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Day 1

Having both my mother and father at the airport at 5am was a perfect send off to this adventure. Everything had to go according to plan today- the flights had to be on time as I was scheduled to arrive at 11am and then taxi to Hertz to pick up my van before they closed at noon. The flight arrived early and I cruised in to hertz to find my black grand caravan ready. Bad news was that there was a quarter inch dent in driver door and the power doors feature had been left off the fleet version. I checked online to see if better vehicles were available but nothing was even close. I had a good deal despite the lack of power doors and the dent. I took her to the Busy Buggy mechanic (good ratings on Google) and got a full checkup-- the mechanic said she was in very good shape, surprising to him as most used car inspections find major issues. I only have a few old radiator hoses to replace which I'll have busy buggy do when page and roman leave. $300-500 to put her in tip top and $250 to repair the dent. Not much. 

It was now 2 so I cruised over to Walmart for supplies- water, power bars, instant noodles, rice and a Coleman two burner stovetop and grill combo-- nice!  I then went to Home Depot to get some storage bins-- and then I got the hell out of vegas. 

We had perfect skies on our flight over and I saw the snow filled Rockies (pic) and beautiful lake mead and the Hoover dam just outside vegas. The perfect first stop.  I had read about an old decommissioned 3.7 mile train line that runs from lake mead through 5 tunnels(pic) to the Hoover dam. I drove out to lake mead, got my annual pass for entrance to the park and started the hike. It was 430 and the sunsets at 7 and the trail closes at dusk. I figured If I made it to Hoover by 545 I could make it back on foot. If I didn't or if I decided seeing Hoover at sunset was too good to pass up I would try to hitch the 3 miles back to lake mead. 

The trail was longer and I was slower than I hoped but boy was it beautiful. Lake mead has a water line receded so there is a change of color by the water. (Pic). Hoover is an impressive by all accounts wonder of human use of cement. The valley and mountains surrounding the dam are beautiful and the combination of the two is strangely addictive. (Pics-including one of me)

I waked all the way across the dam and up and winding road for a picturesque view(pic) and in hopes I could reach the road to walk across the bridge next to Hoover. But the road was closed at the top and I turned around and walked back across the dam(this is where I talked with you mom!) and back up the winding road. The bridge was massively tall over the road I was on so I figured walking back was toast-- I put my thumb up and the first car stopped and I got in. Adam was a bald headed with big red beard twenty something on a break to mountain bike a famous boondoggle trail here. His girlfriend was partying and vegas while he rented a car and mountain biked. He dropped me off to my van and I then felt relief. It was dark and I was safe. 

I had scouted out a free campsite inside lake mead park ahead of time so I pulled it up on my phone and drove. 45 minutes on lake shore drive and then 5-7 miles on a side road. A dirt side road, not too bumpy, and a good test for my still rental van. I filled the road for what seemed like 30 minutes( going 10 mph) and watch on my iPhone map as I got closer and closer to the waters edge. I was passing by sandy pull offs all along this road and one with a bathroom house so I knew I could stop and camp anywhere along the road. But I thought I would go to the end and check it out. Just when I saw the lights of campers the road made a deep rut and I turned back for fear of getting stuck. I found a nice side stop a half mile up and stopped for the night. It was now 9. I organized my gear in the bins, laid out my air mattress, opened the windows of the van for ventilation and fell asleep. She I awoke at dawn I took a pictur dog the van at my camping spot:)

Love you all!  Lee




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