They got it right-February 28, 2014

The weather forecasters got it right. The wind blew and howled. Then the rain moved in. There was a break in the clouds this morning and we headed out to get a bite to eat. It goes without saying that it started raining again on our way home. That's fine. We just had to get out for a while. Then late in the afternoon it tried to clear up again. That's when the rainbow came out. I always remember you cannot have a beautiful rainbow without storm clouds and rain first. I'll share a few pictures.

Storm clouds or not, I think they are really pretty.

 

The rainbow appeared before the rain had stopped. (Not our coach)

 

Only a small piece of a really nice big rainbow.

I hope somebody found the pot of gold!

 

It is supposed to rain again tomorrow but we need to go clothes shopping. We'll see how it goes.

 

 

Checking in-February 27, 2014

The predicted front is moving through right now. It is so windy we do not even want to try to walk in it for any reason. We're rockin' and rollin'!! The rain is to start later this afternoon. We have talked with fulltime residents and they say if it does rain an inch we do not want to be caught out in it. We'll trust their warning and get caught up on housework.

Hopefully we can get out some time tomorrow.

Cactus Garden-February 25, 2014

We took time this morning to plan our week which we don't normally do. But we know rain is coming. It has not rained here in 67+ days so they say when it comes the streets will be as slick as driving on black ice. Plus starting tomorrow, the police will no longer respond to non-injury automobile accidents. Therefore we will probably stay put while the rain is falling. But today was beautiful though very warm so we had to get out and about. We went to Ethel M's Chocolate Factory and Cactus Garden. It matters not how many times we have walked in this garden, it is still very pretty and extremely impressive. It is soothing and relaxing except it is in the incoming flight path for the Las Vegas' McCarron airport. And planes come in about every 90 seconds on parallel runways. This is an extremely busy airport though it does not rank in the top 5 of busy airports in the country.

When you walk out of the chocolate factory this is what greets you.

 

 

Mescal Bean tree.

A closer look at the Mescal Bean bloom. See bumble bee right at the top.

 

 

Isn't this peaceful looking?

 

 

I wasn't kidding about being in the flight path!

They fly overhead fast and loud.

 



I am sure I have posted some of these pictures before, so thank you for allowing me to do it again. This is a great little piece of peace in the midst of hectic Las Vegas. We need to plan better because we have seen spectacular pictures of the Cactus Garden at Christmas. We'd like to see it in person. It was another nice day that almost makes us feel guilty about the great weather when we know people in Colorado are freezing. Almost!

 

 

 

 

 

Container Park-February 24, 2014

This park was under construction when we were here last. Someone took those big containers that they put on semi trucks, the ones similar to the ones they put on flatbed train cars, and stacked them up on top of each other. Then they cut off one end and covered it with glass. Each container is a unique shop in Container Park. I did not count how many shops there were, but each was very different. Maybe the pictures will help explain this a little better.

At the entrance.

 

Does it make sense now? It is three stories tall and the elevator was

not working today. We enjoyed the exercise.

 

This is the children's play area, but still made out of containers.

 

This is actually a caboose and train car. It is apparently a stage for concerts.

 

This is also hard to explain. It appears that at some point

people bought metal hearts. Each has a phrase or a name or a date

printed on it and it is attached to the heart frame by a padlock. I suppose

they would not remain there if they weren't padlocked. The entire

heart is about 6 feet tall.

 

This enormous praying mantis is in front of the park.

It is on a truck frame so it can be moved around.

It has a rather large personality.

 

We don't think this is true, but it's a clever sign. At least

we don't feel any smarter yet!

 



We had a really good time today. It was a rather unique thing to see. Plus we had lunch outside. It was such a warm day Jerry actually got a light sunburn. I did not, thankfully. 

 

 

 

 

Bass Pro-February 22, 2014

After having leisurely coffee this morning we decided to go to Bass Pro Shop/Silverton Hotel and Casino, all in one gigantic building. Lots of walking but it is fun. We really like that Bass Pro Shop. But the fun part is the wonderful aquarium that separates the hotel and Bass Pro. It is huge and stocked full of all sorts of colorful fish. They say having an aquarium in your home lowers blood pressure. We both can understand that. We found empty chairs and just sat and watched the fish and then watched the little kids watch the fish. We sure wish Hannah had been with us.

All shapes, colors and sizes.

 

And lots of them.

 

This scuba diver was not the least bit entertaining. Last year

we had a mermaid who interacted with the kids and made

a fun game out of feeding the sting rays. This guy seemed not

to like his job. But the sting rays were still happy to see him.

 

 

Then on the way back, about 3 blocks from our park, the road was completely blocked by police cars. We tried to go around which is no easy task and could not get here that way either. I called the office to see if they knew a way we did not know. No, there is no other way. A pedestrian had been hit right at the entry to the park. They are really bad about walking out in the street whenever they choose to. We have seen it countless times. The lady in the office thought it had been a fatality but we now don't think so. It was no one from here. However, it took 3 hours and 45 minutes to clear the road. Meanwhile we drove around for a while and then we just parked in a parking deck and waited. Needless to say we were happy to get home and have a bite to eat. We were only inconvenienced. The person who was hit was more than inconvenienced. We have remarked many times at how many people walk here. No cars, no bicycles. They just walk. Sometimes there will be dozens at an intersection and they get mad if you don't stop for them. But there are just as many who do not cross where they should. Police, signs and television all warn them to use crosswalks but they don't. Too bad. We are staying home tomorrow.

 

 



I hope you have a great day tomorrow. Relax and enjoy your Sunday.

 

Another RV park-February 21, 2014

We had read about another park here so we decided to go check it out. It ended up being over 25 miles away but still in Las Vegas. It is surprising how big the LV metro area is. The park is owned by Clark County and sits out away from civilization. That part would be nice but it is attached to a shooting range, the largest shooting range in the entire United States. The range closes at 5:00 PM so the noise would not go on into the night. We could live with that, but it is so far from a shopping area. However, that shopping area is brand new and has fabulous stores. Maybe it would be worth the drive. Not sure yet. This area is beside one of the five mountain ranges that surrounds Las Vegas. It is so pretty. I tried to take pictures, but I could not zoom in enough to show you all the colors. I will still share what I took and let you use your imagination.

It starts here. Can you see the layers of color?

 

This is as close as I could get. Please take my word,

these mountains are very pretty.

 



On the way back we stopped at our favorite Mexican restaurant, On The Border, and had a fabulous late lunch. We just love that place, no matter what city we are in.

 

 

Hoover Dam-February 20, 2014

Today was the perfect day to visit Hoover Dam. This time we did it completely differently than last year. We also walked the pedestrian bridge that runs on the side of Highway 93 across the dam. I only took 82 pictures today so, again, I will try to tell the story with pictures. For those of you have seen this beauty, sorry to repeat.

This is the first view of Lake Mead from Boulder City.

Here you only see 10% of the 110 mile long lake.

The house in the foreground is absolutely gorgeous.

 

You have to take this short climb to get to the walkway that

goes across the Colorado River along Hwy 93.

 

Jerry took the stairs. I walked the zig-zag path which turned

out to be much longer. Either way was good exercise!

 

The walkway is right beside the highway. Can you tell?

 

Hoover Dam as seen from the walkway only 880 feet above

the bottom of the dam. This is quite a view.

 

That's the highway I said I did not want to drive on, but

I found out there are no options. It's the only way across

Hoover Dam. Cross winds are dreadful but the view is great.

 

I guess power poles can't always be straight.

 

The back side of the dam. This is also quite a sight.

 

Have you ever seen a sign like this?

 

As stated, this was so much more fun than last time. We walked across the walkway we never thought we would that runs beside the bridge we never wanted to drive, but we did. It was exciting. It was fun. We had a beautiful day to make it even more enjoyable. The construction of this dam was remarkable in the 1930s. But the construction of the highway bridge over the gorge only 4 short years ago when it was no longer safe to let cars drive across the dam is even more remarkable. I can clearly see it was quite an engineering feat though I am nothing close to an engineer. Everybody needs to drive that new bridge just once in their life. It's exhilarating!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing-February 19, 2014

Tuesday became a day of unexpected work. Today the wind blew in and stirred up all the dirt. We had wanted to go to Hoover Dam but there's no need going if you are in the midst of blowing dirt. Maybe tomorrow. Just wanted you to know we are still kicking!

Fun day-February 17, 2014

After reading about a particular slot machine at the MGM Grand we set out to find it. The tough part at first was to find a parking space in the MGM parking garage. Once inside, it took us quite a while to figure out where this particular machine is located. We found it along with the long line of people waiting to play it.

I think you are not supposed to take pictures of slot machines anywhere.

But this one is so unique. Sorry about the quality of the iPhone picture.

Look closely. The amount of the jackpot when we saw it was $2,347,299.04.

This is the last machine of its kind in Las Vegas. By law, a machine cannot be removed from the floor until it has paid a jackpot. In 20+ years this machine has never paid a jackpot.

So, there is a long line of people waiting to play this machine 24 hours a day.

The MGM Grand has said whoever wins the jackpot will also have to take the slot machine with them. There must have been at least 8-10 people waiting in line. We would not think of waiting for hours and hours to play a machine. This is one of those old three reel machines called Lions Share and it can only be played by pulling a lever. So one's arm probably gives out before their money does. We felt like blood hounds tracking around in there looking for this machine. It may have taken two of us, but we finally found it.

 

 

Then on to the M & M Store. It is necessary to go there every time we are here.

We had to act like these were our grandkids to take this

picture with the yellow M & M. Otherwise we would have looked

like perverts of some sort. Cute kids.

 

And then on to the Coca Cola store. We've never been in this store.

Ok, give us a break. This was lunch. It is a float tray and we shared it.

There are 8 different Coke products with a dollop of ice cream. It goes

without saying we have never had a lunch like this before. And we won't have it again,

but we just had to try it. I liked the Cherry Coke float. Jerry liked the

Grape float and the Orange float.

 

 

Across the street and into Aria which is part of City Center.

This place is just gorgeous and only for the socially elite.

The Aria is also celebrating the Chinese Year of the Horse.

 

 

 

Then back outside and onto the Strip. This entire area was under

construction last year. So, we were shocked and pleased at what we saw today.

Dale Chihuly has a studio here. My estimate of the glass

sculpture would be well above $2 or 3 million. It was stunning.

I took this from outside so there is glare and reflection.

The man inside was not happy that I took this picture, but he did not chase me.

 

Do you know what this is?

You'd have to be a "mature" person to be able to name it.

It is a typewrite eraser. It is a sculpture and I would estimate it was

at least 15 feet tall. This made us both laugh.

 

So all in all, we had a really fun day though it was really hot and there was not a breath of fresh air. It was still fun to be outside and to walk as far as we did. It goes without saying we were happy to get home and kick our shoes off. We hope to make it to Hoover Dam tomorrow. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cloudy day-February 15, 2014

Today was so cloudy it slowed us down a bit. We always try to take time to smell the roses when that opportunity knocks on our door. I hope you enjoyed your day, too.

May your Sunday be a very blessed day.

Valentine's Day-February 14, 2014

After thinking it over, we decided to go to Fremont Street today and just walk around. It was such a pretty day we simply could not stay in. If you are tired of looking at pictures, go ahead and close this out now, 'cause I have more to share.

Before we go downtown, I want you to see this man who

walks his cat on a leash. Sometimes the cat enjoys it and

sometimes it does not. Still an odd sight.

 

There was a lot of construction last year.

Now we know why. A new entrance.

 

These signs came out of the Neon Boneyard

and have been fully restored. They are very old.

 

There is a zip line that allows a person to cover a couple of

blocks under this great canopy. I wanted to do that.

However, in order to zip across one must do this:

Walk up seven flights of stairs to get to the top.

I quickly changed my mind. Why no elevator?

 

It goes without saying I could not resist one more sunset.

It's a completely different color from last night's

sunset, but I find it to be magnificent anyway.

 

 

We both tried to take pictures of the coach so you could see our hard work waxing it. None of the pictures showed the entire coach.  

But, look at that shiny front!



 

I hope everybody had a really nice Valentine's Day!

 

 

 

Saving money??-February 13, 2014

We had the coach professionally washed yesterday. We knew it needed to be waxed, but hearing a cost of $400, took us by surprise. So, we thought to save money we would just do it ourselves. We always keep a very special wax on hand. It is made in Arizona and is not at all affected by heat or dry air. You can wax on a hot vehicle and it still goes on like butter and shines like new money. So, we got all of our supplies together and got busy early this morning. We worked on the shady side first. We stopped for a quick bite to eat and realized we should not have stopped. We were hurting and did not want to move. However, we knew if we did not finish today we would never get it done. And who wants to drive around with only half of a coach shining? So, we moaned and moved our aching bodies back outside. We finished right before sunset. We lost count of the number of people who went for walks past us to see what we were doing. They were probably thinking we had lost our minds. Well, let me tell you they are right! We are completely "stove up" as the old Southern phrase goes. I mean we are in agony. But the task is done and look what we saved!! It was too dark to take a picture so I will take one in the morning and post it. It does look nice if you allow me to say so.

I forgot to post one picture last night. We had gone out to get a bite to eat. When we came out, the sun was setting and it was spectacular. We both stopped to take it in. People were walking past us completely oblivious to the beauty God was sharing with us. Only one couple looked and the man commented it was pretty. Ignore the cars and lights and stuff in the picture. Just look at the sunset itself.

Could you ignore this?

It leaves me speechless. And thankful.

Big Wheel-February 12, 2014

The newest thing on the LV skyline.

 

This is the LINQ High Roller ferris/observation wheel. It is a mere 550 feet high so it can claim to be the tallest of such structures in the United States. Each cabin holds 40 people in air conditioned comfort. There are 28 cars. Estimated ticket cost is $35.  It makes a complete circle in a 30 minute ride. Do the math. That's a ton of money. It opens March 1, 2014. We will still be here. Does anybody care to bet whether we will be on it or not? It is clearly visible from almost every spot in Las Vegas.

 

We had the coach washed today. Now we will have to wax it ourselves. We have to do it before the heat moves in this weekend. I can hardly wait to get started.

Conservatory at Bellagio-February 11, 2014

We knew about the celebration of the Chinese Year of the Horse at the Conservatory at Bellagio, so we made extra effort to get there today. It was a beautiful day outside but even more beautiful inside. To keep this as short as possible, I will try to let the pictures speak for themselves.

Outside the entry of the Bellagio.

Inside the entry of the Bellagio. It's a Dale Chihuly glass sculpture.

 

At the entrance to the Conservatory. Stunning. And huge.

 

Lanterns and firecrackers are part of the Chinese celebration.

 

Inside the Conservatory. These appear to be replicas of coins.

 

More pretty horses.

 

Orchids and bamboo everywhere. I loved these happy orchids.

 

This bamboo was at least three stories tall.

 

There was a constant stream of water running underneath these flowers

to keep them fresh. This was so pretty.

 

This is a typical pagoda with a crooked walkway

because evil spirits cannot turn a corner.

 

There were several pots of incense scattered

everywhere. They smelled wonderful.

 

This is one small portion of the check-in

desk at the Bellagio hotel.

 

Thank you for allowing me to post so many pictures. This was such a beautiful place I cannot find enough words to describe it, so I hope the pictures make up for a lack of adjectives. How I wish everyone could see this place. What a happy place to visit! It's good for the soul as well as the eyes.