The End is the Beginning is...

Last night, I slept in my car again. No big deal, I've done it before. The day had been ridiculously hot, so I slept with a small blanket. I'd forgotten that, while a desert area is super hot during the day, it gets very cold at night. I woke up about 3 or 4, freezing my butt off. I grabbed my sleeping bag, curled up and shivered my way back to sleep.

I only mention this as sort of a warning, in case any of you make your way out to this neck of the woods. Do not be fooled by the harsh heat. Bring something warm for the night!

Anyway, I woke up about 8, and after getting cleaned up I hit the road again. My drive would take me through the rest of Utah. After a brief clip through Arizona, I finally hit Nevada and the last leg of my trip.

But as I mentioned yesterday, I still had one more stop I wanted to make. The Valley of Fire.

I'm not entirely certain why it's named this. However, after spending a good 4 or 5 hours there, I think it was for two reasons. The first being that it's hot. Very hot. The second being that it's surrounded by green and grey mountains, but the valley itself is filled with lots of reds. Either way, it's aptly named.

 

I parked my car at the little visitors area, grabbed my camera and filled my backpack with LOTS of water. I didn't want to mess around when it came to these temperatures. Still, as many of those who know me can attest, I sometimes don't think everything through. But we'll get to that later.

The Valley if full of strange, almost alien rock formations. Being there was almost like being in another world. I jaunted off briskly in search of adventure, when a noise and motion to my left caught my attention.

Look closely. This little guy is the one who first caught my attention.

A small lizard had brushed up against a plant as it made way for my bumbling feet. I'm glad he did, because it made me take stock of where I was and the potential situation I could be facing.

This is a desert. And while they look desolate, there is a lot of life in them. All manner of insects, mammals, birds and reptiles live there. But what occurred to me at that moment was that rattlesnakes live there.

I slowed my pace and started keeping an eye on where I was going. It's a good thing that I did, too. If I hadn't, I would have missed a lot of great photo opportunities.

Eh? I can kind of see the elephant.

I stalked around, looking for lizards to take pictures of (after getting one of the little guy that initially made me aware of where I was). I was not disappointed.

I then began looking for other wild things. Many of the various formations would make a great place for a snake to rest while the sun blazed down and I began to look for one. Not just a rattler, but any snake would do.

I climbed and crawled and scuttled, looking for one of our non-legged friends. I looked in dark holes and under rocks. But it wasn't meant to be. I did see a lot more lizards though. The biggest must have been about the size of my arm.

And while some of you would say that my arms aren't particularly huge, a lizard of that size still seem pretty darn big to me. They were mostly just sunning themselves on the rocks. Most paid me no mind and I was glad for that because it made for some great pictures.

After about an hour of exploring, I threw an extra t-shirt over my head to help protect me from the sun a bit more. This was helpful (goofy looking though), but not helpful enough. After a few more hours, while crouching down to take a picture of some very cool, crystalline rocks, I stood up and felt VERY dizzy. I'd love to show you a picture of the rocks, but the camera can't capture it - you'll have to come out and see for yourself.

I knew that it was a sign of heat stroke setting in and thought that it might be a good idea if I slowly made my way back to my car. After staggering around for about an hour, I decided that I didn't wanna fool with this. If I dropped, there was a good chance no one would find me until it was too late.

I kept my eyes open and found a good sized alcove of sorts that offered excellent shade next to a bush. I made my way to it, and after careful inspection for snakes of other critters, I plopped down.

This is where I chilled. Lots of shade and a comfy rock to sit on.

As I gulped on some water, the buzzing in my head seemed so loud. That was when I realized that it wasn't in my head. The bush I was sitting next to was filled with bees! They weren't a problem for me, and I wasn't about to give them any grief so I stayed put and rested. They never bothered me, which is great because I was close enough that I could have reached out and batted at them without leaving my seat.

Not the bees, obviously, but I liked this picture.

I rested for a good 20 minutes or so, and after going through two bottles of water, I eased myself back up and continued on to my car. I felt a lot better at this point but knew that I hadn't given mother nature the respect she deserved on this one. The sun was pounding down and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It occurred to me that I had an umbrella in the car.

If you zoom in on this picture, you can actually see the moon. It was freakin' noon!

If you come out for some desert hiking, it might not be a bad idea to grab that umbrella. Sure, you might look like a tool carrying it around, but the shade it will give you could be a life saver (or at least save you a headache).

When I got back to the car I took off my backpack. The desert heat is dry, so while you're sweating, you don't really notice it. Well, when my pack came off, I noticed how much sweating I'd actually been doing. The entire back of my shirt was drenched!

I hopped into the car and headed off. I had been planning to just continue on, but with all of the various formations, I couldn't resist stopping for more pictures. No rush, and I'm happy that I took my time.

One of the sites I saw was called "Atlatl Rock". The rock (which is HUGE) actually has ancient petroglyphs on them and it was amazing how well preserved they were. And after climbing the long stairway to see them, it amazed me even more that ancient tribes actually got up there and drew the darn things!

Another spot I stopped was called "The Bee Hives". These rock formations were really unique and looked a lot like bee hives. Hence the name.

I spent quite a bit more time at The Valley of Fire. If you ever get a chance to head out there, you owe it to yourself to check it out. It's a beautiful place, filled with sites you won't see anywhere else. Just be sure to bring someone you love with you - or at least someone who knows the signs of heatstroke. Taking the risk that I did is NOT a great idea.

After I left the Valley of Fire, I continued to my destination. About an hour or so of driving, I was in Las Vegas. For the time being, this is home base. A big thank you to Liz and Andrew for putting up with me for a bit while I get back on my feet. As my road trip ends, my job hunt begins.

I have a few different places in mind, and if it comes down to it, I'm only about 10 minutes from the strip. A few of the casinos are hiring, but that isn't really my cup of tea. Still, I'll be keeping my options open.

So, this is the end. Not just of my road trip, but of the old me. I've taken a big step already, and while I was cold last night, I slept well. That's the first time I've done that on my own if months.

I'm looking forward to more restful nights and figuring out what really makes me tick. It may take me the rest of my life to figure out that last part, but I won't give up on me.

I'll keep you posted. Good night.

The desert is f'ing windy, Moab is pretty sweet, and the Echo still hates mountains

6/6/2011
Last night, before I went to bed, I watched Euro Trip. Not the funniest movie, but the scene where the two guys are acting like robots and kung fu fighting is hilarious. What does that have to do with anything? Nothing. Just saying.

This morning I woke up, hustled and bustled to get my stuff packed back into the car and headed over to the spa. I'd never had a massage before, and if you haven't done it, you should. It is one of the most relaxing, calming experiences you can possibly have. As I told the gal who gave me the massage, "I haven't felt so relaxed in months, not even when I'm sleeping. In fact, that was better than sleep."

It was really that good. Gave me the pep I needed to get my day started (plus she worked a knot outta my right collar bone area that had been there for YEARS). I would need that pep today, and while it didn't last, it definitely helped out big time.

This day was comprised of a helluva lot of driving (big surprise). So, while I could blather on and on about what I did, I'll give you a quick overview and then post a bunch of pictures. Here it comes, with minimal detail.

I drove through the rest of Colorado and into Utah. That's when the winds started. I'm not talking about a nice, gentle breeze. I'm talking about winds that made it hard to keep my car moving straight. I'm talking about gusts that made me have to walk at an angle to keep from getting blown over. I'm talking about being buffeted so roughly that my glasses were actually whipped off of my face while I was walking. So yeah. It was windy.

I went to Delicate Arch National Park today. It amazing. I have mixed emotions about it, but you can look at the pictures. I barely explored the park and could have spent the whole day there. If you decide to come out, a 7 day pass is a mere $10 and TOTALLY worth it.

After DANP, I went off to find Blue John Canyon, which is where the movie 127 hours took place. After driving for about 2 or 3 hours, I found the entrance. Unfortunately, it was NOT Echo friendly. There is a reason Aron Ralston had a 4x4, and this would be it.

Speaking of the Echo, the check engine light popped on again. It was totally fine until I hit more damn mountains. This leads me to believe it could be a couple of things. Either it's the O2 sensor being a douche, or perhaps it's something to do with the fuel filter. It just doesn't seem like it's revving up like it should. Then again, it could just be the thin mountain air playing havoc on my car's computer. I'll figure it out.

Anyway, after NOT being able to see the setting of the only movie to ever make me nearly pass out, I drove on. For hours. I was getting tired, but kept telling myself, "I'll stop at the next one."

Then there wasn't a next one. For a very long time. Eventually, I saw a sign for a rest area, but here in Utah, they seem to think that a REALLY brightly lit gas station counts as a rest stop. I asked the clerk where the next real rest stop was, then drove for another hour to get there. There being here. By the way, cool fact - the speed limit here is 80 in some parts. I liked that. Cuz I was tired.

Anyway, that's the long and short of this particular day. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking. I need to get some sleep. I'm just over 3 hours from home and I aim to get there tomorrow (after a quick stop at the Valley of Fire).

I am a mechanic, I like ribs, and a two block long pool is pretty damn cool.

Woke up this morning and knew I had to get to work on the Echo ASAP. I'd been having some issues with the air filter, mostly because I have a K&N Filter and WAY over oiled it. A few days back, my mechanic had told me that the oil from the filter was mucking up the mass airflow sensor. They'd cleaned it, but in my haste to depart, I didn't bother cleaning and re-oiling the filter.

Well, with all of the hard driving through the mountains, the oil did a nice job of coating the sensor again, which led to sputtering and a major lack of power. As I said in yesterday's post, I had contacted Auto Zone and they had what I needed. Long story short, I changed out the filter (I didn't have time to clean the K&N today) with an el cheapo and cleaned up the MAS. I disconnected the negative battery terminal for a minute to reset the computer, shutting off the Check Engine light. I started it up and the sputtering was worse than ever.

I have a theory on this though. The MAS has a rubber seal on it. I'm thinking that when I removed it for cleaning and reinstalled it, the seal didn't fully take. However, after revving the engine for a bit then easing it out onto the road, I eventually got all my power back, leading me to believe that the seal has been fixed. Actually (and this is weird), my car hasn't run so quietly in years. At a stop sign, I couldn't even tell it was running until I hit the gas. So all is well on that front. Yay!

Now, back to the trip. I spent the day here in Glenwood Springs. I basically just hiked around the town, taking in the sites for most of the morning and early afternoon. I'd like to tell you I have a ton of pictures, but I was actually doing stuff today, so I didn't get quite as many. Deal.

This is a slight digression from the blog (like the car repair at the beginning wasn't?) but for lunch today, I had a half rack of BBQ ribs, cole slaw and green beans with bacon at a place all Rib City. The slaw was fine. Nothing special. The green beans with bacon were INSANE good!

I'm not sure exactly what they put in it (other than bacon and green beans), but there must have been a good amount of pepper, too. Whatever the ingredients were, they were great.

Now, some of you know how much I love bbq ribs. Billy's Tippin' Inn is one of my favorite places back in MI. Rib City puts them to shame. It's THAT good. Enough about this. Just check them out if you're ever here. Trust me.

As for what I did today, I went swimming. At this place.

This is Glenwood Hot Springs. The pool is two city blocks long and is the world's largest outdoor geothermal swimming pool. Now, you might be thinking that the water is warm, and it is. But it was very comfortable and I really enjoyed it.

There were a few things about the springs that I wasn't expecting. First, the water is very salty. I guess this make sense, since it's sort of a mineral hot spring, but like I said, I wasn't expecting it.

The second thing that caught me off guard was hilarious and also kinda gross. Something about the water apparently clears out your sinuses. Big time. After exiting the pool, I toweled off. While leaning over to dry my feet, water or something started pouring out of my nose. Thing is, it wouldn't stop! It was crazy.

But even crazier, it's been about 4 hours or so since I got out of the springs and if I tilt my head forward, it starts pouring. WTF? On the plus side, my sinuses are super clear right now. Yay!

After the pool, I decided to hike around a bit more. Stephanie, my waitress at Rib City, told me about a trail that wasn't too far away. She said it was a nice one that gave a great view of the city, and boy was she right.

The view was breathtaking and it was yet another place where I could just sit quietly for awhile and get lost in my thoughts.

Well, that's about it for this post. I know that it wasn't one of my best, but like I said, I was mostly just walking around and enjoying the city. Before I end this one, I just want to make a quick note.

Tomorrow, I'll be going to the spa and getting a mineral massage (I know, it's tough, but I'll manage). After that, I'll be heading to Moab, UT. I bought some climbing shoes and some chalk for my hands and will be doing some climbing and exploring. There is a very good chance that I will have NO reception out there. At all. If this is the case, I won't be able to update the blog. In part, that's why I got this entry out so quickly.

Moab is where I intend to camp out for an evening at least. Someplace where there are no people, no electronics. Just me and my thoughts and a notebook. I'm hoping this will be the place where I really get some things figured out.

Anyhow, like I said, just a note. Since this entry was pretty sparse, I'll leave you with a few more of the pictures that took around town. Enjoy. I'll see you next time.