Wow saw some depressing snow pictures from Vermont this morning. Come on Mother Nature it's April 24. Had I been there it would have pushed me over the edge. Still happy with our move to Vegas.
Lots of wildlife out and about. I won't post the picture of the harmless Western Ground Snake that visited our backyard this week. It had beautiful vibrant orange and green bands. The ranger at Red Rock Canyon told me it eats bugs. We only saw him once.
Another interesting visitor was this Spiny Desert Lizard. Beautiful shiny scales. Also harmless.
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| Spiny Desert Lizard |
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| Baby cottontail. |
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| Another one. So cute. |
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| Jack |
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| Costas Hummingbird |
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| Great Egret |
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| Red Eared Sliders |
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| Pied-billed Grebe (Adult Breeding) |
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| Spiny Softshell Turtle |
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| Verdin |
We saw many of these animals in Clark County Wetlands Park. In general the Las Vegas area and southern Nevada is making a really effort to save wetland areas. There are four National Wildlife Refuge areas within a 2 hour drive of our house. We have driven by 3 of them. We will stop in for sure next time. Most of them have new visitors centers built with money from the sale of BLM land "at market value" right before the recession.
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| Las Vegas Wash |
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| Reclaimed Las Vegas water on its way back to Lake Mead. |
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| Built on stilts in anticipation of flooding! |
We have access to a website that occasionally gives out free tickets to locals for events in the area. We scored free tickets to Penn & Teller Fool Us. The show will air on the CW network in the summer. We had to show up at noon with our voucher to get tickets. Then there was a whole lot of standing in line.
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| Lots of people like free tickets. |
Preferred Free
It was funny because some people were quite proud of their 'preferred' tickets. Turns out all the tickets were the same. Lol because the people with 'preferred' tickets 'pay' a fee to be members of the free tickets site. We really like our free free tickets!
When we got in the theater it was interesting as they told everyone where to sit. We didn't know we should have dressed up a little. We wore shorts, a no no I guess. But we expected it when they put us not near the front. The lady in front of us had a fit with her 'free' seat. The front of the line doesn't generally place you in the front row at a TV show taping. Get over yourself.
I am on the watch for free tickets to American Ninja Warriors finals scheduled in Las Vegas for the end of June.
We had a really big sand storm last week. High winds stirred up the dust making visibility limited. We took a few shots while driving toward the Strip. Usually the sky is blue and the buildings shine.
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| Sun and Sand |
Finally completed my Red Rock Canyon training. Now I can volunteer whenever I want. It has been fun watching the torts out and about. Here is Hugo eating Beavertail Cactus blossoms.
One of the trainings was on desert wildflowers. Lots of cactus in bloom near the visitors center.
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| Mojave Prickly Pear |
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| Hedgehog Cactus |
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| Pincushion Cactus |
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| Pancake Prickly Pear (I think) |
Backyard roses.
Las Vegas is getting geared up for a HUGE May. The Fight of the 21st Century. Mayweather vs Pacquiao. Hope you aren't planning on coming for a visit around May 2nd. Hotels are booked up with rooms going for over a grand!!! Sports Book is crazy. We also have a huge two weekend concert in town as well, Rock in Rio USA featuring Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Metallica, Linkin Park, John Legend to name a few of the performers. We won't be anywhere near the Strip the first 3 weekends in May!
We finally have an update on Jordan's knee. An MRI showed the ACL and meniscus are torn. Surgery is scheduled for May 6. I will be heading to Vermont for two weeks to help out. Poor Jordan will have to be on the continuous motion knee bending machine for 12 hours a day for 4 weeks!
Not sure what the plans are for the weekend. I learned about many more places to visit. I sense a road trip!
Hopefully it warms up in VT before I get there!
It's all about the journey!
Nancy and Dan
