Nevada: Boulder City, Summer 2018

Boulder city is a very small little town outside of Las Vegas, where gambling is illegal within the city limits, and there's only a handful of traffic lights (if that). It's a quiet place, where families that tire of the excitement (and crime) rampant in Vegas proper can go to escape the city, while still benefitting from the predictably arid, sunny climate and close proximity to all the entertainments of the city. I actually spent a few years living in Boulder City when I was younger, and was exceptionally bored by the quaint, quiet little town as an energetic teen. Now that I'm older, and presumably wiser, I suppose I can see the allure to moving out of Vegas for Boulder City, if you're 60. It's a great place to retire, and if you can afford one of the homes on the slope towards Lake Mead you'll have an excellent view of the dwindling resources at the bottom of the hill. Of course, the ongoing drought has impacted some of the landscape choices in the area, but there are still plenty of open, green areas where the Big Horn sheep of the area will congregate to graze and get their fill of grasses. In a town as small, and quiet, as Boulder City, it should come as no surprise that the cops get stuck playing sheep-herder when the stubborn sheep begin to wonder perhaps a bit too close to the nearby residences. 

If you like outdoorsy or water-bound activities, having Lake Mead in your backyard is certainly a boon, despite it's drying out. As bored as I was throughout much of my angsty youth, I have to admit certain gratitude for the friends I made in that little town, the experiences and mischief we shared in that safe little burb, and the opportunity to explore. I'm certainly not going to be moving back any time soon, but for old time's sake it was fun to breeze through. We didn't stop for lunch, like we normally would, as we'd had plenty of snacks out at the Lake and had been driving for a while by this point. We were more eager to get home and grab a shower than to get down on some grub. Given as much, the photos are going to be a bit scattered. Still, I hope you enjoy!

Vegas: Sushi Twister

When it's time to #TREATYOSELF, to pick out one of your utmost favorite, most luxurious and decadent choices to eat, what would you choose? For me, there's no doubt I'd veer hard into the seafood section, especially towards things like sea urchin, sweet shrimp, salmon, and salmon roe. I'm a sucker for sushi, what can I say? I won't say it's the penultimately perfect food, though it's bite-size portions with their perfectly balanced balls of tender seasoned rice and meticulously sliced servings of succulent fish are definitely getting pretty close to what might entail perfection. Each bite of rich, creamy sea urchin gunkan (or battleship) style sushi floods your palette with that briny essence of the sea and deep umami flavor that makes sea urchin such a decisively loved or hated food for many, much like raw oysters who's texture and flavor I find absolutely enjoyable, despite their resemblance to some kind of awful lung-lump you might hock up during a particularly bad chest infection. Maybe I'm the weird one here, but Antho loves many of the same oddities I do, so perhaps they're not so odd after all.

If the gonads of sea urchin and roe of salmon are too freaky-deaky for you baby, you can always opt for the warm, flaky, oily goodness of grilled eel smothered in a sweet and sticky sauce that compliments its flavor. Not only is the eel cooked, for those who struggle to stick cold slices of raw fish into their maw, but it's also served warm fresh from the grill so it's extra-enjoyable! There's also a ton of different side dishes available, along with "hidden" extras like the fried sweet shrimp heads, which a chef may politely inquire about your interest in prior to dishing it up. I recommend the crispy little craniums, but I've also mowed them down in raw, living form while living in Korea, so it's safe to say I love all things shrimpy. What I'm trying to say here, though, is that Sushi Twister has long been a staple restaurant of mine for sushi in Vegas for a very good reason: their food is good, very good! And consistently, at that! That's a wonderful thing, because there aren't that many restaurants on this side of the Strip offering sushi, let alone quality sushi, so Sushi Twister is a unicorn of sorts. They were the first decent sushi restaurant I ever encountered this side of Eastern, and the chefs have always been extremely pleasant, or at least polite when I interacted with them. This place is a gem, and while I no longer reside within a reasonable distance to visit them, I hope they are able to prosper and dish up these delicious dishes for years to come!

Road Tripping: Scenic drive through Valley of Fire State Park

If you've been to my blog before, you might have noticed that we've got a bit of a love affair with Valley of Fire State Park. We've gone camping there a few times during the cooler winter months and have returned for day trips several times, too. It's not far from Vegas, only about an hour down the freeway, and has such stunning stone formations and scenic views that it's hard not to be blown away by the beauty anew with each visit. There's always something new to discover or see, and the serene seeming desert hides a complex ecosystem full of life, from adorable ground squirrels skittering about the campsites to coyotes and mountain lions lurking in the distance during the deep, dark nights. You can catch the glow of Vegas peeking out behind the mountain ridges at night, as the stars come out to glisten, but despite the distant glow it's easy to feel almost entirely cut off from the rest of humanity on some far and distant alien planet (with conveniently paved roads). 

We were quickly running out of sunlight and wanted to stop and get a photo shoot in, since we've accumulated a huge backlog of ready-made shirts needing to get added to our inventory. I'm sure if I weren't such a perfectionist we'd have an easier time getting them online- because we can't sell what people don't know we have, right? But first I need to process the photos we've already taken, add those to our inventory, sort and organize our standing inventory to make room for the new additions, measure, post... it's an entire process, my friends, and it's a time consuming one. It's worth it in the end, though, because each time we sell one of our tie-dye shirts there's so much joy and pride!  Some day it will be my day job, but you've gotta build it from the ground up first and that's going to take a lot of work and effort. It's not always easy trying to start your own business, and I'm grateful that I'm in a situation that allows me the flexibility to work on it and grow it in my free time while still bringing in an income to support our basic needs.  

Even though I definitely had work on the mind, it's hard not to marvel at the scenery when in Valley of Fire. The massive stone formations jutting out of the ground in bright, stark colors contrasting the sands and shrubs surrounding them with the endless blue sky above can take your breath away. Even just driving down the roads and enjoying the view from the comfort of your air-conditioned car is well worth the trip from Vegas! During our trip this time we passed a wedding party posing for photos, so that was an unexpectedly romantic thing to spot. There was also an art installation involving mirrors that we saw in passing, but that was only there for a very short window of time. It was gone by the time we could've gone back out to inspect if closer... shame, but that's the ephemeral nature of things sometimes. 

Luckily for us, photos can help us capture the fleeting moments in life and preserve them.

Good thing, too.

Road Tripping: Drive through Moapa, Nevada

Drive through the desert for about 75 miles heading South on the I-15 from St. George, Utah, and you'll find your way to Moapa Valley. Dubbed as the "Gateway to Valley of Fire and Lake Mead", which it quite literally is, this small town is a pleasant reminder of civilizations' existence after expansive emptiness that's more reminiscent of Mad Max.  It's quite a charming little town, and we'll definitely have to make a point of visiting it and spending more time there in the future. As of this venture, we were trying to beat the sun to the horizon and squeeze in a quick photo shoot before it grew too dark. We had miles yet to go, so we drove through Moapa without stopping but I managed to snap plenty of photos of the town on our brief tour. There wasn't a huge amount to it- there's no major chain stores or familiar fast food franchises proliferating to choose from, but there are small neighborhood markets and restaurants. One in particular stood out, with a giant rooster standing high above the roadside. The large bird jokes are easy to make, but I'm going to try to rise above the immature impulse to make some joke that ends in "that's what she said!"...

I don't know about you, but I've been dropping that line into conversations a little more regularly than I think is probably ideal. I blame the constant rotation of "The Office" in our home. I really don't want to let Michael Scott's mannerisms rub off on me (that's what she said). Anyway, it's hard not to notice a giant red cock glistening in the sun, and it definitely adds a unique charm to their downtown sprawl. 

 

Driving through Moapa it's not hard to see why people would want to live out here. It's close enough to multiple bigger cities that any amenities or things you might want or need are still fairly easily accessible (so long as you have a vehicle) but it's far enough away to feel secluded and maintain it's rural charm. There are farms and boats, for heading out for a day on the nearby lake, and at night it's small enough that the light pollution is absolutely minimal, especially when compared to its ostentatious neighbor Vegas. This is a great locale for people who enjoy the outdoors and the beautiful scenery of Valley of Fire as it's right next door. The quiet life, with Vegas just an hour down the road if you miss the bustle and hustle. 

Road Tripping: Return drive through Arizona

Now that the time for fun in St. George had come to an end, it was inevitable that we'd have to hop back on that fateful highway and head southbound. All good things must come to a close sooner or later, right? We managed to get quite a bit done during the day, though! We cruised through town, saw the Historic District and some creepy art there, checked out a local shop, hiked in two different areas, one with an incredible view of the city, got our feet wet... all in all I'd say we did pretty dang good given the circumstances! Go us. After being on the road for a bit going south, we hit the stateline of Arizona and I was able to snap a photograph commemorating the moment. It's all just lines in the sand, literally enough, but it marks the transition point from one region to the next so it at least makes organizing photos a little easier. 

The handy sign above helps to orient where we are here, too. Mesquite is only 18 miles down road, and Las Vegas (aka home, sweet, home) is 97 miles away. Not bad, not bad at all. That's why I've tagged all these posts, or at least the majority, with "day trips from Vegas"! it's totally manageable, guys. If you're in Vegas and want to get away and see something different, a day trip out this way would be nice. Leave in the early afternoon and get some photos at the look out sights or any significant spots you intend to hit, grab an early dinner then hop back in the car and head home if you must. I'd highly recommend trying to make it a day or two long affair if you have the time because there was quite a bit we didn't get to see. 

  

Arizona, of course, has it's own unique charms. There's a lot to see and do out here, too, but we didn't stop much along the way because we were trying to beat the sun. We had things to accomplish yet and miles left to go, so we had to make some executive decisions and driving through Arizona was one of them. There's plenty of natural beauty to see just hauling down the highway, so we didn't feel especially deprived. I've been to Arizona multiple times over the years for hikes and visits and things, so it's not as much of a rarity for me that Utah is. Visiting St. George was far from my norm, and I'm glad we got to do it, just as I'm glad to have been able to capture at least some of Arizona's beauty during the drive. 

   

  

Road Tripping: Drive out to overlook in St. George, Utah

Given that the city of St. George is situated in a region full of gorgeous natural stone formations, rich mountains and sweeping valleys, there are plenty of options for getting outdoors and exploring the bounty of nature. Having spent the better part of our day thus far looking at things that were highly landscaped and maintained, we definitely wanted to get out of the city and see something a little more remote. This did not prove difficult at all, as a quick search on our phone offered up directions to this spot. If you're having a hard time with the reception you can always go about it the old-fashioned way and try to make your way to the highest elevations. There were some seriously steep hills along the way, but Vanticore conquered them like the V8 monster she is. My cute little Volvo would have struggled up those hills with her four-banger engine and transmission going bad. Unfortunately, little Miss Svetty might have to be sold off soon because she's beyond the point that I can manage her repair needs. Alas. At least we have Vanticore, who is running strong as ever and made this drive out to Utah and back with no hiccups! So, up the hill we went, and the view was pretty awesome on the way. 

The city spread out beneath us as we wound our way up the hill. The sky had been bright and clear when we first woke up but the clouds had started to roll in little by little as the hours stretched on, so by the time we got to the end of this hike it was starting to look like we might actually get rained on if we didn't get vamoosing. Given the beautiful weather, we weren't the only people who went out to the park. Can't blame anyone. Everyone we encountered was friendly, which was pleasant, too. You certainly meet a lot of people who are happy and having fun in Vegas, but there's the darker side of gambling addiction and alcohol abuse that you'll encounter if you spend any significant time in the city...after all, it's Sin City, so catering to people's vices can and will bring out the worst in people. It's a nice reminder for us that other cities don't necessarily operate that way, facilitating and attracting positivity and happy people. With so many options for getting outside and being active in gorgeous accommodating weather, it makes sense that the locals might be running on endorphins rather than booze or meth. But hey, who knows, we were only there for a short while and maybe the city has a seething underbelly of sin and debauchery we simply didn't find in our short stay!

There will be more photos below, but I split this outing into two posts (the drive up and then the actual hike) so as to prevent it from becoming too overwhelming with the amount of photos. Enjoy!

Road Tripping: Historic Downtown Shopping District St. George, Utah

Satisfied with our walk of the Historic Downtown area we hopped in Vanticore and prepared to move out, but we hadn't gotten more than a block before Antho shouted in excitement "A velociraptor!"

I don't know about you guys, but the sight of a wild, life-sized dinosaur is exciting enough to make us stop and find a place to park... the parking became a bit of an endeavor, though, as we learned the hard way that Vanticore is slightly taller than we'd approximated. After having the van for almost a full year, we finally found a parking structure too short to safely enter! We bumped her noggin in full view of a family, too, who watched with shocked surprise and covered mouths when we had to back away with a "scccccrrrrrrruuuuuuunnnnnn". Yikes. We made it out of the parking structure safely enough, and found a spot outside in no time. No real damage was done to the vehicle, aside from a minor scuffing of paint, and the cement building was certainly fine. We saw scuffs on her ceiling much taller than our own vehicle's clearance, so we weren't the first or the most brazen in our attempts to park there. 

 Once parked we were able to explore the area, and quickly saw that it was a continuation of the Historic Downtown. Ample art fills the streets, giving local artisans a chance to demonstrate their talents while classing up the place. There were some little cafes and many other shops, but we only really stopped into the one with the velociraptor. We spent a good amount of time admiring their shop, as they sold a lot of gems and minerals that I've been familiarizing myself with of late. My day job has me surrounded by gorgeous amethyst geodes and different stones, so I'm finding myself more excited and curious about them now that I have a bit more knowledge of them. Whether the stones are actually beneficial for your health or spirituality I'll leave up to you to decide on your own. Personally, I imagine it's a bit of a placebo effect- if you believe it works, it likely will. I see no harm in that, so long as you aren't trying to cure stage-4 cancer or something with a pretty amulet. Some things need a more aggressive approach, right?  

Whether they're miracles of healing or simply pretty rock formations, there's no denying that they're quite stunning. The prevailing theory for how these gorgeous things are formed is that they're created from pockets in lava or igneous rock, that collect mineral rich liquids that evaporate and leave the crystalline formations behind. Artificial instances of crystal creation can be done at home using sugar and water, but it takes time. Most of the good things in life do, though. 

More photos below! Enjoy~

Road Tripping: Hornets and flowers, St. George, Utah

Look at that big, bright, beautiful butt. Don't let the appearances fool you, though- it's got a terrible stinger on the end of it! And lucky for them (but not for us humans), unlike their cousins the bees who have to kamikaze and rip their own guts out when they sting you (making the majority of bees far more hesitant to sting unless absolutely necessary) hornets can happily keep stinging and stinging until they feel satisfied that any and all threat has gotten the message; "F**k off!"

Yeah, hornets are jerks. They're pretty awful, and because they know their stings come with an unlimited (or nearly) supply of ammunition they're not hesitant about using them and can get rather aggressive. Because of this fact, we had to be extremely cautious in our efforts to capture photos of them. We managed to get these without receiving any unwanted pokes or prods from the models, but we quickly ceased our photo shoot when they grew agitated. While pain is often equated with the price of beauty, we were in absolutely no need of pain on this particular day. 

I believe these particular beauties to be the European wasp variety, given their bright brown and yellow coloration and extra-large size. There's also yellowjackets in the area, but they tend to be smaller, about an inch or less, while these guys were well over an inch in length. Whatever their particular strain, their stings still suck so we noped out as soon as they got tired of our attention. I can't recall being stung by a hornet or wasp any time in my lifetime, though I've been stung by bees and know I had no allergies when I was a kid it's not a risk I'd like to take.  They are fascinating creatures, though, those insects. Personally, I like studying them from a safe distance, ideally. How about you?

Road Tripping: Historic District Water Park

When the sun is shining brightly in a crisp blue sky and the long, warm days of summer sweep in there are few things that can cheer the spirit quite like splashing about in some water. Whether it's going to Wet n' Wild or out to your nearest river with an inner tube and six pack, or even a sandy beach if you're coastal like that, there's something inherently pleasing to the soul about submerging in the cold waters. In this case, we weren't really submerging ourselves so much as splashing a bit, but we definitely made a point of it to get our shoes off and get our feet wet. I even made my way out to the fountain for a minute, but I felt self-conscious being the only adult in such a child-oriented area, so I got a quick misting and moved onward. There's tons of art in this park to check out, so we tried to take a moment for each one to appreciate the artistry and talent. Most are related to play and fun,  or fantasy and adventure, which makes sense in a park, though we found one that seemed a little suggestive? Maybe not. I was surprised to see it included in such a public area, but I'll leave it up to you to decide. 

There are three or so semi-distinct areas with running water open to the public in the park, though there may have been others we missed. They're all pretty close together, and as kids from a city afflicted by drought we were a bit surprised to see just how much water was running through the park. It wasn't an unpleasant surprise, and access to water like this makes any city much more livable and enjoyable in my experience. While it would be nice for Vegas to have more areas like this, it's not really realistic or responsible with our current climate situation. I'm curious to see what the future of Las Vegas will hold, but this post isn't about Vegas! The people we encountered were pretty friendly here, and when one little boy became fascinated with the areas we stopped to check out ("Oh, you're taking photos here? Must be special!") his mother laughed and apologized for his meddling. Families and flowers abounded, and it was overall a lovely pitstop on our trip through the area.  

Road Tripping: St. George Historic District Walk

💗Happy fourth of July, my fellow Americans!💙

🎆

 What better way to celebrate our country than by reflecting on one of our towns, so similar yet so unique to so many others throughout the USA?

 Our great big shiny arachnid friend is here to greet us all, as is toss-the-baby-statue! Okay, technically it has another name ("Flight time", which arguably isn't much better), but come on. Toss them babies! Aside from the potential nightmare inducing gargantuan spider and the baby-chucking statues, this little district in the St. George metropolitan area is quite lovely. We found parking right in front of the great big brick building and were able to explore the surrounding area on foot comfortably and readily. There's a giant guitar tucked away, along with a carousel, TWO different water-park play areas open to the public, and lots more art nestled in among the trees as well.

We also happened upon this little pavilion, in the public park, which warns against loitering. Antho astutely pointed out that there's no other real point to these little buildings but to loiter, unless you're specifically having a wedding or some sort of event. I mean, I get what they're really saying- they don't want homeless people congregating here and making their pretty little park look bad or something. We saw a guy posted up with a guitar when we were making our way back to the van. We're not bothered too much by that sort of thing, but given how many kids were scampering about I suppose some parents might get their hackles raised at the sight of a man loitering...in a public park...but I digress.  If you don't want to sit in the shade, there's a giant iron-wrought guitar to check out! It seemed like there was some sort of carnival or fair going on during the day we visited (and school had just let out for summer) so there were a lot of families out taking advantage of the great weather. Even so, parking was a breeze!

If you ever find yourself cruising down this particular stretch of the I-15, I'd recommend taking an afternoon to cruise around St. George. I don't know if I'd want to move there, though it's supposedly the fastest growing metropolitan area for 2018, but it's certainly nice to visit. There were a lot of super cute little restaurants around, too, so you wouldn't have to look too far for a tasty bite to eat to refuel before you hit the road again and resume your own personal adventure. There's plenty of hiking nearby, too, if that's more your jam. We weren't really prepared for anything too arduous, but this walk downtown warmed us up for a bit of a hike later on, so check back in a couple days for that post if that's more your speed. 

Road Tripping: St. George Historic Downtown Drive

Driving through St. George is pleasant, from our experience. We encountered minimal traffic and were able to find parking quite easily in the historic district. It's a lovely little area that, perhaps not all that surprising given its name, has a long history behind it that the locals are pretty proud of. These buildings comprise some of the very first to ever be erected in the area. Luckily for us, the area and significant buildings therein, are lovingly maintained. It's all been engineered to be eminently walkable, too, with parks and public art to make the journey more interesting. As a couple of Vegas kids, our hometown was in the high 90s or low hundreds by this point in both the year and the day, but the climate was much milder which meant the stroll was exquisite. It was warm, yes, but more like 80-something degrees, a level of heat that allowed many children to go scampering barefoot across the sun-baked cement at the nearby water parks without burning their little tootsies. I'm not sure what my favorite aspect of this area was, because there was a lot of nice things to admire. The public space was very well manicured and maintained, with little garbage floating around or lingering in untended corners... which, in most large cities, seems like an unavoidable sight. The mild climate allows a wide array of different plants and blossoms to flourish and it's noticeable in the gardens' cornucopias of color.  

One of the first things we noticed, aside from the giant sun-glistening spider standing above the roadway (one of many, many roundabouts in the city), was a bronze (I think?) statue of some older kids flinging smaller children. I know that it's meant to look like a rousing, carefree game of childhood fun but it also reminds me of that statue in Oslo, Norway, where there's a dude being attacked by babies. That's one of the cool things about art, though- it's always subject to interpretation. Just look up your favorite movie on Rotten Tomatoes to prove that point. What to one person looks like a game, is another person's "fling the baby!"