"We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold." So begins a twisted classic of late 20th century American literature. Ever since reading _Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas_ I have wanted to drive the 15 from LA to Vegas. Somehow it seems now like an American classic. On my trip I neither had an attorney nor a trunk full of controlled substances. Also, I wasn't stoned. Oh well...the spirit was there.
My friend Scott Larabee, who grew up in SoCal, has often asked me why I would want to do this drive. I can't quite explain it or justify it. It just seems like the sort of thing one should do at least once.
Having done it once, I don't really feel the need to do it again. There isn't much to really recommend it. There are a few nice vistas, and the Mojave desert is fetching after a fashion. But for the most part it's a painful stretch punctuated by a few small towns and borderline roadside attractions.If, like me, you feel the need to do this once in your life, you might consider one of these road side attractions. I happened to be in the bustling metropolis of Baker, about 90 miles from Vegas, for lunch time. On a tip from my home base support crew, I pulled off for lunch at The Mad Greek Cafe. The Mad Greek is festooned with creative statuary and decorated with pictures of the acropolis, all baking in the Mojave desert sun. The gyros sandwich is good, but given my lack of exercise on this trip, I probably should have gone for the greek salad.
Interstate 15, as most of you probably know, runs right next to the strip in Vegas. I like Vegas. I've done several business trips and a few vacations here. All the more reason to skip it this time around. I'm after new things, not the same old. Still, it was hard to blow in and out of town. Really hard - I 15 is down to 2 lanes through the city because of significant road work. It's the worst highway traffic I've seen on the trip yet.
East of Vegas is pretty much like west of Vegas, only with even longer and straighter stretches of highway. This gives way, once Nevada ends and you find yourself skirting the Arizona/Utah border, to some pretty spectacular scenery. Geology isn't my strong suit, but I believe this area is the western extent of the Colorado plateau. There is a stretch of I-15 in Arizona, just across the Nevada border, where the highway literally dives into a huge defile between two mesas. It was the most I ever felt like I was flying on four wheels.
This is where I first turned onto some fairly serious side roads. I turned off 15 in the town of St. George, Utah bound for the small town of Kanab. Along the route (US 59 and 389, if you are curious) I passed through the towns of Colorado City and Fredonia. Tomorrow, continuing on the road, I will go through Lee's Ferry. If you find the names of these towns vaguely familiar, you probably read _Under The Banner of Heaven_. This is Mormon fundamentalist country. I didn't stop much.
Despite any irrational anxieties, I can promise you that the town of Kanab is a fine little place. It's situated more or less equidistant from the north rim of the Grand Canyon to the south, Bryce Canyon to the north, and Zion national park to the west. This is all monument valley territory, and the visuals are quite striking. Tomorrow, when there's good daylight, I'll take some pics.
The visuals are striking enough that many westerns were filmed in the immediate vicinity. In fact the town has built little public plackards along the main streets to commemorate the TV and movie stars who filmed here. My first reaction, to be truthful, was to think, 'that's so cheesy.' At first it seemed like self-conscious monuments to a seriously bygone era. But after walking around a bit at sundown on my way to dinner, my initial cynicism was overcome. Look: this small town is doing quite well for itself as a home-base for outdoor adventure types. They have built pleasant little public improvements by commemorating a page from their own history, even from the history of the whole United States. They are pointing out, with justifiable pride, 'little Kanab did all this.' The smallness of the town, maybe even the smallness of the feat when all is said and done, should not be allowed to diminish the accomplishment. In part because of this beautiful terrain and this fine little town, millions of people were entertained and something enduring was built. That is something to be proud of.
Tomorrow I'll hit the Grand Canyon itself. I promised a friend some pictures, and I'll share them with everyone.
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