Road Aventure Day Two: A Devil's Breakfast

After a couple of cups of coffee, I left the Hotel Cortez in Las Vegas and hunted down the nearest Costco.  While a little cheaper than home, gasoline in metro Las Vegas is no deal.  With a full tank of gas I drove to Nellis Masonic Lodge No. 46.  The building actually house three Lodges and the Scottish Rite.  It's a large building constructed in that grey Cold War cinder block style of the late 1960s.  While walking the outside of the building, the Lodge Secretary happened to drive up.  He gave me a great tour of the facility and cool narration on local history.

I  drove about 10 miles west and met my Aunt and one of my cousins for a Devil's Breakfast.  If you didn't know, the Devil sleeps late, so any Breakfast after 1030 AM is a Devil's Breakfast.  The word Brunch was just good marketing on Satan's part.  We ate in one of those local Las Vegas places - you walk into a large open bar with video poker and then up to a hostess who seats you in the actual diner.  The food was good and likely reasonably priced since my cousin picked up the tab.  We said our goodbyes and I was off.

About 15 miles north of Las Vegas they have reduced the 15 to one lane for construction.  LA Style traffic on the outskirts of nowhere.  My next stop was Mesquite Nevada for a soda and some cheese nips; first crumbs in my new car.  Into Utah through the little canyon and back down into Arizona where I stopped in Colorado Springs for coffee.  My car was telling me I was drowsy (it does that); and, it was right.  the picture is from the parking lot of the grocery store in Colorado Springs.  The wind eroded mountains in the background are representative of the entire drive.  

The elevation is around 5000 feet and the temperature had dropped to the the high eighties.  Off with the aircon, down with the windows, open the sunroof and crank up the 70s.  The road is relatively straight and traffic free.  I set the car to drive itself.  Sipped the coffee, listened to the top 40 countdown from 1973 and watch the scenery.  

The road winds back up into Utah and an hour or so later I was driving through Kanab Utah (The self driving feature only works over 45MPH, so through town it's all me).  I see this police cruiser parked on the side of the road.  Time to stop and stretch anyway, I turn around and go back to talk to the cop who is on the side of the road.  I parked the car and as I walk up on the cop car he hasn't moved since I drove by.  Turns out its a mannequin.  Well, I worked with guys who couldn't do the job as well as the mannequin. 

 The road winds back into Arizona.  About 9 miles from my destination in Page, Arizona, it becomes really clear that I need to get rid of the coffee from Colorado Springs, now.    A brief stop and I arrive at my hotel.  After check in I drive about two more miles up the road to the north rim of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River Horseshoe Bend.  Ten buck gets my car into the lot and a lecture from the Park Ranger who tells me that it is a 1.5 mile round trip hike, I should wear sturdy shows and bring water.  Ha - I have $10, hiking boots and a liter of water.  It was hot and the elevation change on the 1.5 mile round trip hike is about 200 feet.  The path is hard packed sand and well defined.  Besides there are about 100 people walking down the same path.  Few of them have water, none of them have hats (its in the mid 90s) and some are wearing flip-flops.  I figure there are two possibilities:  some people didn't get the shoes and water lecture or some people didn't listen.  As I was hiking back up, the Forest Service jeep with the stretcher on the back was driving down toward the canyon.  Lack of proper footwear and/or water got somebody.

There aren't words to describe the beauty of the Colorado River cutting a channel over eons. Dinner was at the Sunset Cafe, back to the hotel and tomorrow it is off to Monument Valley