Back at the Lake again after a trip to The Sphere in Vegas to see U2. Oh, man, what an experience. They played the Achtung Baby album, which was absolutely the sound track to my angsty early teen years (alongside the Cure). I didn’t know they were only going to play tracks from that album, so it was a wonderful surprise. Plus the Sphere – whoa, next level. We were so close to the stage I could have thrown a flower at Bono or Edge’s feet, no joke, and then after the concert, Larry Mullen’s fleet rolled up next to me at the Venetian parking circle at and his security guards bumped me out of the way as Larry slipped right past me. I was oblivious in the moment, it happened so fast, but then I recognized him as he was whisked away. Moments later as we just sort of loitered mindlessly near the lobby bar, Bram van den Berg (the substitute drummer since Larry is injured) was cheered with loud claps and whistles as he also breezed by. STAR STRUCK!
Anyway, that was city fun but it’s good to be back in the sticks, exploring that same area from last month. We walked all the way up this canyon, lifting the dog up a 12′ pour-over using a sling (what a sport!) but again were limited by the daylight. It’s a little weird to be traveling this country with someone, since I’ve spent many months traveling it alone, but the company is good. It’s neat to spend time here with someone who has a sense of humor and pragmatism about the calamity that is this damned lake. The agreement is that “ya might as well enjoy it,” and turns out even though parts of it are ugly, it’s mostly astoundingly beautiful, and precious. And as the water levels go down, fewer people are out on boats and so it’s possible to really get away from the crowds.