Day 1 - Lowell to Flagstaff

My day began at 3:17 am when I woke up after about 3 hours of restless sleep.  I showered and gathered my gear.  My mother was kind enough to sleep over and drive me to Logan.  On the way out the front door I passed a couple of tipsy ladies who were wrapping up their night, so I was confused about what to say because it was my morning, so I just said hi.  We left Lowell at 3:50 and I turned up the car radio when Imagine Dragons - It's Time came on.  We arrived around 4:30.

I had a window seat on the connecting flight to Washington DC, which was only an hour, but I had to go to the bathroom 5 minutes in.  I thanked the women that I made get up and apologized for being high maintenance. On that flight I got an excellent view of Manhattan.

While waiting for the connecting flight in DC the woman sitting next to me was intensely texting and giggling.  I assumed she was sexting Anthony Weiner. 

When I boarded the connecting flight the flight attendant that checked my boarding pass said she liked my Bruins sweatshirt and that that was her team.  That must be why she didn't say anything as I boarded with zone 3 when my boarding pass said zone 4. 

Flying over the Rockies and the Grand Canyon was magnificent and stunning. I was in the grace and favor of U.S. Airways today because I had a window seat on the right side. 

Those photos don't do justice to how enormous and beautiful the landscape is out here.

The woman in front of me screamed "let's get wasted!" as the plane touched down.  As I made my way through the McCarron airport to the car rental area I was furiously refreshing my phone because Hertz texted me my rental information with a link for Gold members to choose any car currently available.  On one refresh a Mustang Cobra popped up for an extra $20 per day and as I foolishly hesitated, weighing the cost, someone grabbed it and it never popped up again.  The deal of the day was a Camaro for $35 extra, but that's not what I needed.  I originally was set up with a Toyota Corolla, but a Chevy Cruze popped up and I took that because I had driven several recently and they agreed with me.

Nevada was damn hot.  I was a little out of breath lugging my bag around the airport.  It was 100 degrees as I approached my car so I got in and cranked the AC because the desert heat was oppressive. I cranked the Nevada playlist and the Killers kicked things off.

I drove south out of Vegas through Henderson Nevada and Boulder City.  The first destination was Hoover Dam.  The elevation climbed to about 2000 feet as Brandon Flowers sang "higher and higher".  Descending on route 93 the Great Basin Highway I was stunned at the majestic beauty of Lake Mead.

I stopped at a casino hotel just before the Hoover Dam to take a photo of Lake Mead. 

It seemed like one dip in the water of Lake Mead could cure all your worries and pains.  I was so consumed with the beauty of Lake Mead that I didn't notice my shortness of breath until I was walking back to the car. 

To be continued...Day 1 - Part 2 tomorrow...