Lake Mead
Today was the pack up day, and so lots of work. When you have been at the same place for 7 days (when you are camping, that is), there is a lot of stuff that you unpack and is all over the place. To pack all of it again, and such that you can carry it on your bike, is a LOT of effort. So needless to say, this was a busy morning. We packed up, took a leisurely shower (you never know if you will have a shower the next day) and decided to leave by noon. Gordon offered to join us till China Ranch, so we had company and the detour made more sense.
The China Ranch was a slight detour (15 miles) but we had to see it. We missed it the evening before, and didn’t want to go without having at least a look at it. It was a nice ride, V and Gordon showing off their bikes and the speeds, and me clinging to V so as to not fly off! It was a neat little place – difficult to believe that such a green place can exist in the middle of the desert! We walked through the small trails, reading names of the trees .. and discussing if we had these ones in India. The date shake was amazing, never had anything so yummy.. and filling I must say (I couldn’t finish one glass). The sparrows were fairly daring, flying right up to our table to grab pieces of the date cake. Can’t blame them for loving it J. Even had a video of a sparrow eating the cake right out of my hands! This one was to be my prized possession.
By the time we reached Lake Mead, it was late afternoon, and our priority was to find a place to camp for the night, but that didn’t keep me from clicking snaps as we rode. After we set the tent up, I wanted to grab a beer. Just as we were leaving for the general store, we realized that we couldn’t find the camera! Darn! Stupid me.. I seemed to have dropped it somewhere sometime while I was clicking snaps. I had absolutely no recollection of when and how! While I was upset about the camera, I was more worried about the pictures that we lost! There was no way we could get those priceless memories back. We rode back all the way to where I remembered clicking the last snap, and looked along the roadside, but no luck. The camera and we had parted ways. (No luck on the beer as well). V was in a foul mood, and there was no point edging him right now. Back to the tent, empty handed!
The morning now had different priorities. Instead of going to Hoover Dam, it was Target Stores– to get ourselves a new camera! Today was also our daughter's 2nd b'day and I woke up missing her terribly, and also feeling guilty about leaving her back alone. Nothing seemed to be as it was supposed to be without her :(
Spent 30 minutes on the phone trying to talk to her and wish her 'happy b'day' but she was so not inetrested in talking to me. Why should she! After all I left her behind while I am cruising across US! (tears in my eyes, while V trying to comfort me)
The morning was spent in Walmart and Target, but thankfully we got ourselves a decent small camera. We tried to re-capture our memories in the new camera, and vowed to download them every evening on the computer – lesson learnt! Lake Mead is huge and pretty and beautiful. I think most of the US that I have seen till now has amazing natural beauty and it is difficult to say which one is better. There are mountains and lakes and the sea and the desert and the forest – they have it all, and it’s all different and all beautiful. I am running out of words to describe each landscape. I guess one word fits them all – WOW!
V spent the afternoon and early evening going for a swim in the lake, while I sat on the beach and just soaked in the beauty (and lots of sun, as my skin would show). We were now getting into the habit of eating our dinner at 7-730, like the Americans do – purely because when you are camping you want to make the best use of the daylight.
Cooked a light meal, and hit the bed early. As all National Parks, no shower here! The next morning was to be the ride to Hoover Dam, we had heard so much about!
We started early the next day, as we wanted to spend time loafing around the Dam. Clicked a lot of pictures, read about the history and the making of the dam, watched a small documentary about the same, a small tour of the power plant (while V kept whispering in my ear that Vedanta's smallest power plant was bigger than this, and I kept reminding him that this was built in 1935)
Came back from the dam in the afternoon, tired and hungry, only to realize that the stove wouldn't work - it was hell bent on leaking fuel! Thank you Coleman - this meant another drive to the town 19 miles to exchange this stove and find late lunch/early dinner. If only this had happened yesterday, we wouldn't have cared, but then it never happens the way you want it .. does it!
More riding in the freezing cold but finally mission accomplished.. a stove that worked, and cooked dinner for us to eat :)
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