Day 14
I woke up early due to the
numbing sensation of the cold, I was bundled up like an Eskimo and had to
unravel myself like that of a caterpillar emerging from a cocoon. Locating my
keys was always a challenge in the morning, once accomplished my first coherent
move was getting a good current of heat circuiting, unwilling to open the back
door and risk the fresh blast of air, I repositioned myself and plunged forward
into the drivers seat. These routines always felt like I was crawling into the
cockpit of my own ship. I was soon
entering the desert plains of Nevada.
The dullness of the scenery soon stymied any excitement that was still
lingering after the idyllic night at the Grand Canyon.
I was in route to the Hoover
Dam. Once I arrived and found parking I felt lethargic and wished for a piping
hot double shot Americano to rejuvenate the senses. There was a road accompanied by a walkway spanning the summit
of the dam. Due to the lay of the land the wind
funneled down between canyons with great velocity. The sheer extent of the drop below I found to
be quite alarming, that combined with
being swayed by the force of the sweeping gale was enough to clear my senses
without the needed asset of caffeine. There were danger signs spray-painted
across the concrete ledge to warn the naive 'Steep slope' and then a little
further down "Keep off wall" this was an obscure one, if your
considering leaping, would this label actually stop you? Maybe it alerted people who were in the mood
to flirt with disaster and go 'whoop' right over. I got a few pics on top of
the dam. One person that I regretted handing my
camera to because of the language barrier; I found her aiming the camera
elsewhere, and had to tell her to aim for my smiling face I then recollect her
actually pointing it backwards while saying "okay smile" She must
have been talking to herself. Another comical event anyway. It astounded me
the true volume of water mass the dam
was holding back, I pictured for the second, the amazing amount of
devastation that could occur, were the dam to break loose, it was a terrorizing
thought to entertain.
After Hoover Dam I got back
in the car and re-routed, orientating myself in the direction of Las Vegas. At first, I
wasn't sure whither to hit up Vegas, since being by myself would take some of
the luster off the visit, but I figured I'd at least drive through. It was
nightfall before I breached the outskirts of the city that never sleeps, upon
entering and passing Safeway's and Subway's I finally after some hindrance reached the strip with all the hubbub. Upon
entering the strip I felt very much out of place, like a lost and weary pilgrim
who just stumbled across Satan's playground instead of the holy land. I parked
and with no clear game plan, grabbed a water bottle and stumbled out into the
night.
The first attraction was a fountain
that shot jets of water into the night in rhythm with a symphony, it was located in the heart of a
pool of water outlying the Bellagio Hotel. I stood there perched over the rail
transfixed for probably a half hour. The lights over the water combined with
the harmonious background music was spellbinding. I eventually moved on to the
Bellagio hotel and Ceasers palace both were decorated with ornate architecture.
After being witness to such posh, I returned outside and wandered further up
the strip. I tried my hand at Gambling at some cheap slot machines, the first
time I won 4 bucks and was hit with a case of 'gamblers bane': not quitting
white your ahead. After losing 25 bucks I left feeling ripped off.
Soon after, I decided to
attempt frequenting a local strip joint but was stopped at the door on my first
attempt and informed there was a 4 drink minimum, being a lightweight already I
decided this was not a good move on my part. I was in Vegas alone without a DD,
with plans to leave that night and had no desire to have my ass in a sling.
Many people screamed by shouting "wheww yeah Vegas baby!" in very
close proximity. I didnt share the same level of enthusiasm due to my utter
lostness and lack of company. I feel like the whole point of Vegas is to make
you feel trapped, like you can never get out of Vegas. At least it seemed to be
designed that way After walking around for awhile I started seeing the same
stores and bars and by the time I saw Ceasers palace from all 4 different
angles I was beginning to feel uneasy. 3 hours later I finally located the
fountain and soon after my car.
Aside from the architecture and aesthetic appeal.Vegas struck me as a black sink hole that sucks your
money and time away and leaves you unfulfilled. It could have been the fact I was merely sightseeing however I'd rather be traversing
Europe and exploring the rich history of the Santa Maria
del Fiore in Florance or snorkling in the Caribbean than Gambling in
Vegas, in fact I can hardly think of a bigger waste of money or time. One time I once came
across a group of middle and high school girls with no supervision just walking
around and it hit me how incredibly naive it was for that lack of foresight. After that, I was
repulsed by the street vending prostitution.With these thoughts being mulled over in my head on the way out, I eventually
found an old town with a gas station, located a parking spot folded the seat
back and unsuccessfully attempted to crash. I couldn't sleep, my mind was
racing.
I had an epiphany of sorts that night. In my perception: Life and nature are similar concepts because nature is the study of
how life acts and interacts within our circle of existence. When we take the
time to examine the beauty of the world around us, we are able to see parallels
within our own lives. It becomes a shrinking experience and we begin to think outside ourselves. All of nature moves in a
spiral as do our personal lives. Not everyone responds to beauty in the same
way; many are aware of it but don't allow it to light up the sentiment with
reverent peace of mind. Material possessions don't please
the way the natural elements can. My curiosity about the earth transcends my
curiosity for other things. Desiring to find natural beauty inherently lies
within the core desires of our being. uninhibited, unequivocal untouched by the
corrosion of the mind. and only subject to the whims and harmonies of the free
floating elements of the species. I see delicate beauty as soul stirring
graffiti. After The Grand Canyon my eyes were opened to the depth of the of the
natural world and self actualization was fully attained.
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