Valley of Fire

Dedicated in 1935, Valley of Fire is Nevada's oldest State Park. It is located only 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The rough floor and jagged walls of the park contain brilliant formations of eroded sandstone and sand dunes more than 150 million years old. These features, which are the centerpiece of the park's attractions, often appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun's rays. The park is located in the Mojave Desert of southern Nevada.

Wow!!!!!!! A day filled with colour. The hype is right -- the rocks look like they are on fire. The slide show basically says it all -- please enjoy.

This evening we returned to the strip. We tried to visit The Flamingo, however, the parking lot was full so.... back to Harrah's. The thing that kept us returning to Harrah's us single deck blackjack -- you actually get to touch your cards!!! A very interesting game in which the odds should belong to the players. This time, I did alright while Graham lost a little. All in all, out time in Las Vegas has been full of fun and stunning beauty. We will be back!

Christmas on the Road

It was very different celebrating Christmas in Las Vegas. We slept in this morning and then called Ryan, Deb, Austin, Alex, Krista and Jamie who are all celebrating today and tomorrow at Ryan & Deb's -- brave souls Ryan & Deb. I'm impressed. I understand that Austin (the almost 4 year old) who was last up???? I'm pretty sure that at 4 years old, his father was up around 5:00 opening his stocking. Maybe next year retribution will strike. When I asked Austin what he got for Christmas, his response was "presents". He sounded extremely excited. Alex, of course, was excited, however, she only said "hi", "love you" and "bye".

We spent the afternoon casino shopping. We started at the Paris hoping to get something to eat -- apparently the Paris has the best food in Vegas -- the lineups for all of the restaurants there certainly attest to that. We ended up at Harrah's where they were celebrating the day by giving out Mardi Gras type beads for every Blackjack and a deck of cards for every suited Blackjack -- we walked out with 17 sets of beads and 8 decks of cards!!!!!!!

After a break to feed, water and walk Emma and Abby nand grab some dinner we returned to the Strip and ended up back at Harrah's. This time Graham was the winner and I was the loser. We had a lot of fun though. A wonderful but different Christmas Day.

Red Rock Canyon

Today, our adventure was to visit Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area. This awesome park is about an hour west of Vegas and is located in the Mojave Desert. There is a 13 mile scenic drive through the park with many outlooks which allow for amazing photographs.

The most significant geologic feature of Red Rock Canyon is the Keystone Thrust Fault. A thrust fault apparently is a fracture in the earth's crust where one rock plate is thrust horizontally over another. About 65 million years ago, it is believed that two of the earth's crustal plates collided with such force that part of one plate was shoved up and over younger sandstones. This thrust contact is clearly defined by the sharp contrast between the grey limestones and the red sandstones. The Keystone Thrust Fault extends from the Cottonwood Fault 13 miles northward to the vicinity of La Madre Mountain.

The photos in the slide show do not do the beauty of this park justice - it was breathtaking!!!

This evening, of course, we were off to the Strip - tonight we visited Caesar's Palace. I won a little - Graham lost a little -- we came away about even.

The Morning After

When we awoke the following morning in Flagstaff, it was -7 degrees AND there was 8" of snow on the ground!!!! It seems that we brought our weather with us@^)**(^%@@!) Arizona, surprisingly, is very good at removing the snow from its interstate highways and once we removed the snow from the car (without snow brush or gloves) we were on our way. It took us about an hour and a half to get out of the snow.

We opted to take the scenic route along the original Route 66 -- little traffic and interesting scenery. Every 5 or 6 miles along the route there would be a series of 5 small red signs. The first 4 signs would tell a short whippet of wisdom (Graham's phrase because I couldn't come up with one) and the 5th sign always said Burma Shave.

Despite a significant delay at the Hoover Dam related to heightened security and vast numbers of cars, we arrived at our hotel in Las Vegas at about 3:30 this afternoon.

Once we were unpacked and settled we headed out for dinner and our first night of gambling - at Caesar's Palace. What an amazing place - 2 casinos, over 200 shops, I'm not sure how many resaturants -- HUGE!! We discovered already that you do NOT; EVER drive on the Vegas Strip. It is just a glorified parking lot.

Albuquerque to Flagstaff

This morning we had to be up and on the road early - they were doing some upgrades to the hot water system at the hotel where we were staying and were going to turn the water off at 8:00 am. There were some stops that we wanted to make today, so leaving early fit right into our plans. Do you believe that the latest that Graham has slept til on this vacation is 8:00 am ~ an unheard of feat!!

First stop today was The Petrified Forest National Forest near Holbrook, Arizona. What an amazingly breathtaking place ~ The first stop on the road was for some long-distance vistas of the Painted Desert. The Mesas nin the distance were a spectacular mauve colour which contrasted with the closer red rocks.

Peurco Pueblo is a partially stabilized 100 room pueblo built around 1250 CE. It probably housed nearly 1200 people. Looking down the cliff are black rocks that are covered in petroglyphs. More petroglyphs were to be seen at Newspaper Rock ~ they are very primitive, but at the same time very expressive.

Next on the road were The Tepees. These are layered blues, purples and grays caused by iron, carbon, manganese and other minerals. The Tepees stand in massive cone-shaped formations over a large area of the park.

Last but not least are the petrified logs ~ most of these logs have fallen out of the surrounding rock and lie strewn across the floor of the formations. Now and again we would get a glimpse of a log still encased in the surrounding rock. The colours are bright and beautiful.

Once we left the Forest, we headed for the Meteorite Crater at Winslow, Arizona. Apparently this crater is one of the largest in the world and so closely resembles the moon surface that it was used by NASA to train the Apollo astronauts. As we got closer and closer to the crater, the sky became darker and darker and visibility started decreasing. We decided that it was likely safer to head for our hotel in Flagstaff. Good thing we did ~ we drove to Flagstaff in the midst of a blizzard!!!!! It was so bad that the police closed the interstate, stranding many motorists. The hotel where we are staying is unexpectedly full for the night. We have traveled over 3400 km to escape the cold and snow and here we are in the middle of New Mexico in the midst of a raging blizzard. I felt like bursting into "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas" -- NOT!!!!!!

A Very Long Day

This morning, we woke up in Tulsa, Oklahoma (0 degrees Celsius). Tonight we are sleeping in Albuquerque, New Mexico ( 8 degrees Celsius). In between, we traveled through the Texas panhandle and enjoyed a daytime temperature of 20 degrees and beautiful sunshine. As soon as the sun goes down here, the temperature plummets.

Oklahoma was very flat with lots of scrub. The people are very friendly and accommodating. As we entered Texas, we stopped at an Indian Trading Post where we took the pictures of the bison -- the state animal of Texas. These bison were somewhat reminiscent of Mel Lastman's moose. Texas is vast with very large ranches of cattle. Sometimes we would only see one or two head -- apparently the cattle are permitted to roam free until it is time to head for the stockyard. They also grow cotton in Texas -- there are places where the edges of the road look like they are piled with snow when it is cotton bolls that have blown in the wind. We saw a couple of tumbleweeds, but not soon enough to get a picture. Again, the country is very flat with lots of scrub. Suddenly, we turned the last corner in Texas and saw the first mesas of New Mexico. What an amazing site - the pictures do not even begin to do justice to the beauty of the New Mexican scenery.

Unbelievably, the speed limit in both Oklahoma and New Mexico is 75 mi/hr. In Texas, the speed limit is 70 during daylight hours and 65 at night.

The dogs are holding up very well. Emma has adjusted to the long car rides by curling up in the back seat and sleeping except for stops when she has to take a look to see what's going on. Abby, on the other hand continues to fret -- she has to know what'[s going on at all times. She sits and watches out the window and only rarely sleeps in the car.

Another busy day is scheduled for tomorrow -- our last day before arriving in Las Vegas.

Day 3 of Las Vegas Trip

Up this morning to find snow still on the ground and the temperature -4 degrees. After breakfast we made a trip to the Meramec Caverns. Neither of us was aware that Missouri is known as the Cave State -- everywhere you go there are caves to visit. The cave system that we visited consists of over 28 miles of caves. These caves were used by the Union Army as a powder mill due to the saltpeter that they were able to mine there. The cave was blown up by Confederate guerillas of whom Jesse James was a member. After the Civil War, Jesse and his gang used the caves as a hideout. During prohibition, the cave was used as a speakeasy, later as an underground parking lot and then as a ballroom. We both found the caves amazing and absolutely breathtaking. One thing that we found very interesting was the temperature in the caves - a constant 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

We hit the road about noon today and after about an hour, the snow disappeared from the ground. By the time we arrived in Tulsa this afternoon, the temperature was 12 degrees Celcius.

Total distance today - 555.5 km.

I Can't Believe that it's only Day 2

We woke up this morning to snow showers with about 2" on the ground. The visibility on the roads until we hit mid-Michigan was poor to say the least as can be seen in the pictures.. Needless to say, we crawled along for a couple of hours and then, finally we were moving right along. We actually hit the road about 8:30 and after a quick stop at McDonalds for breakfast, we ventured out on to I94 -- it had not been plowed or salted since the snow started and was treacherous. Once we reached I69, the plows and sanders had been out and we were able to get "up to speed" so to speak. The day was overcast and cold so we just kept on driving. We reached St. Louis around 4:00 - enough light left to see the Arch. While we actually drove right up to the Arch, it was easier to see from a bit of a distance.

We continued on to Sullivan, Missouri to finish off our day. Total distance today, 890.7 km.

Day One on the Road

So, we left London this afternoon at 4:00 (or thereabouts) and headed off on our adventure with car packed to the rafters and 2 very excited dogs in the back seat. After stopping at Timmy's for a farewell coffee, we headed for Sarnia/Pt. Huron -- what an absolute disaster. We were the lucky number 5 or 7 or 8 or whatever the number of the day was. After spending 15 minutes at the booth we were sent over to the inspection area where we had to desert Emma & Abby while strange (and frightening) people searched the car and we stood in line inside the customs booth. Altogether, we spent about an hour at customs, but finally we were sent on our way.

We arrived at our hotel -- the Baymont Inn & Suites in Jackson, Missouri at about 10:00 pm. Total mileage today - 355.0 km. Tomorrow we are off to see the St. Louis Arch. Stay tuned!

Getting Ready

Vacation time is getting close -- we leave for our road trip to Las Vegas on Friday. Yeah!!!

We have lots to do before we go, but I thought that I would get into the habit again of using our blog. Ryan suggested that we use it while we're gone to keep everyone who cares up to date regarding our adventures.

So, tonight, I'm just catching up on some computer work -- bills, etc. Stuff that needs to be done before we leave.

All About Me

The Basics

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What is your nickname?:

don't have one

What day of the week were you born?:

Sunday

What time of day were you born?:

9:00 pm

What is your natural hair color?:

chestnut brown originally; now gray

When your hair gets gray, will you color it?:

apparently not

My Favorites

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music to dance to?:

waltzes

music to have sex to?:

Ravel's Bolero

color in your bedroom?:

raspberry

make of car?:

Jeep Compass

kind of gum?:

don't chew gum

This or That

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red/black?:

black

highschool/college?:

college

digital camera/camera phone?:

digital camera

lifesaver/tic tac?:

tic tac

AOL/MSN?:

neither

Do You?

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have classes with friends (if you are in school)?:

not in school

have friends?:

absolutely

go to social events?:

absolutely

buy your shoes at Payless?:

no

have an online crush?:

no

Have You Ever

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seen The Exorcist?:

I have

wished it was more socially acceptable for a girl to ask a guy out?:

it isn't

sent someone something sexy in the mail?:

no

bought lingerie from Victoria Secret?:

I'll never tell

wished you could experience being the other gender?:

why would I??????

Misc.

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Would you be willing to give up sex in exchange for an emotional commitment you knew would last?:

maybe

What do you dislike most about the other gender?:

they're men!!!!

How much do you actually care about the inner workings of your computer or is it only as long as it :

just keep on working

What was the best Halloween costume you ever had?:

Spanish dancer

Does Christmas music played too far away from Christmas annoy you?:

YES!!

Personal

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How old do you think you will be before you stop liking getting older?:

right about now

Could you have a relationship with someone who has the same first name as your sibling?:

why not?

Whats your opinion on sex without emotional commitment?:

not the smartest thing in the world

Do you think the opposite sex finds you good-looking?:

do I care?

Do you prefer getting to know someone first before dating them or going blind?:

getting to know someone - at least you know that you have something to talk about

Firsts

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If you had to switch first names with a friend of yours, who would you switch with?:

I like my name - wouldn't want to switch

What do you think about your first love?:

don't think about him

What do you think about the first person that loved you?:

still don't think about him

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning? :

another blank slate to write upon

Do you believe in love at first sight? :

absolutely

As of Now

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Did you have something healthy today?:

grapefruit juice?

Have you exercised at all today?:

it' still morning

When did you get out of bed?:

9:00

How many cups of coffee have you had?:

0

How are you wearing your day today?:

???????????????

Saving answers, please wait...

Interesting Stuff

Profile

The Basics
How many movies have you gone to see this month? : 0

If you could have 3 wishes...but none of them could be for you:
1) that mankind would stop hunting the animals and pushing them to the brink of extinction
2) That there would be no more wars
3) that all people would accept and respect all religions

What do you think of cloning? : not a good idea

Have you ever won a contest or competition? : yes

Do you read or watch TV more often? : watch TV

My Favorites
letter of the alphabet?: m - don't know why!!

Soup?: bean with bacon

Body Part?: fingers

Insect?: yuck!!

Mixed Drink?: coconut rum & pineapple juice

This or That
Atlantic/Pacific?: pacific

Cookie Monster/Elmo?: Cookie Monster

Cake/Cupcake?: cake

80s/90s?: 90's

Long hair/Short hair?: long hair

Do You?
Do you believe in fairies?: absolutely

Do you believe in ghosts?: again, absolutely

Do you troll around the Internet harassing people anonymously: no

If you are no longer a virgin, do you wish you still were?: hell no

Do you blow your nose in public?: why wouldn't I - beats a drippy nose

Have You Ever
Have you ever taken something that wasn't yours?: yes

Have you ever won a carnival fish?: no

Have you ever played in a band?: no

Have you ever been camping?: yes

Have you ever loved someone who didn't love you back?: yes

Misc.
Can you think of three adjectives that do not apply to you at all:
gregarious
outgoing
unhappy

Are strangers more beautiful or frightening to you?: beautiful

Is your heart open when you meet someone new?: I hope so

If Jesus appeared to you and told you that the moon was made of : sorry, don't believe in Jesus

At what part of the day do you feel the most alert?: morning

Personal
Do you know secret things?: yes

How do you overcome your fears?: by doing the things that I'm afraid of

Have you ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn't have?: not that I recall

List 5 things you have not experienced that you would like to:
1) visiting South America - especially Machu Pichu
2) Las Vegas
3 ) outer space
4) Antarctica
5) retirement!!

What is one thing you are sure of?: I dearly and completely love my husband Graham

Firsts
Who was your first best friend?: Marjorie Adamson

Are you often the first person at a party?: rarely

Are you the first one to get drunk?: never

Whats the first thing you have to do today?: it's Sunday - nothing special

What time do you first eat in a day?: in the morning

As of Now
Have you eaten yet today?: yes

Have you drank anything?: yes

Have you read the newspaper?: don't like reading the news

Is it raining?: no

Is it hot?: no

I took this off Facebook - kind of fun!!