Hoover Dam/Las Vegas

Memorial Bridge

On our way to Las Vegas we made an unexpected stop at Hoover Dam.  We didn't realize that we would drive right past it.  We walked over the Dam and Memorial Bridge.  It was hot and windy!  Our next stop was Las Vegas.  We stayed at Circus Circus and watched the circus acts and played games at the midway that night.  The next day we walked the strip.  That night we went to Cirque Du Soleil, an amazing show, the favorite part of my day!

Grand Canyon

Our next stop was the Grand Canyon.  Absolutely beautiful!  Pictures are never the same.  Our favorite part of the day was hiking down the South Kaibab trail into the canyon.  It gave you such a good perspective of how huge the canyon really is.  The trail started on the rim and was all downhill, so as we see people coming back up huffing and puffing it made us a little nervous about the way back.  It was only 3 miles round trip but the toughest hike we've ever done because of the elevation.  From the rim to Cedar Ridge where we turned around was about 1,000 feet drop in elevation.  After we finished the hike we rode the shuttle buses to look out points from different places along the rim.  Our last stop was dessert view watchtower where you could climb the tower and get great views of the canyon and the Colorado River.

You can see the people below us on the trail we took down.

You can see the trail we took.  It followed the ridge.

Meteor Crater, AZ

Our first scenic stop on our way to California was Meteor Crater in Winslow Arizona.  The first two days were nothing but driving so it was nice to stop and get out of the car and walk around.  The crater was cool to see and huge.  It is 1 mile across and 550 feet deep, yet not nearly as big as some of the other meteor craters on earth.  We had a very informative tour guide take us on a walk on the rim of the crater and visited a museum inside.  An interesting fact is that they did astronaut training in the crater to practice for the craters on the moon.

More Vegetables

We were gone for 1 week in Nebraska and came back to 25 yellow squash and zucchini.  Four of the zucchini were at least 3-4 lbs.  We also picked some cucumbers and green beans for the first time this year.  Everything has been yummy.  I am a little overwhelmed by the amount of zucchini we have.  I already gave a bunch away and still have a lot.  I guess i will just freeze it and try some new recipes when i get back from California. Wish we had family closer so we could share with everyone!  I took a couple pics of our baby swallows.  We have 2 nests above our front porch.  They are cute but messy!

Graduation

 Ken, Arlene, mom and dad came down for my graduation on May 11.  We got to spend mothers day with the moms for the first time in quite a while so that was nice.  Saturday we all went to Hays nature preserve and had a picnic and hiked. 

Veggie time

Our garden has been growing and doing really well so far.  We've picked yellow squash, zucchini, radishes, and dill weed.  I found the big 2 lb zucchini in the top picture hiding in our plant.  It was a nice surprise!

Camping

Teresa and Jesse came to visit us April 25-May 1.  We went camping Saturday at Bucks Pocket State Park.  We first went to High Falls to look at the waterfalls and then took the rafts out on a cove off of Lake Guntersville.  It was a great day to be outside.