Mom's Last Night

Mom's last full day in Las Vegas was another busy one. After breakfast we squeezed in a visit to see cousin Ruth and her daughter Mia. While they played some board game with friendly hippos that could turn a vegan into a safari hunter I excused myself to get a run in the beautifully landscaped neighborhood.

Carrying on the tradition that all of my visitors must dine at Sweet Tomatoes, the best restaurant on the planet, Mom & I enjoyed great salads, soup, muffins and pasta. We looked both ways as we smuggled apples out of the "no take-out zone."

While I was committed to watching the Sabres playoff game, a 5-4 loss to the Flyers, Mom and Rosa Maria went to some poisonous red meat Memphis Barbecue place and dined on burnt animal flesh.

Now it's time to bid farewell to Mom and start thinking about that Great Alaskan Adventure.

 

Golden Arches

You'd be surprised what you find on a different trail. After a dozen previous visits to Valley of Fire I decided to explore different routes with Mom today. We found an amazing natural arch, carved by nature and a priceless quantity of ancient Paiute Indian petroglyphs. On previous visits I'd always passed the campground turnoff. I didn't know there was an incredible arch there and petroglyphs that were 4,000 years old. What a find!

When we stopped for lunch near Mouse's Tank we were able to watch a Hollywood movie in the making. Two Nevada Highway Patrol cars were blocking the road but from the picnic tables we were able to see Mazeratti's streak down the scenic road.

After the cars sped away, quiet returned and we enjoyed our lunch with some company. We were visited by desert chipmunks. These little critters were so tame they came right up to us and ate the little peanuts from my trail mix right out of our hands.

Later that night I still had energy (I'd run 10 miles before Valley of Fire) to go to Cypresse's yoga class. She gave me a hand made sign that read:

"until the day that the sky itself , with all the sun and stars falls down to the earth...may I remain to help every living being." Traditional Tibetan Prayer  

@ Ming's Home

Frank was missing. Something about a private jet in Mexico. While my cousin was caught up in some International Intrigue, Mom & I enjoyed an evening with Ming & her family that included indoor soccer. Who could blame Frank for forgetting his cousin and Aunt were coming over when he had a private jet taking him south of the border?

Despite his absence Mom & I were still greeted very friendly by Frank's wife Ming, their kids Alex & Helena, sister Quan and mother Que. Not long after we arrived a soccer game broke out in the living room. Alex vs. Helena. I was the goalie.

Frank's loss was Rosa Maria's gain as the lovely Tita joined Mom, Ming & I for dinner at Balboa's, a surfing-themed restaurant, in The District. For the 2nd night in a row the food, company and evening air were all filled with warmth.

 

From Red Rock to The Elephant Bar

Mom & I covered a lot of ground today as we went from 4,177 feet above sea level at Red Rock Canyon to the deepest depths of Africa at the Elephant Bar in Green Valley. Taking advantage of a rare Tuesday off, we headed out to Red Rock to hear a very informative and humorous geology lecture by Red Rock volunteer Cactus Jack. He told us how the 600-million year old sea had gone from an ocean, to arid climate, to sand dunes to limestone & sandstone rock formations. We visited with Mojave Max and a few of his female friends and fellow desert tortoises. We proceeded on to Willow Springs where we hiked two trails. We saw ancient Indian pictographs and a beautiful waterfall cascading down hundreds of feet of solid rock.

The evening was just as enjoyable. We traveled to Rosa Maria Ward's lovely Green Valley home where we were greeted by Rosa Maria (or Tita), her son Tony and his fiance Tara. After some conversation and a garden tour we proceeded on to the Elephant Bar in The District, next to Green Valley Ranch. Fortunately for me there was a Veggie Burger on the menu, luckily for Tony & Tara they also had non-veggie burgers. Rosa Maria enjoyed Cajun Catfish while Mom feasted on a giant salad with skewered shrimp.

It was a lovely day filled with warmth. And the weather was nice too.

Olive Garden to Lake Mead

More fun with Mom today. Although it was just my normal 2 days off it's been like a vacation for me too. After a leisurely morning where she read and smoked while I didn't and did some yoga instead we headed off to the Olive Garden for their soup & salad special. Do you know about this? For $5.98 you get all the soup (3 choices), salad and breadsticks you can eat. And you even get a chocolate mint for desert. It was perfect.

To burn off this fuel we headed out to Lake Mead to hike/run the Tunnel Trail. It was a warm 90 degrees by the lake and a beautiful day for viewing wild flowers, the blue water and mostly blue sky.

That was enough outdoor activity for both of us and a quiet evening at home was all we could muster in the Entertainment Capital of the World.

"He who knows what sweets and virtues are in the ground, the waters, the plants, the heavens, and how to come at these enchantments, is the rich and royal man."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Second Series 

Mom Arrives

Mom successfully completed her trip across the continent today. Although it was somewhat easier than Lewis & Clark's 1804-1806 expedition and a lot faster than the pioneers that crossed the rugged terrain in covered wagons it was still a long and tiring trip. So almost immediately after Mom arrived and unpacked I took her to Discovery Park in Green Valley, Nev., where we ran (me) and walked (mom) along a scenic path. She commented on how lush the green lawns were. I stopped to smell some roses (literally) while I was running and enjoyed the spacious vista where you could see mountains in every direction surrounding the Las Vegas valley.

After a brief stop at Albertson's for supplies it was a quiet evening at home watching a couple of History Channel specials. One about how President McKinley's assassination in Buffalo, N.Y., paved the way for Teddy Roosevelt's presidency and another one about how the 1848 Gold Rush helped to populate California which had only 12,000 residents at the time.

"Recreation park land builds part of the real sinew of the American people, it enhances the quality of our national life."-- Senator Mark Hatfield

Good Friday Run

"One should get away once in a while as far as possible from human contacts.
To contemplate nature, magnificently garbed as it is in this country,
to restore peace to the mind."-- Harold Ickes

That's what I did today as I proceeded on a new (to me) section of the River Mountains Trail. This dirt trail began next to St. Jude's, and although that was as close as I would get to attending services on this Good Friday I knew God was all around me as I climbed a moderately strenuous trail.

Built by the Civilian Conservation Corp, by hand, between 1935-37, the 6-mile up and back course begins at 2415 feet and steadily climbs to 3480 to the top of Black Mountain where there is a spectacular view of Lake Mead and a permanent bench.

Along the way I saw blooming cactus flowers and wild flowers as a late spring has finally arrived in the desert.

The trail was anything but straight as many switch backs were put in to enable hikers (and this crazy runner) to ascend to the top.

After the run I celebrated with a Venti Green Tea Vanilla Soy Milk Latte at Starbucks while reading some of John Steinbeck's Sweet Thursday. It was a sweet Good Friday for this desert explorer.

 

 

Full Day, Full Moon

My Ayurveda teacher Anne said that only people that aren't balanced are affected by the Full Moon. So I admit I'm a little unbalanced. I went out in the parking lot and watched the Moon rise above the clouds and take over the night sky. April's full moon is known as the "Full Pink Moon," after the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring.

During the daylight this closet Werewolf accomplished much. My Nissan dealer treated me to a free oil change and car wash because I'm such a loyal customer. They'll get it back in few months when I bring my truck in for it's 60,000 mile service but it's worth it.

After the car was lubed and oiled it was time to do the same to my heart, legs, lungs, mind and spirit as I headed to Freedom Park for a satisfying 7.5-mile run. Running 10 times around a 3/4 mile loop the view took in Sunrise Mountain, many local trees sprouting fresh spring leaves and the still snow-clad Mt. Charleston. Nevada, by the way, is Spanish for snow-clad mountains. The best part of the run was the first half was in 35 minutes and the last half in 30 as I picked up a little speed with each lap and amazed the loafers lounging around the park in fear of finding jobs.

After my run I checked my blood pressure and it was only 94/59. My pulse was 46 the other day. See what happens when you give up coffee and take up meditation.

The UPS man delivered 2 new digital cameras so new photos may return to this space as early as tomorrow.

 

Racing to the Mountains

It's been six weeks since my last race, so this was a good day to get back in the groove on a familiar course -- The River Mountains Loop Trail. Today's 5-mile LV Track Club run was not on the same section I had run 12 miles Thursday. The entire loop is 31 miles but only about 12 of that is paved.

The starting instructions told us it would be uphill the first mile and then flatten out to the 2.5-mile turnaround. By flat they meant just not as steep as the first mile. So it was a slow leg out and I was only 22 minutes to the turnaround. But I flew on the downhill return to finish in 42:26 and again take 2nd in my age group.

It felt good to get a race in with the Alaska Half Marathon in just 10 weeks.

 

 

Restful, Peaceful Friday

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds."--EDWARD ABBEY

 

Unfortunately there weren't any trails for me today but it was still all good. Started the day with Seven Sun Salutations, a mild form of yoga. Then it was off to my sixth acupuncture treatment with Dr. Kimberly Sperling, O.M.D. There's no way to measure the precise impact this Chinese medicine has had on my blood disease but I believe it's part of the big picture that has helped me log readings that are non-diabetic. For example two hours after eating it's acceptable for a diabetic to have a reading under 160 and a non-diabetic would be 120-140. I was 113 tonight and that's without even running or hiking today. Just yoga and meditation. So it's hard to say exactly what it is: Ayurveda, balancing my Chakras, bee pollen, bilberry, candles, cats, Chinese herbs, Chronmium, Flax oil, garlic, insence, meditation, non-drinking, running, organic fruits & veggies, pure water, soothing music, vegetarian, Vitimin C, E and other supplements, Wheat Grass and yoga. After my 2nd cup of coffee my pulse was 46.

 

Thanks to Ann's Barne's & Noble Birthday Gift Card I stocked up on reading material with six new books today: Grant Comes East a fictional history book what if Gen. Lee had won at Gettysburg? The Mammoth Book of Eyewitness Everest, 32 first-hand accounts of memorable climbs, Using your Chakras, A new approach to healing. The Americas, the history of the hemisphere. Bruce's Springsteen's America, the people listening, a poet singing. And 90% North, the quest for the North Pole. That ought to be enough reading material to get me to 2007.

 

 

River Mountains Trail

When I set out on my weekly Adventure Trail Run today, I didn't know if I was going to pick up an unexplored part of the 30-mile River Mountains Trail at Railroad Pass, find where the same trail went below Boulder City to the Lake Mead Visitor Center or locate where Bootleg Pass cuts through the River Mountains over Lake Mead. Instead I did all three.

 The 2 1/2 hour run probably covered 12 miles. The dirt trail paralells HWY 93 into Boulder City about 50-100 feet off the highway. Along the way there were spacious blue skies and mountain vistas, purple wild flowers and a jack rabbit I inadvertently scared out of his ravine that was as big as a goat.

Past Boulder City I came over the hill and had a beautiful view of Lake Mead and the Moon that was waxing gibbous with 62% of it's visible disk illuminated (I looked it up).

As a Kapha (earth and water) there was plenty of both along the way. Kapha is part of Ayruveda, which is way too deep to go into here, but suffice it to say along with yoga, acupuncture and balancing my Chakras it has really helped me to stabilize if not totally dissolve my diabetes.

Here's how I balance my seven Chakras when I'm running: My roots (legs) are strong as they carry me up and downhill. Water cools my skin and energizes my body but I carry a replacement supply. The Fire inside me motivates me to run harder and faster. My Heart keeps pumping blood and makes me strong. I enjoy the Sounds of the wild and share a few whoops of joy with nature. My Eyes take in all the beautiful scenery. And finally my crown or consciousness is filled with awareness and gratitude that I can do this and enjoy it so much.