TR SNIPPET RED ROCK CANYON WITH SON FRANK

In exchange for a free bed son Frank rented a car for a fine trip to Red Rock, one I'll remember for a long while.

For my October birthday my old college buddy Robin had sent me this photo from 1998 which I passed on to son Frank.  It shows too old college buddies, Frank and me.

 

 

There were the four of us hiking somewhere in Red Rock in 1998 long before Frank was married and with his little girl, long before we all took various forms of debility. Robin's eyesite is worse. The dark haired old college chum Mike will get two hips replaced this year. And then there is me weighing a good deal less in those days. 

Just a short hike into rocks at Calico, the easiest of paths left me with some right foot blister damage. I am never going to Vegas without my hiking boots again.

But it all is healing.

My feet would let me go back today.

However, this was one of those magical times in life. It came to cheer both of us after a long bout of illness suffered by my youngest son, Frank's brother and all the stress associated with that.

And it was dedicated father/son time with no interruptions from wives, other siblings, children and next to no work responsibilities for Frank.

He relieved my car rental anxieties by getting the full damage waiver rather than patch together personal insurances and credit card promises which may be a mess to recover and never would cover a “loss of value” situation.

We had to check out of the D and into the Four Queens that day, but I managed it quite early by taking whatever room they had available.

It was a bit scruffy. I try for the rooms that end in 26 and are on the corner. This was actually the scruffiest room of my entire trip.

But it freed us up to get going.

I always stay off the highways, but Frank as an everyday Chicago highway driver with his GPS on his phone decided to face the spaghetti bowl.

Well, we made one mistake, spent about ten minutes getting back to where we could start over once again. At least no traffic jams or accidents.

I'm still an advocate of no highway driving and with a GPS separate from my phone and mounted on the dashboard where I can see it. But that's just me.

We spent the morning hiking Calico, brought in a bit a lunch to eat at the large rocks. 


 We took our time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I noticed that I don't hike as well as I once did over irregular rocks. Calico is the easiest of trails and still enough for me.

We stopped at a large cluster of wonderfully colored rocks and most of these photos are from there

The rocks to our left which we would visit when driving out were rather foggy, but by the time we got to that side, the afternoon and almost setting sun hit them just right to bring out their colors. We actually took a bit of a nap in the car, falling asleep to an open window and the look of mountain rock areas.

When we finished the loop, we went back up in the area and into the Visitor Center. We sat on the back picnic table until the sun was just about gone. The park closes at 5 in October. There was no one else there.

Even that was so delightful and such a contrast, juxtaposed to the clinging bells and whistles of slot machines.

Red Rock is the antithesis of Vegas:

Quiet not noisy. Permanent not changing weekly.

We did not get a look at much wildlife. No burros. No snakes. Some lizards and some fine grasshoppers. A few fast birds. And there were some very faint smells of greenery.

On the way home we had a huge moon,

twenty times the size of average. It refused to be photographed well, but shinning across the desert after our day of hiking was peaceful icing on a delightfully sensual day.

Afterward we went to Red Rock Casino for my first visit, and Frank played a bit of JOB. I coached using the simple sheets available in the American Casino Guide. They don't deal with penalty cards, but are pretty good, and easier for me to navigate. When you razor blade your coupons out of the 2015 American Casino Guide, consider razoring out page 52 and folding it into your wallet.

Then we took the American Casino Guide 2 for 1 and went to the buffet. I had heard good things, but my diabetic diet often does not let me take advantage of the rich choices most folks enjoy.

Red Rock turned out to be perfect.

I filled up on roasted vegetables, one of my favorite dishes. There were brussel sprouts and carrots and a mixed section, at least three separate section of roasted veggies.

I have forgotten other tastes, but I know I was pleased.

And then I looked at the desserts.

At home I eat nothing for dessert but fruit. Sugar free does not mean carb free. No sugar added does not mean sugar free.

However, with all the exercise my blood sugar rates had been tolerating one sugar free taste per buffet, just once a day.

Generally, there is only one that appeals to me.

At RedRock the sugarfree section was huge.

I took four.

I still remember them, a cheesecake, a chocolate chip cookie, a plain cookie and this piece of rich chocolate cake.

With these on my plate, I called a fellow from behind the counter and asked,

“Are all these really sugar free?”

“Did you get them from the section that is labeled?”

“Yes.”

“Then, yes, they are all sugar free.”

Well, I ate three of the four. The plain cookie was not very tasty. The chocolate cake was absolutely wonderful. Half way through I told Frank this could not be sugar free, and I supposed it would spike my sugar count.

But it was. Two hours later I tested at 99, a number I can't seem often to hit here at home.

Red Rock Casino is an hour bus ride from Vegas, but I'll bet I get tempted to ride out there next trip just for the chocolate cake even if I don't rent a car and hike the canyon first.

I'm also hoping that Frank sees this as the first of our annual trips to Vegas. He had a fine time too.