I've spoken about my trip to Las Vegas at the Star Trek convention there. By far, my favorite part of the trip was not the actual convention, but in the two days after. I've lived in Louisiana all of my life, and been fortunate to take trips out west, where there is none of the swamps, marshes and bayous that are here in south Louisiana. Out west are the most beauiful places, the mountains and the wide open desert. The desert, the endless and lonely expanse, is such a beautful place. So, when I was in Las Vegas, I knew I had to drive out and see the Nevada desert. The last full day I was there, Tuesday, I drove in a wide loop, hundreds of miles, around Nellis Air Force Base and and the infamous "Area 51". It was such a beautiful drive and the desert was magnificent. I've lived all of my life in the cities, with hundreds of thousands of people, their automobiles, the traffic and noise. It was a religious experience, to go to such a desolate and lonely place. I'd park the car, get out, and just marvel at the desert and the sky.
The night sky is something that is a bit of a letdown, here in Louisiana. Even in Plaquemine, which is fifteen miles away from Baton Rouge, the light pollution is so bad that even on the clearest nights, only a few stars are visible. On my drive, I took a side trip down the road that goes to Death Valley.
By then it was ten or eleven o'clock at night. About ten miles or so down the road, I stopped the car, turned off the lights and looked at the night sky. The stars were out by the thousands, so may such that I couldn't find the regular constellations. I hadn't seen the Milky Way in many years, and there it was, meandering across the night sky.
Among the hardest things I've had to do was to leave Nevada and come back to this place. Soon, very soon, I will be able to leave Louisiana permanently and go live someplace where the earth sweeps to the horizon and the sky is alive with the stars and planets.
