CAT WALK CANYON

 

WISCONSIN TRIP 2023

 

 

Happy 100th Birthday!!

Today would have been my Dad's 100th birthday.  Unfortunately, he is not here to celebrate, but that doesn't stop me from thinking about him.

I gave him this belt bucket one year for his birthday, or maybe it was for Christmas, anyway the silver dollar was minted in 1921, the year of his birth.  My parents were square dancers so he wore it a lot when they went square dancing.

My Dad was a hard man. As a child, I saw him:

Shear sheep.

Shoe horses.

Butcher cows.

Butcher pigs.

Deliver supplies to a snow-bound family on horseback during the blizzard of 1959.

Do maintenance on all types of farm equipment.

Plant fields of corn, oats, and alfalfa.

Harvest fields of corn, oats, and alfalfa. 

Not to mention milk cows every 12 hours for decades.

He also had a reputation as a "man of his word".

Why did he have all those skills?  Because he was a dairy farmer during the middle of the twentieth century in Grant County, Wisconsin.

Happy Birthday, Dad!!

So proud to be your daughter!

NEVADA/ARIZONA ROADTRIP

 WE HAD A GREAT ROAD TRIP THIS WEEK. THE FIRST STOP WAS THE EAST ENTRANCE OF THE GRAND CANYON WHERE WE'VE VISITED BEFORE AND DIDN'T TAKE ANY PICTURES.  THE SECOND STOP WAS THE HORSESHOE BEND ON THE COLORADO RIVER AT PAGE , AZ. (PICTURED ABOVE). A MILE AND A HALF HIKE.

THIS IS THE GLENN CANYON DAM ON THE COLORADO RIVER AT PAGE, AZ. THAT FORMS LAKE POWELL (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT).

THE NEXT DAY WE DROVE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PART OF ZION NATIONAL PARK INCLUDING THE FAMOUS TUNNEL.

THE SECOND NIGHT WAS AT THE VIRGIN RIVER CASINO IN MESQUITE, NV.  THIS IS OUR FAVORITE CASINO AND STILL RUNS ON THE OLD VEGAS BUSINESS MODEL.

IF YOU'RE NOT GAMING YOU CAN ACTUALLY PURCHASE A BOTTLE OF BEER FOR ONLY $3. OR A JACK & COKE FOR $4.

LUNCH IS CHEAP AND FOR DINNER YOU STAND IN A LINE TO ENTER THE 24 HOUR CAFE FOR A PRIME RIB SPECIAL FOR $8.99.

THE ROOM WAS $27, BUT THEY COMPED THE ROOM, GAVE MARY $20 IN FREE PLAY, AND A 25% OFF COUPON ON THE PRIME RIB. THE BEST PART IS YOU CAN SIT AND PLAY NICKEL VIDEO POKER A FEW HOURS ON $20 AND HIT 4 OF A KIND ONCE IN AWHILE.

IT'S ALL GREAT OLD FASHION CASINO FUN!

ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT WE STAYED DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS ON FREMONT STREET AT THE 4 QUEENS AS USUAL WITH NO RESORT FEE, AND FREE PARKING FOR $44.  THE LAST TIME WE WERE IN VEGAS WAS MARCH 17, 2020 AND THE GOVERNOR OF NEVADA CLOSED ALL THE CASINOS BECAUSE OF COVID.  ON THIS TRIP WE MADE HISTORY AGAIN AS THE OLD RECORD FOR THE HOTTEST DAY AT 114 DEGREES WAS BROKEN AT 4 PM WHEN THE TEMPERATURE HIT 116 DEGREES.  DESPITE THE HEAT, I HAD MY WALKING SHOES ON AND SET A NEW PERSONAL HIGH FOR STEPS IN ONE DAY.

 OUR PURPOSE FOR VEGAS WAS TO CHECK OUT THE NEW CIRCA CASINO.  FROM THE GROUND UP IT COVERS ONE CITY BLOCK. 

THE VEGAS VICKY SIGN FROM THE OLD STRIP CLUB, GLITTER GULCH, SITS INSIDE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TWO STORY CASINO.

THE SPORTSBOOK IS DESIGNED LIKE A STADIUM AND THAT VIDEO SCREEN IS TWO STORIES TALL.  THE MEGA BAR (LONGEST BAR IN VEGAS) HAS 56 BIG TV'S ON THE BACK BAR.

 

STADIUM SWIM IS ANOTHER BIG DRAW FEATURE AT THE NEW CIRCA. THE SIX SWIMMING POOLS ARE LOCATED ON THE 5TH FLOOR. THAT VIDEO SCREEN IS 40 FEET LONG. I STOLE THE PICTURE OFF THE INTERNET AND THIS IS HOW CLOSE I GOT TO SEEING THE POOLS AND SCREEN.

INSTEAD OF PAYING $40 TO SWIM WE ELECTED TO GO TO THE TOP (60TH FLOOR) TO THE LEGACY BAR FOR A BEER.

AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE PRICE ($30) WE WEREN'T IN MESQUITE ANYMORE.

THIS IS A DISPLAY OF 2 OZ GOLD BARS AND A DIGITAL DISPLAY OF THEIR NET WORTH THAT CHANGES AS THE CURRENT PRICE OF GOLD FLUCTUATES. 

THE REST OF THESE PICTURES SHOW THE VIEWS FROM THE LEGACY BAR WHICH INCLUDES AN OUTDOOR PATIO.

 ON THURSDAY WE RETURNED TO OUR COOL WHITE MOUNTAINS OF ARIZONA.

                             THE END