Much to be Grateful For

Duck Creek, Week 3 (Nov 19-25)

This week began with Stake Conference. As a choir member I’m guaranteed a front seat – but that seat is behind the podium, so we only see the speakers’ backs. Still, the talks were good. Afterwards, driving back into the campground, I noticed a rig with a WA license parked in the check-in lane. Later I knocked on the door and found out the couple was from Camano Island and used to live on Finn Hill. Small world.  We shared several travel experiences and plan to get together after Thanksgiving. 

Finally, as I’ve previously mentioned, this RV park is near the airport. Normally I don’t pay any attention, but tonight it was one low ‘n loud helicopter after another. I felt like we were sleeping in a MASH tent.  Other highlights this week include...

➤Old westerns. We’ve had lots of down time, and Greg’s fallback activity is the GRIT channel. Recurrent images of a young John Wayne or Jimmy Stewart – all in black & white, of course.

➤Upping my daily walks from 6+ to 7+ miles. (The first week it was only 5+.) It’s just so easy here.

Really??

➤Enjoying bleu cheese burgers as we watched the Seahawks/Falcons game. Yes, we lost (and had far too many penalties), but you still gotta love these guys. And Pete Carroll, for sure.

➤Visiting Clark County Wetlands Park, which includes the Las Vegas Wash, a 12-mile channel that feeds most of Las Vegas Valley’s excess water (mostly treated wastewater) into lake Mead. We haven’t felt a drop of rain for weeks, but when it does fall it falls hard – hence the need for the wash.

Normal Flow (street runoff and/or treated wastewater)

High weir & bridge.

Low weir. (Weirs are like tiny dams that just slow the flow.)

Lots of ducks in the marshes. (Lots of other wildlife
is displayed in the Visitors Center but midday isn't
the best time to see these critters.)

Posing Turtle
(the greenery is reflected)

A little fall color.

Silhouettes...
(Have you noticed I love these?)

➤Cirque du Soleil's "O"... which was simply O-mazing. Ninety minutes of nonstop entertainment -- acrobatics, sych'd swimming, 60' dives with more twists and somersaults than you can count, flame throwers, and 2 fantastic clowns. (No photos allowed, so I've stolen 2 from the Internet.)

This fellow, like many Cirque performers, is a former Olympic athlete. His facial expressions and body language were superb. His partner (unfortunately not shown) was much taller, less expressive (intentionally, I believe - this is the emotional character). Loved 'em!

The "stage" (4 or so platforms) can be anywhere from fully above the water to 17' feet below.
(Watching the mechanics can be almost as interesting as the performers.)

➤Friday drive to Leeds. Back through Snow Canyon, then a quick stop to check out the Elks Club in St. George. 

Virgin River Gorge

One more pretty tree.

➤Saturday Thanksgiving with extended family. Of course that included a morning hike. I also took a much-needed walk between dinner and dessert. Everything was delicious - turkey, sides, and definitely the sour lemon pie from a local bakery (not Veyo, which we visited in October - I think this one is even better). 

Just one more great vista.

Adult Table (5 kids scattered)

    November Gold

Parting Shot...  

Vegas glitz, from Bellagio rooftop parking area.

Maintenance, Lake Mead, Wind Walking, and Early Turkey

Duck Creek, Week 2 (Nov 12-18)

It's kinda nice just to stay put for a while. We do have some day trips in mind, but our minds are also increasingly on what’s in store when we get home. One thing we’re certainly looking forward to is a surprise opportunity that came up yesterday. One of Greg’s racing friends and his wife invited us to spend a week with them on a 44’ sailboat (part of a flotilla) up in the Quadra Island/Desolation Sound area (Canada).  This would be September 2018, and there are lots of details still to be worked out, but WOW. Other (more routine) highlights this week include…

➧Servicing (remove/clean/lube/replace) the inside AC blower...

➧Moving this mishmash of
grandkid b'day info onto
the computer...

·    

     ➧Attending church Sunday and learning the stake choir (multi-congregational) needs more voices before singing for stake conference next week. I enjoyed (and was challenged by) rehearsal that eve and look forward to another on Saturday before Sunday’s performance.

➧Side trip Tuesday to Lake Mead and Boulder City (where we camped back in Jan). The lake still has a very active marina and I’m sure the campgrounds are full in the summer, but it seemed obvious to us that this is no longer a prime resort area. 

Actual LANDscape...
 pretty monochromatic.

This used to be a boat launch,
but that was when the water...

...was a LOT higher (note high water line to the left).
Comparable lines on other hills appear to be lower, but they're not.

 

Approaching the marina, where we enjoyed a grilled chicken sandwich smothered in onions.
(And how 'bout those contrails?)

...and a nearby flotilla (w/ dozens of fish below)

Ducks paddling tranquil waters...
(The one on the left is actually
stark B&W, like a tux. Very cool.)

Boulder City Elks Lodge... their
membership pin boasts "best
club by a dam site!"

(Sorry, I just can't resist a good tree.)

➧Great walks in the wind Thurs & Friday, esp at night. Bright lighting in the adjacent park means that even at 10pm the campground trees are somewhat highlighted against the sky. Two good movies: The Great Debaters, based on the struggles & triumphs of the real debate team at tiny, all black Wiley College in 1935. Well done. Also At First Sight, based on the experience of one of neurologist Oliver Sacks’ patients. I'm always fascinated by Sacks.

Blue-bruise Sunset. 

➧One of the full-timers here has a corner site with lots of sun. Flower pots line the pavement, and I always enjoy the burst of color as I pass. 

➧Intrigue. Walking last night (about 10pm), I passed 2 police cars and an ambulance at the end of our row. I wouldn't have thought twice about the ambulance (lots of retirees here), but police...?


➧Early Thanksgiving. Campground Potluck Dinner Saturday. Greg made scalloped potatoes (start w/ 4 Betty Crocker pkgs, then enhance w/ blue cheese & sour cream. (The pan was scraped clean when we picked it up afterward.)  Food was fine, but meeting new folks is always the best part. We chatted with a couple from Alberta, BC, and another originally from Michigan. One wife was a former English teacher, and one husband's medical history made us very grateful for our own good health (or good luck - his problems stemmed from a simple fall and subsequent misdiagnosis).

BlogThought… Not sure what we’re doing on Thanksgiving Day. Goal for Monday is to contact local organizations and find a way to be of service. 

Duck Creek Déjà Vu

Mon-Sat, Nov 6-11…

The big news is WE MOVED today. No more wind, dust or grit. We’re now settled SE of Vegas at Duck Creek RV Park, and we’re staying for a MONTH. (Some of you may remember us having lunch at Duck Creek Village (UT) awhile back - hence the déjà vu in today's title.) We won’t be terribly busy here (already had our night on the strip), but we also don’t have to deal with snow, rain, icy roads, or freezing pipes… All good! (We do have to deal with planes landing at McCarran Airport every 70 seconds (yup – we clocked ‘em. Late aft/early eve is the busiest time). I am apparently oblivious to most external annoyances, so it’s no big deal for me. Greg is adjusting. The staff here are great, and I’m walking 5-6 miles a day – which is also great. Laundry is just 200 steps away (and cheap); there’s a huge video lending library, and we’re signed up to bring scalloped potatoes to the Thanksgiving potluck next weekend. (We also have plans to join Susan, Bob & a few of their kids/grandkids for turkey the following Saturday.)

Highlights of our first week…

·         Greg made especially juicy and good hamburgers Monday night, and then I beat him soundly in gin rummy.

·         Chris (finally) started his new job w/ Compass Group, global food services provider for Microsoft. I believe his specific venues are on the main Redmond campus.

·         We located the local Costco (and dark choc salted caramels are back for the holidays).

·         Sunset sometimes seems to last forever. The one a couple nights ago filled the sky with pink for ages. The next night I made sure I had my camera ready. The light wasn’t nearly as good, so I concentrated on snapping shots of planes on their descent path.

·         Greg has been actively looking for “work,” but not getting any positive response. (No response from the local track, which was really disappointing.) Lacking purpose, he sought entertainment and visited WelderUp (featured on Discovery Channel’s Vegas Rat Rods, this is not your average car customization shop) & Kount Customs.

·         A significant lowlight was watching Deconstructing Harry and remembering we’re not Woody Allen fans. 

WelderUp's interpretation of the first electric car. (Start with a 1928 Buick...)

Tip the phone, add a plane...

Feathery bushes make a
nice sunset silhouette.

Wait for better color, shoot... and crop. 😃
(Remember, I get another chance every 70 seconds.)

BlogThoughts… 1. Greg can’t understand why I don’t like GPS devices. I do use Google to get directions, then I confirm everything on a real map, get the picture in my head and jot down key reminders. I had plans to crash Thursday night’s rehearsal at a large, local Methodist church. Using the address from my general search for “Las Vegas churches,” I was pleased to see it was a straight shot north on Boulder Hwy (our RV park is on Boulder Hwy), then one left turn and a block or two to the church. Piece of cake. Rehearsal at 6:30. I was on the road just after 6. North, north, north… Left on Oakey, now watching for a large church on the left. It’s dark, but churches have lighted signs and big churches usually have lighted parking lots. Oakey is purely residential. Long story short, 20 minutes later I still haven't found it (or any other church, for that matter). Back home, Greg’s like “Why didn’t you…?”  Turns out anything he suggested technology-wise would have been useless. After a "what if..." moment, I checked the address on the church's website - totally different (and much farther from our campground). GPS only works if your starting data is correct. Lesson learned!

2. Back when we were at Lake Powell, I borrowed a picture from theworldisabook.com, a “mom blog” about traveling the world with her husband and two elementary-age kids. The blog name is derived from a quote from St. Augustine – “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”  I’m not on a soapbox or anything, but there’s certainly no 

doubt that travel is a great teacher.  

Site 86.Neighbors are close, but respectful - and most
are friendly. We've met some interesting folks and
shared lots of good stories.

Viva Las Vegas

Sunday, Nov 5…

Oddly enough, there are tons of LDS churches in Vegas. The one I chose was having a special meeting today, with two prelude numbers sung by a Samoan choir. Very cool. Back at camp, there are 2 other RVs from WA state, and the couple from Tacoma invited us to watch the Seahawks/Redskins game with them. (Their rig is 42’ and very comfy. Huge kitchen area. I’m not jealous – ours is perfect for us – but it was impressive w/o being overdone.)

After the game, Denise came over and asked if we’d like to join them for an “appetizer” dinner at Hugo’s Cellar (an "old Vegas" establishment the Rat Pack used to frequent). She implied that Hugo's was pricey (hence appetizers), but we don't have to buy gas for a month so we can handle one night on the town.

We did have a wonderful evening, but - like the frog that never realizes he's being boiled b/c the temp goes up just one degree at a time - the game plan repeatedly shifted ever so slightly. Our first stop was Bellagio's (on the strip) to check out their Thanksgiving-themed botanical garden. After wandering awhile inside, we headed out and caught the end of the fountain show. Denise wanted to check out the Eiffel Tower, and we ended up getting a table and sharing a delicious smoked salmon appetizer (along w/ 3 glasses of wine, which I didn't share). The kitchen was straight out of Ratatouille. (The photo doesn't do it justice.)

Turkeys on Steroids

Grim Harvester?

Eiffel plays 2nd fiddle.

Pristine.

After our appetizer, we piled back in the car and drove south to check out Fremont Street Experience (apparently the original heart of Vegas). A very different sort of over-the-top environment, including: an Elvis impersonator wrapping up his act, a pair of exceedingly unattractive persons hoping you'll pay to have your pic taken with them, gazillions of lights, blaring music, and a zip line above our heads. We enter the Four Queens Hotel/Casino and take a wide stairway down to Hugo's Cellar. The decor is understated, and the service is probably the best I've ever experienced. Food also top notch. Too much to write. Ask me if you're interested. What I most appreciated was that each server (there were several) had a sense of humor. Each couple split an entree (sort of - Greg & each got a filet), and then we split the check. Late getting home, but no complaints. (And being well fed is much better than being boiled. 🐸)