A day trip out to the Mojave Desert Preservation area, about 200 or so miles east of Los Angeles. A beautiful area any time of the year though it does get a little toasty from June through October.We took a couple of revolvers along so Olivia could practice her shooting skills as her application to join the LAPD is underway and she shall start at the Police Academy in Jan' 05.She proved to be an able marksman (markswoman?) but I, as usual, managed to miss everything I aimed at---though there were some very scared Pepsi cans. (Yes, we took all our debri out with us and in fact hauled some others litter away too.)You can drive through a lot of the Preserve when you're enroute from LA to Vegas if you're prepared to abandon the dubious pleasures of Interstate 15 and if you have an extra hour or two up your sleeve..it is definitely well worth the additional mileage and perhaps your time spent in the Mojave Preserve will help you prepare for the onslaught that awaits the weary traveller in a-different-kind-of-scenic LAS VEGAS.