Enjoying God's creation

“Oh look there is a running shop there” Linda said as I drove into a shopping mall, “oh is there” I replied “might as well stop and have a look as we are here”. We had a look around and it was interesting, but for a change I did not buy anything. We then went to another shopping area and there was a craft shop there for Linda to look round, while I sat in the car and read the paper. After this we went for a scenic drive.  The idea was to drive to the Alan Bible visitor centre near the Hoover Dam and then walk along the trail to the Dam underneath some caves, but on arrival found it was closed till Friday due to ongoing construction work.

Instead we went for a drive around Lake Mead and towards the Valley of Fore State park. It was a scenic route of about 60 miles of hills, desert, rock formations and more desert, with the lake in the middle. It is still hot today mid 70’s but we have plenty of water. The drive took over an hour and then we arrived at the state park and you have to pay $10 to use the road, and being a national part of course it is not part of the federal annual scheme we belong to  - typical.

We had a drive around the area and it had some very nice rocks and scenery which David Bailey in the passenger seat captured in numerous photographs there was no conversation  just click, click.... The road goes on for about 25 miles and I stopped occasionally for more photos. There are Rattlesnakes and Scorpions in the desert here so Linda was not too keen to get out of the car to take photos, despite my encouragement.... Disappointingly we did not see any animals, not even a desert tortoise. The road finishes and joins the I15 back to Vegas. You can see the city from about 20 miles out and the dust and mist that was overhanging it. We got caught in the rush hour traffic so took about 20 mins to do 3 miles from  Downtown junction back to our hotel.

During the 1/2 or full marathon you could get married as you were running, might interfere with your time I suppose, but there were quite a few couples doing it - only in Vegas. 

In the evening we went for a walk down the Strip after having a nice pizza.  

Tuesday was an eventful day, we went out for a drive and I found Linda another craft shop, she managed to buy up half of the shop this time, just about enough room in the boot, good thing I have a SUV. We then went to the Red Rock Canyon for a drive round, we were going to run a trail, but it was closed, not our lucky day (or maybe it is Linda’s). We then drove around the 13 miles of the scenic loop and Linda took some more photos, how did she even manage without a digital camera. We left the canyon area and a few miles down the road was Calico Basin. There was a car park there and it seemed a shame with us having our running gear with us not to go for a trail run – so we did. We did a couple of miles on the rocks, before I managed to twist my ankle quite badly running down hill, I did manage to limp the .05 I needed to make up the 2 mile distance, but my time was ruined. I couldn’t walk very well, had gone white and was sick. The ankle had swollen up like a balloon and was painful to move. We had no ice so put cold water on it, it started to go down slowly. I am the only one insured to drive the hire car so once it has gone down a bit I struggled into the car and could drive. It was my right ankle, if it had been my left no problem with an automatic but I could drive a bit.

We started back towards our hotel and I saw a Starbucks, so we stopped for a coffee and cake as we hadn’t eaten since breakfast and the lack of food wasn’t helping. There was also a drugs store there so we managed to get some bandages so I could at least hobble. We eventually made it back to the hotel and then I put a cold press on it and hobbled around all evening. I would hop but I haven’t quite got the balance right and tend to fall over. 

On Wednesday morning we went for a walk, or in my case a hobble down The Strip, I managed to make Starbucks and then had to rest. Linda went off on her own. After that it was back to the hotel and finish packing. It was then to the airport to hand the lovely Jeep over.  We had driven over 875 miles in that vehicle and then off to check in.

Last time we flew from here we queued for ages at passport control and security, but today as we have plenty of time, no queues. We will just have to sit in the business lounge and eat and drink coffee - we're on our way home....

I have updated the photos here.

You either like him or you don't

President-elect Trump is a bit like Marmite, you either like him  or you don’t. The follow up to the election has been interesting to watch and read about. The good news is the pound has gone up, which reduces very slightly the cost of our holiday and increases Linda’s purchasing power.

Friday was hot and sunny, not a cloud in the sky over Vegas. It was the day that we needed to pick up our packets for the Vegas 10k. We arrived around 1040 and had to join the queue.  We waited for about half an hour and then we were in and could collect our race numbers. I am in corral 1, Linda is at the back in corral 8 . The expo was at the same location, so we wandered around seeing what freebies we could get (not many!) and trying a few bits to eat.

We are staying at the President-elects hotel in Las Vegas, although disappointingly he was not there to greet us. In fact he has not even phoned me to see if everything is fine with the room. We were offered the 59^th floor, which was a bit high, so we are on the 52^nd floor, which is not my choice but the only other option was to wait ages for a lower floor to be available. All the rooms here are  suites, with a living area and kitchenette. However, you have to ring up housekeeping for a kettle and crockery, which we did. The room is very nice and has a good view over Vegas, as you would expect from so high up, the helicopters fly past our room quite often.

On Friday evening and on Saturday we wandered around Vegas and The Strip, nothing has really changed in Sin City, no new buildings but it was very busy and crowded. Friday was Veterans day which is like a bank holiday in America, so a lot of people were off work and having a long weekend, most of them seem to have come to Vegas! As the hotels are full. There are police outside the Trump Hotel, but we haven’t seen any demonstrations like they have had in Portland or New York.

On Sunday we went to the Spring Valley Baptist Church, which was about five miles away from The Strip. There were no churches within walking distances and therefore we needed an early service because of the marathon and other races so a lot of the roads around our hotel would be closed. The service was at 9am, which as we get up early anyway suited us. There is a microwave in the room so we can have porridge for breakfast. The church was quite large and had lots of parking, no waiting for people to leave first! There were about a hundred people in the congregation, but the 1030 service is more popular. They were very friendly and as we filled in the guest book, we got a free mug, shame they didnt fill it  with coffee! The service lasted about 75 minutes and was good, this week they were singing old hymns, so we actually knew them. The sermon lasted about 40 minutes and was on Exodus 7 and the plagues. It was a good exposition of the word and I learnt some new facts. The gospel message was clear and a challenge issued at the end.  We also picked up some new ideas perhaps to try at Eastwood.

After church we drove back to our hotel, there are some protestors outside today, not sure if they are for or against Trump, but just standing there with some placards. It appears that on Saturday evening there was a demonstration and friction, resulting in 7 arrests, but being on the 52^nd floor we missed it all and the only noise we hear is the helicopters flying around.

We went for a walk and sat outside Starbucks with a coffee and watched the world go by. It is very hot today, sunny, no clouds and mid 70s, just the weather you need for a run.  The 10k race started at 4pm so we went back to the hotel and started to get our gear ready. It was Linda’s first 10k, she was in corral 8, I was in corral 1. It was a 2 mile walk to the start line and we were there early.  We sat on the grass and enjoyed the weather. 

Soon we went to our corrals and I managed to get right at the front, on the start line, Mo Farah’s normal place (not that he was there!). Soon we were off, it was quite a straight route,  initially towards downtown Las Vegas, the old part, round a block and then back the way we had come, towards The Strip. The roads were all closed and it was still hot, which slowed us down. The last mile runs into the strip past the Wynn, Treasure Island and finishes at the Mirage, I finished in 49.07, slightly disappointing as I have run faster in the past. The medal is great, it spins and glows in the dark. Linda was still running, I then discovered that it was another ½ mile walk to exit the finishers enclosure and then I had a 1 ½ mile walk back to the hotel. I had walked about halfway back and checked on my phone where Linda was, she was not far from me, so I stopped and then saw her, she was starting to flag, so I shouted at her (words of encouragement of course) and she picked up, I then ran alongside her on the pavement to the finish line. Linda finished in 1:28:30, a great time for her first 10k.  I then had to walk the ½ mile again  to meet her at the exit of the finishers enclosure. We watched the ½ and full marathon runners running up the strip for a while before walking  back to the hotel as it was still warm.  According to my app we ended up walking more than we ran!

I finished 101 out of 5497 running, 9^th in my age group,  Linda finished 3785 out of 5497 and 227 in her age group – so she has done very well. 

I have added some photos to the album

Run Flagstaff Run

Vegas here we come. Sunday was a busy day with two  preaching engagements and a few surprise visitors at our early evening service. It appears I was the preferred option to a joint service with another denomination, although some might say it was similar to the American election, the choice wasn’t great! However, it was great to double our evening numbers.  Linda has been working all day and so had to finish packing her case before we could leave for the airport hotel.

We arrived just in time for her to watch Poldark and I was dispatched to the local shops to get some food.  Our flight the next day was not till Midday  so we did not need to check in till around 9. We parked the car and then it took ages to get to the airport due to road works. The congestion and queues were bad, does not bode well for when they start building the new runway. We checked in quickly, went through the fast track security (which was really fast for a change) and found the BA lounge. First disappointment of the day, they no longer do bacon rolls, just some fancy croissants or toast if you ask for it – which I did. Linda asked for brown and got white, but still ate it.

We boarded the plane, just before midday, it was a big one, even had upstairs, but not for mortals like us, we were near the front. Premium economy is good and it has its own separate cabin, the downside this time there were two kids, who cried for virtually the whole journey – seated opposite us. The food was reasonable but not great. The cabin was not that full so I moved a few rows back away from the kids (not Linda)  so I could do some work, Linda had a window seat so stayed there as she wanted to take photos of the route. 

The flight was over 10 hours and then we arrived at the land of the queues. We had to queue to use the computerised immigration terminals, which is meant to speed the process up, but after successful negotiating them we had to queue to have our passport checked. This queue took ages, in fact it would have been better to have used the non computerised queue.  The luggage had arrived and we collected that before we queued for customs and then finally through. The whole process took over an hour.

We caught the courtesy  bus to the car hire centre and used the computer to complete the car rental process, it was much quicker. Then we went to select our SUV. You can have any car in you class and so I checked all the SUV’s out and decided on a Jeep Patriot as I had not driven one before. Linda checked she would be comfortable in the passenger seat and once she had given the official agreement we left.

Our first night was at an airport hotel, Homewood Suites and it was a 5 minute drive. I had already checked in via the app and we were soon in our room. They were doing free food so it would have been rude not to partake of the opportunity. It was now about 6pm (3am UK time) and we decided to go for a walk to try and stay awake. We had a little walk and then came back and went to bed.

On Tuesday we woke up at 6am and could sleep no more, so got up and had breakfast. It was then time to pack the car and head for Arizona. Today is voting day in USA and all the news reports are about the Clinton/Trump fight for presidency.  We drove for about 45 mins and then a Starbucks appeared on the horizon, so we stopped for a coffee. Linda wanted to look at the Hoover Dam  as it was on route. However, it has changed since we last went here, it is now not on the main road, as the highway has been routed around it. We had to go through a security checkpoint and then park the car and walk. Linda took some good photos and then we found you could not re-join the highway, but had to drive all the way back again. It was then full steam ahead for Flagstaff, about 200 miles.  It was easy driving, duel carriageway, put the cruise control on, country music, sit back and steer. The scenery was stunning, but it can get boring after a while.

We arrived in Williams around 4pm and stopped for a walk, to stretch the legs. As we were hungry we had a snack at the Pine Country Restaurant – which did a great Pecan pie. It was then another 40 minutes to Flagstaff and our Hampton Inn Hotel.  We collected our key, as we have already checked in on the app, and then went for a walk, to Linda’s delight there was a Walmart just over the road. She was very restrained and only bought one craft item (this time). On the way back I saw a  sign Flagstaff Urban Trails, my eyes lit up, I could go for a run, I had my head torch so once back at the hotel I checked with the staff it was a safe area, changed and then went for a run.

The Flagstaff Urban Trails System (FUTS) is a city-wide network of non-motorized, shared-use pathways that are used by bicyclists, walkers, hikers, runners, and other users for both recreation and transportation. At present there are about 56 miles of FUTS trails in Flagstaff.  Mo Farah also trains here, but I did not  see him on my run. It was hard as we are about 6900 feet above sea level. I did about 3 1\2 miles as I had to turn round when the trail started to go out of town and I was not sure when it led to. During the evening we watched the US election on the internet and Trump’s victory.

Arizona is an hour ahead of Nevada so we had to change all the clocks again.

I am still suffering from jetlag so I was up just after 5 in the morning, fortunately there is non stop coffee in the lobby area, so I can take my computer down there; drink coffee and catch up on some church work.  Linda joined me just after 7 and so we had breakfast. Trump is now president elect and we were watching it on the TV. We went to downtown Flagstaff for the morning which is an interesting place. The railway station is the focal point and was built in 1926. It stands at what has historically been one of the busiest railroad corridors for both freight and passenger rail in the United States.   The town is reminiscent of the wild west, you could image the cowboys wandering through town and having a few fights. Flagstaff is also the home of Lowell Observatory where, in 1930,  Pluto (the former planet not the dog) was first observed. We had a wander around town, found a local coffee shop which did excellent coffee so stopped for a while.

I then found the only running shop for miles around and they had a sale on. I bought a new pair of trail shoes (you need different shoes for road and off road).  I then needed to try them out, fortunately we had the running gear in the car (good planning on my part) and it was a lovely cold sunny day.  I also new a good place to run, Buffalo park so we went there. Linda wasn’t too happy about having to change in the car, but it was a better alternative to the porta loos there! There is a two mile trail loop around the park, which we ran and we also diverted down the Arizona trail, which goes from Mexico to Grand Canyon and beyond, we only did a mile. It might not go from Mexico in the future, if the President elects builds a wall, although this is now a good time to invest in construction companies.

Linda did one loop and then I did a further loop the other way, and discovered it was more uphill going the alternative way. I left her at the entrance and when I came back she was chatting up a local man, finding out information about the area.

In the late afternoon we went for a walk around the local area near the hotel, I had found Linda two craft shops to visit and I just sat in Starbucks and waited for her. I also filled the car up with petrol, not bad $25 to fill the tank up.

Thursday I was up early again so went to the lobby area where I could drink coffee and do some church work.  Most days I am awake by 5am so I have to creep out quietly and not disturb Linda. Today the Grand Canyon was on the spreadsheet schedule. We left just after 8am after I had de-iced the car, cold this morning. It  took an hour and a half to get there, I nearly had the exciting task of overtaking another vehicle, but they turned off. We arrived just before 10. I was going to have a run around the rim trail, Linda was just going to walk and take a few photos. It was a beautiful sunny day, blue skies but slightly cold. I run around the path, it was paved so quite easy although hilly in places. It is difficult running at altitude, but if it is good for Mo Farah then it is good for me.  We had arranged to meet at a place at a time, but both of us thought it was in a different place to where it was. However, fortunately we met on the path. I had done about 7 miles in the end. We took the bus back to the car and then it was time to leave.

It was about 260 miles back to Las Vegas. We had decided to bite the bullet and do it in one hit – today. We stopped at Williams on route as Linda wanted to visit a quilting shop, where she found a few things to buy. It was then I40 to Kingman and finally the 93 to Henderson where we were staying. It took about four hours, but as the clocks go back by an hour when we arrive in Nevada and so it was still early evening in Vegas. 

There are some photos here.