May 16-17, 2015*

I am on a confidential two week mission; if the narration seems brief and a little incomplete, that’s because it is.

I was met in the ghetto of Long Beach on Saturday morning to begin a seven hour drive to Flagstaff, Arizona.

The first leg of my mission was to make it to Monument Valley, Utah.

The first movie to use Monument Valley as a location was Stagecoach, filmed in 1938.

Since then, dozens of films have been made in the valley, or featured in part.

And yes, there is a lot more to Monument Valley than just a movie location.

The price of gas in California, near the Arizona boarder.

We passed the world’s biggest golf ball.

It was a long drive – not for a trucker, but for me.

We spent the night at a Hotel in Flagstaff, AZ.

There, I was told of the location of several sealed envelopes for various contingencies including hospitalization, vegetative state and death.

I hope the journey ends with those envelopes still sealed and not in my possession.

After a night’s rest, the journey continued for another three hours to Monument Valley.

The price of gas in Arizona – Note to self, buy gas in Arizona before crossing back in to California.

It was a journey over a two-lane, two-way highway – a lights-on all the way, daylight journey.

Me outside of Monument Valley.

Right before we got to the “Monument Valley Welcome Center,” we crossed in to Utah.

$20 was paid to the Navajo Nation to cross in to the Indian Reservation.

WARNING: There is NO alcohol (a.k.a. Fire Water) sold on the Indian Reservation.

I couldn’t tell if real Indians worked on the reservation, or if they were Mexicans dressed as Indians.

Me at Monument Valley.

Yes, you can get dusty there – I guess bathing in their restrooms has been a problem.

Monument Valley from the Hotel.

Is there much difference between me and John Wayne, except he stood seven inches taller than me and smoked five packs of cigarettes a day?

The drive back to Flagstaff, AZ seemed a lot shorter than the drive out.

The one thing that was not factored into this leg of the trip?

Flagstaff is at 7,000 feet elevation – that presented some undisclosed problems.

Onto the second leg of the journey today.

More to come…

*Post delayed due to security and other reasons.

I needed a dive – it keeps my blood pressure under control, until the debriefing of course.

It rained a bit a couple of days ago, and the swell maps made the conditions look like it was going to suck; I decided to go and at least look.

It was a very small diving crew consisting of Reverend Al, Ben, Randy, Alex and myself.

I was told the Point was doable, if you timed it right; that usually means I’m going to get smashed against the rocks.

Reverend Al gave me one of his old wetsuits that didn’t have any holes in it and had never been peed in – and it actually fit!

We geared up and walked to the Point where the swells were crashing against the low tide rocks in predictable sets.

We took our time in getting out – and everyone made it without any problems.

We swam a little ways out and submerged.

Logged SCUBA Dive #491

Dove with Reverend Al, Randy, Ben and Alex

The Point, Terranea Resort, Palos Verdes, CA

In With: 2900 psi
Out With: 500 psi
Max depth: 58 feet
Waves: Some swells at the point, other surge.
Visibility: 10 feet or so
Water Temperature: 52 degrees
Air Temperature: 75 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 39 minutes

It was dark, but the 10 feet of visibility that we did have was clear.

However, for whatever reason, this is the only underwater picture that came out…

I took a lot of pictures, but only ended up with a few.

Maybe the camera wasn’t on?

I don’t think the pictures would have been spectacular anyway.

The statue at the pinnacle has a lot of growth on it now – I almost passed it, thinking it was a reef.

My new-to-me wetsuit was more buoyant than my last one, so I put some rocks in the pockets of my BCD jacket for extra weight.

It was cold; I should have worn my core warmer, too.

I followed the group until I got down to 500 psi and surfaced.

I was a hundred yards from the exit at the Cove, but the surface swim was easy.

It was low tide; coming in, I had to swim back out to take my fins off and walk in.

The rest soon followed, and all made perfect exits.

I apologized the Reverend Al for peeing in his wetsuit.

He was so disgusted that he let me keep it.

I like the sandy part of the beach now.

Debriefing was rather quick, and wrapped up by 11 AM.

Today’s crew – Randy, Ben, Alex, Reverend Al and Me.

Next week, I go on a secret non-diving two week mission.