Part Two of Las Vegas (Albuquerque, NM)

Below are photos from the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Park.  Since I have so many photos, I placed the best ones in collages.

It took a couple of hours to drive the loop with stops and short walks on trails.  The day was perfect with blue skies and mild temperatures.

Viewed some petroglyphs on one trail that was off the regular loop.  It took us a few minutes to find the trail, but it was worth the wandering around to see them.

I was pleasantly surprised to see this remembrance quilt in the Visitors Center.  

A lot of thought and work went into the quilt.  What a beautiful tribute to Goodsprings and a wonderful way to remember your neighbors and friends.

It looks like everyone signed their own block and a few added embroidered flowers to their block.

Even the unmarked graves were remembered in this quilt.

I believe I saw Hoover Dam once many years ago as we were passing by from the highway bridge, but I have never visited or walked across the dam.  The bridge has a pedestrian viewing area.  I enjoyed the view from the center of the bridge and shot some good photos of Hoover Dam.  The rail is so tall that I had to stand on tip-toes to get the shots.  I know...I'm short on both ends.

Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Walking out onto the dam and looking down was amazing to think this was built in 1931.  Looking up to the bridge....odd, the bridge looks a lot higher from the Dam than it did when I was standing above. 

Hoover Dam definitely left me feeling awestruck.  

The art deco throughout the dam was grand, but my favorite was the "Winged Figures of the Republic".

One last photo from an overlook of Lake Mead before we left the area.  Beautiful!

Lake Mead

Hitch was very opinionated about our leaving the FamCamp in Nellis AFB.  He tried to get out as we were setting up to leave.  He cried for at least the first hour of travel before he finally wore himself out.

I think the cat that left these paw prints might have had something to do with Hitch's unusual behavior.

Hmmm, stray cat letting us know that this is his area across our car.

On The Cutting Board

Okay, here is my first attempt to make my own block (Quail).  I did not want to design them too close to the fetish designs of the 'Native Flair', but just similar enough to where they did not stick out.  

My first attempt

Making wide enough designs so I could add swirls, arrows, or circles turned out to be quite a challenge.  The Quail wasn't as hard since they tend to look quite plump, but I could not make the feet the same native-fetish design.  To me, the Quail just did not look right, so I left both feet in the design.

Native Flair design

Okay, one down and four more to go!

Happy Quilting!

Back On The Open Road (Albuquerque, NM)

This has been a busy month for us.  We have been traveling south from Oregon while visiting a few of our favorite stops and a couple of new ones.  We managed to avoid severe weather while traveling.

Valley of the Rogue River

We are in Albuquerque, NM until Saturday when the latest cold front finally fizzles out and then it is on to Texas for the winter.  So, I have several posts to do with photos.

So, back in Oregon, we learned that the paved path inside the Valley of the Rogue River State Park is being extended 30 miles from Central Point to Grants Pass and connecting to the Bear Creek Greenway which will add another 20 miles.  When the Rogue River Greenway is completed, the 50-mile path will connect 8 cities in southern Oregon encouraging people to use the path for health, travel, and recreation.  The best part, users will not have to worry about vehicles except when crossing roads.

We visited Jacksonville during our stay in the state park.  We walked a few of the streets, window shopping and enjoyed the peacefulness of the downtown area.

Jacksonville, OR

I have seen Mt. Shasta so many times in the past ten years and I never tire of the view.  Such a gorgeous sight to see as we drive down I-5.

Mt. Shasta

We decided on a different route this time.  Instead of our usual route through California on I-5, we decided to go through Nevada for a change of scenery and what a change!  After a night in one of Reno's casino parking lots, we headed south on US 6/95.  Talk about the open road and no traffic!  

Dan found online an overnight rest stop for travelers, but not for commercial truckers at Miller's Rest Area near Tonopah, NV.  We were the first to park for the evening.  The cats enjoyed exploring the area while I enjoyed the views.  So much open space!  By sunset, there were several recreational vehicles parked near us.

Sunset and sunrise at Miller's Rest Area

Next stop, Las Vegas!  

I wish we had been here
 to see this cactus bloom.

Actually Nellis AFB, but we did get out a couple of times for lunch buffets, plus we visited Red Rock Canyon and Hoover Dam.  I'll save those photos for the next post.

Nellis AFB FamCamp

I think we wore out the cats from all the traveling.  

Max and Dusty

Don't they look comfortable?

Happy Quilting!

Finished and Moving On (Las Vegas, NV)

Finished! Done!  WooHoo!.....of course, we will not peek into my closet to see how many more UFOs lurk in the dark corners....

I hung these up in a hurry today to get some photos.  I have a long list of things I want to finish before we leave tomorrow.

I had planned to take these to Albuquerque this summer.  Due to our returning to the Preserve for this winter, we will not be going to New Mexico.  

So, if I find a charity group during our travels, I will give them this quilt along with the Redwork Teddy Bear quilt.  Hopefully, I will find a Project Linus contact.  If not, I know the Escapee's Parks have people collecting charity blankets and I don't mind giving them these two quilts.

I need to iron the border on this one.  I also need to take better photos before I post this quilt on Etsy.  I'm sticking with calling this one "Delightfully Dizzy" spring lap quilt.  What do you think of the name?

Good-bye to Las Vegas

Travel day tomorrow ~ Saturday.  Yep, it is time to start making our way north towards Washington State.  I had fun in Las Vegas and maybe someday, we will come back.

Happy Trails!

Not So Wordless Wednesday (Las Vegas, NV)

We went to the Flamingo to see their wild habitat area filled with birds and turtles.  A very nice little garden area with a couple of islands filled with birds.

That's All, Folks!

The Fins Have It (Las Vegas, NV)

This is a continuation from my last post:

I wanted to share some photos of the Bottle-nosed Dolphins from the Secret Garden.  We were so close that we were warned cameras could end up wet in the 'splash zone'.  We were there at a good time.  The dolphins' caretakers were feeding them and asking them to do a few tricks.

  

At one point, all the caretakers were busy with a small meeting near the pool and not paying attention to what the dolphins were doing behind their backs.  They are as bad as kids when Mommy and Daddy are not watching them.

Hey!  Look at me!

Such a cute smile....

aww...come on, throw a fish.

Smile isn't working.  eeeeeeeee!  translated means

I'm hungry!  How about some fish?

Yea! Fish!

Yipee! Skippy!

I got a fish!

The White Lion slept the whole time during our visit.  At least, he was facing us while he was sleeping.  Such a peaceful looking fellow...big fellow with big paws.  I certainly would not want to disturb his sleep and have him wake up grouchy.

Do Not Disturb

Tired Kitty

On the Cutting Board

While embroidering the redwork Teddy Bears, I noticed the red thread was bleeding onto the white background.  I started to worry because it took very little moisture to make the red thread bleed onto the white background.  I could see the quilt's whites turning pink after the first wash until I read about some color catcher sheets.....

  

I was reading the Quilting Board and came across another quilter asking if she should wash her quilt before giving it away.  Many said they did wash their quilts before giving them to the new owner.  One mentioned that she always washed her quilts with Shout Color Catcher sheets.  

I decided to give the sheets a try.  According to the box, you can wash all sorts of colors together and the sheets will catch the runaway dyes.  It also mentions with dark or red colors to use more than one sheet.  Okay, so that has me wondering - if I don't use enough sheets will it not do its job?

9:05 am ~ So, I'm running a test today.  The redwork is in the wash with 2 sheets as I write this post.  We have a low-water European washer/dryer so I'm also worried the sheets will not work as well.  Fingers are crossed....

10:45 am ~ After close inspection, I have to say the color catcher sheets are a great success!  The whites in the quilt are white and the runaway red dye is in the sheets.  Those are the two sheets that were in the wash.  The two pink sheets were white when I tossed them into the wash.

Happy Quilting!

Taking a Bite Out of Earth Day (Las Vegas, NV)

We went to The Secret Garden that was setup by Siegfried and Roy at the Mirage.  We thought it was a little pricey, but how often do we get the chance to see white tigers and white lions?  The day we visited we saw a total of eight large cats and quite a few dolphins getting fed along with a few tricks.

Big mouth and teeth!

What I loved was how close we could get to the tigers and lions if they came to the fence.  Only one came close enough for us to see his pale blue eyes and to take in just how big he was compared to us.  Notice the double fence...keeps paws in and hands out.  Plus, bushes made a two-foot barrier between us and the fence.

 

Still they are gorgeous creatures and I can see why Siegfried and Roy love them so much.

Big paws! 

And as gorgeous as they are, our thoughts were:  they are not the kind of surprise encounter we would want to meet in the wild.  That's for sure!

Earth Day by Ol' White Tiger

Earth Day?  Yea, I've heard of it.  How do I celebrate?   

Oh, I don't know.  Never thought about it.

Okay, well let me give this some thought....

oh yea, that feels gooood...Uh?  oh yea..Earth Day....I know!

I'll celebrate Earth Day by eating more greens.
Mmmm. Nom. Nom. Nom.   hmmm, CRUNCH!...

Oh, yuk!  Ptooie!

Yea, a little too earthy tasting..blah

I'll just sit here and soak my tongue for awhile.  

Happy Earth Day!