self-portrait in the valley of fire [high rez]

[28 June 2017 | Vegas] Woke up pre-dawn + headed west to Valley of Fire .. another place we never bothered to visit when we lived in the southwwest ... cool sandstone rock formations, bighorn sheep + petroglyphs galore. Pretty hot (100-110°) for walking around, the upside being that we had the place basically to ourselves. Again, as with Mt Charleston, cant believe so many people flock to Vegas casinos + dont bother to venture just outside to see the natural beauty.

Continued on along Lake Mead back toward Vegas, stayed in some random place on the outskirts on the fake lake, as a change of pace from the strip. The whole time in Vegas didn't gamble a dime ... depressing enough just walking through casinos. All the people that gamble are the ones that cant afford to ... lower/middle class people living out some fantasy that they are rich. Fancy casinos all trying to outdo themselves with kitschy extravagance but at the end of the day they are all the same cheaply made shopping malls with slots machines.

no man's land along Lake Mead

30 June| DC> read Assisted Living by Gary Lutz on the plane back, nice travel-sized chap, slips right in your pocket. Speaking of Lutz, for those waiting for the online version of Gotham Grammarian, getting to it soon ... just need to wrap up things up w/ A Raft Manifest, hopefully by next post we'll be done ...