Day 61 – Viva Las Vegas

03 Jul Day 61 – Viva Las Vegas

Ok so not the real Vegas, but being back in civilization was great, I felt like I had a new lease of life.

The Borders

When I woke up this morning and stepped out of the van the weather and the terrain reminded me of the borders of Scotland. It was almost like a set form one of those old TV films of Macbeth. I almost imagined seeing three witches! Anyway I headed off on my first leg and it counted down the miles to Las Vegas. It seemed to take for ever. I found it difficult trying to keep pace and also trying to just shut my mind down so i could forget about the mileage. I always get like this towards the end of the week. When tiredness sets in, especially after a 45 mile day you start to be a little more negative.

Vegas Baby

Although it isn’t the real Vegas, it is a nice little town. For us, after traveling a couple of days with no wifi and very few stops to fill up with water and dump tanks, it was a relief to see some mainstream stores. It also means we don’t have to ration food. Lunch was good today. I walked through the town and left it on a road that ran next to the I-25. This road was the Old Santa Fe Trail. Seeing this many cars was great, everything felt more alive and being closer to people gives you a little more energy.

The Roads

The I-25 just cuts through hills. After going on roads that follow the contours of the land and going the long way round all the time, it was fantastic to be on roads that just go a more direct route. This road loops round a mountain range and then heads north again up to Santa Fe. The end of the day was tough. Shaun walked it with me and was filming me a lot as I was worn out. I was tired and really wanted to stop. We finished the day at an old gas station where the attendant really wanted to meet me. We chatted about the fires up at Santa Fe and also how close they got to the nuclear power plant. Fireworks are banned State-wide and there is high fire risk as it is the driest summer in history, with the biggest fires in history…it is all pretty scary.