Desert Daze – A Southwest Adventure (II)

Part Two: 'Escape from Vegas'

The plane shudders to a halt; I’m happy to be on the ground. It’s extremely windy out making for a rough and stressful landing. I really don’t mind flying at all; it’s these landings that give me pause.

So let the adventures begin! I get my rental vehicle – a van this time instead of my usual SUV. I have chosen a van because it should be much more comfortable to sleep in and I plan to sleep in it often because I will be visiting some seriously remote areas. I also want to be able to immerse myself in these places without worrying about where I will be spending the night – I plan to drain each sunset and be out hiking with the sunrise each day. I just hope I don’t regret not getting four wheel drive – it’s real winter out here at higher elevations and some of the roads I will be traveling are not much more than two dirt tracks.

I flee Vegas via the road less traveled, naturally, taking the north route through the Lake Mead National Recreation Area instead of the interstate. Excellent choice, the scenery’s immediately magnificent and there are so few other vehicles, it feels remote just a few miles away from the city.

After driving for about a half hour, I realize that it’s already late afternoon and that the sun will be setting soon. Time to start looking for a place to throw down anchor. Just as that thought goes through my head, I coincidently spy a little wooden sign pointing down a dirt road towards the water that says “Stewart’s Point.” Sounds good to me, let’s find out why this fellow Stewart has a point named after him The road is rough and just a few hundred yards in I see a sign stating ‘Four wheel drive recommended.’ “Uh oh” I say to myself and I wonder if I will already be regretting my choice of vehicle. But the road turns out to be passable if one pays strict attention to avoiding the ruts and rocks. It leads me to a beautiful vantage point overlooking thevast blue lake and the arid, rugged mountains on the other side. Perfect.

I park in a level spot and go wandering. I find a bundle of firewood close to my campsite that some kind soul has left behind. Excellent. My game plan now: soak up the beautiful views until dark and then have me a little campfire – what a great way to spend the first evening.

As the craggy brown mountains across the lake dissolve into soft pastels and blue shadows in the twilight, a pack of coyotes sets up howl in the distance. How I love that sound, it speaks to me of wilderness. As the darkness sets in in earnest, the thinnest possible crescent moon (if it were any thinner it wouldn’t be there) and a brilliant star (must be a planet) pop up from below the horizon. Now the Big Dipper, tilted so far back that anything in it would spill and with the handle almost touching the water, reveals itself reflecting in the lake along with a million other (give or take a few) twinkling stars.

Stars don’t actually twinkle, the effect is caused by the light being bent and twisted as it passes through the earth’s atmosphere. Here in the dry, clear desert air, they put on quite a light show, better, I dare say, than anything you could find in Vegas.

Now that ol’ sol has retired for the night, the desert cools off rapidly. I put on long johns and a sweatshirt and then start my fire. I stay outside admiring the lavish sky above until I run out of wood. By now, it’s become seriously chilly and with the fire down to a few small coals, it’s time to retire to ‘Hotel Truck’ for my first night in the desert. As I lay my head on the pillow, shimmering stars are still floating through my head; I fall asleep content.

Look for Part Two soon...