Gold On The Inside

Vegas and back in one day. It blows my mind a little. Growing up, and spending the majority of my life in the mid-west, driving to Vegas and back in one day is a concept that is difficult to wrap your head around. My buddy, Jim Freivogel, was kind enough to lend us his truck. My buddy, Chris Klapp, was kind enough to go on the adventure with me. We were on the road for about an hour and a half, maybe two hours, when the car stereo tape player, which had a cassette tape adapter in it connected to my iPod for listening pleasure, up and quit. The truck also had no antennae, so any type of radio reception was a lost cause. Silence after lunch. Beautiful scenery, though. Highway 15 borders, on the south side of the highway, the Mojave Desert Preserve. Saw my first Joshua Tree, and then couldn't dodge them for about 15 miles. The elevation is crazy as well, ascending and descending thousands of feet in no time. We got to Vegas, and skirted just west of The Strip. For those of you who know Vegas well, we were on the highway that splits the Rio and the Palm from the main Strip. After we got to the general area of the pick up address, I had to drive around looking for an ATM, banks usually have lower fees so we went looking. In North Vegas, banks are scarce. There are, however, plenty of check cashing and payday loan establishments. We picked up the giant spaceship looking piece of machinery, got some gas and hit the road. While getting gas and taking a personal pit stop, Chris first while I was gassinng up the truck, Chris alerted me to the man in the restroom in the stall, singing gospel while on the pot. On the way out of Vegas, we hit a cigar shop I spotted from the highway, picked up a La Flor Dominicana Factory Press, and hit the road. Chris took over shortly after the cigar went out, and we chased the sun till it went away. Payed $3.99 a gallon for regular unleaded in Barstow(Jay Farrar, Sebastopol), and grabbed some grub. We didn't pack a tarp, why would we? It never rains in the desert. Well, it rained in L.A. that night, with an exposed piece of equipment in the truck bed. Got to the house, realized it wouldn't fit, and drove out to a friends house in Porter Ranch, about a half hour away, for storage in their garage. All told, it was an easy 12 and half hour day. But, anything for my Helen. Who, coincidentally, is Vegas tonight with her cousin, Noel(and her dog,Bear) as she moves her cousin back to Colorado. I miss her already. She gets back on Saturday, and I will be waiting for her.