Historic Rail Trail and Ghost town St. Thomas

In January we hiked the Historic Railroad Trail overlooking Lake Mead.  It was a beautiful Sunday morning. Back in the 30's when they built the Hover Dam the railroad was built to carry supplies to the build site.

Glad we went there in January!

A view of Lake Mead from the trail.

There were a few informational signs along the way.

More yoga moves.

Loving the light.

There is a large marina, Las Vegas Boat Harbor, which we hadn't seen before on our trips.

One of the women that I hike with says there are a lot of carp around the marina that the locals feed.

Along the trail are 5 tunnels, extra large for the building supplies to pass though safely.

Timber supports were used as needed.

This is a very popular spot for a family hike.

This tunnel is even curved.

The end is in sight.

Located at the marina is a boat that gives Lake Mead tours.  That is on our bucket list for early summer!

St. Thomas, Nevada - A Ghost Town

Once upon a time ... before the Hoover Dam there was a town here called St. Thomas. It ceased to exist two years after the dam was completed.  It was covered with water until 2002 when the drought significantly lowered the level of Lake Mead.

Today you can hike a two and a half mile loop through the ruins.

There use to be a tree lined main street.  

Not sure what this was but the cellar has lasted!

This foundation looks like the former owners burned it to the ground before the water came up. 

I saw a note somewhere that this use to be an ice cream parlor. 

St. Thomas School House just be for the flooding began.

What is left of the school house today.

I took a break on the steps, imagining what it must have been like to teach here. 

Some artifacts. 

 Each homestead area had a well.  This one was dated May 26, 1911, by Mark. (All of the wells are covered for safety.)

This was a fun trip.  We had been here once before but it was 100 degrees.  On this trip it was about 75. Much better for hiking.

We have been doing a lot of walking lately here are a few images form this morning's walk. Spring has come to Las Vegas!

This is the Peccole Ranch Trail, in a community about a half mile from our house.  There is a Frisbee Golf course here.  We met several nice young men out on the course.  

You don't often see backyards with any real flavor in the area.  This one was a pleasant surprise. Very colorful. 

This is our view just before we turn into our community. The mountains of Red Rock Canyon.

We heard the Groundhog saw his shadow so hopefully Spring will be in the northern states soon.

It's all about the journey.

Nancy and Dan

Huge Surprise

I know this one is late and most of you probably know that Dan and I were hugely surprised in mid January.  Our two kids surprised us with a visit to Las Vegas.  We were already planning on a post- Christmas visit from Erin.  We headed the airport at the appointed time.  Part way there we realized her plane had landed early.  So we hurried along.  Got a text from Erin that said she had landed.  We parked and headed to the baggage claim area.  Sent Erin a message about where we were standing.  I was looking down the full length of the baggage area waiting to see Erin. Finally there she walking toward us with a big smile on her face.  I tell Dan, "there she is." "Where?"  Then I notice she is pointing at the guy next to her ...  It is Jordan, our son! WOW! Was I shocked.  He had a big red bow on him and an even bigger smile.  They got us good.  We had no idea they had been planning this surprise for two months. I cried. The best Christmas present ever!

The next morning we all got up and headed to Death Valley for the day.  Neither of them had been there before.

 We stopped first at Dante's View. Pretty spectacular.

Family selfie with Death Valley (Badwater) behind us.

The people down on the salt flats below looks like ants.  We are headed way down there after lunch.

A view toward the west.

Love my grown up babies!

Yoga pose time.  Jordan was a good sport.

Then we headed to the visitor's center at Furnace Creek.  We had a picnic in January! Then headed south to Badwater, 282 feet below sea level.

Up-close view of the salt crystals.

Badwater poses!

Glad we brought our own water!

On Friday we all got together with Linda and Art and her kids who were also in town visiting for the week.  We met at Marie Calendar's for lunch.  What fun but no photos.

Jordan was happy to help out with Taigo.  I found a great little cat halter and a leash designed for cats. Taigo used to run around our neighborhood in Vermont and has been feeling trapped in our little backyard so he has been learning how to walk on a leash.  Taigo is so excited he begs to go out every morning now.  

Saturday we gathered at Linda's house for Christmas dinner! There was also a Patriots playoff game on the agenda.

Art's Aunt Helen was there.  Milo was keeping her company.

Dan and Kariym were talking sports.

Our nephew, Corey was visiting as well. Erin didn't want her photo taken. Sorry!

Jordan had his Gronk face on!

Mikey and Hayley were waiting for dinner.  Excellent guacamole, Mike.

Another big weekend surprise involved Taigo.  He escaped!!! Just as we were getting ready to head to the Strip for the evening we noticed Taigo was missing. Oh no!  I ended up staying home while Dan took the kids downtown.  We finally found that little bugger almost a half mile away at the bottom of our community.  He was pretty glad to see us again.  It was dark and cold and he had missed his supper!

Here is a photo of the kids just as they were going for a night on the town! Pretty great looking group.

All great weekends must come to an end.  Early on Sunday Jordan had to catch a flight back to Vermont.  Erin left in the evening.  What a great time we had.  We have't been all together as a family for quite some time.  We loved our Christmas gift!

It's all about the journey.

Our best to everyone. 

Nancy and Dan