Special Guests

We were lucky to have Jordan and Ari visit Memorial Day weekend.  What fun.  Lots of adventures.

We attended a 51's game on Saturday evening. The Las Vegas 51's are a AAA affiliate of the Mets. It was a good game with lots of runs.  Dan got free tickets, of course, from one of his pool buddies!

Sunday morning we headed north on I95 to exit 99 where we attended the 27th Snow Mountain Pow Pow. It was hosted by the local Paiute Tribe. There were over 300 native dancers in attendance.

 Fancy footwork

 Learning the ropes.

 Costume envy?

Jingle Dancers

In honor of Memorial Day an older soldier was performing a special dance. And one of the little dancers just felt the need to bust a move! 

Sunday evening we headed for dinner at the House of Blues on the Strip. 

Then we checked out the Luxor next door.

Monday, it seems everyone wanted to be in or on the waters of Lake Mead. Us included.  We booked a lake cruise on the Desert Princess.  It as very warm out but we found shade and nice breezes on the lake. The lake is at its lowest level since it was first filled. Sad but still beautiful. 

 Desert Princess

 Carp and Coy near the boat launch.  Apparently they eat a lot of popcorn!

 The water wasn't always as deep as the water line.  

There was a period where the lake was at flood stage.

Many people were enjoying the waters by the dam. Not so sure about the dog!

We wrapped up the visit with a trip to Bonnie Springs Ranch for some horseback riding.  It was another hot morning so we were the only three on the tour. (Dan had to work.) What a beautiful ride at the base of Wilson Mountain.

Jordan finally got to see some burros on this trip! There were about 20 near the entrance to Bonnie Springs Ranch.

New baby!

What a great time was had by all. We had dinner with Linda, Art and Hayley at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Jaun's Flaming Fajitas.  Time was spent at the community pool as well. No sunburns ... but everyone got some color to take back to Vermont! 

Glad to bring everyone up to speed.  We are under an excessive heat warning for the rest of the week! Friday 105, Saturday 108, Sunday 107. Hello SUMMER!

It's all about the journey!

All our best.  Nancy and Dan

Las Vegas Highland Games

Love, love, love the drum major for this pipe band!

I don't know how they played without laughing.

Saturday morning April 16th we headed to Floyd Lamb Park in North Las Vegas to attend the 12th Annual Las Vegas Highland Games.  What fun.  Floyd Lamp is the largest park in Las Vegas.  There were a ton of people there for the festivities. Lots of kilts on this very windy day! Lots of plaid.

Utility Kilt! I think this guy was in one of stage bands.

Mini kilt!

There were sporting events.

Caber Toss

Women were involved throwing heavy weights and men throwing hay bails.

The guys were tossing rocks and hammers as well.

Lots of people were in costume as well.

I also for got to mention the kids doing Scottish dances!

In competition and ...

... just for fun!

There were all kinds of vendors selling clothing, Scottish gear and food.  We had fish and chips.

After watching the sporting events for a bit we headed to the main stage where Scottish or Irish type bands played back to back all day.

The Black Donnellys

Highland Way

 At noon they had Grand Opening Ceremonies, Clan Procession and Massed Bands.  That's when the peacock was the leader of the band!

 Presenting the Colors

 The Nevada Pipe Band

And the leader of the band.

During the afternoon there were Pipe Band and Drum Major competitions. The drum majors went first.  Most were young men from a high school in southern California.

We learned that the Pipe Bands compete in 5 levels.  Level 5 bands are relative beginners and Level 1s are experts.  There were only levels 3, 4 and 5 there for this event. They all sounded great to us! The bands came from Nevada, Utah, Arizona and California. They had to march in form a perfect circle and play well. There were five international judges who watched them very closely.

 The circle

 Headed out.

Seemed to be and equal number of men and women in these groups.

 This little guy was in a level 4 band from Phoenix.

This was a high school pipe band from California.

It was a beautiful day.

And the supervisor made a final pass through the parade grounds!

We already have the 13th Annual Las Vegas Highland Games on our calendar for next year. Wonderful all volunteer event!

It's all about the journey.

Nancy and Dan