MY KOKOPELLI

Here is my kokopelli stained glass window in the door of the RV, taken from the inside through the screen, but with the outdoor light shining through. Isn't he much more colorful when taken with the outside light behind him than with the background in the dark?

THE LAST THREE DAYS

We are in Yuma Arizona. We left Las Vegas on Friday morning and drove to the Yuma Proving Grounds about 40 miles north of Yuma, out in the middle of nowhere in the desert. There is an Army base there where we spent the night, and we drove on into Yuma on Saturday afternoon. We are staying with Dick's cousin and her husband, Joan and Red, the friendliest and nicest people we've met in our travels. They have a lot here in a neighborhood where each lot is fenced in with Mexican bricks forming the wall, and with iron gates across the front. Their lot has a small shed along the back, and a covered patio in the middle. Their 5th wheel RV is parked on the west side, and Dick and Bev's and our RVs are parked along the east side. All three trucks fit in too, and the gate is closed behind us. What fun we are having!

Saturday afternoon we went to the flea market, held in a huge lot, all under the cover of tents, and blocks long and wide. I've never seen anything like it! And you can buy just about anything from fruit to nuts; and also candy, RV supplies, T-shirts, jewelry, garden flags and ornaments, quilting patterns and fabric, books, Avon, purses, and on and on. The merchandise is new, and the prices are good. That was a lot of fun.

Then yesterday we went to Mexico, my first trip there ever. I had a ball bickering with the shop workers over the prices of items. Ernie and I bought a stained glass window for the door of the RV. I'd always seen people with these fancy stained glass windows in their RV, and I knew that the factory wasn't putting them in. I had no clue that they came from Mexico. I picked out a very colorful kokopelli, the little hunchback flute playing stick man, who is known, among other things, as the story teller and is used in decorating vases, shirts, lanterns, plates, bowls, cups, etc. We installed it right away when we got home and he looks good.

Today we went back to Mexico to exchange the stained glass that our friends bought. So we had to have another look round and had to bargain for a few more items. I got some brightly painted tin ornaments and a blue plate with very colorful little people painted on it. After we got back to Yuma we toured the historic Yuma prison that is now a state park. That was very interesting. Sure glad I didn't have to spend any time in there. Seems that the prisoners who were put in the "dark room" often had scorpions and rattlesnakes dropped down on them through a vent in the ceiling, by the guards.

I don't know what is on the schedule for tomorrow, but I am hoping it includes a trip to the date farm. I understand you can buy date milkshakes that are out of this world!

BLACK FRIDAY

Happy Black Friday as the day after Thanksgiving is known in the retail world. And, nope, I am not going shopping. Not going anywhere near the malls, actually.

But, we are traveling today. We are leaving our spot here in Las Vegas and heading down towards Yuma. We'll stop along the way in Lake Havasu to see the London Bridge. After spending a few days in Yuma and then we are turning west and going to San Diego.

Unless I am forced, I don't plan to return to this city. It is just not my cup of tea, not a place where I feel comfortable living. Keep your warm temperatures, daily sunshine, bare ground and rocks, your restaurants, hotels, and casinos; keep your lights, noise, and crowds of people, and give me my trees and 4 seasons and my peace and solitude. I guess I'm just a small mid-west town gal.

We had a very nice day yesterday on Thanksgiving Day. We went over to the base and had dinner in the chow hall. We spent a long time talking to one gentleman, actually a two star general. He gave us a lot of information about this area that we had never known before and we thank him for stopping by our table to visit with us. It was very interesting to hear about his career in the Air Force and some of his experiences as a pilot. And the cheesecake I had for dessert was excellent! Better than any pumpkin pie! And the dressing was very moist and stuck together just as I like it. Nummmmmmmmy.

We talked with three of our kids, and with my sister and mother. The noise and commotion at my sister's place sounded wonderful. I could hear the murmur of conversations and the happy squeals of her little grandsons in the background. Actually, the three year old was singing the alphabet song. Thank you for those noises, Betsy. It made me feel right at home. And I smile every day at the emails I receive from granddaughter Jaden. These are the little things that help me make it through the lonesome parts of the day.

The best part of our day was spending it with our friends, Dick and Bev. We are so thankful to have dear friends to celebrate with!

SOMETHING FUNNY ABOUT THIS

Our home town in Minnesota is currently 25 degrees, feels like 15
Grand Forks, North Dakota, where son Lenny lives, is 23, feels like 13
It was 33 degrees here in Las Vegas, Nevada when I got up this morning, but.........
The current temperature in Seldovia, Alaska, where son Chris lives, is 49!!!!!!

OH, GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD

I love Thanksgiving. We don't have the constant TV ads that surround most of the other holidays; no buy this, or you need that, or I want such and such. This holiday is different. This day is all about family and friends giving thanks for their many blessings.

In our Thanksgiving Eve church service last night, the pastor reminded us to read Psalm 100, the most beautiful psalm of thanks, before diving into the turkey and mashed potatoes or before turning on the TV for the big game. This is one of my favorite psalms, and I want to share it with you this morning.

1. Make a joyful shout to the Lord all you lands!

2. Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before his presence with singing.

3. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

5. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And his truth endures to all generations.

We will be going over to the base chow hall to join the troops in a Thanksgiving meal, complete with turkey, ham, roast beef and all the trimmings, including the pumpkin pie. As we do before every meal, we will bow our heads and pray a part of this psalm........

Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good. And His mercy endures forever. Amen.

THOUGHTS ON A LAS VEGAS THANKSGIVING

There is one thing about this town that has really bothered me since the first time we drove down to The Strip, and that is the number of homeless in Las Vegas. True it is much easier to be homeless in this very mild climate than is it back in Minnesota. During the winter back home, you must be inside in order to survive the harsh cold, wind and snow. Out here, it is possible to live outdoors year around. You may be cold, but it is not a life threatening below zero cold like in Minnesota.

I was going to take pictures, but decided that the homeless, many by their own decisions involving addictions to alcohol, drugs, or gambling, but some because of their mental illness or other uncontrollable circumstances, don't deserve to be humiliated any further by having me post pictures, even of anonymous folks.

The street leading up to The Strip, is lined every night with dozens of free standing tents, sleeping bags, and people just sleeping on the sidewalk, covered by their light weight jackets and surrounded by their every worldly possession stuffed into a big black trash bag or a couple of smaller plastic bags from WalMart. Many have collections of aluminum cans or other treasures to sell or trade for food and/or drink. There are grocery store shopping carts also, filled with items that may come in useful to build a shelter or to share with equally destitute friends. Fortunately I didn't see any children among these homeless, but I am not so naive as to think that there are none. What we did see, however, were mostly middle aged or older men and women, the majority being men. I am willing to bet that a large number of those men are veterans, once proud protectors of our country, and now street dwellers, and in a city with a huge military base.

But the most disturbing part to me, is that those veterans are living on a street in horrible conditions, only a block and a half removed from the huge display of lights and sound displayed in the outrageously decorated casinos, filled with thousands of blinking, clanging slot machines, and where we saw a group of young men celebrating their right to drink themselves into unconsciousness, and throwing one hundred dollar bills like confetti on the black jack table. Ernie watched for awhile, I left, unable to comprehend this stupidity.

Granted, some of these folks are in this position because of their own doings and they probably don't even want help, but others are caught in the spirals of mental illness or disease, and they deserve help, especially those veterans who have given so much for their, and our, country.

On this Thanksgiving Day when we are counting our innumerable blessings, let's remember to give thanks for those who have kept us safe, and if there is any way that we can help the homeless veterans regain their health or dignity, we should consider doing so. Let's have a wonderful, family and food filled, warm and safe holiday. But let's also remember that some have none of those.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

This afternoon was the annual RV campground Thanksgiving dinner. The china was styrofoam plates and bowls, and the best silver was white plastic. Beverages were Sam's club sodas or H2O. There were no linen table cloths, nor did anyone have to spend hours dusting and vacuuming before the guests arrived.
The majority of the guests dined in the shelter, but we picked a table outside in the shade.
There was plenty of turkey, ham, potatoes, dressing, gravy, relishes, salads, several kinds of bean dishes, and many cakes and pies for dessert. Many folks volunteered to help, and the dinner went well. We had entertainment, too. A system borrowed from the youth center, and then the daughter of one of the workers, who, if I heard correctly, is semi-professional. She was very good.....kind of an Allison Krause voice. There is a garden in the middle of the park, full of different cactus (cacti?) and other heat hearty plants. Someone has placed some pumpkins in the garden, just to make it look like Thanksgiving I think.

So this was our first Thanksgiving dinner. On Thursday we will go to the dining hall on base for another meal. If I can't have my kids and grandkids around, I guess we'll go eat with the troops and let them know how thankful we are that they continue to keep our country safe. Thank you military!

SOMETHING SEEMS GOOFY HERE

This was the bulletin today in church. And this is what I think it should look like outside during Thanksgiving week! However, we have a slightly different scene. Looking out the back window of the RV, I see an empty sandy lot, with dry scrubby bushes growing in it. East, North and West of us are bare brown hills, looking more like piles of construction dirt than mountains, and to the South are the lights of the Las Vegas Strip. Runners in shorts and tank shirts are cruising around the path that surrounds this park, and there are flowers blooming in the little garden area. The Thanksgiving dinner, which will be held tomorrow afternoon, will be served outdoors around picnic tables; I hope we score a spot in the shelter so we will be in shade.

Ernie and I just went for a walk around the path, me in my ever present Tevas, and the temperature is 75 degrees. As I said, this is not my idea of Thanksgiving week weather, but we did have the church bulletin this morning to remind us of what it is supposed to look like. Enjoy your weather back in Minnesota!

NOW REST BENEATH NIGHT'S SHADOW

1. Now rest beneath night's shadow
The woodland, field, and meadow;
The world in slumber lies.
But thou, my heart, awake thee,
To prayer and song betake thee;
Let praise to they Creator rise.

5. Lord Jesus, who dost love me,
O spread Thy wings above me
And shield me from alarm!
though evil would assail me,
Thy mercy will not fail me;
I rest in Thy protecting arm.

6. My loved ones, rest securly,
For God this night will surely
From peril guard your heads.
Sweet slumbrs may He send you
And bid His hosts attend you
And through the night watch o'er your beds.

Paul Gerhardt (1607-76)
# 569 ELH

This evening hymn is one of my all time favorites, probably because as a child my family would sing it often after supper and our evening devotions. We knew the words by heart when we were very young, almost as young as when we learned Away in a Manger. We sat around the oil cloth covered table in the southwest corner of the kitchen, and when our food was gone, daddy would reach behind him to the window sill where the devotion book, Portals of Prayer, was kept. He read the Bible verse for the day, and the short devotion that followed it, and ended with a short prayer. We then would all say the Lord's Prayer together, and then end with the common thank you table prayer. Often we then sang a hymn, and this one was one of our favorites. Daddy began in his deep bass voice, mom joined in with her pretty soprano, the Christian Day School teacher who lived with us sang, as well as all five of us kids. This is one of my dearest memories, the whole family around the table together, joining in prayer and song. And often out the window to the west, we would view a pretty sunset like the one pictured. I felt peaceful, safe, and loved. I hope you all feel that way tonight.

FOR MY MOM

Flowers in November, mom. Aren't these pansies pretty? So fresh and clean looking.
And I know you know the story behind looking for a Denny's, so thought I'd post that picture for you, too. This Denny's comes complete with a casino though, something we don't find in our Minnesota Denny's.

FANTASY EVENING

This was our destination, and we went down early enough to purchase tickets and hopefully get good seats at $20 off each. Didn't happen. The ticket agent said the promotion that the gal at the base ticket information office had spoken of was no longer being honored. Figures. So we took the cheapest seats, halfway back under the balcony so we couldn't see the chandelier clearly. Other than that, the seats were fine, we just didn't get the discount once again.



The picture above is how some people arrive at the Venetian. However, we drove down in Dick's big black truck and parked on the 7th floor of the parking ramp. Our spot was right next to the elevators, however, and we soon were walking down this painted gold ceilinged hallway patterned after the beauty of Venice and Rome.

The Venetian comes complete with gondolas, bothoutside.........

......and inside. The shops lining the canal were high end places, and we only peaked in the open doors, knowing full well that we couldn't afford a pair of socks from these clothing lines.

After walking around with our mouths hanging wide open, and filling those open mouths with a cheap burger and fries for our dinner, the time finally came for our long awaited show.

Naturally, there were no cameras allowed inside, so I could only take a picture of the entrance to the theatre. The show was wonderful, awesome, amazing, stupendous, beautiful, and incredible, all rolled into one, and with lots of exclamation points!!!!!!! I have never seen a big time professional performance before, and I was truly awed. The special effects were out of this world, as were the sets and costumes.

And the music was everything I expected, and more. Absolutely tops. My words cannot describe the experience, and I will never forget it. Can you tell that I loved our trip to Phantom? I only wish you all could have come with me, as you would have loved it too.

OUR TREAT

Our treat to ourselves in Vegas will be this show. We are heading down to the Strip this afternoon, hoping to purchase tickets for the third tier, back row, cheap seats. We will get a discount of $20 by showing our military ID card. Or at least we are supposed to. Hope it doesn't turn out like our buy one get one free buffet meal that we didn't get last week. We are also planning on dining on the Strip tonight, but that will probably be at Mac and Don or somewhere equally inexpensive to make up for the price of the tickets.

I have been terribly upset about a situation back home these past few days, so I think Phantom will be a welcome respite from reality.

OFF ROAD AGAIN

Yesterday we drove to Hoover Dam and dropped Dick and Bev off so they could take the tour. We went on across the dam and found a dirt road to follow for a few miles. It was another narrow, rocky road, the kind Ernie loves, and we headed off.
At first it was just the same color of desert tan that is all over around here, and I wasn't too impressed. It gets pretty boring after awhile.
But when we came to the above scene I changed my mind. It was beautiful, in a brown sort of way! There were a few spots of orange running through the hills, and several shades of brown and tan. We didn't go any further, but the sign said the road continued on to Lake Mead, the lake created by the dam.

IN 1956 ON THIS DAY

On this day in 1956, the first of Elvis Presley's thirty three movies opened. Love Me Tender was not a huge box office hit, but I loved it! It was kind of a hokey Civil War drama, nothing spectacular in any way, shape or form, but I loved Elvis, so I loved his movie. Actually, Love Me Tender was probably my favorite of his songs, too. I didn't like the later Elvis, the Vegas years, or the movies and songs from those years. Once in high school and college my tastes became a bit more sophisticated......like the Beatles! But when I was in grade school, Elvis was the king. And two days ago, the Frontier in Vegas, the first place he performed here, was imploded.

RED ROCK CANYON

Today we went to Red Rock Canyon which is west of Las Vegas. The scenic drive through the canyon is 13 miles long, and it passes some interesting mountains. There is a light red, a dark red, a white, and a couple of hues of tan.
The hills aren't huge by any means; they are more like piles of rocks.

Here it seems like God painted a definite line to separate the red from the white.
When we first saw this climber, we weren't too sure if it was a male or a female. He/she was way up on this steep rock wall, putting in anchors and ropes. The hair was long, the build was kind of slight, and the body was shirtless. He/she was talking to a woman on the ground, and the voice wasn't definitely male or female. As the climber came back down and reached the bottom and turned around, we found out it was a male. Wasn't sure for awhile there!

Here you have white, tan, gray and red.
There is a pretty large valley in between the east and west sides of this canyon, and there are yucca and Joshua trees in addition to the sage and other small brush. There have been two fires in recent years, and much of the yucca are burned.

The sun was behind the mountains on the west and the shadows were growing larger and larger as we finished up the drive and left the park.
The view of some red rocks from the highway on our way back to town. These aren't my favorite kind of mountains, but they were interesting hills and piles of rocks.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY.........

...........in 1789, Benjamin Franklin said "nothing is certain but death and taxes."

THEY'RE EVERYWHERE! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!

Just found this video from this summer's whale watching trip off the northern coast of Cape Breton. It's really hard to know where they will pop up next. So taping them isn't easy, but it sure was fun!

SPENT $1300

Yesterday afternoon I spent about 2 hours on the Internet, researching flights, motels and car rentals. I came up with the cheapest of each one, and booked a flight from San Diego to Minnesota at Christmas time, actually on the morning of the 24th. I found a cheap compact car, and then picked the least expensive of the motels for our week long stay. Flight - $700; car - $200; motel - $400; time at home with grandkids - PRICELESS.

THE FREMONT STREET EXPERIENCE

This site explains what I cannot explain. All I know is that there are 12 million lights and bazillions of decibels of noise that create this Fremont Street Experience. This is what we saw last night in downtown Las Vegas. What an experience! The light show is repeated every hour, each one being different. The canopy covered street is packed with people, kiosks are hawking everything from airbrushed tattoos to pictures of the young Elvis to luscious gellato from Italy. We watched a young man create absolutely fabulous paintings with spray paint! A pianist on a semi-truck bed provided music and three Chippendales were provocatively posing for photos with any woman who would pay the price! We had been told about this place, but I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. This small mid-west town gal walked around with her eyes popping out of her head and her mouth hanging wide open. WOW!

I took a few videos, a bit grainy, but I think you can get the effect.

We had gone down at dinner time, armed with our coupons for "buy one get one free" buffets. Guess what? We discovered that the coupons were not valid on a holiday. So, Ernie and Dick, two men who each gave twenty years of their life to the service of our country, and one of the veterans that Veterans Day was to honor, could not use their free buffet coupon. Quite ironic I thought. We did eat at a buffet though, paying full price. I was not impressed. Of course my allergies prevented me from eating the shrimp and crab legs. Maybe if I had been able to pig out on those items I would have liked it better.

Had we stayed downtown until 2 AM we could have watched the implosion of the Frontier, the second casino to be built on the strip and the place where Elvis first performed in Vegas. We, however, being old folks, headed home about 9:30 and opted to watch the implosion on morning TV. Again and again and again! Seems they trade off showing the big bang and the OJ stuff. BORING!

Here are a few more pictures of the Fremont Street Experience, including one of the paintings made with spray paint.

OUR WHIRLWIND TRIP TO MINNESOTA

Bright and early on Thursday morning we locked up the RV and headed to the airport for our quick trip home to Minnesota. The highway was clear, no crowds yet for the OJ hearing, and we made it to the airport, found long term parking, and checked ourselves in and printed our boarding passes. The trip was uneventful, and we landed in less than three hours, ahead of the expected time. We hadn't checked any luggage, so it was a fast exit from the terminal and soon we had picked up our rental car and were on the way to Kevin and Molly's home. We were treated to a super meal and an evening of fun conversation. On Friday morning we went down town for breakfast, and then left for the wedding, 2 hours from there.

The wedding was very nice. Our godson, Dan, found a lovely gal in Jen, and they make a beautiful couple. At the reception we got to visit with my mom and sister, two other sisters and their husbands, my brother and his wife, who are the parents of the groom, an aunt, two cousins and a spouse, and nephews and nieces, in addition to other people we knew. It was a nice time and after our two hour drive back to Kevin's, we sneaked into the house after one, trying our best to be quiet so we wouldn't get in trouble for being so late.

This is the first dance for the new Mr and Mrs. As I said before, they are a beautiful couple and we wish them a long and happy life together. They are both very special people.

Another beautiful couple at the wedding were my mom and her sister, my aunt. My mom is in the bluish/purple outfit, and my aunt is in the patterned jacket. Don't they look nice? I was the flowergirl in my aunt's wedding, many, many years ago. My uncle is gone now, and we miss him so much. I always think of him on Veterans Day as he fought for our country in WWII.
Saturday morning after breakfast, Ernie asked if I wanted to make a fast run down to our hometown to see some of the kids! Of course I answered yes! We called Kari, asked her to call the others, and said we were treating at the hog trough (buffet) for anyone who could come at 11. We had Kari and Mike with Adam, Ben and Anna. Katie came with her Clayton. Tya came with Jaden and Madison. We had stopped on our way down and picked up Jacob and Caleb, so we had a large group. When we finished we went down to Kari's place for a little more visiting and Aaron and his girlfriend Anna came in. Before we left I called my mom and she had just gotten home from her trip to the wedding, so we stopped in to see her and my sister for a few minutes before heading back to Kevin and Molly's home. They treated us at Culver's before we left for the airport to fly back to Las Vegas. The trip back here was also uneventful, and we were back in our RV by midnight.

It was a quick but fun weekend. We saw all my siblings and their spouses, my mom, a son and a daughter and their spouses, a daughter-in-law, and eleven out of fifteen grandkids. So I've had a little grandkid fix and now should be able to make it until Christmas.

And this morning we had a phone call from the friends that we were expecting tomorrow. They had already arrived! So we spent the day with them and had them over for dinner and a game of Phase 10. Now we are tired and are heading to bed. It may take us a few days to recover from our wonderful whirlwind weekend, but it was totally worth it.