Day: May 12, 2017

Pic: The agents of orange, perhaps. Valley of Fire SP, NV

The word of the day is atlatl. Atlatl!

I was prepared to be underwhelmed by Valley of Fire after a lackluster drive to the entrance area. But somewhere around the narrows of the White Dome Loop hike, I became whelmed. It’s like nearby Red Rock NCA (where I cut my teeth on desert hiking during the Vegas years) only bigger and weirder. Sandstone!

I felt like kind of a warm weather wuss after getting worn out from fifteen minutes of mild bouldering in Mouse’s Tank (and BTW what a terrific place to (allegedly) hide from a posse — that’s some Monkey Wrench Gang shit.) But then Isa’s thermometer said 95F and I was like that’s actually pretty hot. Also I failed pretty hard at hydrating. Water!

I didn’t exactly plan it this way (least necessary disclaimer ever?) but dinner ended up being grocery store chicken strips and donuts. Smith’s!

Pic: Symmetry is creepy. The Orleans, Las Vegas, NV

As I lay in my gambling-subsidized bed contemplating the next phase of my journey, the room phone rang. “Uh, hello?”

“Hi, this is security.” (Uh-oh, what’d I do…) “We noticed that you’ve had the ‘Do Not Distrub’ sign on your door for a few days and just wanted to make sure everything is okay.”

Las Vegas: where using the same two towels for four days is a potential emergency.