New On Our Blog - Videos!

Taking advantage of the latest technology in digital video recording (OK, not exactly the latest, but it's sort of recent) we're happy to announce that we'll be adding videos to our blog!

As our first video we'd like show you a short clip of Jake saying "hello". More exciting stuff to come!

Hieroglyphic Trail

Today's hike is one we did last year in the spring. We must be in better shape now because the trail didn't seem nearly as tough as we had remembered. This trail is into the Superstition Mountains which are so named because black cats constantly cross your path, there are ladders everywhere that you have to hike under and the trail is littered with broken mirrors. Just kidding, of course! We're actually unsure as to the origin of their name. The trail starts out steep but levels off to a more gradual climb and goes up into a canyon about 2 miles away. At the end of the trail is a nice collection of Hohokam petroglyphs. The trail is misnamed as there aren't any hieroglyphs to be seen. Beneath the main area of petroglyphs are several pools of standing water fed by a nearby spring. We're always amazed to see standing water in the desert! The hike down had one exciting moment. Ross crossed paths with a swarm of bees! They didn't bother him at all and just kept flying along. He heard buzzing and saw several hundred at the tail end of the swarm. Different!

	Some of the many petroglyphs at the end of the trail.
	This critter was hanging out near the petroglyphs. It was about a foot long head to tail.
	Pool of water at the petroglyphs and the view looking back along the trail.

Sedona

Sedona is one of those places of which almost everyone seems to have heard. Maybe because there's a Kia minivan named after it. It's only a couple hour drive north of Phoenix so we decided to check it out. We went to REI and bought a day hiking book for Sedona so we could experience it the way we like. As we approached Sedona our first impressions were "beautiful red rock formations" which soon gave way to "where the heck is all this traffic going???" There was a lot of road construction and a lot of people visiting the area. Never a good combination.

We did 3 small hikes to get a flavor for the area. Our first hike was part way up the Cathedral Rock Trail. Cathedral Rock, according to our hiking book, is the most photographed formation in Sedona. We re-enforced that distinction by taking a few pictures ourselves. We only hiked far enough to get a good view of the formation. You can hike all the way up to the base, which most people seemed to be doing, but our limited time didn't allow this. Our second hike, the longest of the day, was the Boynton Vista Trail. It took us to the top of a small formation which had nice views of the area. The magic was lost when a fellow hiker sat down next to us and proceeded to belch non-stop. Our last hike was on the Sedona Centennial Trail. This turned out to be a paved path to a so-so overlook.

Now that we've been to Sedona we probably won't rush back. It's very pretty around there but we enjoy the scenery around Phoenix just as much and we don't have to drive 2 1/2 hours to get there. But if you're into art, new-age vortex sites and REALLY expensive hotels then Sedona is your kind of place!

	Karen at Cathedral Rock.
	View from the Cathedral Rock Trail.
	View from the end of the Boynton Vista Trail.

Lousley Hill

We've "discovered" a new regional park here in the Phoenix area. The regional parks are run by Maricopa county. Usery Park, of which we've written before, is a regional park. Lately we've been visiting McDowell Mt. Park which is near Fountain Hills, almost due north of us. You can't get there directly though as the Salt River only has a couple of bridges over it. It's about a 30 minute ride from our place. A nice trail in the park is the Lousley (not "lousy") Hill Trail. It's only about 1.2 miles round trip and climbs about 300', but the climb is pretty much all in one short spurt. The views from the top are really nice!

	Karen at the start of the trail. That's Lousley Hill behind her.
	Example of the wildlife along the trail. This critter is a Horned Lizard.
	Part of the 360 degree view from the top of Lousley Hill.

Vegas, Baby!

One of the many advantages of wintering in the Phoenix area is that you are relatively close to Las Vegas. This winter we visited Vegas 3 times. We always drive as it's only a 5 or 6 hour trip from our place in Mesa.

So what's to do in Vegas? Some people go for the food, some go for the weather and some go for the friendly natives. Oh, and we've heard that some people actually come to Vegas to gamble! We'll admit that the bug sometimes bites us too. When it's time to play here's what we do: we wander through a casino looking for video poker machines. But not just ANY video poker machines. We look for the nickel machines! Being the big time gamblers that we are we can only handle losing 5 cents at a time. Now, this may be hard to believe but in some casinos it's actually very difficult to find nickel machines! Guess it takes higher stakes to make those new $2 BILLION casinos pay for themselves.

When we're not trying to fund our retirement at the nickel machines we like to just walk around. Walking up and down the Strip (Las Vegas Blvd.) is great entertainment all by itself! While walking we usually stop in most of the casinos and search out those elusive nickel machines. We'll each put in a dollar and try and take the casino for some cash. If we happen to double our money we cash out and head for the exit!

Vegas has changed over the last few years. It's NOT a family destination (as if it ever were!) and lately it's going more "upscale." Gone are the days of the $5 buffets, $1 shrimp cocktails and other cheap fare, especially on the Strip. Hotel rooms are getting more expensive too. We usually wait for a bargain and then book in advance.

Here's a list of our Vegas favorites:

Favorite hotel: New York New York
Favorite "loose" casino: Las Vegas Hilton
Favorite "hotsy-totsy" casino: Palazzo (it's brand new and so clean!)
Favorite buffet: Las Vegas Hilton
Favorite free attraction: The lion habitat at MGM
Favorite mode of transportation: Las Vegas monorail
Favorite free mode of transportation: Walking!

	The road from Phoenix to Las Vegas takes you over the Hoover Dam. They're building a bypass road which should speed up the trip considerably. Right now it's a slow go because of all the tourists walking around on the top of the dam.
	Karen in front of our favorite hotel, New York New York.
	Karen in front of the Bellagio. They put on a free fountain show choreographed to music. Very impressive, especially at night!
	Lion habitat at the MGM Grand. Nice kitty!