A Sliver of Silver

Few states have the gumption to welcome you with a DIY sign that is spray painted on the rough road. Nevada, however, has that gumption and more. While we only biked a sliver of the silver state, what we saw and expereinced certainly filled us with more than just a sliver, whether it be food, disgust, or desert dust.

Our Nevada adventure began as we left the formidable Death Valley behind, staying well within the desert climes heading toward the fabled town of Pahrump. For nearly a month, we oogled the little blip on our map. Pronouced Paaaaaaaaaaaa-Rump, the town was a sprawling desert enclave of little casinos, long shoulder less roads, and one of the warmest couchsurfing places we had ever stayed at. For two days we enjoyed the warmth and love of the people we stayed with, along with the flavor and color of the local scene in Pahrump. Having exhausted ourselves of the many activities to do (sitting in front of the grocery store being the main one) we headed out into the desert again, with a 5,500 ft pass standing between us and the City of Sin, Las Vegas. We were dripping sweat as we rolled down the hill and into the Red Rock Canyon road that took us by the geological wonders of the limestone and sandstone landscape. A gradual descent and we made it to our warmshower host in west Las Vegas.

There are few places on Earth where two slightly smelly, dirty, spandex/tank top wearing bicycle tourers can feel/be more out of place than Las Vegas. We mingled among the drugged masses, as they spread their complacency amongst the casinos, the smoke filled death interiors where zombies sat not eating brains but slowly letting their souls be sucked dry. We were even almost duped with one of the all time classic scams, the old " Give me 5 I give you 2".  Luckily, I had seen this scam once before and was able to get out of it without being hoodwinked.  Despite the dry heat, we felt uncomfortable and dirty being in the throng of comsumptive humanity, and felt even worse after gorging ourselves as if we would never eat again at our sponsor, McFadden's at the Rio. A gut wrenching (literally) 12 mile bike ride back to our host and we vowed to never once again A) eat that much and B) step foot in Las Vegas again. The next morning we went to a breakfast buffet. At a casino.

another casuality of Las Vegas

Leaving the glitz and glitter behind, we re-started out bicycle tour along the shores of the man made lake mead as we winded our way to the Valley of Fire, where more examples of sandstone, faults and the forces of nature were on brilliant display. One might thing, at first glance, that the desert is a place of dreary, heat stained emptiness. I have found quite the opposite, as kangaroo rats, lizards, birds and other little creatures are constantly scurrying about as we cycle past them. The plant life abounds as well, in it's own distinct way. The yucca trees, mesquite trees, various shrubs and ground cover with shades of yellows, light and darker greens fill the expanse.

We are finally seeing what it means to be living. As the lined road passes under our rotating wheels, the breezes come and go, clouds wander over mountains and along flat escapes, our eyes seeking the wonder around each corner, knowing that more is always to come. We are the most dangerous things, we are adventurers, teetering on the edges of what we know and then beyond. The forces of nature are echoed in our bodies struggling to summit the next hill, the cracking smiles when the winds whips past our ears on downhills. On a bicycle tour, our bodies are the engines propelling us forward, the unfolding world our daily bread. The Earth herself sings us songs, the people we pass and meet offering all that they have before we move onward.   

Leaving the constipation of Hoover Dam behind, we cycled our longest stretch of freeway, 20 mile,s before heading off and having a luxurious lunch in the shade of the overpass.  The border town of Mesquite was our destination, and it didn't fail in being one of the many strange, off putting desert towns we have been in.  Having no options for tent camping we cycled off and crossed the Arizona border before finding a nice lumpy patch of desert to call our home for the night.  

And so now, sitting in Utah at another wonderful warmshower host, we are taking our showers and getting giddy about the next big thing, Zion National Park.  Our days for the next week to two weeks will be filled with geological wonder as it has been since Yosemite.  We'll see Zion, Grand Staircase, Glen Canyon, Painted Desert, and the Grand Canyon before heading south into Flagstaff.  We're all stocked up on water and food, Chris has bungee cords nearly falling off his bike, and we couldn't be happier.  You can see it here at picasaweb.google.com/bingleadventure, read about it at Chris's blog, but really, you need to live it.