My last Loyalty Traveler post?

My request is to be cremated and have my ashes spread off Soberanes Point, Big Sur.

Please don’t worry about my state of mind. This is not a social media Paris Jackson like cry for help.

Today is predicted to be a record breaking 111 F degree temperature day in Las Vegas, Nevada. Yesterday was a record 109 F degrees.

Today I am scheduled to go rappelling in Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park.

I hope I survive the day.

Southeastern Nevada may reach 114 F today.

I’ve done some stupid and life-threatening activities in my life like hiking and camping on the Lost Coast of Humboldt County in northern California during a winter storm in 1983, historically the rainiest year Humboldt County experienced since records were kept.

I survived.

As a teenager I hitchhiked north from Las Vegas in late June with only one dollar in my wallet on a day when the temperature hit 115 F. My friend Cindy encouraged me to gamble our one dollar between us on a 3-number Keno bet at a Hawthorn, Nevada casino.  That night we slept in the desert with $50 to continue our journey.

I survived.

In Massachusetts I took my wife Kelley on an all day hike through the hills of Amherst, Massachusetts during the historic Storm of the Century March ‘Blizzard of 1993’.

I survived Kelley’s wrath which was more penetratingly frosty than the blizzard that day.

Extreme Weather Highs

I am sort of an extreme weather junkie or just some lucky or unlucky idiot who happens to be in places when extreme weather happens and continues on with my planned activities.

Valley of Fire State Park Nevada

So today I launch my International Pow Wow 2013 conference activities with a rappelling trip at Valley of Fire State Park in the 112+ hot desert.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

I just hope that is not my final statement as Loyalty Traveler.

At least this might mean less competition for those of you trying to score Daily Getaways deals on Monday from the U.S. Travel Association and American Express.

International Pow Wow 2013 Las Vegas banner on Fremont Street.

What Is International Pow Wow?

U.S. Travel Association’s IPW is the travel industry’s premier international marketplace and the largest generator of travel to the U.S. – it is NOT a typical trade show. In just three days of intensive pre-scheduled business appointments, more than 1,000 U.S. travel organizations from every region of the USA (representing all industry category components), and close to 1,200 international and domestic buyers from more than 70 countries, conduct business negotiations that result in the generation of more than $3.5 billion in future Visit USA travel.

www.ustravel.org

Post-trip Update June 8, 2013 at 7:00pm. 

Temperature showed 120 F on the bus at 4:00pm when we were at the visitor center Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada. The trip turned into just a photo shoot trip with no rappelling today. The air conditioner barely worked on the bus to make the trip a five hour heat fest.

National Weather Service official temperature for Valley of Fire was only 115 F between 3:00 and 4:00pm. Las Vegas Airport recorded 112 F, a record for the date.

I survived.