Friday, December 29, 2006
Off on the road to Arizona
like a bright blue lake in the midst of the red rock desert,
or a face peering out from a cliffmaintained, in me at least, a definite sense of wonder.
Anyway, we finally peeled ourselves away from Vegas. We really did stay there way too long. Why? I'm not really sure. Maybe it was the total change from what we were doing, which was getting away from the pitfalls of civilization. Maybe it was just the relief of having a place, no matter how strange, becoming familiar. Who knows. Anyway, we left.
We had no specific destination. We just knew we would be heading through Phoenix. So we plotted a route and figured we would see how long we could stand to drive before we hit a point of interest. To get to Arizona from Vegas, the best way was to go by way of the Hoover Dam. We didn't stop, but traffic was so bad due to tourists and road blocks caused by high terrorist warning levels or whatever that thing is called, that it was almost like stopping.
On the way to the dam we had to pull the truck into a special inspection area where they had us stop and open a compartment or two before waving us through. This really didn't strike me as a shining example of national security. The dam was interesting. I guess it was designed when Art Deco was all the rage. Even if not, that was the style they picked.
In stark contrast to the old design were odd pulleys, and half finished towers for a road that will bypass the winding, clogged road which we drove on, and which right now is the only way through. They made for neat pictures!
Friday, December 08, 2006
Circus Circus KOA, Las Vegas, NV V
So it’s been so long since we were in Vegas that I am having a bit of difficulty deciding what to include and what to leave out. And to be honest, I am having more than a bit of difficulty remembering what we did. After the first few days of being there, I stopped taking so many pictures. I guess that when you have been in a place long enough, it becomes mundane. Nevertheless, I will do my best to give an amusing account of this time, which I hardly remember. For the most part, we swam, ate Japanese food, and walked around. I don’t know why, but the family somehow has become addicted to sushi and hibachi. I gave a long spiel a while back about how we were on a tour of swimming pools and playgrounds. It actually evolved into a pool, playground, and Japanese steakhouse tour.
The funny thing about Vegas, though, is that as odd a place as it is, it was very easy to get comfortable there. We kept deciding to leave then staying another day, or two days, or three days. I guess that happens to a lot of people who go there. When Brian was playing poker one night, the dealer asked him: “Do you live here?”
“Well, we came to visit for a week and have been here for three,” Brian laughed.
The dealer replied, “See that dealer there? He came for a weekend ten years ago. That dealer was on vacation for a week. He’s been here seven years.” I think he may have kept pointing people out after that. Who knows.
One day we came back to the trailer, and there was this little boy sweeping the parking lot with a little broom. Zorah went to say hello, then immediately grabbed our broom and joined him in sweeping.
Later on, he came back, but they tired rather quickly of the brooms, so I pulled out a bag of balloons, strained my jaw blowing one up, and gave it to them. They batted it around until it popped.As you may know, Zorah likes to squeeze herself into boxes and other small places. One day she decided that she wanted to be in our storage ottoman. Then, she wanted to be tucked into it, which I did with the following results.
Silly Zorah!
