Valley of Fire

        Jim and I left for Las Vegas at about noon on Wednesday.  First, we went to Provo so Jim could get a little bit of work in at BYU and I attended our Y-Be-Fit session.  Next week will be our final week.  We will have to go through the pod test and some other tests then.  We drove straight through to the Valley of Fire.  We got there at 4:35 Nevada time.  This visitor's center closed at 4:30.  So we just took off on our own for a little bit.  We found Mouse's Tank, which I have always known as Mouses's Hole.  It's funny how a small child remembers things.  I was about 2 1/2 when we went there.  I remember the hole as being huge and I didn't think my dad would ever get Cinco out and we were going to have to leave them.  Well, we got to the tank, which is the hole I guess.  It's not very big.  I'm sure it has filled up with a lot of sand since I was there.  Anyway, it wasn't very impressive.  What is impressive are the formations and the petroglyphs.  I took lots of pictures of them. 

 

Trail head to Mouse's Tank

Mouse's Tank

Petroglyphs

 

Cool formations.  I call it Monkey Face with Storm Trooper.

     After hiking around for a bit at the Valley of Fire, we took the scenic route to Boulder City.  This was the old road that took us by Lake Mead.  We got to Uncle Leonard's at 7:00 and had a nice visit with him.  He seems to be in good health and he was in great spirits.  I snapped a quick picture of him.  He was worried that it might have broken my camera.  He's 88 years old.

Uncle Leonard

     We stayed in the Bunkhouse and in the morning Uncle Leonard  made a really  good breakfast.  We had cereal, bananas, apples, boiled eggs and then he brought out rice crispie treats.  I love those so he brought out even more to send with us.  We visited for a bit more and then we were on our way.  He went off to the temple.  We went to UNLV to visit a piano tech there.  Jim wanted to meet him.  He will be a good resource for the convention in July.  We got to the hotel in the afternoon and then spent the remainder of the day and evening picking up people from the airport.  

     Today we started off with a workout in Bally's gym.  They are so crooked expensive here.  It costs $22 a day to use their gym.  I wasn't going to pay that.  One of Jim's group had a pass that she loaned me that got me and Jim into the gym for free.  It's a really nice place, but I wouldn't have paid that kind of money to use it for  a day.  She says that she will make sure we have a pass when we come for the convention in July.  Then Jim went to his meetings and I went to the temple.  It was very nice and peaceful there, the total opposite of the strip.

 

Las Vegas Temple

     So now I'm back in my lovely little refuge of a room, using the Internet, for which I have to pay $11.99/day.  My 24 hours started at 2:00 this afternoon and I get it until tomorrow at 2:00.  Tomorrow, I'm hoping to go on a walk along the strip and take some pictures and post them before I'm cut off.  I've kept in my calorie count and tried to eat healthy while I have been here.  It's hard to find good things to eat in a city that caters to all kinds of decadence.  I found a Panda Express on my way home from the temple and got some veggies and chicken.  It's almost dinner time and I am not hungry at all, so I'm sure I'll keep to my count today also.  This is not a diet blog, so I won't go on about that.  The city is interesting and so are the people.  There are so many different types of people here.  I find myself wondering about their stories; what are their lives like?  What brought them to Vegas?  Why would anyone come here on purpose?  Anyway, it's different staying on the strip.  I've never stayed in a hotel in Southern Nevada.  We always stay at Uncle Leonard's, but that isn't practical for what Jim has to do here.  Expect pictures and an update tomorrow.  Stay tuned for the thrilling adventures of an overweight grandma.