September 21, 2010
My day started bright and early. The very first thing I did was choose my daily meditation. I crawled out of my truck as the sun rose over the horizon. I purchased another $3.00 shower, had breakfast, and headed for Death Valley National Park.
A few miles east of the eastern entrance to Death Valley was a small historical town called Rhyolite, Nevada. Right outside of Rhyolite was the Goldwell Open Air Museum. Since it was early, I decided to stop in and look around.
Upon my arrival, I first walked the labyrinth, which was located right beside the parking lot. While walking the labyrinth, I sent various intentions out into the Universe and gave thanks. A fly buzzed my head when I stepped into the center of the labyrinth.
Fly offers the following message:
• Survival
• Multifaceted vision
• Ability to change waste into valuable assets
• Transformation
• Adaptation to the harshest environments – Copyright www.animalspirits.com
I then walked around the museum and photographed various sculptures. I found the sculpture “The Last Supper” most interesting.
Once I had taken in all the art at the museum, I set out to visit Death Valley National Park.
It was a bright, sunny, clear, hot day. The temperature at the park entrance was 79 degrees. I headed into the park and straight for the visitor center near Furnace Creek.
Once I arrived at the visitor center, I watched a slide presentation about the park’s history. When that finished, I explored the gift shop. Then, I set out for Badwater, the park’s lowest area, 282 feet below sea level.
When I arrived, it was 105 degrees.
After I explored Badwater, I continued south down Highway 190 until I finally exited the park. I then went to Shoshone, California, for a bite to eat. Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by people with European accents. I don’t think there was one US citizen in the entire place except for myself and the wait staff. It was the strangest thing. I felt like I was in a foreign country.
After my late lunch, I visited the Shoshone museum and conversed with one of the volunteers. She asked me where I was headed, and when I told her that I was headed to Las Vegas, she told me that I should stop at the China Ranch Date Farm & Bakery in Tecopa. I took her advice and headed to the date farm.
As I approached the farm, which took me down through this tight canyon, I noticed a coyote walking up one of the nearby cliffs. It stopped a couple of times to look back at me and then disappeared over the hill.
Coyote brings the following wisdom:
• Understanding that all things are sacred—yet nothing is sacred
• Teaching that only when all masks have fallen will we connect with the Source
• Intelligence
• Singing humans into being
• Childhood trust in truth
• Teaching us how to rear our young
• Brings rain
• Ability to laugh at one’s own mistakes
• Placing the North Star
• Shape-shifting
• Teaching balance between risk and safety
• Illumination
• Stealth – Copyright www.animalspirits.com
Once I arrived at the bakery, I was greeted by the following sign:
I took note of the sign and then explored the gift shop for about twenty minutes. The clerk behind the counter asked me to sample one of the dates. It was pretty good. After exploring the gift store and bakery, I explored the grounds. Within minutes, I came upon a covey of desert quail.
Quail offers the following wisdom:
• Living close to the Earth
• Ability to blend into the background
• Finding peaceful solutions to peril
• Courage to face hardships – Copyright www.animalspirits.com
After exploring the farm, I returned to my truck and headed towards Las Vegas. It had been over fifteen years since I visited Las Vegas, so I didn’t know what to expect. A few hours later, I arrived in downtown Las Vegas and drove straight to Las Vegas Blvd.
I couldn’t believe how much everything had changed in those fifteen years. I only recognized a couple of casinos. While stopped at a red light in an intersection on the northern end of Las Vegas Blvd, a very bright light from the east caught my eye.
I noticed the following image when I looked to see what it was.
That night, I stayed in a hotel. It was much too hot to sleep in the back of my truck. After reflecting on the day’s events, I concluded they were very Biblical.
After all, I had attended the Last Supper, walked through the valley of death, visited a date farm, received countless messages from nature, and finished the day with a bright light in the shape of a crucifix in the east.
The following map reveals the route that I had taken:
Directions for Driving from Beatty, Nevada to Las Vegas, Nevada. Google Maps, 2010
I went to bed around 11:00 PM.