Here it is… the long awaited, albeit short, final installment of the Adventures of the Twenty-nine Palms Gypsies…
Once again Renee was skillfully at the helm; she pointed the truck back in the direction of sin city. Real music playing on the stereo man, real music. Back across the Mojave, with a nearly full moon beginning to set behind us. Back through Amboy, Kelso, and the rest, with the wind whipping furiously; nipping at our heels. This stark and empty land was the shortcut that we took to Vegas. Like so many others. How many gunfighters, climbers, dreamers, and outlaw bikers, have roared across these roads over the years; heading to and from adventures; running to or from whatever haunts them, riding on the winds of change? Fueled by caffeine, alcohol, greed, fear, or dreams.
Riders on the storm.
Riders on the storm.
Into this house
we’re born
Into this world we’re thrown.
Like a dog without a bone,
An actor out on loan,
Riders on the storm.
There’s a killer on the road.
His brain is squirmin’ like a toad.
Take a long holiday,
Let your children play.
If ya give this man a ride,
Sweet memory will die.
Killer on the road.
– The Doors
The miles flew by, and soon we were on 15 heading into Vegas, breakfast, and the scene of the great 2009 Denny’s ten-pancake massacre.
Bright lights city gonna set my soul, set my soul on fire,
Got a whole lotta money ready to burn so get those stakes up higher,
Blackjack, poker, and the roulette wheel, A fortune won and lost on every deal,
All you need’s a strong heart and nerves of steel, so… Viva Las Vegas
– Shuman | Pomus
This would to be our first restaurant meal together, and it was a bit of a departure from our usual simple and stoic camp fare. So with big eyes and empty bellies we all ordered large. Caleb not only ordered and ate eight big ol’ pancakes, he scarfed down two of Kev’s as well. Thelma, our biscuit shooter was truly amazed.
Our next orders of business, with which we dispatched quickly, were more coffee, and securing a campsite for our final night. For some reason I missed this but the rest of the crew saw the girl next door changing into a thong and I didn’t…sigh…. With all this behind us, we were soon gearing up at our first climbs. This was a reprise for both Renee and me. It was a year ago to the very day that we were in the exact place doing some of the exact same climbs. Nonetheless this is a very mellow spot and a great introduction to sandstone for the lads, and we certainly did not mind. We did a variety of easy and moderate leads and one nice hard TR. The day was cold under the thin winter sun, but the climbing excellent and it was smiles, back slapping, and high-five’s all around. There was a couple climbing next to us who realized that they had met Caleb in Squamish the previous summer. I didn’t get the whole story, but it had something to do with Caleb and a talking bear. Seems like weird shit eh… but stuff like that always seems to be happening around us, and ends up being pretty normal… I guess…
Caleb did a fine lead and took his first gear fall ever. Short, safe, no harm done. Another nugget of power to add to his collection. The place was getting crowded. We saw at least six other parties. All members of the tribe from all corners of our climbing world. Canadians, a couple from SLC, a group from Iowa, and a group from Devon. While this had been a fine day of climbing and great fun was had by all, I was tired, did not climb well, and I had that sense of melancholy that often accompanies the end of a trip.
On the last climb of the day I topped out and was building an anchor, when a middle aged Asian woman with a purse on her arm comes and sits down beside me and starts asking me questions. I am sure that she was real. I hope that she was real. I really don’t need to be dogged at the top of climbs by magical creatures in disguise; I have a hard enough time climbing as it is…
Playlist
– Riders on the Storm – The Doors
– Viva Las Vegas – Dread Zepplin