Camp Lee

I can't explain how good for the soul it is to not have cell service - to be cut off from the world for a few days. It helps bring you back to yourself, your purpose in life, and what's important.

What's even better for my soul is being in the mountains. As long as I'm entwined with nature, it doesn't matter what I'm doing - I'm happy.

I've been working for a catering company while in limbo between graduating and finding a real job. I've been working speratically with them for 5 years and the family who owns the company are some of the greatest people I know, which makes the job even better. Not to mention we work events that usually feature live music and GREAT people watching. Have you ever interacted with mass amounts of people who LOVE monster trucks. Those are fun people haha.

Anyways I've been up at Mount Charleston working a camp, feeding loads of rambunctious children. We have a full kitchen and a bunk area attached to it and I am in heaven. Not to mention the camp is HAUNTED. Which for some reason just excited the crap outta me, until I woke up in the middle of the night with sleep paralysis hearing voices. I'm almost certain I started sitting up by means other than my own, because I couldn't for the life of me get my brain and body to work together. 

It's about 40 degrees cooler up here than it is down in the Vegas valley. Thank The Universe. I am not ready for the Vegas heat, but I am however ready for monsoon season in Korea :) 

We have a lot of downtime in-between cooking meals, which usually involves napping or sitting outside with the boys and watching the kids do their thing outside. The first morning we were sitting outside our dining hall and my boss points out a herd of wild horses. I was off that porch quicker than you could imagine. Running through woods, jumping over things. I was worried about scaring then away but it became apparent that these horses were quite used to being around people. The kids were on a tree-rope course, screaming and making plenty of noise. About 50 meters away is a small pond, and the horses (and two ponies) walked right up to the water to drink. They were so calm, checking the kids out. I sat and watched them as long as I could, and then followed them a little ways back. Wildlife makes me so happy, I definitely don't get enough of it.

After we serve our last meal, the boys make a fire and get themselves a "baba". Vodka for Mikey and beer for John and I. Puts us right to sleep, only after a few hours of man conversation and watching the wood burn. I couldn't even begin to explain some of the conversations we had - but lesbian midget sex was a recurring theme. And currently I am being told a story of a opossum crawling out of a dead cow, from his rear end. Men are lovely, aren't they?

There aren't a lot of great things about leaving the mountains, especially when I'm driving back down to Las Vegas. One thing that I love is watching the scenery change from massive pines to fields of Joshua trees. 

Nelson, Nevada

Thinking that this place has been so close to me for so long and I've never come out here REALLY grinds my gears. I was tasked with finding this place to start with and some how the general address to Nelson was input. Whatever. The map was taking me through a dirt road to the middle of nowhere past a short stretch of houses of all shapes and sizes, all with loads of character. It was interesting to see, especially the little shack like houses and all of the things accumulated in people's yards. Definitely a nice detour. Getting lost can often take you to the coolest places.

Eldorado Mine - Nelson, Nevada

El Dorado Mine is a bit down the road. It's a quaint touristy spot that a family set up when they bought loads of land with an old mine on it. The preserved a lot that was on the property and have been hoarders ever since. They collect old cars and artifacts, most of which are donations. They love what they do, which you can see in the care that they take for the property and how happy they are for you to explore the area; respectfully.

The mine tour is my favorite part about this place. They take you around the property and then eventually through a small portion of a quartz mine. It was much, much cooler underground. Even though it was only the beginning of April it was nearly 90 degrees outside. Deep in the mine it was 65, with a chilly breeze. It was a great history lesson, there was even a ghost story or two to be told. It lasted a little over an hour and cost $12. We got lucky and a tour was about to start literally as we got there, but if you want to do the tour I would call ahead and check their schedule to be safe.

It is crazy to think that Nevada itself is less than 200 years old, we have such a short history. Especially compared to that of other nations. A major piece of our history is the Gold Rush, and this is the perfect place to get a taste of what it would have been like. Every corner you turn is another machine or piece of equipment with a story behind it. There are a lot of Native American artifacts as well, which is by far my favorite piece of Nevada history. The gift shop has crystals and other cheap trinkets for sell, so I was happy!

Rediscovery

Alright. Before I left the country, it was pretty safe to say I absolutely hated Las Vegas. I didn't like the industry and the type of person it bred. Club promoters, aspiring DJs, models and photographers. Money. Boobs. Party. The people who come to Vegas also typically come for the same reason - to get hungover. To get so irreversibly drunk that morals and responsibility are thrown out the window. Because, it's Vegas... right?

But this post isn't supposed to be bashing Vegas, so I'll stop :)

I learned so many things throughout my experiences abroad. Most of these things I am just realizing now, in retrospect. That will happen a lot, and goes to show why it is so important to always reflect... in every aspect of your life.

Taking a step back to look at something, changing your perspective, helps to see it in a new light. I could have easily came back to Las Vegas in complete misery to be back in such a sucky place compared to the loads of cool European places that I just frequented. That would of been silly though, because Las Vegas is actually pretty darn cool.

There is no other place like it in the world. No where. It is so unique in its culture, location, and really just that fact that everyone knows about it and EVERYONE is confused when I tell them I was born and raised there.

Do you deal blackjack?
Which casino do you live in?
No, no you don't. You can't BE from Las Vegas.

I literally had someone argue with me.

Anyways, considering I am not even to the point of this blog, I am going to sum up the fact that I came home with a huge appreciation for Las Vegas. And, well America as a whole really. I'm over here, chilling in a destination that countless people want to visit and all I want to do is get out. Guarantee you there is a girl in Barcelona wishing she could get out too, when ALL I could ever dream of is living in Barcelona. Or anywhere other than here. So. Perspective.

That's why I have been treating these past few months as opportunities to explore my home before I no longer have the chance to call it that. I'm looking at Vegas as I never have before and taking an chance I get to go to California, Arizona, and Utah. I've always taken these things for granted, but that's a waste of time. There's a lot of explorin' to do!