Las Vegas KOA Journey At Sam’s Town

Las Vegas KOA Journey At Sam’s Town

Tuesday, October 8 Through Friday, October 11, 2019

The route from Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley National Park to Las Vegas Nevada was chosen to keep  scary mountain driving to a minimum.  We left the same way we came into Death Valley because it was a known quantity – California’s Daylight Pass Road and NV-374 toward Beatty Nevada and US-95.  The road isn’t all that scary compared to other roads in and out of Death Valley National Park.  Daylight Pass is only 4,317 feet elevation.

Stovepipe Wells To Las Vegas KOA At Sam's Town
Stovepipe Wells To Las Vegas KOA At Sam’s Town

The rest of the way was mainly US-95 south into Las Vegas.

Seeing what looked like a truck stop, we turned right, off the highway, only to discover that the truck stop was closed.  Then almost by magic, we turned out heads to the right and discovered a rest stop.  Right there in the desert.

Amargosa Valley Rest Area
Amargosa Valley Rest Area

There didn’t appear to be any parking for RV’s or other large vehicles.  The only solution was to park the camper in a large gravel area to the side of the rest area.

Amargosa Valley Rest Area And Parking
Amargosa Valley Rest Area And Parking

In the picture above, the truck is parked to the left behind a a stand of trees.

Amargosa Valley Rest Area
Amargosa Valley Rest Area

The actual restrooms were a different.  Each of the above small buildings has a single person men’s and women’s bathroom.

It was nice to be able to walk the dogs at a rest stop with few burs to get caught in their paws.

Las Vegas KOA At Sam's Town Office
Las Vegas KOA At Sam’s Town Office

Following Apple Maps directions we found the Las Vegas KOA at Sam’s Town without incident.  Linda went into the office to check  in.  She came back with the park map in her hand and a placard for the Jeep.  I was surprised when she told me we had to go to another location.

Las Vegas Map Showing Sam's Town And KOA Locations
Las Vegas Map Showing Sam’s Town And KOA Locations

There is only one KOA but it has two locations that are within a 15 minute brisk walk of each other.  The campground map shows two locations but doesn’t show how people or their RVs go from one to the other.  The above map of the Sam’s Town area shows the primary KOA location where we landed and the secondary location where we needed to go.  A few turns and a number of stoplights and we arrived. Since we were already checked in, we went straight to our campsite.

The patio campsite was long enough for large class A motorhomes with towed vehicles behind them.  Large rigs with slides fit side to side but not as neatly as we do.  Some of our curbside neighbors’ slides crowded our patio area.

Campsite
Campsite

We setup our campsite by putting out all of our portable dog fences.  The propane gas stoves went on the park’s table.  After stacking the park’s chairs, I put out our cheap Amazon’s best zero-gravity folding chairs.  Next, the portable dog kennel came out.  The dogs were in heaven.

Since we were wearing our last set of clean clothes, we headed off to the park’s laundromat with bags of dirty clothes.

KOA Laundromat
KOA Laundromat

The laundromat had more machines than usual and they all seemed to be in working order.  We filled up five machines.  An hour and a half later, laundry was done.

Bathroom Sinks
Bathroom Sinks

While waiting for the washing machines to finish, I went around the corner to inspect the bathrooms.  The bathrooms were especially nice for a KOA.

Shower Stall
Shower Stall

The showers were larger than average and clean.  It is always nice to have a stable wide place to sit when dressing after a shower.

That evening, we drove over to Sam’s Town to eat dinner at a nice restaurant.

Sam's Town Hotel & Gambling Hall
Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall

This is Las Vegas.  Sam’s Town is built around a casino.

Sam's Town Casino
Sam’s Town Casino

Linda got us reservations at The Angry Butcher Steakhouse.  She made sure they didn’t have a dinner dress code.

The Angry Butcher Steakhouse In Sam's Town
The Angry Butcher Steakhouse In Sam’s Town

This upscale restaurant is lovely.  While there wasn’t a dress code, we did find ourselves under dressed.

Larry At The Angry Butcher Steakhouse In Sam's Town
Larry At The Angry Butcher Steakhouse In Sam’s Town

Next time we go, I’ll wear a polo shirt instead of a t-shirt.  That should be dressy enough.

We both ordered filet steaks.  We also ordered side dishes of creamed corn and creamed spinach.  Everything is a la carte.

Filet, Creamed Cord And Creamed Spinach
Filet, Creamed Corn And Creamed Spinach

The meal was superb.  I got Chocolate Cake to go for desert to eat the following day.  It is pricey but for a special date night out, definitely good value.

Sam's Town Guest Shuttle Stop
Sam’s Town Guest Shuttle Stop

On the way back to the parking lot, I saw the Guest Shuttle Stop.  The free shuttle is available Sam’s Town KOA campers.  It was tempting to go explore some of the more well known casinos in Las Vegas but I never got around to it.

Early Morning Las Vegas Traffic
Early Morning Las Vegas Traffic

Early the next morning, I took Linda to the airport.  She had appointments in San Antonio and would be back late the next day.  On the way back to the campground, I caught the sun rising at a stoplight.

McDonald's McFlurry
McDonald’s McFlurry

That evening, I stopped in at the food court inside Sam’s Town.  At McDonald’s, a McFlurry.

Dog Park

Dog Park

The dogs liked being at this campground.  There was plenty of good off-leash space for them to run around in.  Here are two large dog parks sharing a common fence line.

Second Bath House
Second Bath House

In addition to the bathrooms in the main building where the laundromat was, another building toward the back of the park had a number of unisex bathroom with shower rooms.

Razor Wire Fences
Razor Wire Fences

The campground isn’t in the best of neighborhoods.  The first night, the dogs and I were caught in a police helicopter’s search light.  The last night, Linda heard a police officer using a cruiser’s PA system to order a man to lay face down on the sidewalk.  The man wasn’t complying because the officer needed to repeat himself over and over again.

Some of the apartments across the street from the entrance were advertising low prices and weekly rates.  Razor wire topped the perimeter fences.

Somehow I had it in my head that the only RV park in Las Vegas was the one at Circus Circus.  Obviously this isn’t true as we were staying in a KOA RV park.

Las Vegas RV Resort
Las Vegas RV Resort

The Las Vegas RV Resort is next door to the KOA.  It seems like a reasonable alternative to the KOA.

Las Vegas RV Resort
Las Vegas RV Resort

I took the above picture over the fence between the KOA and the neighboring park.  Looks like a nice place.  As nice as the KOA.

There is a Walmart within walking distance from the campground.  The Walmart is on the other side of Sam’s Town.

I would stay in the park again.

Hope to see you on the road ahead!

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