Into The Valley

Been wanting to write at length about my lovely road trip to Las Vegas last weekend to visit my pals Rich & Melanie, but the run-up to the SXSW festival has just been too all-consuming.
    So let's just hit the highlights, then: On the recommendation of my friend Neil, I eschewed the usual "15 Forever" route and drove through the Mojave National Preserve instead, which proved to be a both absolutely beautiful and profoundly head-clearing experience — on the way to Vegas and back, there were times when I wouldn't see another car for 30-45 minutes. Saw plenty of Joshua Trees, though, as well as a few decrepit old buildings and  the famous and mysterious "Shoe Tree" just to the south on National Trails Highway. Unfortunately, I totally overshot the turn-off for the Kelso Dune Field, home to the "singing" or "booming" sand dunes, which I really wanted to experience. Next time, then...
    My stay in Vegas was actually the most mellow I've ever had there, mostly because we stayed the fuck away from the Strip. We did, however, check out an art installation over at UNLV, where their friend David was (among other things) destroying old chairs using only the vibrations from an old organ; we also hit up an excellent Asian crawfish restaurant called Hot n' Juicy, and a relatively new (but pretty impressive) tiki bar called Frankie's. I wasn't that into their Navy Grog (though I did quite like the special mug I bought to go with it; they have eight custom mugs to choose from), but their Lapu-Lapu was truly outta this world...
    Oh yeah — Rich and I also spent much of a gorgeous Saturday afternoon hiking around the Valley of Fire, where the sand and rocks really are an eye-searing shade of red. Many of the formations are covered by ancient petroglyphs, some of which may be over a thousand years old. If you're ever in Vegas, I highly recommend prying yourself away from the slot machines for an afternoon and checking it out for yourself. At the very least, it will put your gambling losses in some degree of perspective...
    More to tell, but no time — I've gotta go bone up on the 40+ bands and artists I will be interviewing in Austin. I'll try to check in from Texas... in the meantime, happy St. Paddy's Day, everyone!

Comments

[Rich]

Glad ya made it out, Dan! Always good to see you & hang out.
Hope you're digging on the Golden Gods!
Have fun at SXSW and keep in touch!

Rich

[Erik]

Looks like another fantastic time. I just watched your Flickr slideshow of the trip. Beautiful desert shots!

[stu]

Sounds like a monumental, excellent trip.