The dust, the heat, and the sights and sounds of Vegas...

As we were gassing up on our way to Highway 40 today,
in beautiful Williams, AZ, I saw this sign:

It was so cool, because we have now been to a bunch of those places! Our drive today was through hot and dusty Arizona. We saw dust devils, and a lot of beautiful mountains too...we were so spoiled with yesterday we had to purpose to be amazed! We were tired today, both of us. It certainly wasn't a long day of driving, but it felt like it nonetheless. We had not realized that we would be driving directly past the Hoover Dam, so that became our surprise observation of the day.



We pulled over at the first observation site only. We didn't take the time to do a tour. We were both so pooped out ! We arrived at Las Vegas by about 3 pm, and both took naps...As we drove into the city, it was amazing to see how there were palm trees everywhere. SO pretty!

We headed to the strip to find some dinner, and take a look at the town. It was something else!! I have decided that seeing it once is enough for me. It was certainly impressive, with all the lights--the sights and sounds were so dramatic. But alas, I am a frugal girl at heart, and have such a hard time seeing so much money thrown around, wasted, etc. Craig and I played our token $20 (that would be total, not each lol) and we ultimately lost our $20 ha ha. We did have a pretty amazing buffet dinner at the Treasure Island casino, but other than that, it mostly made me sad. We both decided that it was definitely fun to do once, but once was enough.


This was me sitting in the REVOLUTION wall at the Beatles lounge--we knew Kate would get a kick out of that! Pretty cool!




Our hotel is very nice, the fanciest so far. It is great to get a little pampered. I am a total breakfast person, so I am savoring the buffets each morning. I LOVE that ...lol

Here is the view from our hotel window:

So today--we head to Yosemite National Park--our last overnight stay before we are with our kids. We are staying at a lodge either near, or just inside the park. This will be another dream come true for Craig, although NOTHING compares to the Grand Canyon in his heart. Seeing the giant Sequoias will be a close second, I am sure...

I am definitely starting to miss home. I am having a wonderful time, but let me tell you, I am loving that the morning news in the lobby is almost always from the New York area...HOMEEEE!!! I am such a Jersey girl!! Salty air...foghorns...I prefer that to anything I have seen so far! I LOVE MY HOME! But, thank you Lord for this amazing opportunity to see our great country!