Joshua Tree was beautiful but I'd be lying if I said we weren't ready to leave the morning after we arrived! Here's why:
We slept with the fly off and by 7am the sun was over the horizon and temperatures were rapidly rising. Our plan for the day was to get from Southern California to a town "near Zion National Park" where we'd stay in a hotel for the night. Staying in a hotel near the park entrance would give us some time to rest up, do some digital nomad work online, and--most importantly--enable us to reach Zion bright and early the next morning (increasing our odds of scoring a first-come first-served camp site). While I took down the tent Lauren prepared breakfast. The temperature was rising more quickly than we had expected and by the time Lauren had boiled water for coffee it was already too hot out to enjoy. The heat was unpleasant, but tolerable. The tipping point for us was the flies. Flies started gathering the moment Lauren started breakfast. By the time we were eating we couldn't take a bite without waving off the increasing hordes of flies hovering on/in/around our food/hands/faces. Bees were also present (but not nearly as numerous, or bothersome, as the flies). We covered our hot coffees with books and tried to eat as fast as possible. The sips of coffee that we stole were spoiled by the fact that the air temperatures had crossed 90-degrees and was still steadily rising...
Yes, it was definitely time to move on.
We slept with the fly off and by 7am the sun was over the horizon and temperatures were rapidly rising. Our plan for the day was to get from Southern California to a town "near Zion National Park" where we'd stay in a hotel for the night. Staying in a hotel near the park entrance would give us some time to rest up, do some digital nomad work online, and--most importantly--enable us to reach Zion bright and early the next morning (increasing our odds of scoring a first-come first-served camp site). While I took down the tent Lauren prepared breakfast. The temperature was rising more quickly than we had expected and by the time Lauren had boiled water for coffee it was already too hot out to enjoy. The heat was unpleasant, but tolerable. The tipping point for us was the flies. Flies started gathering the moment Lauren started breakfast. By the time we were eating we couldn't take a bite without waving off the increasing hordes of flies hovering on/in/around our food/hands/faces. Bees were also present (but not nearly as numerous, or bothersome, as the flies). We covered our hot coffees with books and tried to eat as fast as possible. The sips of coffee that we stole were spoiled by the fact that the air temperatures had crossed 90-degrees and was still steadily rising...
Yes, it was definitely time to move on.
We had entered the park through the West entrance the day before and would leave through the North entrance. We originally planned to do a small hike the morning of our departure but our new plan included seeing the park from the inside of our air conditioned car, and "maybe" stopping once or twice if there was a particular point of interest.
We did see one or two pull outs that we couldn't resist but before we knew it we were leaving the park. A great stop, but definitely one we would had enjoyed more had it not been the peak of the summer!
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| This one's for you Dad! |
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| How could we NOT stop?! |
Once we left JTNP, we picked Mesquite, Nevada as a destination and were off on the road!
Before I continue, I feel I need to preface our time in Mesquite, NV with a brief story about my introduction to gambling. The first time I ever stepped foot in a casino was actually on a road trip not entirely unlike the trip Lauren and I are on right now. It was the summer of 1994. I was 12-years old, and assigned the copilot role on my father's geological road trip from Maine to South Dakota and back. While out west, my financially prudent father decided to take advantage of the fact that gambling was legal in South Dakota to teach me a life lesson about the evils of gambling. My memory is a bit foggy as these events unfolded nearly 20-years ago, but I remember it like this: My Dad took me, along with a crisp 20-dollar bill, to a one-room slot-machine-only "casino". When we entered through the wobbly saloon doors I remember the quickening flap of the washboard doors as they raced back to their home position, the metallic clink of quarters on tin, and the generic ding-ding-ding that every slot machine makes. When I was 12-years-old I looked like an 8-year old. If there was a "must be at least 18-years of age to enter" it wasn't very strictly enforced (apparently the security guards didn't see me as a threat to their gaming license). Without hesitation, my father began the lesson. He unfolded the 20-dollar bill he had brought and let me know he would be "gambling" with that hard earned money. I gave a quick nod to show that I was paying attention. The slot machines were old school (you actually had to pull a lever to play) and when the machine paid out the quarters dropped down, one by beautiful one. As he pulled the lever again and again there were lots of quiet losses and occasionally, an exciting win. After one such win I lost myself in the moment and reached in the metal receptacle to dip my fingers into the sweet pile of victory. Just as my fingers touched the coins I felt a hand, much larger than my fathers, firmly grab my forearm. I looked up and my eyes met the eyes of a security guard. He gave me a knowing look and wagged his large finger disapprovingly. When he released my wrist I retracted my hand shamefully and my father collected his winnings. He continued to play slot machines until he felt he had proven his point. He brought his small cup quarters to the cashier to cash out. He brought 20-dollars to the casino and he would be leaving with $13.75, a loss of $6.25. We walked out the front door and as a recap he laid out the facts plain and simple: gambling = losing money. After laying out the facts he asked me how I felt about gambling after this experience. My response was quick: "I can't wait until I'm old enough to gamble!"
Before I continue, I feel I need to preface our time in Mesquite, NV with a brief story about my introduction to gambling. The first time I ever stepped foot in a casino was actually on a road trip not entirely unlike the trip Lauren and I are on right now. It was the summer of 1994. I was 12-years old, and assigned the copilot role on my father's geological road trip from Maine to South Dakota and back. While out west, my financially prudent father decided to take advantage of the fact that gambling was legal in South Dakota to teach me a life lesson about the evils of gambling. My memory is a bit foggy as these events unfolded nearly 20-years ago, but I remember it like this: My Dad took me, along with a crisp 20-dollar bill, to a one-room slot-machine-only "casino". When we entered through the wobbly saloon doors I remember the quickening flap of the washboard doors as they raced back to their home position, the metallic clink of quarters on tin, and the generic ding-ding-ding that every slot machine makes. When I was 12-years-old I looked like an 8-year old. If there was a "must be at least 18-years of age to enter" it wasn't very strictly enforced (apparently the security guards didn't see me as a threat to their gaming license). Without hesitation, my father began the lesson. He unfolded the 20-dollar bill he had brought and let me know he would be "gambling" with that hard earned money. I gave a quick nod to show that I was paying attention. The slot machines were old school (you actually had to pull a lever to play) and when the machine paid out the quarters dropped down, one by beautiful one. As he pulled the lever again and again there were lots of quiet losses and occasionally, an exciting win. After one such win I lost myself in the moment and reached in the metal receptacle to dip my fingers into the sweet pile of victory. Just as my fingers touched the coins I felt a hand, much larger than my fathers, firmly grab my forearm. I looked up and my eyes met the eyes of a security guard. He gave me a knowing look and wagged his large finger disapprovingly. When he released my wrist I retracted my hand shamefully and my father collected his winnings. He continued to play slot machines until he felt he had proven his point. He brought his small cup quarters to the cashier to cash out. He brought 20-dollars to the casino and he would be leaving with $13.75, a loss of $6.25. We walked out the front door and as a recap he laid out the facts plain and simple: gambling = losing money. After laying out the facts he asked me how I felt about gambling after this experience. My response was quick: "I can't wait until I'm old enough to gamble!"
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| Of all the times I've been to Vegas, this was the first time I saw this sign (and the only time I didn't gamble) |
When we rolled into Mesquite we called around to some of the "fancy" looking hotels to get a feel for availability and pricing. Lauren called Casa Blanca Hotel and Casino. After her brief conversation with the front desk she hung up and laughed out loud.
"How much do you think it costs to stay for a night?" she asked me.
"I don't know, a hundred bucks?" I replied (It did look fancy).
"Um, how about a third of that!" she said.Decision made, we would stay at Casa Blanca for the night, for a steal-of-a-deal 39.99!
Once we were comfortably checked into our room I headed out to do some much needed laundry and Lauren got to work on some much needed digital nomad catch-up. After we were both finished we grabbed dinner and a beer and then headed out to the casino floor to donate some money to the hotel that was undercharging us for the room.
My game of choice is craps (Allen, Dan and Shane: if you're reading this, you're no doubt saying "six and eight please" with a smile on your face). Lauren prefers the slots.
I sat next to her when she got her start. She put 20-dollars into a nice looking slot machine and hit maximum bet. The digital screen made a lot of fuss about her roll and I watched the money she spent on the first roll replenish and then some with the winnings. The next roll was a dud and then following a small winner. Nothing wrong with a little back and forth. On her 5th roll the simulated screen filled with "winner" lines and we watched in disbelief as her credit tally increased, and increased, and increased. When all was said and done, her 2-dollar spin had won her over 150-dollars!
We both had some ups and downs and we both went to bed about 100-dollars richer than when we walked out onto the casino floor--not too shabby!
-Dan
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