Return to Death Valley

Globemallow

Wow we've been busy.  No time to upload this blog until today. Saturday we made a return trip to Death Valley.  Our ride-a-long guest was Leni, aka: Auntie.  She is my brother-in-law's aunt.  She is 94 and sharp as a tack.  We had a great time with her!!!

Auntie, Nancy and Dan hit the road!

The main purpose of this trip was to see the spring wild flowers.  Pretty much they were just beginning to bloom. They have only had a little bit of rain but the flowers seem not to mind.

Beavertail Cactus

Brittlebush

Cleft Leaf Wildheliotrope

Trailing 4 O'Clock

It was a perfect 80 something day.  Many bikers were on the road. California mountains in the distance.

The first town you come to in California is Death Valley Junction formerly called Amergosa.  Funny in the middle of nowhere there is an Opera House with nightly performances! We will have to catch a show some day.

Brief stop for a photo op. Then some photos of the mountains.  Pretty amazing views. We stopped in at the Furnace Creek Visitor's Center so Auntie could see the short movie about Death Valley.  Lunch was next in the Forty Niner Cafe at Furnace Creek Ranch.  The Ranch was a busy place.

We had to stop at Badwater Basin! The lowest point in North America. 282 feet below sea level.

This is what it says in the yellow oval in the photo above.  I had to zoom way in to read the sign! (282 feet above my head.)

There are some side roads off the paved highway running through Death Valley but they really don't want you off roading in general.

Another quick stop at the Ashford Mill Ruins.  This was was really in the middle of nowhere.  (Could actually be the poster child for "The Middle of Nowhere"!)

The Harry Wade Road we took a pass on today.  

The sign in the distance reads:

Natural or man-made? Inquiring minds want to know. Very different from surrounding area.

Interesting color variations. 

As I am writing this today I am struggling with itchy eyes and stuffed up sinuses as we are being covered with tons of pollen, tree, grass and weed. I love having the windows and doors open to the breeze but had to close them today.  Ran the AC to clear out the air in the house.  Now time to dust, vacuum and mop to get rid of the rest.  

We are keeping busy and still loving our new home.

It's all about the journey.

Nancy and Dan

Rednecks in Las Vegas?

Las Vegas played host to a few so-called Redneck events this week.  We joined in the fun of watching the NASCAR haulers on Las Vegas Boulevard, a bull riding event at South Point and a big race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Thursday afternoon we headed down to Las Vegas Boulevard to see the NASCAR haulers.  We ended up at Treasure Island and The Venetian.  Crazy big hotels.  Treasure Island has two, pretty much life sized, pirate ships in water located at the entrance to the casino.  It is also the home of Gilley's Bar.

The Venetian is truly spectacular! We got lost! Seriously. We had no idea which way was out. The bottom floor is the casino and restaurants.  The second floor looks like Venice with little shops, restaurants and a REAL canal with gondolas.

Madame Tussauds Las Vegas, wax museum, is located at the Venetian. We were a couple of days early for the Miley unveiling. But 'Justin' was hanging out at the entrance to the Grand Canal Shoppes.  

Chinese New Year display.

Marble floor.

For my quilter friends.

A few images from outside the Venetian:

We grabbed a spot on the Strip and chatted with some race fans while we waited for the NASCAR haulers. Most fans were from out of town. The couple from Green Bay was certainly enjoying the 60 degree weather.  

Had to chuckle watching these folks cross the street.

Finally the haulers arrived.

They were moving pretty quickly so here are a couple of short videos.

Jeff Gordon's hauler

Tony Stewart's hauler

Saturday evening was Championship Bull Riding down at South Point Arena. The Tuff Hedeman Vegas Shootout featured 27 young bull riders from all over the country. It was so much fun to watch. Boy those cowboys are tough! The show opened with introductions and fireworks (in the arena!). 

Then the real action began!

A couple of videos show how hard it is to stay on these bulls! The dismount is always abrupt!

This young man, rookie Brennon Eldred, won the event. His pay was $17,000. Not bad for riding 3 bulls for a total of 24 seconds.

And we just happened to be sitting behind a group of young fans from Idaho.  They were doing quite a bit of drinking and in their exuberance attracted the attention of the rodeo clown who showed up in our section during intermission. 

   

This young man earned some gift certificates for doing some dancing. 

His friends were pretty pumped. It was so funny. 

After a really short night (spring forward) we got up early and headed to the track.  Las Vegas Motor Speedway is just 25 miles away. We were at the track in 30 minutes. (It took us and hour and forty five minutes to get home after the race!) a band was playing when we arrived. They were very good.  We looked around at the various haulers and bought a new set of noise cancelling headphones for Nan to wear during the race.

Habitat for Humanity was building a home for a Henderson family sponsored by Lowes.

Duck Dynasty was represented with their own hauler! 

We had pretty good seats, just before the entrance to pit road.  It was very hot and the only shade was under the grand stand.  Long sleeves, a hat and plenty of sunscreen and water got Nan through the day. 

More Haulers

Pit Road

Pretty good view of the big screen.

Camera man.

Thunderbirds!

After the opening hoopla ... "Drivers - start - your - engines!"

Just a little taste of the sights and sounds of a NASCAR race.

What a great weekend we had.  The next two races are just 3.5 hours (Fontana near LA) or 4.5 hours (Phoenix) away.  Humm. Maybe next year!

Surprisingly most of the crowd (at all of the venues this weekend) didn't really appear to be rednecks ... just fans from all over.  The news yesterday morning said Las Vegas was the big winner pulling in 165 million dollars in racing revenue! Let's go racin' boys!

Not sure what's on the agenda for this week but we'll be sure to let you know what's been happening!

It's all bout the journey! 

Nancy and Dan