Arizona, Rosie's Den, The Hoover Dam Bypass and the Lottery

The original journey to Arizona (now slightly different with the bypass)

If Greenlee Gazette abruptly ends after today, and then starts up in a few weeks as a power-house Huffington Post-like web presence, then you'll know that my venture today was successful! After checking the PowerBall and Mega Millions tickets The Other Half got while on the road the other day, I noticed that they are both up in stratospheric jackpots. And though Las Vegas and Nevada do not have a lottery, there's a place in California (33 miles away) and one in Arizona (53 miles away) that sell one or both types of tickets. Since Rosie's Den in Arizona has both types, and since I've never driven over the new Matt O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge, I elected to go there.

First, I've got to say that the new Hoover Dam bypass is awesome. If you've ever dared to cross the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada, you know that it is ten kinds of torture. The endless switchback road with bumper-to-bumper traffic, and the stupid little security checkpoint would have Mother Theresa cursing like a sailor. Now that they've built the bypass and opened the bridge, the trip is easy-breezy. Sure, you still have to trudge through Boulder City (surely they didn't want to be left out), and go past the Hacienda at 35 mph, but other than that? Smooth sailing. I made the round trip--including a stop for gas--in under two hours. How's that for impressive?

Image from Wikipedia

Rosie's Den is a quaint little watering hole, with a bar and restaurant, with typical roadside trinkets and snacks. They've got pool tables, and sodas, and of course the lottery station. The lady who was running it today, and on my last visit, could have come out of central casting. She was friendly, a little flirty, a little brassy. There was no line to wait in. Everything about the trip was smooth as silk. The same cannot be said about the little lottery barn thingy they have at Primm on the Nevada/California border. There, you'll have to wait in a queue of dozens, maybe a hundred people.

The new bridge looks spectacular from the dam, as I noticed last time I was there. But driving on the bypass, it comes up on you with no fanfare, and you can't even see the dam. It's just part of the new, smooth bypass road. If you weren't paying attention, you'd miss it altogether. Still, it's an amazing achievement, and a dramatic difference for anyone trying to travel from one state to the other. Good job, guys.

So, I wait breathlessly for the new version of the American Dream. It's kind of sad that instead of becoming safely ensconced in middle class, most of us just hope that one day we'll strike it rich. But I am hoping! My three scratch-offs yielded nothing. But I'm crossing my fingers for the big enchilada. I promise to be very, very generous should the fates be the same.