Friday night in Las Vegas... wow. President's day weekend, too. I spent a couple of hours last night walking around the strip, gawking. Turned $5 into $40 at the slot machines but then of course gave it all back plus another $30. Saw Darth Vader, Captain Jack, a guy inexplicably on stilts (or else he really was 8 feet tall?), many young women in impossibly short, tight dresses. And lots and lots of people of every age, size, shape, and description. Parents with young children. An older woman in a long wool coat and babushka scarf. Fat tourists in t-shirts. (my peeps!) A cadre of young men in dark suits and dark glasses. 10:30pm at Wallgreens, there were 8 cashiers and line of people still.... probably everyone needs aspirin, like me. I am taking a nice slow Saturday morning here in my room, saving energy to go back out tonight and gawk some more before taking off northward tomorrow morning.
Lowest point was actually -280 feet, but no sign there.
Yesterday started with an 18 mile, 3200 foot climb, by bike, up out of Death Valley. Followed by an excellent 12 mile downhill to meet the WomanTours van for a picnic lunch in Amargosa: This place could well have been where Baghdad Cafe was filmed. Then 3 hours in the van back to Las Vegas, dropping people at the airport and various hotels.
Death Valley averages only about 2 inches of rain per year, so I guess I should feel lucky to have seen it. Weather was cloudy and threatening rain for our first 3 days there; I can't say I ever really got wet, but I rode in long pants and long sleeves. On our 4th day, though, the sun came out in full force and it was just lovely, 70, clear blue sky, and a 20mph tailwind... well, it was a tailwind for the first half of the day anyway. The highlight of the trip for me was riding a 12 mile loop called Artist's Drive. Incredible colors... a fairlyland of mint green, pink, forest green, peach, gold, rust. 15% grades and a 20mph headwind just made it more memorable.
Just one of the marvelous geological formations in Death Valley
Dunes in Death Valley
I do think I'd like to go back to Death Valley, but more to hike than bike. There are so many little side canyons to explore, dunes, plantlife, incredibly varied geological formations... one mountain will be peach colored, the one right next to it jet black, the next one horizontal stripes of rust, pink, and brown, and the next one with the same stripes but running diagonally. Plains of sand, plains of gravel, plains of big black rocks. Sand dunes, marble slot canyons. And all of this surrounded by 10,000 foot snowcovered peaks.
Badwater salt flats, death valley
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