The Signs of Summer

Red Rock Canyon from Oak Creek Canyon Road

Happy Summer Solstice!  Pretty much it is full on summer in Las Vegas.  The temperature soared last week and it will probably stay that way for a while.  Yesterday the temperature reached 110 in our backyard.  

Listening to the weather reporters or reading the reports is always good for a laugh.  "High pressure will shift ... bringing back the blow-dryer effect ...  High temperatures will settle slightly on Monday but they won't be what you'd call "cool" - just "less hot" ..."

Last week my baby sister turned 50! Woot woot! Linda and Art came over for a swim one afternoon before we went out for dinner at the Prime Rib Loft. Yum.

On Sunday we took them on a road trip to Laughlin. On our way south the Clark County Coroner's vehicle cruised by us. We were pretty sure he was on an official call.  Turns out three guys were doing a little late night or early morning partying.  One of them decided he wanted to dive off a cliff into the Colorado River.  Too bad he missed the water.  :-(

After we tailed the coroner for a while we stopped off at the Big Bend of the Colorado state park. Our plan was to do a bit of swimming but the water was cold and the air temp was in the 90s.  Next stop the Aquarius Casino for brunch.  Once brunch was done we headed to Arizona to show them Chloride.

To get out of Bullhead City (across the Colorado from Laughlin) you have to climb this massive mountain.  Keep in mind  that the temperature is over 100 most summer days.  The kind-hearted or perhaps resourceful people of the area place gallon jugs of water at half mile intervals all the way up the mountain.

We saw a few used bottles on the way up. I just figured out we climbed 3000 feet in elevation getting to the top of that hill. 

There was another photo op on the way up the hill.  Hummm ... Mother nature making a statement! LOL.

Notice the dust devil in the distance in Golden Valley.  Let me just tell you when you drive through one you feel it. When we got to the location of the dust devil it appeared to be gone ... until it slammed into the side of our car.  Good thing Dan had both hands on the wheel.

Finally we arrived in Chloride. We get a kick out of the signage on this building which seems to be growing out onto the road. "Stop here, stop here!"

Typical Chloride cottage

Howdy Pardner

Chloride Jail

One thing we wanted to see in Chloride were some murals created in the 1960's by Roy Purcell. (In 1966, Roy Purcell took a break from pursuing a Master's degree in Fine Arts at Utah State University to labor as a miner in the Cerbat Mountains near Chloride, Arizona. While he was there, and with the support of local residents, he painted "The Journey," a 2000-square-foot set of murals on some boulders about a mile and a half outside of town. His work, executed in the abstract Modernism tradition, led to early world-wide recognition for Purcell and helped launch him on a professional career that continues today. - See more at: http://www.roadtripamerica.com/places/chloride.htm#sthash.7TMNP7iX.dpuf)

We headed up a sketchy dirt track into the hills.

 Along the way were signposts to direct our travels.

But the further we went the worse the track got.  It was 95 degrees, no cell service, storm clouds on the horizon and we didn't really know where were going.  I made Dan turn around.  I was pretty sure I could find images of the murals on the internet but I wasn't positive we would get back to civilization that afternoon!  We might try again some nice fall day but for now the internet provided a photo of the elusive mural.

A bit more adventure as we headed back into Vegas ... storm clouds and rain!  The weather reports say that monsoon season is about to begin.  We had just a little taste today.  The roads get slick when it rains so it wasn't long before we saw a big multi passenger van facing the wrong way on the 215! We didn't see any injuries so that was good!

This was a day I'm sure my sister won't soon forget!

Now for a few other recent photos. Our neighbor, Diamond, has a mourning dove nest in the tree in his front yard.

We could hardly believe our eyes when we passed this Jaguar on the I15.

 Dan and I hadn't been down to the Strip in a while so we decided to explore a couple of casinos on the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard. We took a walk through Mandalay Bay and the Luxor.

The was a beautiful sunset.

Mandalay Bay

The Luxor

The inside of the Luxor.

There are hotel rooms on each of those levels!

A shot for scale!

I finally had a chance to volunteer feeding the tortoises up at the Red Rock Canyon visitor center. They are so cute.  A new twist on Eat More Kale!

Kale! I'd rather eat kale than my tort chow.

Dessert kale!

Sharing kale!

Yum. This is Mojave Max, the mascot of Red Rock Canyon.

I was there at 8 in the morning and it was already 90.  But that does not disturb some of the natives! There were bikers, runners and hikers enjoying everything the canyon had to offer.

Why not run through the desert for an early morning challenge!

I had an MRI on Tuesday.  Yup torn meniscus.  I will be getting set up with an orthopedic surgeon this week.  It was a little bit funny as my next door neighbor, Marie had an MRI the day after me and she has a meniscus injury as well. 

Our next adventure will be on Friday night.  We scored tickets to see a taping of American Ninja Warrior.  If you watch that show you might be interested to know a lot of the competition happens in the middle of the night!!! It should be lots of fun.  

It's all about the journey!

Have a great week. Nancy and Dan

Poor Lake Mead

On Sunday we took a ride on Route 167 which runs the length of Lake Mead to the west.  It was a gorgeous drive.  You can't see Lake Mead from 167 but there are several side roads that guide you 

down to the lake.  

The first side road we tried was Old Saint Thomas Road which took us to the ruins of Saint Thomas.  It was a town that was flooded out when the Hoover Dam was opened.  Now that the lake is so low the town is no longer submerged.  We could have hike down in for a closer look but it was already 97 degrees.  I think we will go back in the fall.

Can you see the evidence of water levels?

I think the narrow white stripe was main street.

Old St. Thomas Road

Next stop was Stewart Point. Partway down this road the pavement ran out.  There were a few camps and campers in the areas. We saw someone filling a large storage tank with water from the lake.

Stewart Point

The high water line is just below this bluff!

From Stewart Point we headed south and further west to Callville Bay.  Fortunately they had built in pull-off for us gawkers from the north!  Beautiful vistas. The sun was very bright so I'm afraid that some of the photos are quite washed out looking.

Bowl of Fire

Callville Bay was an eye-opener! People still bring their boats to launch here or to tie up at the marina. 

Callville Bay Marina

Here you can see how high the water use to be. We were parked in the old boat launch area!

This was the view from the restaurant where we had lunch. 

There was a photo in the restaurant that showed diners many years ago looking out from this vantage point and the marina was just beyond the rocks in the foreground!

Sign of the day! 

A few more shots ...

Lake Las Vegas

Lake Las Vegas (Man-made lake barely visible)

Lake Las Vegas is home to the super rich like Celine Dion.  This kind of development is no longer allowed. 

Last Friday night we went to The Trails Park for an evening of outdoor entertainment.  Just three and a half miles from our home we headed over at 6:30ish for a 7:00 show.  Boy were we surprised, the place was mobbed.  Families and groups of all ages filled the park.  

The group for the evening was 80s Station.  They were really good.  They are a great 80's tribute band.  The two lead singers were in the band called "Loveshack" in the 80's. We learned they play most weekends down on Fremont Street.  We will be heading down to hear them again.  We will also be coming back to The Trails Park for tow other concert events this summer.  Can't wait.

The base player's pants were covered with small stuffed animals! Creepy!

Neighborhood sights:

Love this tree.

Peter Cottontail hanging out in our front yard.

 This week we went to a work meeting / potluck with our Eastern Star friends.  We learned how to stitch plastic squares for a project they are working on for Grand Chapter in September.  Dan is now addicted to the process.  (Maybe I can teach him how to tat next! lol)

I have been suffering with a sore knee (or two) for a while now.  I hurt them while hiking over the years.  I re-injured my right knee whilst running through two concourses in O'hare to try to make my flight back to Las Vegas. (Note to self: there will usually be another flight to Las Vegas!) Anyway I had the knee x-rayed the next morning. No fracture evident.  But 3 weeks later I am still in pain.  I saw my own doctor this morning and we think meniscus injury.  MRI scheduled for next week.  I'll keep you posted.

Not completely sure what we are up to this weekend but I am sure it will include my baby sister who is turning 50! What!  I think we are headed to Laughlin and perhaps to the beach at the state park. 

It's all about the journey!

Nancy and Dan