Saturday, July 16, 2016

Seven Magic Mountains

In May we viewed a sculpture in the Mojave Desert called "Seven Magic Mountains" by artist Ugo Rondinone.





We decided to take a little tour of the desert, driving back into California for a few miles.

Then back into Nevada, along the Joshua Tree Hwy




Lion Habitat 3.05.16 - Arlo's Birthday

For Arlo's Birthday, we visited the Lion Habitat in Henderon, NV.

It was amazing to stand so close to the Lions, and we even got to feed a Giraffe!



The volunteers give the lions ground meat as treats, and get them to come closer to the fence.


 Arlo requested a volcano birthday cake.  He was very pleased with my creation!


And even happier with his first new bike!

Mt Charleston 1.10.16

This is a great post for the 110° (or higher) Las Vegas Summer!

In January I took the kids up to Mt Charleston to play in the snow.  I didn't realize we'd just have to pull over on the side of the road or we may not have spent as much time as we did driving up the mountain. 

It was all worth it in the end, they got to throw snowballs at each other!










Valley of Fire 1.02.16

In an attempt to free up space on my phone, I've uploaded my photos to my computer, and have realized I haven't shared anything here in a long time!
With Instagram and Facebook, shares are quick and easy, so the blog gets forgotten as a chore.  Those single photos tend to have to tell the story on their own, and I hate to bombard either site with too many photos of the same event - which is what this little spot in the internet is great for!
 So as I catch up, one trip I haven't talked about yet is our day trip to the Valley of Fire.  We made a stop here on our way home from a wrestling tournament, but we could easily fill a day with all of the walking and exploring you can do.









The kids playing in the Beehive




 This is another state park that has a well -maintained road system that allows you to see a great amount of the area without leaving your car.  There are many pull-off locations where you can park and explore.  They have a great visitors center with restrooms as well.

Friday, January 1, 2016

Happy 2016!

Happy New Year!

The kids and I decided to take a trip to Lake Mead to burn off some energy and get out of the house.  We also decided to splurge on a park pass, so we have paid our way to great adventures for the year!

At the marina we saw some giant fish...


 

 

 We then walked along the shore a bit so Arlo could find shells.

 


 

We drove through the park and stopped at the Sunset Lookout.

 

 
 
 

What a great way to start the year!

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Update

I know, I know, it has been a long time since our last update (sorry, Dad)
We've been busy with the usual work, school and chores that aren't all that fun to talk about.

One very exciting thing happening right now is that Wyatt has joined a local wrestling league.  He is doing really well and having fun.  He's earned three 1st place ribbons and one 3rd place ribbon.  This past Friday he had a match at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  He shared the room with high school, college and Olympic wrestlers.  It was very thrilling.  Even better was having his Grandma and Grandpa to cheer him on from the sidelines!


With the Grandparents in town, we played tourist and visited the Arts District.  We wandered through a couple of cool antique shops.
 

We then window shopped in the alley between The Linq and Flamingo hotels.  Below is The High Roller, an observation wheel that takes visitors 550 feet off the ground.  Each of the cabins can hold up to 40 people and takes 30 minutes to make one rotation.  

 

On Sunday we went to Red Rock Canyon and drove the 13 mile loop that takes you around the park and up closer to the rocks and mountains.  There are parking areas that let you get out and take pictures, explore and enter the various trails.  I look forward to coming back to do a bit of hiking. 


 We watched people climb the rocks behind Arlo (above).  The rocks are actually kind of far away.  You would have to look hard to tell the difference between a person and a crack.  Quinn was very inspired and approached all rocks as if she were a climber - acting like Spiderman to climb up or down. 
  

We saw a couple of deer and there was snow behind the peaks above.  We had a great visit with Mat's parents, though it was very brief we thank them for making it out and braving the cold (at least compared to Hawaiian standards)!  

Our Christmas tree is decorated with gifts gathering beneath it.  The kids are showing pretty good restraint by leaving everything alone!