God's Handpainted Sunsets...

This morning when we awoke, we fully expected that we might be snowed in. The snow yesterday was awesome! Big, fat soft flakes that coated the ground and everything else. We accumulated somewhere between 6 and 8 inches of snow. The snow earlier that did not accumulate was probably another couple of inches. We had to...well, THEY had to sweep the snow off the slideouts before we could bring them in. The trees were raining snow and water as the snow melted when the trees were kissed by the morning sunshine. It was refreshing and beautiful all at the same time.

Once the trailer was packed up and ready, we got in the truck and began the trek to Lake Mead. Once there we got hot and changed into shorts.We had dressed for 34 degree weather in Williams and moved into 85 degree weather at Lake Mead. Our plan was to stay one night at Lake Mead and then move on to Las Vegas. Almost didn't happen. We fell in love with Lake Mead. Not only did we have a beautiful lake view, we sat out that night watching the sunset and were witness to THE MOST BEAUTIFUL colors God designed. The sunset was so beautiful that the photos look photoshopped...but they weren't.




In between arriving at Lake Mead and sitting out for sunset, we trekked to see Hoover Dam. Wow! Impressive. We saw some really beautiful architecture worked right into the rocks of the day. While Hoover Dam was nowhere near the size it was in my mind (much smaller in real life), it was still quite impressive. I fell in love with this one view of a bridge that we had driven over but couldn't see over as we drove over it, but "FABULOUS" describes it from below. I must have taken 25 pictures of this view. It shows a bridge that spans the width of the channel where the dam is located and shows a view of the water running through. A beautiful view!






At this point I have to stop and give huge kudos to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law for bringing their motorized scooter for me to use on this trip. If not for that scooter I would not have been able to go on this trip. That scooter became my legs and gave me the opportunity to be "normal." I did attract a lot of attention as people noticed that I had both feet injured...but that had nothing to do with the scooter.




After our time at Lake Mead we packed up the next morning and headed to Vegas where we would spend the next two nights.

An Unexpected Pleasure...

Today was one of those vacation days that came so incredibly unexpectedly. When we went to bed last night we planned on making a trip either to a different part of the Grand Canyon today or maybe taking the Grand Canyon Railroad to the bottom of the canyon. We did neither.

When we awoke this morning it was raining...then it began sleeting...then it began snowing. It vacilated between snowing & sleeting and doing nothing. We spent most of the day entertaining ourselves until we could determine whether or not to even attempt to go out.

How does one spend a day in a strange town when the weather is being so ridiculously unpredictable?

We played Words With Friends on our iphones:


We slept:


We drank wine:



We played Skip Bo:


We enjoyed the snow:







And finally, when the snow stopped (oops, it only stopped for a couple of minutes), we went out to dinner:



As odd as it may sound, it was a really good day! Tomorrow we pack up and head out to Lake Mead where we will visit the Hoover Dam, among other things.

The Name Doesn't Do It Justice...

Today we went to the Grand Canyon. Trust me, the name doesn't do it justice. Neither do the photos but they are the best replication that I can provide. I had never been to the Grand Canyon. My husband and son had visited it a few years ago when they participated in a mission trip to the Navajo Indian reservation. I heard their descriptions and saw their photos and still I was breathless when I first laid eyes on the canyon. It is breathtaking. Magnificent. Majestic. Evidence of the hand of God. Truly one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I can't possible overrate it. If you have not had the opportunity or the desire to visit the Grand Canyon I beg you to put it on your bucket list. I am acrophobic...deathly afraid of heights and after the first 30 seconds I couldn't get enough. Lose your excuses and "just do it."

Hopefully the following photos will give you some small glimmer of the magnificence of this site. Descriptions will appear where warranted.




With me are my husband, Ron, and my sister-in-law, Carlene







Ran into a coyote in the gift shop...My hubby thought it was funny to grab him and make him dart in front of my motorized scooter. I admit it...I snapped!!

Apparently my new best friend...I will call her Rascal


At this point I must reiterate that I am deathly afraid of heights. The jerks that were with me thought it was funny to pull stunts that caused my breath to catch and or my heart to stop. Look at the photos. On one particular occasion I was looking away and when I turned and saw what was happening I literally let out a little yelp...causing strangers around me to giggle. I rest my case as to the "jerkiness" of my traveling companions.

The Painted Desert & Petrified Forest...

Today began the fun part of our trip. Previously I mentioned that while I love to travel, I don't enjoy the "getting there" portion of traveling. Today we actually got to get out of the car for a while and take a tour (and lots of pictures) of the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. It was beautiful. The only problem was the gale force winds blowing through the area. I am not kidding, I could pull both feet up on my wheelie and the wind would blow me slowly through the parking lot. As you can see in one of the pictures, the wind was blowing so hard it makes us all look bald!

We spent last night in Albuquerque and drove through to Williams, Arizona, today. This scenic tour was on the way. I have only posted a few of the 244 pictures I took today!

L to R: Virgil Glen McMahen, Carlene McMahen, Carol McMahen and Ron McMahen


My personal message from God: No matter how rocky you find life's circumstances (like two injured feet and a lack of mobility) you can choose to thrive in your circumstances.


Sisters by marriage Carlene McMahen and Carol McMahen


A portion of a petrified tree formed when the area flooded and minerals coated all the trees and then petrified.


Ron on an outcropping


Virgil Glen


Painted Dessert

The Best Laid Plans....

Even as I write this we are riding down the highway in New Mexico on Day 2 of our annual anniversary trip. This time we are headed to the Grand Canyon (where I have never been) and then on the Las Vegas (where Ronnie has never been). We are traveling with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law who share our anniversary date. Ron and I were married in 1979 and Virgil and Carlene were married in 1996. It has become tradition in the last 2 or 3 years for us to take a trip together.

This year our trip began with an overnight stay at Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, OK. We actually went up to see the Jeff Dunham show. One word...HILARIOUS!!! We all are fans of Jeff Dunham and his puppet friends, so it was a delight to be able to attend his show...a sellout performance. I can't think of the last time I laughed that hard. My stomach hurt, my cheeks hurt and I had tears pouring down my face. Of course, my favorite of Jeff's little friends, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, put in his usual acerbic appearance. LOVE ME SOME ACHMED!!! For those who might not know, Jeff Dunham is a ventriloquist and his puppet friends are Walter, Peanut, Bubba J, Jose the Jalepeno, on a stick, and my favorite, Achmed.
Achmed is a failed suicide bomber who accidentally blew himself up. He wears what he lovingly refers to as a Sham-Wow on his head. Beyond funny. Peanut, of whom I am not a real fan, was even unusually funny. It was a full 90 minutes of gut laughter. After the show we went to a grill/bar for a late dinner. While seated there Mr. Dunham and his entourage came by. As they passed by I couldn't resist yelling, "I love you, Achmed!" I'm almost certain I heard a mumbled, "Who said that? I keel you!" issuing forth from one of the many suitcases with Dunham.

Prior to Dunham taking the stage his working partner, "Guitar Guy," came out to warm up the audience. Guitar Guy, whose real name is Brian Haner, has a great voice and is an incredible guitar player. He sings comedic songs that he has written. You really should check him out on youtube. He has an incredibly funny song called, "Fistfight at the Waffle House." Even if you didn't think the song was funny, which it very much is, seeing the video alone would make whatever you're drinking come out of your nose as you snort with laughter.

Back to dinner, Ronnie and Glen had to run out to the trailer for something and Carlene went to buy a bottle of water. I was left to take care of the dinner bill. That's when I realized we had been dining with Guitar Guy all along. If I had thought of it at the time I would have had him sign my cast. I swear. I really would have!

After paying the bill Carlene and I headed up to the room. Both of us dead on our feet from not sleeping the night before. We had gotten to Winstar about 4:00 p.m. and I had managed to lose $60. I was too tired and totally not interested in losing any more money so we went to the room and went to bed. As you may know, I have difficulty sleeping through the night. At 5:45 a.m. this morning my eyes popped open and I was done with sleeping. I got up, quietly got dressed and headed down to the casino to lose my $15 reward dollars. I swear there weren't 25 people there at that time of the morning. I had my choice of slot machines and I played several of them. I could do NOTHING wrong. Every machine I played rewarded me with bonus spins. I played one of my favorite machines, Lucky Meerkats, and won $56 on a bonus spin! I turned $10 into $110 in about an hour! I was thrilled. As soon as the others got up they were ready to eat breakfast and head out. So that's what we did. We ate at Cracker Barrel and other than stopping for gas, restroom breaks and dinner, we have been riding all day long. My butt is numb. I have, however, followed my doctor's advice and kept my foot elevated all day. I have also taken 2 or 3 short naps...30 minutes or less each. I love to travel...it's just the "getting there" that makes me crazy!

Tomorrow we will arrive at our first planned stop. We hope to spend time at the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest before moving on the Vegas. I think it would be interesting to take a tour of the Grand Canyon but there is no way in Hades that you will catch me out on that plexiglass platform that juts out over the canyon. I would either drop dead of a heart attack or spontaneously combust. I don't know which...just know I would not survive the experience. Until tomorrow, I plan to take a shower, enjoy a glass or two of wine and sleep peacefully tonight and wake fully rested and refreshed tomorrow. But, you know what they say about the "best laid plans of mice and men..."