Beautiful Scenic Views brought to you by Zion National Park

Pictures from the Canyon Overlook Trail in Zion National Park | Fantastic short hike, 1 mile round trip, with only one weary bridge and lots of great views.  Not a bad way to start the nature part of the trip : )

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Sharky Time in Vegas

As a quick last thing to do in Vegas a visit to the Shark Reef in Mandalay Bay was decided upon.  I have been before, but it's still awesome to go to the only predator based aquarium in the US...rock out piranha's!!!

Mister Komodo Dragon taking in some sun bathing

Fishies i don't believe i've met before...so cute!!!

Criss Angel and Cirque du Soleil know Costumes!!!

Part of the road trip was a required stop in Las Vegas.  This was not required for booze, gambling, or hookers.  This was put on the "i want it now" list because of a Cirque du Soleil show starring Criss Angel.  I had no idea who this guy was or even his stichk...but after seeing pictures of "victorian broken dolls" online i knew i had to go.  Tickets were pricey...but it's freakin Cirque du Soleil and a guy with a TV show who can apparently levitate.  After having seen the show i can honestly say it was more than worth it.  Georgeous costumes and fantastic Cirque du Soleil style dream sequences left nothing to be desired.  I sat on the edge of my seat the entire show having to remind myself to close my mouth and not oggle the costumes too much here and there.

"Criss Angel Believe"  The show began as appearing to be a standard Magic show.  Very quickly a twist is taken and the dreaming begins.  There is a fantastic Alice in Wonderland feel with all sort of different rabbits throughout the show as they are the "Magician's Best Friend".  The rabbits also help pull you down the rabbit hole into a world were Victorian dolls are broken and twisted, rabbits feed on human flesh, and disembodied animal heads doing acrobatics aren't so weird and they are fantastically entertaining.

If you are going through Vegas in the next six months or before the show closes it's a must see.  I managed to restrain myself and walk away with only a program to keep the memories alive (the soundtrack isn't going to be released until November!!!)...but if anyone has some free time when i get home it's worth a mighty long oggling session as there are corsets, stripper shoes, 10 foot train skirts, and Victorian evil rabbits ga-lore!!!

Adventures in the Mojave Airplane Graveyard

The fact that i didn't melt says a lot about my determination to see the awesome planes through the 100F degree heat.  It kinda hurts to look at the dirt and see all of the heat just sitting on top of it.  Next time this is totally a November trip, the desert is awesome at night in the winter.

The day began with a late arrival at the Mojave Airport & Space Center, late meaning about noon.  We followed the minimal instructions we could find online and headed for building number 58 under the tower.  Score!  Found a person who explained all, and were told that the guy who would take us on the van tour was just heading out for lunch and to come back at 1pm.  It couldn't sound better as i was expecting to roam around in the desert on foot for a few hours at mid day and pass out, the thought of an air conditioned van sounded like bliss.

To kill some time Denny's was sought out for a milkshake, my sweet tooth is unsatisfiable some times.  Yummy!  Then back to the tower for the awesome tour.

The tour was awesome!  We ventured back into the office under the tower for the van ride, after paying $10 total for the van ride that could accommodate 8 easily.  A couple of things learned from the tour
* Tour Guide for over 23 year = Javier = awesome!!!
* Van tours started in 1991 when they got tired of tourists trying to run out on the runway.
* Previously the tourists could only walk up to the runway and looked at the planes from a distance.
* Waterworld and Speed were filmed here
* A crazy old commercial came up about people right after smoking was banned inside planes... Javier told the tale of cute women sitting on the wings of a plane smoking while fake stewardess' served them to say it should be ok to smoke on a plane.

Awesome place...

Beginning of the Road/Camping trip and socks

Last night the Fall journey began.  The first leg of the trip is from the bay area down through the Mojave Desert with a peek in to the Airplane Graveyard and continuing onto Vegas for a few days.  So far so good!  I would of course would prefer a bit cooler weather than the heat that the inland areas are currently going through, but all in all it's not bad.  With the first section of the leg done i'm excited about the Airplane Graveyard in the morning.  It should be some awesome sightseeing and it would be great to get some photos of older planes.  Message me if ya want a postcard.

In the car, in the dark, i decided to cast on for a new pair of socks.  Ummm...i actually can't read or see in the dark...especially enough to start toe-up socks, a project i have never done or read the instructions for before.  Hehehehe...  I'm sure some of the passer-bys in their cars got a good giggle out of watching me trying to hold up my knitting and instructions into the headlights shinning behind me.  Once the hotel was reached i pulled out the socks and gave the instructions a good going through and so far today i have gotten through nearly the first toe!

I am using a cotton yarn i picked up at Color: A Fiber Festival a little while ago.  It's a gorgeous yellow green...my Sunny Socks : )

(This post brought to you by free internet from the Desert Inn Hotel...yea for unsecured wireless!!!)

Hat's be Done!

Two, yes two, count 'em TWO hats were finished over the weekend. One was gifted to my brother not 10 minutes after the plane landed in Oakland. The other was put in the mail yesterday from a request of a friend. I had nearly forgotten just how beautiful the Noro Silk Garden truly is and it's so amazingly soft yet earthy with the high silk/merino blend. Such fantastic stuff to work with. Pictures will follow once said friend gets said hat...no cheating on the surprises ;)