Williams, AZ-October 31, 2011

We spent a big portion of today walking the streets of Williams. It does not seem like a big city until you start walking one block after another and going from one shop to another. It was such a beautiful day we could not have stayed in. We did encounter a shop owner who said she was in costume for Halloween. I did not realize it. I thought she was just dressed like Annie Oakley because it fits in with this part of the country. She was also carrying an antique rifle! We ate at Pine Country Inn and it was delicious. The main road in town is still a part of Route 66, so most businesses have that in their title. We still have several more things to do so we can't leave yet. If we could bottle this daytime weather and carry it with us, we'd be happy campers. I know we could sell it. It's wonderful. The nights are another matter. It gets a bit chilly at night, low 30s or sometimes lower. That's not a complaint. It could be much worse. Tomorrow may be a visit to Bearizona or back to the Grand Canyon. We'll decide over coffee in the morning.

The Grand Canyon-October 29, 2011



Of all the sights we have seen so far, and there have been many, this is absolutely, hands-down, the most spectacular. We rode the train to the rim and we all got up the 47 steps within minutes of each other. There was not a word spoken. It was so beautiful that not one of several hundred riders could speak. We all just stood. The first view bordered on being emotional. About every 20-30 feet we walked the landscape changed. As the sun moved the colors changed, too. It is not possible to see the Colorado River from this spot and we knew that ahead of time. At some point in the future we'd like to see the top as viewed from the bottom. The weather was absolutely perfect today. We did not even need jackets. I'm not going to spend this entire blog trying to think of words to describe this scenic wonder. You must see it for yourself. I want to spend a few words on the train ride. Each car has an attendent who puts out the food and soft drinks and coffee. He also trys to see to it that everybody is happy and having fun. He locks the train when everybody gets off at the top. Then he is there when we all board again. The rest of the time was spent riding and looking at scenery. It's a 65 mile trip, one way, and takes about 2 hours. It all starts with a wild west shoot-out, the kind you see everywhere. It was so corny we did not stick around. On the way up we had a nice young man who traveled between cars singing country songs. He sang very softly. He is what Simon Cowell would call a lounge singer. Coming back this afternoon we had a harmonica player/accordian player/comic. He was just way too funny. We were all so tired we needed the singer so we could fall asleep. A little farther down the tracks we had to stop the train to allow 3 train robbers to board. As it turned out they were the ones who had done the wild west shoot-out this morning. And the Marshall (clearly stated he was not a sheriff) followed and chased them off the train. He was also a comic. So, it was quite a day with lots of different activities. We walked for 3 hours while at the top. At the rate we are going we will need a 3rd pair of tennis shoes before this summer is over! Today was another reminder that "God's handiwork is the embroidery of the earth".  I also want to share that Derrick arrived safely home this afternoon. He is tired and suffering from jet lag but I suspect he is glad to be home. He only lost one tree in the snow storm and it was one that needed to be cut down anyway. All is well.

Williams, Arizona-October 28, 2011

We arrived in Williams, AZ this afternoon. The wind was not a problem but the interstate was really rough with lots of holes. That can mean lots of really bad weather or way too many heavy trucks. Who knows? Willliams is the "gateway to the Grand Canyon". It's a cute little town that relies solely on tourism to exist. We have booked seats on the train going to the Grand Canyon tomorrow morning. We'll be in the observatory car. We are not early risers anymore so it will be an interesting morning getting ready. As much as the tickets cost we definitely will not miss this train! It's an all day trip. Much to our annoyance we left our winter clothes in a storage unit in Colorado so if it gets too cold tomorrow we will just have to bite the bullet and buy sweatshirts or freeze. If it's only in the mid 50s we will be fine and love every minute of it. Care to guess how many pictures we will probably take tomorrow? Derrick has landed in Hong Kong and is close to boarding his flight to San Francisco. This is not good on a mother's nervous system.  Can you imagine what our Thanksgiving will be like with all of the pictures we both have taken? It should be fabulous fun sharing our experiences.

Lunch in Kingman-October 27, 2011

You know lunch had to be good and/or fun to put it in a blog. It was both. The restaurant was recommended to us so today we made it a point to stop at the Bar Steakhouse on Route 66 (aka Andy Devine Blvd). It almost felt like we had entered a really nice barn. There was sawdust on the floor. All around the ceiling were plaques with different cattle brands and who they belonged to. That was very interesting. Our waitress was fun and the food was good. There was a large board on one white wall that said "Don't squat with your spurs on"! I think I will be able to remember that for future reference but I hope I am never in that position. Pardon the pun. There was a room devoted to Andy Devine who lived in Kingman for most of his life. That tells my age if I know who Andy Devine is. I did not know his character's name (Jingles) and I did not remember whose side kick he was (Wild Bill Hickock). And truthfully it did strain my brain to think about all of this. We all need a challenge. We also went to mail a package to Alabama. We went to one of those private postal places because we needed a box. We had a blast in that place. The two ladies working in there were like stand up comics. They thrived on each other's humor. What fun! It warmed up nicely today to a wonderful 65° with pretty sunshine. What a great day! Oh, I must share that Derrick skyped tonight from China. When technology works correctly it is wonderful. What a treat to think neither of us is at home but we talked like it was local.  He's only 8000+ miles away. We could clearly see each other. What a delight! He leaves tomorrow which is Saturday there and gets back home on Saturday. He is gaining back the day he lost flying over there. I'll feel better when his feet are back on solid ground. Prayers for safe travel for all of us will be appreciated.

D3 and Hualapai Mountain-October 26, 2011

Over coffee, we were not sure what we wanted to do today. First we stopped at the office to tell them we want to stay an extra day. It is so terribly windy to be in the land barge, so we will ride out the wind here and then move on. On the way into town we could clearly see bright yellow airplanes off in the distance. Who had yellow planes? DHL, remember them? They are out of business. So we found our way there and realized it is part of a museum. It's a hangar and today is quite chilly, so we did not stop. On our way out of the airport complex we passed Desert Diamond Distillery. It is a medium sized building surrounded by a big fence. I drove past it and Jerry wanted to turn around. I did. Just as we were about to reach for the door handle, the door opened and we were invited in. As it turns out this is a family operated distillery making Gold Miner brand spirits. We entered through the retail/gift shop and were greeted with warm hand shakes. Then we got a private tour. After having seen the breweries at Coors and Anheiser-Bush, this distillery appeared to be a small operation. Wrong! They are working very hard to produce quality products and get them distributed. Name recognition is big in this industry so they have their work cut out for them. But you can tell they are industrious and determined. I predict they will be a great success. They have already won awards for all four of their products. After the tour, if you like, you can sample all of their delicious liquors. We really enjoyed this stop and recommend if you are ever in Kingman, you stop in, too. We left there and drove up Hualapai Mountain. What a fantastic view with a panorama that goes on for miles. Jerry spotted two deer so I put the car in reverse and he took pictures. That's why I have included the picture you see. If you look closely you will see that the two deer were clearly watching us. We left them alone and came home to get warm. It was a great day especially to have had no plans at all when it started.

Kingman, AZ-October 25, 2011

What a day. The wind was not supposed to arrive until tomorrow. It came in this morning as soon as we were on the road out of Las Vegas. We did not want to be in LV tomorrow as they had already posted high wind warnings. We also did not want to have to cross that new interstate "in the sky" across Hoover Dam. But, there were no options. What we did not know is that there were 3 of those bridges and we did not want to cross one! Oh, my. We were just onto the second bridge when a flashing sign said "High profile vehicles not recommended" because of high crosswinds. Well, good grief, we were on a bridge. It's not like we could exit off the thing. I asked Jerry what they thought they were doing telling people not to go when there was no place to get off? We both got a good laugh at the stupidity of that sign. We kept going forward since there was no choice. It was very windy. When there was a strong crosswind it really slowed us down. But prayers and faith helped push us up the hill. Into Arizona the terrain turned a very ugly shade of brownish black. We cannot see why anybody would live here. We felt the same way about Idaho and Utah, but they were lighter shades of brown. Then we got to Kingman and I said if it were not windy we would keep on going to Flagstaff. This is a very unattractive area. Yet, Kingman brags about being the "heart of route 66". Jerry said it will not get better from here. So, I will have to get used to brown. It's never been my favorite color. This is a cute little park. We have the windows open and it is cooling down a bit. Feels great. We'll see what we find tomorrow but we do not have high hopes of seeing any beautiful landscapes. The picture is the last view of the Colorado River on this trip. Look closely. It's at the bottom of the gorge. I just stuck my hand out the window and snapped.

Valley of Fire-October 24, 2011

We thought Red Rock Canyon and Mt. Charleston were beautiful. They paled in comparison to the Valley of Fire. It was just spectacular. It is not necessary to try to imagine how this earth was formed by the powerful force of water. It is clearly visible in every inch of the landscape. It is an unbelievable sight. Layer after layer of so many colors, each representing a different type of rock. We did study at the visitor/education center and find out that this area is only 4000 years old. It was formed when limestone platelets in the earth's crust off the coast of southern California shifted and pushed the lighter weight and softer sandstone to the surface. Looking at all of this beauty makes that so easy to grasp. We really enjoyed this valley. It is still desert but it does support more animal life than other places we have been. We saw longhorn sheep, ground squirrels that begged us for food (we did not feed them), tiny birds that preferred the ground over the air, and a jack rabbit. We had a hard time getting pictures of the sheep as they were always walking away from us. Their south end is not their best side! I do hope that each and every one of you will one day get the opportunity to see this incredible valley. We came back by Lake Mead. The lake is so far down that the pictures were not pretty. No one is concerned about the level because it is actually up over what it has been in past years. It is a massive lake so it must take years to see any change at all in the level of the water. We are heading on down the road tomorrow. We want to be situated elsewhere before the high winds hit here. We'll see what this huge windshield reveals tomorrow.

On The Border-October 22, 2011

No, this picture is not On The Border restaurant. We did eat there but it was in another part of town. This is Fremont St in downtown Las Vegas. I mentioned a week ago that there was a canopy over the whole area so you could walk downtown and the weather would not bother you. We went back tonight so I could take a picture to see if you can understand what I meant. I was standing between Binion's and the Golden Nugget looking straight up. That's the canopy. It is really nice. Tonight on the street was Big Bird, Elvis in a red suit (awful) and Elvis in a white suit, two members from KISS, an angel (not really), Pee Wee Herman, and some more we forgot about. Oh, there was a guy with 3 very well worn orange construction cones on his head, but he was not one of those people who are paid to be there. I'm not even sure he knew where he was! These costumed people just walk around so you can have friends or family members take pictures of you with them. It goes without saying they will accept a tip! Big Bird had a bucket that said "Tips accepted for bird seed and I eat a lot!". It is hard to imagine that just walking and looking is complete outdoor entertainment. But it is a fun time. I told Jerry I wanted to play a slot machine, so we went into the Mermaids casino. I found a cute machine and put $10 in. It was a penny machine so I played a 25 cent spin. I decided I'd just take my ticket and cash it in. Well, wouldn't you know that casino is so old, they pay in real coins? Do you know how heavy a plastic cup with $9.75 in nickels is? It's heavy, trust me! I was quite annoyed that I did not notice that before I put my money in. But you can walk to the cashier in the back and get money in the place of the nickels. So, all was not lost or wasted. What a great evening we had. We will take tomorrow as a day of rest. Hope you can do the same.

Not leaving yet-October 21, 2011

We have decided to stay here a few more days. We are not in a hurry to be anywhere else, so we will enjoy this area a little longer. We do know they have an On The Border restaurant here somewhere. Having told you in previous blogs that it's our favorite restaurant, we will search for it tomorrow. We went to the Galleria today, to Kohl's. So it was more like we lived here instead of being tourists. Sorry there is nothing exciting to write about tonight. Maybe tomorrow there will be. We never plan our day. We just get up in the morning, have our coffee and decide what we will do. It's actually a great way of life. More tomorrow...................

Bellagio, etc-October 20, 2011

Where do I begin today? If we are going to leave tomorrow we had errands we had to run today. We got all of that done plus going to the post office. Then we decided that we should see the Bellagio show again plus the Treasure Island show, just in case we leave tomorrow. So we saw the Bellagio show first. See picture above. Every show is slightly different and is played to different music. Then we headed toward Treasure Island. On the way we ran into an Occupy Las Vegas march. We both were so annoyed we could have slapped a few of those people. Along with some absolutely stupid signs, including quotes from Ronald Reagan that do not pertain to their cause, there were signs about paying the dealers at Caesars more money. Those people did not know what they were marching for. Bless their tiny little cold hearts. But they had an enormouse police escourt with full lights flashing. We went on and found us a spot at Treasure Island for the sinking of the pirate ship. Again we were a tad too close and the heat was pretty intense. But it was a great show. Neither of us had seen that one before. We got a bite to eat at Gilley's. It's not like the one that started in Pasadena, TX, but it was still really good food. And our wait staff was great. We decided that if this park has room for us we will stay a few more days. If not, we will move on. We still have things left to see and do. So if we have to leave tomorrow we will have to come back again to finish up what we did not get done on this trip. Las Vegas is a great city for lots of reasons. If you are a gambler, there are countless casinos to visit. If you like beautiful scenery the city is surrounded. And if you just want to people watch you can be entertained for hours. Plus if you want to spend an arm and a leg for a show, you can do that, too. I need to make a couple more notes. First of all, sit down for this one, Las Vegas had more churches per capita than any other city in the entire country. The public transportation system has articulating buses that go so fast they make your head spin. The amount of interstate construction rivals Utah. Again, look at what a powerful Senator they have. The lanes in the streets are not marked by painted stripes. No, they use round metal delineators that are not visible at night. It is a real hoot to drive here at night. One must pretend they are a taxi cab on a tight schedule!  And, finally, Nellis AFB is home to the flying team known as the Thunderbirds. We can hear all the engine noise here in this park. We are more familiar with the Blue Angels so if we stay here much longer we will have to learn about the Thunderbirds. And lastly, for those of you on the coast, the oleanders are blooming here and they are taller than most houses. Unbelievable! I'm sorry I made you read so much! It was a full and busy day. And fun.

Red Rock Canyon at last!-October 18, 2011

We struck out on our own this morning determined to find Red Rock Canyon we missed yesterday. We found it! And it was so worth the effort. There were times we were just speechless. We just stood there taking it all in. It was gorgeous. Bless the wonderful group that was formed to preserve this place of natural beauty. The visitors center was a complete education center. Neither of us has ever seen anything like this one. We learned so much and we both hope we retain it at least for a few years. The vast open area filled with sweeping vistas of varied colors under a contrail filled blue sky was absolutely spectacular. Like yesterday, this area has fossils of ancient sealife so it was under the sea a long time ago. This one was a tropical sea. Now it is the Mojave Desert. We saw pictures of all of the creatures that live in the Canyon, but we only saw two ourselves. We saw a number of tiny chipmunk looking creatures called desert mice and one large brightly colored Bluejay. We hoped we would not see snakes or tarantulas and we didn't. This was so worth the time to see. We will not forget this one for a very long time, if ever. We came back through the heart of Summerlin. This is the area that Las Vegas grew west into. It is quite a large city and it is so clean and well manicured. I said if something forced me to live in this area, I'd want to live in Summerlin. So nice. Wonder what tomorrow holds for us? It will have to be extra special to beat today.
Note: I finally figured out how to add a picture to this blog! Some of you will see this picture twice. Hopefully I can do this again in the future.

Mt Charleston-October 17, 2011

Never ask a local for directions. We asked the lady in the office who happens to live here for directions to Red Rock State Park. She sent us to Mt Charleston. I was really annoyed at first. Then I realized we were seeing some beautiful scenery. When we left here it was in the high 80s. We are at 2000 ft in elevation. When we reached the summit of Mt Charleston, it was 53° and 8500 ft high. What a view!! And what fabulous weather!! We stopped at a number of places to take pictures. But our favorite was at the top. There was an overlook of what was once a sea. It was so easy to visualize. In that 6500 ft climb in elevation the scenery changed dramatically several times. We started with Joshua trees and ended with them. In between there was almost everything you could name. There were some trees still in the process of changing colors. They almost glowed a very pretty shade of orange. We went through Summerlin, NV to get to our turn off. We could not believe the number of houses. Thousands of them, one after another, like dough squeezed out of a pastry bag onto a cookie sheet. We had no idea we would see that when we left here this morning. It's such a different world than what we see around here. On the way back we decided to stop and see the volcano erupt at the Mirage. We got there early enough to be right next to it. Not a good idea. I think we got our eyebrows singed! But it was beautiful and worth the stop. All in all we are glad the lady in the office sent us to the wrong place. We still don't know where we want to go next. Any suggestions?

Work day-October 15, 2011

We decided today would be house work day. Jerry washed the coach on the outside. The hard water here made that a really tough job. I cleaned inside and washed clothes. Oh, yippee. What a lovely day. I did forget to tell you what we saw yesterday. We were stopped at a traffic light next to where we needed to enter a parking garage in downtown LV. A very thin not too clean young man walked across in front of our car. We both looked at him without speaking. He crossed the street, bent over a public trash can, reached in and pulled out a partially filled water bottle. He took the cap off, drank the water (or whatever it was), put the cap back on and threw the empty bottle back in the trash can. We were so shocked we were speechless. I have never, ever in my entire life seen anything like that. If he lives that way because he's down on his luck, I am sure he could find someone to give him clean water. If he lives that way by choice, shame on him. That water bottle could have had anything in the world in it and it may have. No telling what kind of bacteria was on that bottle. I cannot shake that image. It really got to me. Trust me, if I cannot shake that image while my son is in flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong for vacation, then it is really stuck in my mind. That's a long way away for a vacation. While we are on perpetual vacation, at least we are still in this country! Tomorrow is Sunday. I wish everyone a peaceful and blessed day.

Downtown-October 14, 2011

We decided to go downtown again today. We had such a good time last time. It was just as much fun today but much more crowded. Our original destination was the neon sign graveyard. It was supposed to be where all of the huge neon signs from demolished hotels and casinos are stored. We were at the proper location but saw no such signs. It was a disappointment, but that's fine. So we stopped to have lunch and then walked for quite a long distance. In the top of the canopy over the streets they have zip lines. Every few minutes people in harnesses go flying overhead and they are always screaming. So, everybody looks up and cheers them on. I'm about half way to enough courage to do that. Today Big Bird and Cookie Monster were on the streets along with a Goth angel. She was kind of pretty in an odd goth way. These people walk the streets just to be there to pose with tourists. Oh, Elvis was there, too. However, he was a little too short for me to want to have a picture made with him. I'm going back to the strip to look for the "creature" I walked past earlier this week. If I find him, you will all get a picture of me with that lovely being. We truly have a great time people watching. We are thinking the Galleria might be a good place to go tomorrow. More people watching. We'll see. Before we do that we are going to give the land barge a good bath. It is really dirty. We can wash it here, but not the car. Does that make sense to you? It takes a whole bunch more water to wash the coach than the little Cute Red Vehicle. Whatever. We'll be happy to have one of them clean.

Rio!-October 13, 2011

When we were here before, we found the Rio to be one of the most exciting places in town. They have a show every hour plus a "Show in the Sky". It is like a Carnivale parade but the floats are actually in the ceiling. The dancers/riders perform while in the float suspended from the ceiling. The floats run on a track so they make a huge loop of the entire first floor of the hotel. They toss beads of course. It is really hard to explain but take my word for it, it's great fun! Penn and Teller have a permanent show at the Rio. I wish they were not so expensive. We just can't justify the prices they are asking for these shows. The Show in the Sky is free as well as the singing/dancing show before it starts. The Rio is just a great place. If we weren't living in our permanent hotel room on wheels, we would definitely spend a few days there. The traffic coming into the strip in both directions tonight was startling. So, obviously some people are not bothered by the price of these shows. Maybe it's just priorities. If $100 bills were raining from the sky we'd see it differently! But they're not, so we don't. The Rio is a must see if you come to Vegas.

Hoover Dam-October 12, 2011

My first reaction is that it is one huge hole in the earth. My second reaction is that I do not want to drive that road again and I don't want to drive in that parking lot again. What a breath-holding experience. It is a massive structure to see. I understand the need for it. The electrical power coming out of that dam is mind boggling. I understand the need for that, too. Las Vegas is lit up 24 hours a day. I agree that the people who conceived the idea of the dam were certainly visionaries. Apparently there were many people killed during the construction of that thing. There are signs everywhere stating that. You do have to go through a security check point, for the old road, not the new one. We walked across the dam. I did not want to drive across it. Perhaps I expected something more scenic. I'm not sure. But I certainly was not prepared for so much concrete! And speaking of concrete............most houses here have concrete front yards and concrete block walls on all 4 sides of their houses. We don't think we could live like that. All sides of the roads and interstates are also solid concrete. Now it is clear to see why when they finally get rain, it causes flooding. There's nothing to absorb the rainfall. Add to that the fact that all of the houses are varying shades of tan and it is certainly a very different part of the world. We are enjoying our visit, but we wouldn't want to live here year 'round.

What happens in Vegas stays on facebook-Oct 11, 2011

Once again we started the morning not knowing what we wanted to do. First we went to Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, the one owned by the Harrison family that is shown on TV every week (Pawn Stars). The grandfather, son and grandson were not present. They only show up for filming of the show. So we just walked through. It was truly surprising to see 3 Super Bowl rings that had been pawned and were currently on sale for only $100,000 each. They were too big for either of us, so we kept walking. They almost need a cattle prod to keep people moving in that shop. Then we went to the Hard Rock because we assumed they would have a buffet like the one in Biloxi. We were wrong. No buffet. So, we headed to the strip. While we were there I wanted to see the Conservatory in the Bellagio. What a delightful thing to see. Everything in the Conservatory is a living plant or flower. They had 3 huge topiary horses, a big wooden mill with a waterwheel and tons of colorful flowers, all in the autumn theme. It was truly a delightful place to be. There were a lot of people there, too, so it was hard to take pictures. We then went to Paris. When we were there before it was under construction. It is complete now and when you enter you walk for a very long distance on cobblestone streets in different cities in Europe. It was magnificent. Before we came home for the day we went to Sam's Town for their buffet. We just happened to be there when the laser light and water show started. We saw it on Sunday night and thoroughly enjoyed it, but tonight's show blew that one out of the water. Pardon the pun. It was fabulous! It ended with Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA". Everybody was singing along. It was awesome. We all left feeling proud to be Americans.

Ethel M-October 10, 2011

A 25 year old dream came true today. We went through Ethel M's Chocolate Company. One of their representatives came to me years ago while I was up to my eyeballs with Cheryl's Chocolates. They wanted us to work together. I knew it would overwhelm me so I declined, but since that day I have wanted to see their facility. Today we went there. Ethel M's last name is Mars as in M&M Mars. The difference is that Ethel M's candy has no preservatives, something near and dear to my heart and sweet tooth. Nothing in the kitchen surprised me. Nothing in the retail store surprised me. What did surprise me is Ethel's husband's love of cacti. There is a cactus garden outside the plant. It was really something to see. First of all, I do not know the names of very many cacti so I learned quite a few new names. Secondly, I did not know those prickly things could be so big! The garden was beautiful. The weather today was unbelievable. It was 75°, light breeze and slightly overcast. It made for a great walk in the garden. So how is the candy? We're speechless. You can tell it's pure chocolate. Too bad they don't sell this yummy stuff around the country. You can only get it in Las Vegas and only about 3 months of the year can it survive the trip home. What a delightful day! Sorry, I must close. The pretty brown box is calling my name.

First day in Vegas-October 8, 2011

When we woke up this morning we could not decide what to do. So, we got in the car and took off. We ended up downtown on Fremont Street. If you've not been there it is the original part of Las Vegas where the Golden Nugget is and always has been. However, the streets have been closed and a gigantic canopy built across the top, above the buildings. That means no matter what the weather you can stay cool and dry. We spent a few hours there. Then we went to the strip. The traffic was bad with about 90% of the cars having California plates. They must take over Vegas on the weekends. Anyway, we parked at MGM Grand, had lunch there and went to see the lion habitat. Then we went to the M&M Store. We've been there before but we have never seen the yellow M&M dance! It was so much fun. He or she was surrounded by many employees but he (or she) was the star. I bet the yellow M&M is a boy. Does anybody know for sure? It is just fun to stand there and look at an entire wall of huge tubes of M&Ms divided by colors. It's such a happy place. Outside of one shop there were two guys dressed to look like Michael Jackson. I'm telling you they looked so much like him it was creepy. Then there was a guy who was a statue. One guy was dressed like Gene Simmons from KISS. And the Green Lantern. They were all on the streets so people could have their pictures taken with them. People watching on the streets of Las Vegas is much more fun and interesting than people watching at an airport. I know everybody talks about how bad the economy is in LV. But it is not slowing down commerical construction. There are two huge casino/hotels under construction now and several are being remodeled. There is a ton of money being spent in this town. The hotels are packed to the gills. It is amazing to see. So much for a down economy here.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!-October 7, 2011

We arrived in Las Vegas a short while ago. It is the most beautiful day, weatherwise, that we have had since we left Montana. The place we left on Monday (Fillmore, UT) got 2 inches of snow on Wednesday. So glad we got out of there! We made reservations for a week here, but we have too many places to go to get it done in a week. We temporarily reserved this spot for another week when we checked in, just in case we want to stay longer. If the weather would stay like this we'd never leave. We chose to be 6 miles from the strip because that's not our primary destination on this trip. After checking prices of shows we may not go to the strip at all. Would you believe the better tickets to the Donnie and Marie show are $290.00 each? I nearly fell out of my chair. Terry Fator whom we really wanted to see has to be booked 60 days in advance. And KA, the Cirque Du Soliet show at the MGM Grand is $202 per ticket. That is so outrageous. We may try to get to Ethel M's on Monday. If you don't know about that place, I'll tell you all about it when we get back. In the meantime I hope you are having weather as beautiful as this.

Flu shots-October 6, 2011

What an interesting day. We spent a great deal of the morning trying to get flu shots. In the end we were successful but we had to go to two different places. My insurance is universal. Jerry has Blue Cross of Alabama. They will not pay for vaccines. We paid. No big deal but what a mess that insurance is. We will change that shortly. Let this serve as a reminder that if you have not gotten your flu shot yet, please do so asap. By having to drive all over the place we were able to see the fresh snow on the tops of the mountains. It was delightful to see. We stopped for lunch at a nice little Mexican restaurant. Then it started raining again. It was so nice this morning we went for a walk. Now it's chilly and damp. Hopefully it will be clear tomorrow morning as it was this morning. We are ready to move on down the road. Las Vegas is calling our names!!

St George-October 5, 2011

A front is moving through so we only drove over the mountain to St George this morning. It is a busy thriving city that has nearly doubled in size since we drove through 4 years ago. It is so dark outside it might as well be midnight. It is raining and unlike rain in the South which is like bath water, it is very cold and almost icy. So, we are having a lazy day. We don't mind one bit. Since nothing is carved in stone these days, we can truly enjoy some down time. I hope you get some of those days, too.

Zion National Park-October 4, 2011

We took a leisurely drive through Zion National Park today. Of all things, our camera decided to quit working. This park is absolutely breathtaking and it cannot be described in print. We were there about 4 years ago and raced through it without too many pictures, so we thought today would be our day. It was not. So, we will have to return at least one more time to take tons of pictures. All of the roads are newly paved. We dropped down into Fredonia, Arizona to wind our way back to Hurricane. We made it a point to drive off the road into Colorado City. Does that ring a bell? The guy's in prison now, but his disciples live on in that city. Almost all we saw on the streets were women in prairie dresses with oodles of kids tagging along behind them. It is an extremely depressed and depressing city. It's been in existance long enough for a full generation of people to have grown up with no television, cell phones, or music. I wanted to scream, "Run! There's a whole world out there waiting on you!". A black truck followed us out of town and all the way back to Hurricane. We dared not stop! We drove through the Kanab Indian Reservation. They are Paiutes. Talk about depressing. Oh my, it was just barren ground. Absolutely nothing could grow there. Today was one of those days when we realize just how richly blessed we are. The canyons around here just make you gasp at how massive they are and how rich the colors are, but neither of us can grasp why anybody would want to live here. I know there has to be layers of "critter" bones in those rocks, some of those we may have never heard about before. If those rocks could talk........................

Hurricane, UT-October 3, 2011

Hurricane boasts their name came from the winds in this area. It is in a huge canyon. Thankfully we have not heard the wind yet. It is raining now. This seems like a cute little town. It's really new. The drive today was so boring. Same old land, crops, weeds and foothills. Fortunately we had only minor road construction. I still am not sure why Brigham Young wanted all of this land. However, we have to get through it to get to our next destination. That's true about everything in life, isn't it? We hope to visit Zion National Park tomorrow. After that we have no plans carved in stone. We hope this park is as peaceful as the last one was. I wish I could describe what the canyon looks like that we drove through getting here. The colors of rock are incredible. Photographs don't do it justice either. Even if we don't ever want to live here, it's great to see it.