I left my humble den at 11:30 AM, after carefully pulling every last weed out of the back yard, cleaning the house and making triple sure I had everything I needed for the month ahead.  Then I went and had my mail held, from tomorrow on.  Today’s mail brought a bonus- my paycheck from Chino Valley Schools!  I celebrated that by having lunch at Bonn Fire, one of the town’s good restaurants.

Pit stops for ice in Ash Fork and an iced mocha, in Kingman, kept me going until it was scenic photo time- first overlooking the Colorado River, near Dolan Springs, AZ.

I drove the relatively short distance that remained, to Hoover Dam, and walked around for about thirty minutes, taking a few shots of the engineering marvel-

and the Eagle Men:

With miles to go before I was to sleep, I stopped ever so briefly at the Boulder Basin overlook of Lake Mead.  Note the two pyramid-shaped islands.  One of them is named- Pyramid Island!

Feeling the heat (96 degrees), and not wanting to deal with traffic any longer than necessary, I drove through Las Vegas, without stopping.  I will spend a few days there next  President’s Day weekend (February), anyway- at Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, etc.

My supper was stuff out of the cooler at a rest area in Amargosa Valley, and cold drinks from the Alien Cafe and Store, across the road.  The store clerk was facing an issue that hits a lot of us in rural areas:  Spotty cell phone service and bad customer service- Some of you might know the drill, “Want us to help?   You need to drive into town.”  (I have this issue with T-Mobile not being in Prescott, so Phoenix is the place to go for service.)  Her carrier is only available 56 miles away in Las Vegas.  Closer, though, is Area 51.

So, where do you suppose I headed next?

WRONG! 🙂

I am spending the night at Atomic Inn, Beatty, NV.  So, I still might end up glowing in the dark.