The Halloween season has come to a close which brings with it a mixture of sadness and relief. We hate to see it end, but it also feels like the steam has finally been released from the pressure cooker. Yesterday (the 1st) was “Spirit Day” as we have come to call it. The night before the haunters were nestled all snug in their beds while visions of ghouls and monsters danced in their heads. Away to the local Spirit “popup” Halloween store we flew like a flash for what to our wondering eyes should appear but an entire store at 50% off. A bundle of props we flung on our backs. We were heard to exclaim as we drove out of sight, we can’t wait until the next haunt night! Actually, there is a little pressure still left in the cooker as I have to find places to store all the new stuff – eh, worry about that another day ha. In addition to celebrating another successful haunting season I also managed to reach an annual running goal. In all the Halloween chaos and injury setbacks, I managed to still hit my 1200 mile annual running goal – 60 days early!
I mainly bring this up as a lead in to let you know Brad will be taking the helm to give me a badly needed rest and because his post happens to be about another trail “speed demon”.
Take it away Brad (and Jan)…
Let me set the stage here for you.
It’s late September. Jan and I are in a National Park in southern Nevada just outside Las Vegas. We are in the desert with Red Rock all around. That’s right, it’s Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, about 20 minutes outside of Las Vegas. The temperature is in the upper 80’s or low 90’s at 4pm. Yes, we remembered to bring water with us.
We flashed our Annual Park Pass (surely you all have one of these beauties by now) at the entrance gate and started on the 13-mile scenic drive to see what we could see. One of the first things we saw surprised us a little bit.
It was a “Tortoise Crossing” sign. I figured the chances of seeing a Desert Tortoise were just as high as our seeing a Bighorn Sheep in Arches National Park (still haven’t seen one there, despite the myriad of road signs). Although the Elk Crossing signs near Estes Park, CO are very accurate.
About four miles into the scenic drive, we came upon a white sedan with its doors open and flashers on, taking up the right side of the road. We crept past and parked to see if they needed any help. Two young men (college age I’m guessing) were kneeling in front of the car. I suspected car trouble.
Imagine the surprise when Jan and I got out of our car to find out what they were doing.
Hit the jump to find out what the surprise was!
Continue reading Slow and Steady…by Brad Marks
Wildlife Intrigued 