Vegas, Baby...

We were up early, with a plan for a road trip. Mother Nature gave us a beautiful sunrise to start the day.


We gave Izzy some hugs and put out her automatic feeder. We are heading to Las Vegas for the day.

The new bridge at Hoover Dam is finally open; it’s been 5 years in the building and is supposed to be quite an engineering feat. We decided to take the long way to Vegas so we can check that out. It’s a steep climb out of Laughlin, with some rugged and striking western desert landscape. Big Red ran up that steep drive like a sports car, without the HitchHiker and cargo trailer behind.

The sun and clouds made for some pretty light on those mountains.


It’s been years since we’ve driven this road; RVs and big trucks have not been allowed to cross the dam since 9/11, due to security concerns. The new road is nice near the Hoover Dam... you don’t get to see the spectacular span bridge until you are right on it. We took the turn off for the Hoover Dam - this is the old road... amazing that we drove our big coaches over this narrow, twisty 2-lane.


We stopped to take some photos of the bridge and the overview of the Hoover Dam area. It truly is an engineering marvel. And then a short hike up the hill to see the bridge up close and personal. There is a pedestrian walkway across the bridge.

Then on to Vegas. The Strip just seems wall-to-wall with big casinos. It is nearly overwhelming to drive and try to take it all in. We drove north, then came back south and had lunch at the south end of the Strip.


With all the big glitzy new casinos, New York - New York is still our favorite. It seems that the newest places have gotten away from “themes” in favor of trying to be the most upscale. $300 and up for a room for a night at many of those places. We walked around a bit, but decided to not take on the crowds on the Strip. The Consumer Electronics Show is happening right now; it’s one of the biggest conventions to come to Vegas... timing.

We were back in Laughlin before dark; early enough for us to walk down to the Edgewater... where we continued our Joan up, Jim down trend.

Let it ride!

We are back in Laughlin. This place holds some nostalgia for us - it is one of the first places we traveled to that made us (RVers) feel welcome. Yeah, that was about 20 years ago. Certainly more laid back than Las Vegas. We're not big gamblers, but we like the "folksy" feel of this place... and the walk along the river... and the buffets. After 24 hours here, I'm down $9, but I've more than made it up on food consumed. Let me get in a breakfast buffet and I should be in the black - I know I can eat $30 or $40 worth of bacon in one sitting.

Yeah, I'm kidding. Sorta.

It's been chilly and windy since we arrived... high temp today in the upper 50s, wind out of the north at about a gazillion miles per hour. We got a push walking south along the river and a real workout coming back north into the wind.

Since I didn't win the Mega-Millions (apparently they have some sort of rule that you have to buy a ticket first), I'll continue to work on some retirement security while we're here.

Head 'em up, move 'em out...

The first sunrise I photographed for 2011...


We spent the afternoon getting ready to roll. After being here nearly 2 months, you get settled in. The cargo trailer is packed and attached, the bike is strapped down; unplug, hook up the truck to the Love Shack and we'll hit the road...

Coyotes...

It's a cliche'... you see it in RV parks all over the southwest: the little yard ornaments that are coyotes howling. This morning, we heard it close by - as in: right next to the coach! It was very apparent that the pack of coyotes had gotten something... my first thought was someone might have let their dog out for a morning potty break. It was still dark; 6:03 when I checked the clock by the bed. Looking down, little Izzy's eyes were big as saucers due to all the nearby howling. She moved up on the bed and seemed to settle down when it was clear that the marauding band of howlers wasn't going to break down the door. In fact, after a few minutes, she ran to the living room to try to peek under a window shade.

Things got quite for a moment, then we could hear a siren in the distance. No, whatever was connected to the siren wasn't coming to our RV park, but as it got closer, the coyotes began howling again... in earnest. At least they had moved a little ways away from our coach.

I looked all around the coach when I got up, but didn't find any remains. This is why one shouldn't leave their pet on a leash attached unattended outside in the desert.

Calendar Girl...

One of the participants on the C-Brats website put together a 2011 calendar featuring various glimpses into the world of C-Dory ownership. Wild Blue is "Miss March."

Check it out here:

http://www.lulu.com/product/calendar/2011-c-brat-calendar/14438384

Back to the Books...

Well, it is back to school for our daughter and son-in-law, as their Christmas break comes to an end. Tomorrow, they are back in the classroom.

As I wrapped up writing Cat On A Leash, I wrote a manuscript for a children's book, also about Molly. Dan offered to illustrate it. It has taken him almost a year to squeeze in the time to get the illustrations done... and I am now working on layout and editing. Here's a preview of the cover...

More work ahead. While I am a big fan of the eBooks, this is a full color illustrated book, so it will be best on paper.

2011

We are not big party people; until we started coming to the desert for the holidays the past two years (our HH makes that comfortable), our New Years Eve tradition was to head out on our boat, watch the fireworks on South Padre Island, then anchor in a quiet cove for the night, and start the year off with a sail in the Gulf. Just the three of us (yes, the cat... Smoke, Molly, and Izzy all got to ring in the New Year with us that way).

We continued our "not big party" tradition last night with games, food, and conversation with our daughter and son-in-law last night... until the wee hours of the early evening. They did have a party to go to, so before 7:00 pm, we wished them a Happy New Year and headed for home. It was no problem to stay up to watch the ball drop in Times Square... no problem because we are in Arizona, so we only had to stay up 'till 10:00 pm to see midnight in New York. Surprisingly, I was awake enough at midnight local time to hear the fireworks going off nearby (not too nearby). Not quite the same as rocking at anchor, but we were snug in our HH even though it was cold in the desert (got into the 20s during the night). On the bright side: no one in our HH is hungover this morning.

One of my first mates liked to say, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift." Make the most of the gift of 2011.