The initial drive to Las Vegas was equivalent to a “sprinter’s stage” in one of the various Grand Tours so I won’t get into too much detail. A bunch of stuff happened at a fast pace and at the end we shifted into hyper drive and crossed the finish line.

Mark managed to talk his friend Laura’s boyfriend into letting us borrow his mammoth Chevy quad cab for the trip. It was heavenly, if not environmentally friendly. The Vanderkitten trailer was hitched to the back and we got on the road.

Lots of nature breaks were taken due to liquids consumed, one of which happened in a shady area of Bakersfield(they all seemed shady actually. My apologies to the residents of Bakersfield, CA.). Dave exits our rig and before heading into the gas station says “Great, I’m fucked. I’m wearing flip flops and a tee shirt with a kitty on it” which we all found hilarious due to liquids consumed. You get the point. Or maybe you had to be there…

Fellow Vanderkitten Jackie Baker hitched a ride and made the trip a riot; she’s a hell of a lot of fun. Loud, obnoxious and crass in all my favorite ways. Any girl that can embarrass me is one I want to hang out with. Plus she points a big heavy mountain bike downhill, on purpose, and makes it to the bottom alive. Badass. I’m a priss on a road bike and I’m scared of heights. Not so badass.

11 hours later we made it through the desert to our condo on the strip, passing all the notable landmarks along the way, such as the World’s tallest thermometer. Someone should really build one that’s just an inch taller. Really…