It's Vegas, Baby! (Las Vegas, NV)

I have to admit that I was ready to dislike Las Vegas.  I'm not a gambler...I did gamble a little bit...I lost a whopping $3 or for me - I lost a fat quarter of fabric - oh no!

I don't smoke and I try to avoid smoke-filled rooms, but the newer casinos must have a great air filtering system because I have not had any problems from cigarette smoke.  When I'm around cigarette smoke for a couple of hours, I usually end up with a 2-3 day sinus headache.  

And I can't sit still in a movie theater let alone sit through a live show, but I don't mind standing around waiting for a fountain or light show...I'm strange.  I know.  

Bellagio's Fountain

Here's the shock for me - I'm so surprised to say that I love it here despite the noise and the crowds!  This city is amazing!  

But, it's not just The Strip, it's the whole city.  We have come across two large outdoor and upscale shopping center/villages.  One is called Town Square Las Vegas.  These new outdoor malls are becoming quite popular because we are coming across more of them as we travel around.  Albuquerque built one just before we left.  I was always finding excuses to go to ABQ Uptown just to walk and window shop.

On the second floor of The Venetian

For our first day, we walked two Las Vegas blocks which felt more like 5 miles+ when we were done.  Most indoor areas were a maze of casinos, lobbies, restaurants, and shops.  I can see me getting lost in most of these places.

Well, I hope you do not get tired of my Las Vegas posts because we have just begun exploring.

On  The Cutting Board

Oh hey! Do you remember these three tops?  Probably not.  Or if you do, you are probably thinking "gee, I thought she finished those three a long time ago!  Nope, just collecting dust.  

So, I dusted them off...okay, no dust on the quilt tops because I store my projects in plastic bags. So, I removed them from dusty plastic bags and pinned all three yesterday.  

I started quilting on the Dresden Plate last night.  It felt good to start working on some UFOs.  

The Dresden Plate and Teddy quilts are going to charity.  The floral one will be going on Etsy.


A BIG Thank You!
I want to Thank Suzie from Suzie's Imaginarium for mentioning my shop in her blog "Trying to bloom where I am planted....are you?".  It is so sweet of her to mention me that I wanted to show my appreciation by returning the favor.

Isn't this fleece Bunny Blanket cute?

One More Thing!
It was brought to my attention that not everyone can follow Quiltincats Shop link through Craftcult, so I have added a new blog page called "Etsy Shop". (please see page tabs above)  This page will link you to my shop.  So, now people can find my shop two different ways.  If you have a suggestion for a different way to link my blog and shop, please let me know!

Not So Wordless Wednesday (Las Vegas, NV)

On Easter Sunday, we visited Bellagio's Conservatory.  The Conservatory was packed with flowers and decorations celebrating Spring.  I could have spent a lot of time wandering around the flowers despite the fact that the place was also packed with people.  Here are some of the photos I took on Sunday. 

Running to Catch Up (Las Vegas, NV)

I'm exhausted, but in a good way.  The last few days have been very busy, so I am going to get you caught up with what I have been doing.

Cruisin' The Strip

We cruised The Strip on our first night here.  So much to see all at once is an understatement.  I have whiplash from trying to see everything as we crept along The Strip.  Jam packed with buildings, people, lights, music, smells of food, huge advertising signs - it's another world that's for sure!

New York New York

Paris on The Strip

Easter Sunday

I hope everyone had a great weekend and Easter.  We went to Boulder Station for the Easter Brunch Buffet yesterday.  So much food, not to mention delicious!  We spent the next four hours walking around to different casinos to view gardens, fountains, and massive decorated hotel lobbies. 

I have so many photos to edit from our walking around yesterday and that is just day 1.  I'll be chained to the computer for awhile after this visit.  This photo is from the Bellagio's Conservatory.

Floral Camouflage 

I'll catch you up on Las Vegas later...

On the Cutting Board

Off the cutting board is more like it!  All three Uncle Sams are done!  WooHoo!   Kim was right.  I needed a break.  After a nice rest, I picked up one Uncle Sam and I could not stop working on them.  I will list one a day - starting today.  

So, I'm all caught up on my Etsy projects.  Time to start some new ones....hmmm

Thoughts on Pahrump

Our stay at Pair-a-Dice Skp Co-op was pleasant, but we did not find the area appealing.  People are friendly and very helpful.  Pahrump doesn't have much to offer except for a super Walmart, and a few small grocery stores.  I found the area a little too dry and not much to offer for my quilting needs...okay,  wants.  Not even a JoAnns or a bookstore.

Permanents with building between them

There is very little imagination going into the park so I did not take very many photos. The Co-op offers one cookie-cutter style building with two connected sheds.  They are all painted in similar colors.  No different designs or styles so there is no individual tastes except for what the owner does with the porch and the front yard.

view of shared building.  Front yard belongs to the other side.

The shared owners are parked on opposite sides with plenty of space for a large rig and their vehicle.  Hopefully, everyone likes their neighbor since they are sharing the building.  Each owner also gets a porch/patio and a front yard on the opposite sides facing the street.  There are quite a few permanents so less are available for travelers.

Patio and covered porch with front yard on our side.

Everyone looks for something different.  For us, our two favorites are Benson, AZ and The Ranch, NM.  We still have a few more to visit though so there's always a chance we will change our minds.

Oh! and last but definitely not least ~ 
I won a $50 Amazon card from Social Strand Media.  WooHoo!  All I had to do was follow them on Twitter then Tweet that I was following them.  I have been getting their newsletter for awhile now and I have learned a lot.  Social Strand Media advice is great for business and non-business bloggers.  They plan to have another contest on 20 April, so go visit Social Strand Media!

Whew!  I'm winded!  Have a great week!

Viva Las Vegas (Pahrump, NV)

I prefer ZZ Top's version of Viva Las Vegas, but I like Elvis's old version as well.  I'll be humming this song today...."Y'all still want me to come with you?  Bright lights are going to set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire!......"  

Abandoned

By the way, we moved to Las Vegas today.  It's a short trip from Pahrump, but it is on the far side of Las Vegas so we had to drive through the city's traffic on a holiday weekend.  It was a little scary at times, but we made it through with no incidents.  whew..

I hope to get some good night photos while we are in Las Vegas.  What's that?  Do I plan to gamble...no.  I have never enjoyed gambling, but I would love to see the gardens, the fountains, some of the night life, and the buffets.

All the photos are from the desert and a ghost town called Rhyolite near the north entrance to Death Valley.  

This is a house made from glass bottles.  Talk about a great way to recycle and build a house.  I would have loved to see the inside, but no one is allowed to go inside.

Tom Kelly's Glass House

As a matter of fact, most of the buildings were fenced off.  Safety was probably part of the reason behind fencing off the buildings, but I think the major reason was to keep people from destroying the historical sites.  Isn't it a shame that people feel a need to destroy things?

Old casino

 A few more photos from Scotty's Castle...

Joshua Tree blooming in front of the gate

Raven leaving the tower

Have a great weekend and to all.....

Happy Easter!

A Dream Castle in the Desert (Pahrump, NV)

We went back to the north end of Death Valley National Park.  Our main goal was to visit Scotty's Castle.  I was simply amazed by what we saw.   

Bridge over swimming pool

And the story....well, talk about a Wild West story perfect for a movie...go to this link  to read the story behind the castle.  Here's a quick summary of a story filled with intrigue, a gunfight, an unusual friendship, and a happy ending! 

The story starts with  Scotty - a retired cowboy from Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.  This cowboy turned con artist was swindling the wealthy by masquerading as a rich miner.  Scotty would go on big spending sprees in the cities to bait the rich.  He had a pretty good scheme going by convincing the wealthy to invest in his "rich" gold mine.

.....Then the Johnsons became one of Scotty's investors. 

Thousands of dollars later and no gold deliveries due to complications, Mr. Johnson decided he needed to come for a visit.  Undaunted, Scotty setup his own wild west show with a mock holdup with hopes of scaring off Mr. Johnson, but it turned sour when one of the actors got hurt.  

The incident did not discourage the Johnsons from coming back again and again, much to Scotty's surprise.  The Johnsons became frequent visitors and fell in love with the desert.  Mrs. Johnson decided they needed a comfortable place to live and this castle in the desert is the result.  

Despite their differences, Scotty and Mr. Johnson became life-long friends.   Scotty became a fixture at the castle and often entertained the Johnson's guests with stories of the West.

There are a couple of paid tours we could have taken, but we were happy to wander around outside.  Just touring the outside took awhile because we explored  every nook and cranny.  If I had gone inside, my photos would have been forced to be spread out over the next two blogs.  I'm only posting half of the photos I took of the castle.

I just love the imagination and the details that went into building this castle.  Almost fairytale quality that delights children as well as adults.  I know my imagination was on fire!  Talk about a fantasy dream come true and living in it.  sigh!

This photo is looking over the gate, through the courtyard to a separate building housing the clock tower.  You can also see a foot bridge going across the courtyard connecting the building's second story.

Dragon or a snake ornate lantern holder

There is a little girl playing with the door as we were walking up the stairs.  She was having a blast closing doors, shouting to her mom she was locked in, and chatting excitedly to her older sister.

Medieval doors

Their very own clock tower stood separate from the main buildings.  There is a clock face on all four sides.

Spanish tiled roof on the clock tower

and Spanish tiles on the clock face

They started construction in 1922 and because the castle is so remote, the Johnsons used very advanced technology to power their home.  They used water flow to turn a Pelton wheel which ran the generator for electricity. They even had a solar heating water system.  They had a water fountain in the main hall that dripped down a rock face giving the place an evaporated cooling system.  Amazing!

 

 Ornate gates and doors everywhere.  So enchanting!

People crossing the foot bridge

close-up of the door from above

Fish decorated hinges

And to think...all this started with a scam.  

On the Cutting Board
Shame on me!  I haven't been doing much sewing this week.  I haven't touched my Art Nouveau applique or embroidered the Snowman Collector.  I did finish embroidering the last Uncle Sam mug rug.  I hope to get all three sewn together soon.