Visiting in Vegas

What's new?? -- Visiting with family and friends, people watching to the max, eating at the world's best buffet and doing a little gambling too. We've had a great four days in Las Vegas. Our visit with Jenny and Tim (Jerry's handsome and beautiful children!) and their friends was a lot of fun. There was excitement at the slot machines, the craps tables, black jack and playing the horses. And we won't talk about those less successful ventures.



Oh, and I cannot fail to mention the wonderful day at the Caesar's Spa, compliments of Tim. My muscles and my toes are still thanking him. That place defines luxury. There are flavors of saunas and steam rooms and arctic rooms that I've never heard of. The Swedish massage was unbelievable. And then we topped it off with a pedicure, complete with champagne cocktails. Ooohlala!

For our rver friends, there are two Elks Lodges in the vicinity that we would recommend. The lodge in Henderson on E. Lake Mead Blvd and the lodge in Las Vegas on West Charleston Drive were both friendly and safe.

We were comfortable at the Charleston Drive location, about 15 minutes from “The Strip,” during the time that we met people at various spots around town. But a funny thing happened last Saturday morning. We awoke around 8:00 a.m to that low rumble of Harleys. How nice, we thought, some bikers are out on this sunny morning. Then we hear more and more motorcycles in the parking lot with us. Well, we think..... maybe a few folks are meeting here. But then the sounds increase all around us. We soon are surrounded by about 900 motorcycles. Our quiet parking spot has become the staging area for the Annual Bordelo Run, a fund raiser for athletes who have lost limbs. The group visits three bordelos on their way over to Pahrump, Nevada. They chose the Las Vegas Elks Lodge as their starting point and we happened to be parked smack dab in the center of it.

So we just sat back with a cup of coffee for the next two or three hours and enjoyed watching the parade of every type of rider and bike.

What could add to this scene? How about a pickup truck full of Girl Scout cookies and the scouts combing the lot for customers with a sweet tooth. Well this troop must have topped the sales for that day. Quite a few saddle bags were carrying Thin Mints when they pulled out for their run.


We said goodbye to everyone on Sunday morning. They flew back to jobs and cold temps. And it's our job to soak up the sun out here while we plot our next course.

Moving Along

In mid February the migratory birds begin their trip north from their winter home at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. It is our time to move along as well. These last few months have been jam-packed with beautiful nature, great people, learning experiences, lots of laughter and camaraderie. In fact, it's been so filled that I haven't had the time and energy to write about it all on the blog. Over the next few weeks I hope to touch on a few more of those episodes. They might involve Jerry's wildlife sitings while he mowed the channels, my taking part in the Biology department's duck banding sessions or any number of social events.


For instance, we enjoyed our own personal performance at the refuge by our favorite blues band from the Buckhorn Tavern in San Antonio, NM. We can attest from numerous sessions, that these local musicians rival any band from Rush Street or wherever.
Bobbie, on the left, plays the meanest harmonica you can imagine. He owns the Buckhorn.


The other guys are employed in various day jobs, from geologist to auto service dept. manager. But ohhhhh, can they get down! This winter gig has really been okay!

In the past week or two we've experienced farewell lunches, tours, potlucks, cocktails and our last morning's going away French toast breakfast. As we rolled out of our spot number 14 in the volunteer rv park toward Highway 1, we noticed something along the path that didn't belong there. Our friends, Dorothy and Barry, had posted this goodbye wish for us. It just summed up what a great group of folks we've had to live with this winter.
Soon the migrating Sandhill Cranes and snow geese begin their spiraling, searching for those warm wind currents to ride north. The summer residents will appear, both the winged ones and their volunteer buddies who occupy the visitor center and help prepare the habitat for next season. The staff will regroup, train the new ones and make new plans for the coming cycle of refuge management.
The two of us have enjoyed learning a little more about the workings of a wildlife refuge, the community and the people. We're ready to move along but will carry a little of the Bosque with us. We'll see you down the road.