Week Four
Day 22
L.A.Day 23
L.A.Day 24 Thursday
The Excaliber Hotel and Casino, Las VegasDay 25 Friday
Watchman Campground, Zion National ParkNovember 11, 2000
I had said yesterday that Vegas was the first place that we had been that was more pretty at night that when we woke up in the morning. To that Allison said, that it did look just like some big shopping mall now. I guess she is used to roller coasters in malls as she is close to the Mall of America, but I had to agree roller coatsers or no.
Zion was so beautiful last night that I thought it might be the case. The full moon just lit the peaks so that looking up from the dark valley it seemed like the craggy peaks were somehow highlioghted on purpose. I am sure the first Mormons here, would have said they were highlighted by god. Good for them, I say.
This morning I was miserable. As I have said it has been the worst few days in terms of eating well. Allison pointed out that not only had we had chips and pudding for breakfast but it was all we had eaten all day, until a horrible dinner. All we wanted was a big salad, but the Bumbleberry Patch didnít have more than dinner saldas that were iceberg and one cherry tomato. And then the dinners were either way to salty or way to bready or way too greasy, or all three. It was bad. So we have been starving for good food, and this was the last straw. We had to find a brocery store to preserve my sanity, so that I could rest assured that i would never feel compelled to eat potato chips again. I was so at witís end, again. The little town of Springdale is cute. I give it that, but imagine my diress when I found out that the nearest grocery store was back 30 miles the way we had come. It was already nine, and I just wanted to go to sleep, but we went.
Oh, and what a sweet light a grocery store gives off, tinted with the reflections of food. I bought two of everything. Baked corn chips, salsa, fruit and nut chocolate bars, organic apples, carrots. I had eated dinner, but I had to have four carrots right away. Then it was back to the campsite and to sleep.
We are now so far off of our intended route, and we canít keep a schedule for more than a day. We had planned to be in Moab last night, but we didnít make it for a whole host of reasons. Mostly we get distracted.
Vegas was interesting. We got to stay in a big hotel, and walk the strip, and gamble a couple dollars. Allisonís sister had given us the advice, ěembrace the decadence. If you fight it you will hate it.î We did our best. I have to say, I take all such places as learning experiences. I want to step outside of it and try to see the dynamics. It is strange. Vegas has come a long way from itís reputation of live topless shows and seedy deals. But that Vegas has tried to recreate itself as family resort, has created a stranger world, where kids walk up and down the same streets that on every corner five people try to handle sex magazines, and the revue now has the seven pm family show, and the eleven pm show is topless. Where Casinos that offer free drinks and food to people as long as they are spending money on games, also have big video arcades for the kids.
Somewhere between the Eiffel tower and the Brooklyn bridge Allison asked if it was post modern that people have built all the miniature things. I was not sure. The Eiffle tower for example even has a ticket window just like the real one. I am inclined that this is just imitationand no art form at all. But here is a stranger thing. Acording to Allison the tourists under the fake Eiffel tower were taking the exact same picture as you would in France. I wonder if you could tell the difference later? The scene on the street of people trying to get a face plus the whole height of the tower in was sureal at best. That mesh of real life following real life, spured by a fake tower. That is post modern.
And I finally made it to the Hoover dam. It was unimpressive in some ways. I think that judgement may have been based on how I was feeling, sick and the exhaust of trucks crossing the dam as we walked on it didnít help. The Dam is not very visitor friendly. You could even say that it was hostile. You are not allowed into the visitors center with even the smallest purse of bag. I am surprised they let cameras in. In fact I am not sure that they do. I donít why the security is so tight. I guess people like Edward Abbey frightenned them. The level of security just managed to annoy and bother me. If you wanted to blow up the damn it would be easy enough. You can drive a semi of explosizes right across it after all, and I didnít even get to go in the visitors center. What would I do blow up a display?
Well, If you followed all that, We are back to today, cruising across southern Utah, on our way to The Lazy Lizard Hotel in Moab.
Day 26 Saturday
Lazy Lizard Hotstel, Moab, UTNovember 12, 2000
The lazy lizard is right up there on the list of cool hostels. It is only $8 a night which shows around the edges. Nothing is as clean as it could be. The kitchen is small. It is tucked in an old house behind a self storage place. But it is nice, warm, clean enough, and it has a hot tub. I have yet to use the hot tub in two visits, but it is good to know it is there.
What are the chances, anyway? I was getting ready to eat my 14 ounce block of cold tofu, when I looked up in the kitchen to the smiling face of Justin Francese. We realized each other at the same moment and I imagined my jaw dropping. He had flown into Salt lake the day before with a friend and they were off to hike a week or so in Canyonlands. It was cool to catch up over breakfast, but then we both had to be off. It was just a few hour long window that we had to catch each other there. So it was fate in some way that we had been so delayed, on our trek. Even this morning we were running late.
We did that one hike in Arches to see all the arches. Now we are serious about making miles. Well right after we go to this overlook of canyonlands.
We did eat dinner last night. It was a redemption for a lot of bad meals in the past. Neither Allison or I could resist the promise of spinach salad. Oh so good. It could have been better, but I give the Moab Brewery a thumbs up if you are ever in town. I also had balck bean soup and fries.
Moab was the best evidence of me retracing a trip from two years ago. I am doing it a bit in defferent order, but hit all these places. Zion, Moab, Arches, Canyonlands. I did the same hike in both parks, and stayed at the same hostel and ate at the same restaurant. We will still be following as we go to Big Bend and Austin, and Dallas, and Holdrege. I am a creature of habit, I guess.
At the dinner they had some weird brand name for the french fries. I donít remember what it was. Allison and I discused it during dinner and had remembered it as Spudnic, which lead us to discuss a comunist theme restaurant. We donít have all the details set but there will definitely be Spudnik Space fries.
Day 27
Super 8 Motel, Socorro, NMDay 28 Monday
Travel Lodge, Ozona, TXNovember 14, 2000
What can you do when you are tired and it is cold, and you just donít feel like looking for a campsite? You have to stay in a hotel. I am not proud of staying inside so many of the last few nights, but what can you do.The nights ago we had hiked in Arches and not started driving until 4:30. Allison drove until after 1 am, after I passed out in the back seat at 10. We slept horribly and got up early. Somehow we made 600 miles yesterday, and managed to stop by 11 pm. These long days somehow seem esier when I am alone, but I think that it is just because there is no one to suffer my bad mood. If someone is grumpy in the woods, does it really make a sound?
Day 29 Tuesday
The Tropicana Motel, Bastrop TX