Rain, and Other Hazards

Since I haven't touched base since Springfield, IL, I'm sure that my other two loyal readers (besides the ones that I live with and/or constantly text) may suspect that I am dead. To assure you that I am not, I give you the following photo of one very awesome car:

I have made it extra large so that you can read the sign that says, "Continental Divide."
If you know your geography, which of course you do, you're aware that Alex actually took this photo well before I last posted. You can also tell that from the scrub on the side of the road, if you know your biomes. Nonetheless. That is the sexy back of my Subaru.

For your further amusement, here's a fun video link sent to us by Miss Gokey. It's a trailer for World War Z (which I haven't seen, and I will probably have to wait for Netflix), revisioned as a Ken Burns documentary.

"I'd like to see Miss Gokey fix a blower motor," said Dad, in his quest for a shout-out. To his credit, it is thanks to him that the above-mentioned Subaru will have AC and heat for wherever the road happens to take it next.

This post is really too short, I realize, but I'm coming to you from the McDonald's on the corner of Columbia and 165th. It is amusing to watch the other people in the restaurant, especially the little old ones. One man was in here when I got here, and I'm sure he'll be here until well after I leave. I suspect he comes here every day for coffee. A woman came in, they greeted each other and chatted a bit, then instead of joining him, she sat in the next booth. Not too long after that, another older man who is very animated came in and joined the first man, who informed the 2nd man that, "My father always used to say, 'Don't do what I do. Do what I say to do!'" Haha. Indeed.

I'll likely be back Friday, and then return you to your regularly scheduled blog, next week.

The Things You Should Have Known and Thought You Knew

So...for someone who spent a year preparing for the apocalypse, it is perhaps surprising (unless you know me) that until Alex found them yesterday, I had no idea where my PAJAMAS could be found.

I also forgot that rain existed until Sunday night, when the same Alex caught a tent which would have otherwise blown away and anyway ended up wadded in the back of a vehicle while he and Jodi and I slept in the relative comfort of the Motel 6 in Amarillo.

I would not have believed that insects could have nearly-human legs, or that I would ever see an armadillo as roadkill.

And who could have ever anticipated that Baptists would fill every hotel room in St. Louis on a Tuesday night? I can't speak for my friends, but I can say that I have had an amazing, and educational, experience crossing the country. Tonight, despite our lack of ability to stay there, we did have good views of the arch as we sped past at 8 p.m. on our way to Springfield, IL.

I have little else to say, as I am very, very tired, and I have NO idea what I'll say just two short days from now, but for the bit of public service my two loyal readers have come to expect, I give you this image of a few of Oklahoma's recently arrested citizens.

Remember, in the immortal words of Jeannette Winterson, "The map is not the territory."

Squares 2 and 9

Aha! This clever title is yet another reference to our long-ago Camping Basics Class, but it has nothing to do with camping and everything to do with touristing.

Everything else you need to know about the bridge you can find out at http://www.hooverdambypass.org/faq.htm.

I thought I would show you the safety tips you'll see when you get there, and the view you can expect. The one and only photo of myself (besides the super cute one with Amanda) makes for an ugly profile photo, but hey! Is that the greatest engineering marvel of the 20th century behind you there? Why yes! Yes it is.

Safety tips.

View. 

Two words: bathtub ring. 'Nuff said. 

I shall pass this way again on Saturday. Until then, loyal readers. 

Back to Square One

You may remember from our Camping Basics class at REI (shameless self-hyperlink) back in January 2012 that Step 1 is NAVIGATION: know how to stay oriented.

For you Vegasphiles, I challenge you to identify the famous Las Vegas landmarks in the following photos from Top of the World:

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

I am proud that Amanda and I were able to identify directions and landmarks, and it only took us a combined total of 14 years of living here to be able to do so.

The views were fantastic, and the marketing was clever. The restaurant rotates, but the tower doesn't. So a cart of faux desserts sits on the tower and twice in an hour-long lunch, you rotate past the dessert cart. Here was the view of my dessert:

And for the entertainment of everyone involved...

No skyjumpers flew by during lunch. But we did get to wave to some riders on the Insanity.

For your further photographic love of Vegas, see Krista's interpretation of the Boneyard (another self-hyperlink) over on the Wannabe.

It's a Lonely, Lonely Planet

After lambasting (yes, I used that word, just a tiny bit incorrectly, but this is still why Tom Skilling should propose to me) Lonely Planet for their weird-but-thanks-for-the-publicity-anyway report on the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, I later tweeted how happy I was that I had ridden on one of Lonely Planet's top 5 epic train journeys, the California Zephyr.

My lambasting is here.
Lonely Planet's story on the Springs Preserve is here.
The California Zephyr route is here.

Mere hours after that tweet, I was disappointed to find that I have stayed at ZERO of Lonely Planet's top 10 world airports. I had been confident that O'Hare would be on the list, but it wasn't. The airports are mostly in Asia, which is one of the four continents that I have yet to visit.

I have only been to one of their top 10 European train stations, too. I am disappointed that Barcelona Sants did not show up. The extremely expensive hotel there is where I stayed in the wake of September 11, 2001. Madrid Atocha didn't make the list, either. Neither did Zoo Station, and come on, when an entire U2 album is named after a train station, that station does deserve a mention.

This is why I should write for Lonely Planet. I judge them harshly now, but if they hired me, I wouldn't. Although...Oakland? OK, maybe not.

Admittedly, I am a collector of places (and things, but I'll talk more about things later in the summer). I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with it, although it's not advisable to compare your place-count (or your thing count) to that of other people, because we all have our own unique styles and experiences.

Top 10 lists, "best of" articles, and "1,000 things to do before you die" books are interesting because they are someone else's idea of what has value, and it is worthwhile for me to see whether I agree with the writers. It's fun to complain when I don't, and even more fun to congratulate myself when I do. More than that, however, they are motivational. For example, I have enjoyed both Venice Beach and the Mediterranean coast in southern France. If neither of them are on the list but the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare made it, exactly how amazing are those cliffs? And I resolve that one day, I will see them for myself.

Since I've only had five of Lonely Planet's 40 Amazing Experiences in Europe (requires a PDF download), I decided to turn my attention to National Geographic's "The World's Most Beautiful Places."

There are 100 of them on the list. I have been to 15, but two don't count, because they are the Mojave Desert and the Midwestern Plains. So, I have been to 13. The way I figure it, I have just a little more than half my life left. I should get to steppin'.

And I can.

Because check out what I took yesterday.

That's my INDEX finger, you cynics! 

And that, my lovely readers, is also The Chain. We have come a long way. Next stop (well, there may be some before then, but a stop that's coming soon): the Wigwams on route 66 in Holbrook. Watch for updates. xoxo

The roof...is on fire

Tonight's installment from our North Las Vegas Hometown Emergency Planner wheel is [drum roll]:
HOW TO PREPARE: FIRE
1. Install smoke alarms.
2. Create an escape plan that includes two escape routes from every room in the house (easier said than done) and walk through the routes with your entire family.
3. Clean out storage areas. (to have less flammable stuff around)
4. Check the electrical wiring and extension cords.
5. Never use gasoline indoors.
6. Teach children fire safety.
7. Install fire extinguishers.
8. Know how to shut off power and gas.
9. Pay attention when cooking.
10. Don't smoke in bed. (As Mammaw says: Never ever smoke in bed/or else you might wake up dead.)

And now...
HOW TO ACT: FIRE
1. Use water or a fire extinguisher to put out small fires.
2. Do not try to put out a fire that is getting out of control.
3. Never use water on an electrical fire. Only use fire extinguishers approved for electrical fires.
4. Smother oil and grease fires with baking soda or salt. If it is in a pan, cover the pan.
IF FIRE IS SPREADING:
1. Get out!
2. Once outside, do not try to go back in.
3. Stay low to the ground, under the smoke.
4. Use the back of your hand to check the top of the door, doorknob, and the crack between the door and the door frame before trying to open a closed door.
5. If you are trapped, hang a white or light colored sheet, towel, or shirt out a window to alert firefighters to where you are.
6. Use stairs - never take an elevator.
7. If your clothes catch on fire, stop drop and roll.

Oh, and at some point you should have called 911. Probably near the beginning, as soon as you noticed the fire.

My post is late tonight because I've been on Pinterest. Instead of making a "practical life skills" powerpoint for my students, since tomorrow is our last full day of school, I ripped off a bunch of pinterest images and pasted them into a presentation which is perfectly legal because I am not giving it for profit.

A Fitting Memorial

Let's begin this post with the actual memorial for Memorial Day, "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae:

And now to add in some photos of and/or taken by myself, as I enjoyed this morning off by hanging out with Krista in the Boneyard. Here then, unformatted and in no particular order, I give you the history of Las Vegas.

Our tour guide (Troy?) under the city's founding date on an old Golden Nugget sign.

In the back is an old sign for the El Cortez, where I like to park my car when I go to Fremont St.

First and last sign you see on your way in/out of the tour.

We reminisced about the days when "T.I." had a family-friendly show.

You were unlikely to have seen anything in the above display that you won't see in anyone's photos who has ever visited the Boneyard. Krista (pictured above) is tres professionnelle, so I look forward to seeing her interpretation, color-corrected and in proper order and format. I'm sure her collection is where my FB profile photo and/or cover photo will come from.

Happy Memorial Day.