Surprisingly, I woke up very early, around 7:30 am, packed up, and left the camping area. The beauty of going solo is having to answer to yourself- living with any consequences and having no one to blame things on, which is what life should be about. Most people are irresponsible, and cannot accept the faith resulting from their actions, for example, smokers who blame the tabacco industry for their failed health rather than examining themselves and accepting the path they've chosen. With that said, today, I have decided not to go the Grand Canyon- the beauty of changing plans and loving it. Instead I will be heading northwest towards Las Vegas, Nevada.
Back in 1992 at Texas A&M University, I lived with 4 guys in a small apartment, and one the guys was Michael Heng. After that semester, I decided I would no longer be returning to live with them. Michael surprised me a bit one night. He said he wanted all of us to come back and live together, well, at least Tim and I. He asked me if it was his fault I was not coming back, meaning, if I did not get along with him or some idiosyncracy I couldn't stand. This surprised me because people generally have egos which they cannot back down from, and admitting fault or being willing to change is often very difficult. (In most cases, one roommate would blame another roommate for not getting along, hardly ever looking in a mirror and wondering if they were the problem.) Michael and I did get along, I just wanted a change. And after that moment, I realized Michael was a deeper person than I ever gave him credit for in the past.
Much of the day was driven through the desert of Arizona on dirt roads, and it took quite a while to get to Las Vegas. At one point, I had almost completely ran out of gas. I even drove the Spectra through roads which were only recommended for 4-wheel drive vehicles. Since I drive with the air conditioning off and the window down, the car was full of dust, especially in the trunk area.
Here I was in Las Vegas instead of the Grand Canyon, which is probably too packed with tourists. I parked at the Excalibur and headed over to Holiday Inn. My dad and I played here for about 15 minutes back in 1998. The game rules were bad in the 6-deck blackjack games, but I played even though I knew better. I ended up losing $200 after a couple of hours.
I wasn't even sure I wanted to gamble on this road trip since it isn't the new calendar yet. On the last road trip I said I would not play until next year.
It seemed the latest fashion here for young women or girls in high school was to show their stomachs and backs. Some of the women look fairly skinny, but when they show off their stomachs and lower back, most of them were somewhat hefty. I preferred for them to cover themselves.
I headed out on Highway 15 north towards Utah, hoping to find a camping site at Valley of Fire State Park. The park was full and so I ended up camping at Lake Mead for free, which is why there were no public facilities. Lake Mead is a national recreation are adjacent to the Grand Canyon.
There was a bra hanging off one of the small trees near the tent.
