Smokeys, Rockies & Red Rocks

It feels so much better to be at lower elevation and have sufficient oxygen again. Both of us today feel like we have magically returned to the land of the living.

We drove back through Zion on the way out, from the east entrance and exiting the south entrance of the Park. The South Campground inside of Zion looks really nice and Springdale, Utah, the town just south of the park entrance looks like a lot of fun. Definitely plan to come back.

We left Zion area one day early, despite campground reservations, because of the elevation challenges. The elevation with a head cold just wasn't working for either of us. The disorientation was crazy. I won't tell you some of the crazy conversations and thought processes that we had; they were close to delirious. The Arkansas license plate was one of them. There was an special weekend event going on at the campground this weekend for the Glampers. They had a live band playing until 11 pm. Normally we would be out there partying with the rest of them, but the music was hurting our heads. Earlier when we felt a slight inclination to take a turn about at sunset, we didn't ... only because we didn't want to see or talk to people... forget spreading germs; socializing takes too much energy.

Let me tell you a little about the disorientation... first of all, we can barely hear because our ears are plugged and the constant elevation changes when driving challenges this even more. My eyesight has changed on this trip. My readers were no longer working at all; I couldn't see my phone to read at all with the readers that I had. So I bought a stronger level of readers at the dollar store. I lost my sunglasses that were bifocals the night of the Red Rocks concert, so driving and reading my map screen at the same time is impossible. We can't smell because we're all stuffed up. Taste is limited as well. I don't think we have covid, but who knows and I really don't care. We feel dizzy. We feel short of breath. We can't remember anything; the recent days are all jumbled together. The lack of oxygen to the brain and the general inability to read the world through our normal senses creates a complete disorientation.

For example, yesterday when I went into the visitor center at Zion, I went to stamp my National Park Passport book. When I opened the book, I saw that I didn't have a stamp for Bryce Canyon. I had a moment of panic. I thought we went to Bryce Canyon. I even titled a post in my blog "Bryce Canyon". Why didn't I get the stamp in my passport? This sent my brain spiraling in complete confusion for the next hour. I looked through my picture gallery and the dates. I looked at my calendar. I looked at the tracker on the app of exactly where we have traveled. I wasn't able to solve the puzzle. My mind was reeling. If we didn't go to Bryce, why not? Did we forget to go? Did we go and don't remember? Did we consciously decide not to go and don't remember the decision making process? I had no clue. All I could do is drive, stop and climb a few rocks while Doug was passed out in the van, and then drive some more until it didn't matter. In the end, we think that after the night of very little sleep, when Doug was having hallucinations of robbing pharmacies, we decided to not go.

I drove and Doug slept on the sofa, moaning occasionally about his ears being clogged, blowing his nose or hacking up phlegm. We have to repeat everything we say three times because we can't hear. The windows of the van are down as we drive in an attempt to keep us cool. We've gone through about 4 rolls of toilet paper for our noses alone, and bought Vaseline to soothe our crusty lips and noses.

We're in the desert now. As we drive I-15 and turn off our exit to the military base, there's a fog-like look to the air all around us, clouding the Vegas skyline ahead. It's not humidity; it's dust. We're on Las Vegas Boulevard. We pass a dirt riding area with side by side ATVs and then a couple hundred dirt bike riders with flags on their bikes. We pass the Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the big sign announcing NASCAR coming October 14-16.

We arrived at the Nellis Air Force base at about 1300. Doug is a Veteran and with his military ID has full access to any military base, commissary and military campground in the US. It's $27 a night to stay here in the upgraded camping spot. We checked in and found our campsite.

Another purpose of coming to Las Vegas for a day was to see if I wanted to upgrade the van to a larger camper. We went to an RV dealership and looked at a couple of B+ RVs including a used Airstream Atlas. It was very nice, but wasn't a long term match for me. Also the final price tag would not be a wise purchase. $1500 a month for 20 years! I'd rather invest that money in real estate/land once the prices drop a bit. So for now, I will keep the van. I'm trying to treat her a little kinder and be grateful for what I have. Doug on the other hand, at 6 foot 3 inches tall, is tired of hitting his head on cabinets. I get to hear the expletives about 10 times a day. He does have a small cut on the top of his head, and I have a 5 inch long wound on my leg from running into a drawer. It's super tight quarters.

Heading back to the campsite, I realized I've not named my van yet. "Little Miss" came to mind. Doug says, "Little Miss the target".

We went to the shop on base to get some wine. Yes, we ARE feeling better... tomorrow we will check out the commissary. At the campsite, we enjoyed our wine and cooked dinner together... chicken and pasta with a garlic cream sauce, spinach and sautéed carrots. And we talked about the future...

Thank you, Little Miss, for accompanying us on this adventure.Read more