The Final Stretch

My last stop on the road to Reno was Red Rock Canyon, just outside Las Vegas, where the desert puts on one final show.

Bands of red and cream sandstone swept across the landscape, and the jagged peaks of the Spring Mountains rose sharply against a deep blue sky. I followed dusty trails through scrub and Joshua trees, climbed over smooth, wind-carved rock, and found one boulder balanced on a ridge like a cap left behind by the wind. Every turn of the trail opened onto a wider view.

After two and a half weeks and thousands of miles, this was a quiet, beautiful place to take a breath before the final drive. Ahead of me was Reno, my friends, and a new chapter I had once only joked about.