The Desert

My original goal was to time my drive to reach Las Vegas right around sunrise so I could go to Red Rock Canyon and watch the sun come up over the desert. That was always one of my favorite things about my time working in Las Vegas. The construction crew at City Center (which is now on hold) would start at 4 am, then the sun would come blasting through the open windows and I would get ready for work and watch the sunrise over the mountains. Most people come to Las Vegas for bachelor parties or drunken weekends and never notice that there is an absolutely gorgeous landscape surrounding them.

I didn't reach my goal because I got into Vegas at 4 am and could barely see. Not because I was tired, but because of the constant strain and adjustment to oncoming headlights. Eight hours on the road with just a few stops is long and tiring. I tried to align my bathroom breaks with refueling the Hybrid but the damn girl would outlast me every time. It didn't help that I drank caffeine all day then bought two large black teas from Pete's before I left because I knew I would not be able to find anything without corn syrup for 500 miles. (This is a girl who normally doesn't drink much caffeine) Pete's caffeine and constant eyestrain created a very interesting physical reaction within my body and by the time I got to the hotel I just had to lay down. I couldn't fall sleep so I curled up in a ball and twitched for an hour or so before finally drifting off.

So I didn't really make sunrise, but I did spend several hours in the afternoon at Red Rock Canyon. It's one of those places that you feel like you could just start walking and climbing into the rock formations and become part of the earth.

After Red Rock I drove straight to SouthPoint. It's a hotel that I stayed at while working in Las Vegas. It's a locals hangout with a bowling alley and movie theater. I had a few leftover chips on my desk at work that were about a year and a half old. They were souvenirs of my time there. Since that chapter of my life was over I decided to cash them in. I walked straight to the roulette table, bet the entire stack on red (my favorite color), doubled my money and walked out. My road trip had officially begun.