June 7 - Henderson to Red Rocks Hotel/Casino

Slept in until 5:00 a.m. Ginny had made muffins for us, and had yogurt, cereal, orange juice, cereal bars, bananas, etc available; so thoughtful!

Jim prepared some maps for us for navigating our way across town. I would liken them to the old TripTiks that AAA would prepare for you. What a blessing! Got the van loaded up, said a group prayer with Jim and Ginny, and we headed out. I drove the van and navigated, driving up ahead and showing them where to turn. They only missed one turn but called Gary and got them back on track. We crossed a lot of town on Silverado and then on the Blue Diamond Hwy 160. Charlotte, Gary, and Sherri rode about 29 miles while I sagged. Charlotte and I then switched. I rode the last 16 miles on Hwy 159 through Red Rock Canyon. It was uphill the first 8 miles or so,, then about 8 miles downhill. This is a favorite place for serious bicyclists to train. Smooth pavement with wide shoulders through gorgrous desert scenery is awesome.

Arrived at the Red Rocks Hotel/Casino. No welcomr this year. Just unloaded our suitcases, etc at the entrance. Parked the van in a patking structure that had a clearance of 8'3".Storing the bikes securely with the bell captain. Checked into our rooms, showers and a little rest before we four were introduced at a leadership reception. Saw many friends from past rides. Had some nice hors d'ouevres

Spent most of the evening gettimg caught up with writing the Daily Message. Just a little background info about Las Vegas. Like most of the towns where we have stayed, LasVegas was started in 1855 by Mormons. It means "the meadows" and it was designed to convert the native Paiute Indians to Mormonism. Annual precipitation is only 4.5" per year. Las Vegas has one of the highest suicide and divorce rates. It also has one of the highest marriage rates in the US. Las Vegas got its start with casinos in 1931. Las Vegas does not have major-league sports, although the metropolital population is as large or larger than many cities that have them. All the schools in Clark County are in the same school district, making it the 5th most populous school district in the nation. People who live in Las Vegas are called "Las Vegans."

On that note I'll call it a day for today.

With love from Vegas,
Marie