Cedar City, Utah

     I only have a couple of modest pictures tonight, so you'll have to settle for my Churchillian prose.  We left Las Vegas (Nellis AFB) at 1000 PST.  We only had a three hour drive north on I-15 to Cedar City.  I am growing to like three hour days.  Cedar City is about an hour and a half from Bryce Canyon National Park and under an hour to Zion National Park.  Tomorrow we'll have a go at Bryce Canyon.
     The drive north out of Vegas was pure desert.  Then we cut across 29 miles of the northwest corner of Arizona.  Arizona was much more dramatic than the featureless Nevada.  Then I-15 plowed on into Utah.  The countryside became much more  photogenic.  The ten mile traverse through the Virgin River Gorge was very dramatic.  Unfortunately I had not set Durelle up to take some windshield pictures,
     We climbed to more than a mile high which hammered our mileage.  Cedar City is over a mile high.  We stopped in a classic KOA with cabins and tent sites, too.  The good news after spending a lot of three digit temperature time in Vegas is that the overnight low tonight is projected to be 56 and tomorrow will be 38!!  

     You can see from the picture that we are parked in the mountains.  The next shot shows our rig with Durelle and Baxter enjoying our first opportunity to sit outside in the evening in a long time.

     With any luck tomorrow's pictures should include some nice pictures from Bryce Canyon.

Revised Itinerary

     For no earth shattering reason we changed our east bound itinerary to return via I-70 instead of I-80.  The changes are reflected below:


               # of days

26 May          1            Bremen, GA              
27 May          1            Memphis, TN             
28 May          1            Checotah, OK            
29 May          1            Amarillo, TX               
30 May          1            Gallup, NM                
31 May          1            Kingman, AZ             
  1 Jun           7            Nellis AFB, NV          
  8 Jun           3            Bryce Canyon, UT      
11 Jun           2            Grand Junction, CO    
13 Jun           8            USAFA, CO               
21 Jun           1            Russell, KS           
22 Jun           1            Columbia. MO          
23 Jun           1            Terre Haute, IN          
24 Jun           1            Marengo, OH              
25 Jun          10           Westfield, NY             
 5 Jul             1            Glenville, NY              
 6 Jul            14           Humarock, MA           
20 Jul            3            Athol, MA                  
23 Jul           48           Belfast, ME                
9 Sept          21           Brookline, NH 

     You will note that our routing from NH to SC is still a completely blank slate.         

     I thought that you might like to see a picture of the church that was the setting for yesterday's wedding.  The aesthetic combination of the southwestern, adobe-like architecture and the classic, domed Greek church was particularly well done.

   

The Wedding

Well, it happened.  There were about fifty people at the wedding of Illia Zotos and Melissa Cloutier.  It turns out that Las Vegas is partway between Australia and New Hampshire.  Plus, the venue was ideal for the partying Aussies.  The wedding was a characteristic orthodox Greek ceremony in a wonderful church that combines, in an architecturally correct way, the southwestern adobe and a classic Greek temple.  For those of you that don't know, Melissa is a beautiful lady who just graduated from Boston University.  Illia is an Australian whose family and friends  made the long trip to the states for their son's wedding.  I took 102 pictures.  Obviously only a few will make the cut for this blog.  There are many pictures that will be sent to the principals that will not be seen here.

   
     I suppose it is appropriate to start with a picture of the bride and groom.  The wedding was a classic Greek Orthodox wedding.  The priest got a good laugh when he dealt with the "let no man put asunder" issue by saying to the bride's parents, "or taking the bride down under".  They will be moving to Australia.  
     The toasts and the poignant remarks brought tears to most of those present.  You'll be happy to know that yours truly managed to refrain from imparting any superior wisdom to those a half century younger than we are.  I must include a picture of the wedding couple with us.

     It was a wonderfully done event that ran as smooth as silk.  The couple must be congratulated for accomplishing an event  that took such a high degree of international coordination.  We wish them the very best as they start a life together.  In less than two weeks we will celebrate 52 years of our life together.  It's been fun.
     Tomorrow we will do some housecleaning and grocery shopping in preparation to spending three days in Utah with visits to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park.  In the next blog I will provide an updated itinerary as we have decided to head east on I-70 instead of I-80.

Finding a top notch Mexican Restaurant

     Although it is quite a way north of the Mexican border, Las Vegas has always had a reputation (among many others) as a good place to find a great Mexican restaurant.  Today, via Google, I found lists by several rating agencies.  The consensus choice seemed to be the Lindo Michoacan, which was conveniently located in Henderson on the southeastern edge of Las Vegas on our way to visit Hoover Dam.  One of the charming attributes was the table side preparation of Guacamole dip.

     Durelle ordered a shredded beef chimichanga while I went with chile verde with the expected tender chunks of roast pork.

     This is the chili verde and you can see the bowl of Guacamole in the top of the picture.  The style of the restaurant was expansive, yet intimate; elegant, but not overly adorned.  Did I mention the margaritas?  Any great Mexican restaurant must make a great margarita...on the rocks with salt, please!  Due to the upcoming outdoor activities in the Arizona/Nevada sun, we limited ourselves to one and had a big glass of ice water.
     From there it is only thirty miles to the Hoover Dam, a truly massive project the was implemented during the depths of the Great Depression.  I was unable to get any "Oh, Wow" pictures, and there is really nothing to give you a sense of scale.

     The first picture is taken from the dam looking up toward the southern tip of Lake Mead which the dam created.  Note the cordon upstream of the dam which denies boater access.  These days it more to protect the dam than the boaters as was the original case.  All vehicles pass through security before they are allowed to drive over the dam.  
     The second picture shows the downstream side of the dam.  Note that it is arched toward upstream so that the pressure of the water forces the dam to transfer the stresses into the canyon walls.  Although there is nothing visible to provide scale, the dam, itself, is over 760 feet tall and contains over 3 1/4 million cubic yards of concrete.  There was another million or so used for all the supporting structures.  I could dig up a lot of mind-numbingly large logistic facts. Suffice it to say that that it was a breathtaking achievement given the technologies of eighty years ago.
     Just downstream from the dam is the new Pat Tillman Memorial bridge that carries the traffic to bypass the dam.  It, too, was a significant engineering achievement, especially anchoring the bases in the vertical walls of the Black Canyon.

     Tomorrow is the wedding.

We meet Melissa and Illia at the Monte Carlo

     Tonight was a pleasant supper for seventeen at the buffet at the Monte Carlo hotel and casino. In addition to the bride and groom, there were the groom's family plus some of Melissa's and other friends.  In order to coordinate the group, the buffet seemed like the best option, and it worked out just fine.  

     As many of you know, Las Vegas is a larger than life place.  As one of the Aussies said,"This place ought to be illegal."  It is clear that everyone is thoroughly enjoying themselves and each other.  Tomorrow the women will be having a batchelorette party with limousine, supper and the Chippendales.  The men will be doing the same sort of thing at a different venue.  I guess it is the definitive proof of our age in that we have decided not to join them for that part of the festivities.

     Is that a good looking couple having a great time or what?

It's STILL hot

     Today was another weather alert day with a heat index over 110 degrees.  I did run the errands at the BX and commissary, and, of course, we had to walk the dog.  But, otherwise we spent the day enclosed in our mobile bungalow with both A/Cs doing their best.  The rear got down into the low 70s, but the front couldn't quite break 80.  The MCD shades are down on all windows so we can't even monitor the movements in the park.  Fortunately, there was plenty of activity to keep Durelle occupied starting with the Red Sox at 1000.  There was  NCAA baseball, MLB baseball, PGA golf and now the NHL.  The coolest outdoor spot is the dog park I mentioned yesterday.

     It is clear in the pictures that Baxter's surgery for a benign mass removal is healing fine... (thanks Dr. Lerma).
     I haven't been at Nellis AFB since 1976 (a source of many pleasant and proud memories).  The base appears to be one of the biggest and most attractive of all Air Force bases.  Because of almost unlimited space and perennially fine flying weather, it is the home of the Fighter Weapons School and the home of the Thunderbirds.  The base employs 9,000 military and 3,000 civilians and has an average daily temporary duty roster of 1,100.  The base itself occupies 14,000 acres, and the Nevada Test and Training Range provides 3 million acres of restricted land and 15,000 square miles of airspace.  Of course, Area 51, a focus of UFO fans, has been the site of the development of the U-2, the A12, the F-117 and numerous UAVs.  It is all a proud part of our military heritage.
     I just got a call from granddaughter, Melissa.  We'll join them for supper tomorrow evening.  Durelle has a pot of her chili simmering on the stove for tonight (and a few future nights).

It's HOT

     We arrived at Nellis AFB northeast of Las Vegas, at noon.  It was 108 in the shade!  Even the normal activities of connecting utilities, extending jacks and slides and unhooking the Jeep were a miserable chore.  We finally got settled, got both A/Cs going full blast and had a light lunch.  Outside handles on the west side were too hot to touch.  With all the window shades closed, by 1700 the inside temperature was down to 85.  By then I had had a cool shower and was reasonably comfortable.  Hopefully, as the sun gets lower, things will cool off further.  
     The dog park is large, shaded, with seats, water dishes, grass, and large flowering shrubs.  The campground and the whole area is very photogenic.  The mountains' outlines are crisp  and attractive...but if you want me to go out and take some pictures, you will have to wait until tomorrow.
     Some of the wedding party arrives tonight.  We are waiting to hear from them.