A couple of weeks ago, we headed out to Las Vegas Airport to head back east to NJ/VA to visit family and friends. We had a very early morning flight, and had to be at the airport at 4 am. After really thinking about it, we decided to stay in a hotel right at the airport so we wouldn't miss our long-awaited trip back east. Smart move on our part!
The drive to Vegas was really scenic, and we admired the awesome landscape all along the way. What a beautiful country this is! The landscapes are just indescribable sometimes. My pictures don't do justice to what we are actually seeing.
There were a few disturbing signs along the highway....I was just amazed.....and not in a good way. A week later....Orlando. Very sad. Have we had enough gun violence yet?
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| Really?? This sign sent shivers down my spine....is this how we want to live in this country? |
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| amazing landscape |
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| so cool |
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| the Colorado River (a close up shot) |
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| view from a scenic overlook |
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| awesome views along the highway |
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| close to the Hoover Dam |
As we were just about in Vegas, we spotted the Hoover Dam and Visitor Center and decided to take just a little bit of time to explore it. A very little bit of time, since it was just a little hot....105 degrees!! We stopped at the Lake Mead Viewpoint for just a second...literally...it was just way too hot!
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| Lake Mead |
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| the view of the lake is gorgeous...especially on this very hot day |
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| feel like swimming?? |
We followed lots of other cars into the parking garage for the Visitor Center and Dam. The high tension power lines were impressive as we neared the parking area.
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| lots of power lines |
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| lot of power! |
Believe it or not, despite the incredible heat, the place was packed and I think we got the very last parking space without having to drive all the way through the 5 levels of the parking garage again. The view of the bridge up above was cool.We decided to skip the experience of walking over the bridge .... to avoid melting. Some things are just not worth it.
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| decided not to walk across the bridge due to the impressive heat |
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| not the kind of sign I like to see |
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| This is no joke! It is really really hot! |
We made a pact that we were only going to catch a view of the dam, take some pics and leave. Hopefully staying just a few minutes. We really marveled at the sights, and decided to check out the Visitor Center down below. Okay, and maybe catch some air-conditioning for a few minutes!
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| walking to view the Dam |
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| no need to walk across it...we can see just fine from here |
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| amazing |
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| another cool view (and we had a really awesome view from the plane!) |
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| is it hot enough? (I think anything over 75 degrees is excessive heat! But 105?!) |
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| The water is just so beautiful! Check out the water line (bathtub ring) though...its down quite a bit! |
The parking fee here was $10. There was another $10 charge each to go through the Visitor Center (not including a tour, which would be even more). We decided we were just not that interested to spend so much money for just a few minutes and it was so hot, we really didn't want to explore anything further, so we headed back out to Las Vegas and checked into our nice air-conditioned hotel. AAhhhh.
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| taking the easy way back up in this heat! |
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| What?? Not cool! |
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| oh baby....its hot hot hot |
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| Viva Las Vegas |
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| great to be staying so close to the airport for such an ungodly early flight |
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| busy corner here |
Our trip back East couldn't have gone any smoother. It was just great seeing all of our family and friends! As I mention often, that is the hardest part of this amazing life we are living....the distance from family and friends! We are so very fortunate and thankful that despite busy lives, everyone still makes time for us!! (No pics though....preserving privacy).
After another incredibly early flight (what was I thinking??), we flew out of DC and arrived in Vegas by 9:30 am! That gave us all day to get our camper out of storage and set up our homestead once again in Kingman. Wow! All the planning and intricacies involved in this trip went very well!!
Summer has descended upon us with a vengeance! We left Kingman, AZ, today ..... in the nick of time. The temperatures are forecast to be 105-110 or so there for a few days. Oh boy! Luckily we have settled in Williams, AZ, where the temperatures are a lot cooler! The difference in landscape is amazing too. We are nestled in among the pine trees here and enjoying the shade and the breeze.
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| dinner in our new backyard in Williams, AZ |
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| Tom's favorite meal! |
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| enjoying the weather! |
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