2013 WSOP, Day 29: Zombies, Bodies Sawed in Half, and Other Hallucinations

Vera is here, and I’m very grateful to be getting a bit of a mini-vacation for a couple of days while she is so we can spend time together. I’ll be back on the reporting beat on Friday, and she’ll be departing on Saturday, but in the meanwhile we’re getting to do a few things in and around Vegas together.

As I mentioned I might do yesterday, I took her over to Red Rock Canyon, the National Conservation Area located about a half-hour west of Las Vegas. We drove the 13-mile loop that goes counterclockwise around and through the site, stopping frequently to look at the various red rock formations, stone walls, desert flora (not so much fauna), and other amazing things to look at along the way.

That photo above is of the stumps sticking up out of the sand that dot the landscape throughout the site. Perhaps it is due to having watched too many horror movies as an adolescent, but to me they resemble hands reaching up out of the earth, a prelude to a zombie-led apocalypse.

We snapped a bunch more pics, of course, and I took a few tries at using that panorama function on the iPhone. Here’s one (click to enlarge):

Last summer F-Train and I hiked the Calico Tanks route which took a couple of hours to complete. But Vera and I mostly stayed in the air conditioned vehicle, the triple-digit temps making it less than desirable to be outside of it for very long.

Had a classic rock station on the radio which at times provided a kind of uncanny soundtrack for our journey, especially when “Stairway to Heaven” and “Us and Them” were playing. Could imagine Pink Floyd having set up and playing “Live at Pompeii”-style out in the middle of it, the “black... black... black... black... and blue... blue... blue... blue...” echoing all around us.

Then last night we took in the Penn & Teller show at the Rio, something we’d always sorta kinda intended to do but never had. Was entertaining and unsurprisingly full of “How did they do that?” moments, with their characteristic method of both performing so-called “magic” while denying magic actually exists providing both grins and some food for thought along the way.

They mentioned at one point how the show compiled bits performed over their entire career which by now must span three decades at least, and I realized I had seen at least couple of them before somewhere along the way, including the gory, seemingly botched sawing of a woman in half bit.

I guess between Red Rock Canyon and the show, the day’s theme was to challenge the senses, especially sight, with the uncommon or hard-to-comprehend.

Today the schedule includes seeing some more sights (and sites), including a trip downtown to Fremont Street where Vera has never been. We had thoughts of checking out the Librace Museum -- a site much recommended to us -- though have discovered it closed a while back.

I’m sure we’ll find plenty to see and do, however, including more visions that challenge the idea that seeing is believing.

2012 WSOP, Day 31: Hot Rocks

After five straight 12-14 hour days at the Rio helping cover WSOP events, I finally had a day off on Tuesday and so took the opportunity to steer clear of it all and try to recharge the mental batteries a little.

My buddy F-Train is in town this week, and he suggested taking a quick trip up to Red Rock Canyon to walk around and see the sights. Besides getting an opportunity to visit with him, I was also keen both to get out of the city (and off the grid) as well as to see Red Rock, which I’d never visited before.

Red Rock is about 15 miles west of Vegas, a large national conservation area taken up by huge rock formations. It is surrounded by a 13-mile loop that you drive around counterclockwise, with lots of stops along the way to see sights and/or get out and do some hiking on the various trails.

As we drove the rocks stood out majestically, of course, although the sandy landscape was striking as well with the many tree stumps sticking up and looking not a little like hands reaching up out of the ground.

We ended up stopping at one of the first trails along the way, the one that takes you up to see the Calico Tanks, a natural tank which was dry this time of year.

The hike up was described in the visitor guide as "moderate" (not "strenuous"), a characterization F-Train echoed as he's been to Red Rock many times before. We're talking about 2.5 miles or so round trip (perhaps more), taking about an hour to climb up and a bit less than than to get back down.

It was hot, and much of the walk found us in direct sunlight. I was definitely winded by the time we made it to the top, realizing that despite all the hours on my feet and running around the Rio I could probably be in better shape for such excursions. The hike wasn't exactly treacherous, although it was necessary to pay attention when seeking stable footing.

Was well worth it, though, to enjoy the many striking sights along the way as well as the view of Vegas from the top.

Among the topics we discussed while up there was the obvious one -- just how weird a place Las Vegas really is, and the utter discontinuity between where we sat and what lay below.


Will be moving back out of the warm, bright sun and into the cold, relatively dark Rio once again today to help cover Day 2 of Event No. 47, the $1,500 PLO/8 event where I imagine I’ll see lots of heaping pots, split down the middle. Kind of like those rocks we were climbing over yesterday.

Take a trip over today when you’re not seeing how Viktor “Isildur1” Blom is doing in the Poker Players Championship (currently leading with 26 left).

And please, watch your footing.