The mesquitos were nasty for a little bit the night before. To not have insect repellent when you need it is misery. To not have a multitude of things when camping makes the experience miserable. There is a certain craft and wisdom to camping. There’s a certain craft and wisdom to traveling.

It’s not always easy. You can burn yourself out, as I was burned out and ready to head back to Sedona. At the same time, I wanted to have have three full days off in Sedona before going back to work. It was nice to live at a place you truly enjoy returning to.

So, after jumping in the front seat of the van, I got yet another breakfast burrito, and a coffee What is more ideal for a traveler to start his day on the road? Tortilla, egg and sausage is a wonderful sensation. Add desert-morning coolness and a day in which the sun will shine in pure blue, and that rich, black coffee taste and buzz is all the finer.

I got back on 168. I was considering hiking to that Methuselah grove today. However, it would be at least seven hours of driving back to Sedona. I wanted take my time, and check out other things if they aroused my curiosity. So, no Methuselah today either.

Over the divide of the White Mountains I went to the east side, which is still in California. 168 took me to Deep Springs Valley. The reason for its name is obvious. Here is Mojave isolation.

Then, I went over another divide to an endohoeric basin still in California where a place called Oasis is. It’s just west of the Nevada border. It was amazingly green. It was pretty. However, surely it gets hot and brown as hell in dry years here.

Then, lo, I was in Nevada. By Nevada, all greenery is gone. Nevada is brown and desolate.

Well, no. Not all of Nevada is. See, across Nevada there are many mountain ranges that reach over 7000′. There is much greenery on those mountains, and, of course, the higher the mountains, the more greenery there is. I bet there are some cool, forested views where mountain waters flow high above that Great Basin desert. The Humbolt-Toyabe National Forest – scattered as islands on the mountains tops across Nevada – would be cool place to take an ATV by gosh.

And an ATV would probably be cool not too far US 95 northwest of Las Vegas, where I was currently traveling. But not on this 15th day of June in the year of our Lord 2015. No. It was hot. The longer I was on that highway, the more I just wanted to get back to that rising, Arizona land east of Kingman that tops out at Flagstaff. So no diversions here.

No diversions in Las Vegas either. Oh… it is interesting to walk the Strip. It is interesting to witness the outlandishness of all the neon lights trying to con you out of your money. It’s like Disneyland for adults – at least it tries to be. Once in a while the Strip’s worth to walk, and it had been I dunno how many years since I’d done so. However, it was hot. Screw that.

After getting on US 93, and heading east past Henderson, lo, the Boulder Canyon and Hoover Dam.