I never lie because I don’t fear anyone. You only lie when you’re afraid.”

 

Al Capone – “You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.”

Deaths were common  Competition between families and power made targets of each other.

Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel - “We only kill each other.”

 

Even John Kennedy had his own little corner and video at the museum.  For about three years JFK was having an affair with Judith Campbell or was it really just for convenient meetings to pass information?  Frank Sinatra had introduced JFK to her as well as introduced her to Sam Giancana.  Check out this blog titled Scandalous Women for more information about JFK,  Judith Campbell and Giancana.

Rudy knew members of the mob as did Oswald.   Draw your own conclusions after listening to the tape as to Kennedy’s connection.  Was it there?  Or, wasn’t it?

Las Vegas brought big money to the mob.  Howard Hughes with his vast fortune helped clean up Las Vegas by buying up hotels.  He bought his first one when his reservation ran out and he wasn’t ready to go.

 

The mob was into just about everything.

The Mob Museum is definitely worth the trip.  Matter of fact, I enjoyed it so much that I’m looking forward to going back again with Terry.  There was so much to see and I didn’t get to see it all.

‘Tis life on the road.