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Sunday, my mom joined us for another day in Logandale. Frank and I had such fun there we wanted to go back and find the easy way in and explore more of the 200 miles of trails that are there.

We drove up through Logandale, Liston Rd is the first one after the Post Office that takes you to Mill Rd which runs along the railroad from there it's just up the hills to the point of entry for the trail system. There are covered picnic tables and an outhouse there, plus a huge staging area. We pulled the RZR off the trailer and we were off for another day of fun.







We were determined to find Petroglyphs, and thought we spotted something in one canyon. Frank and I hiked up the sandstone to see if we could get a better look. There were no etchings. But we did enjoy the beatiful sights. However, that climb wiped me out. 105 degree dry air and full sun had me begging for water.











Moss does grow in the desert.



We found no Petroglyphs there, but we did find them a short time later. They are actually "roped" off and protected. You can only walk into the area they are located.







I'd guess these were shelters, if not homes, back in the day.



Our next stop provided us with 360 degree views, it was stunning.



To the east is Overton, all that green was underwater back in 2004. Lake Mead has receeded so much since then, the people of Overton lost their lake. I can recall being at the boat launch just a few days before my wedding. Then, a couple years ago it looked like this.





Lake Mead has risen 25 feet this year so maybe there is hope for water enthusiasts in the Overton area.

To the north, trails head up to Logandale.



Valley of Fire begins in the west and heads southward.











From there we went down into an old quarry.



Then we wound around to the wash.



And found a nice cool canyon that had been out of the sun for sometime.



I swear there were bats in this cave.







From the wash we climbed to higher elevation. These ATV trails were wild, and so much fun with hairpin turns. Who needs a rollercoaster for thrills? Not me. I should've taken more photos but I was too busy holding on.



We found ourselves back in the wash before long. We came across a burnt out car.



We continued onward until we hit the dunes.





And then it back to where we began we packed it in. We are convinced to return to camp so I can get photos at sunset and sunrise. The rocks change color throughout the day so I think it'd be a really great opportunity to shoot during golden hour. Maybe this spring? It's much too hot now, and there will be little time for play while football is here.

It's like Mars, I imagine

Saturday, Darren came out with us for a day filled with off-road fun. We started with the trails off Ute Rd north of Moapa Paiute Indian Reservation.



We had rode the Hawkins trail to its terminus at the Railroad tracks and on the way back, Darren spotted a bighorn sheep. I've known they are around but I've never seen one myself. We spooked the herd (two females and one male) they booked down the trail and up the mountain.





They flew up the mountain in 30 seconds flat. It was incredible.





They blend in so well, you can hardly spot them. It's no wonder I've never seen them before.



We rode through the bowl and covered all the ground in that area except for Matterhorn a popular spot for rock crawling. We need skid plates before we can take on those kind of obstacles. We loaded up the trailer and headed to the end of the road determined to find our way into the Logandale Trail System which runs along Valley of Fire.



Just past an abandoned quarry we were able to ride down to the western trail system, but first we had to cross one obstacle.



Darren and I hopped out to keep the load light and spotted Frank down the cliff. Then, we were off.



Soon, we entered a whole new world.







Yes! We hit dunes. I had no idea they were there. It was our first time playing in sand. It's lots of fun, but it eats up the gas very quickly.



We rode through and came upon a picnic and staging area, which we realized is the proper entrance to the Logandale Trail System. We had been out all day, water and gas was low so we headed back to the truck.



Going up the cliff, we snagged the hubcap on a protruding rock. It popped off and bent a bit. It was nothing that couldn't be fixed. It was funny, though, because on our way down, we found a polaris hubcap in the same spot. We picked it up, and Frank has since found its owner on the RZR forum.







We made it back, otherwise, without issue. We loaded up the trailer and headed for home. It was a fantastic day. The RZR is just loads of fun and I love exploring. It amazes me how much changes in a relatively short distance. Logandale and Lovell Canyon are less than 2 hours apart and they are completely different worlds. I simply love it.

Weezer & More

Frank had a head start to his weekend, he golfed in Primm with his buddy, Josh. Afterwards, he picked me up and we had dinner at Amore. Few things are better than getting a taste of Chicago without ever leaving home. Yummy eats and good conversation. Josh will be in San Diego the same time as us, La Jolla is his hometown so he's gonna show us around a bit. I'm looking forward to the eats and secret beaches. On a whim, I told Frank to stop at Lee's Liquor on our way home, they were giving out free shots of cazadores, and we actually found Baltika 9. It's a Russian beer we had in San Diego, last year, that we enjoyed, I've looked for it since. Perfect for International Beer Day.

We ended up with an extra ticket to Weezer, because Shane hurt his back and cancelled his plans for a visit. Our friend, Darren, originally turned us down... to stay at home. So, when we headed out for the concert, Frank called and told him he was going. Life would pass him by if he sat still. Dramatic, much? But it worked, we swung by, picked him up and we were off to Red Rock. It was a sold out show.

The venue was pretty crummy, the pool kept everyone from getting near the stage. Other pools and hot tubs are scattered about so the lay out was haphazard. The sound was muffled. Still not as bad as Hard Rock's pool, though. So that's something. They covered two songs, one was just bizarre and the other was "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People. Every other song was one of their hits, but the crowd was pretty low energy. It gave me a really weird vibe, Frank didn't sense it as much. But I'd say 85% of people were there for a night out, rather than the band. They were busy taking self pics, texting, chatting. Granted we weren't first or third row like most of the shows we've seen in recent years, but at SOAD we were way back in the balcony and everyone still went nuts. Just odd. Either Weezer fans, in general, are pretty low key or the audience was just uninterested. It was cool that Rivers jumped into the pool toward the end of the show. The radio show this morning said what a great show it was. They've been there every Friday all summer, Weezer was the last of the summer concert series. Maybe it was just me?

We went to Yard House after the show. We enjoyed a couple Kronenbourgs to celebrate International Beer Day. Then, it was back home to rest up for our off-road extravaganza weekend.

44 Days? Sign me up.

You gotta check this out! Go ahead, watch it. It'll only take a minute.

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Are you in awe like I was? It's the first of three short films. Click Rick Mereki above for links to Learn and Eat. Move really struck me. I have such a strong desire to travel. I haven't longed for anything more since wanting Las Vegas to be home. This short film actually brought tears to my eyes. One day when I look back at my life, I can imagine a flashback similar to this, only with Frank by my side.

Dive In

You've heard of the Drive In, but how about the Dive In? Each Monday, the Cosmopolitan hosts a viewing party at the Boulevard Pool that features a movie on their strip sign. We're always up for something different so we decided to check it out this past Monday.

The movie was Ferris Bueller's Day Off. We got their early enough to secure a couple loungers in the pool that offered a great view of the screen. It was pretty neat! It was relaxing being completely surrounded by water, the glow of the strip was all around, you could see the hotel towers hovering above, you could hear bellagio fountains cracking, all while watching the film on Cosmo's jumbo strip sign. I'd definitely return to catch another flick.



After the movie, we stopped at the hidden pizza joint for a couple slices. Frank had white pizza and I had sausage with pepperoncini. We hadn't tried it, again, since actually visiting NYC. The verdict? They do have authentic slices. Better than many we tried. Only Bleeker St, Spumoni Gardens and Patzeria Perfect were better.

Playin' in the Rain

Sunday, I woke up and it was nearly pitch black. I glanced at the clock and 8:24 blinked before my foggy eyes. I thought maybe it was 5:24 so I gave it another look. Nope, I saw the time right. Where's the sun? Hiding behind thick storm clouds. Yuck.

We made plans with new found friends from New York to go off-roading around 2 o'clock and then grab dinner at Casa Don Juan afterwards. They're actually friends of a friend, and we've become friendly in the last few months by discussing their plans to relocate to Las Vegas next year. They're out this week scouting neighborhoods and house hunting. When I learned that they have toys of their own, I wanted to show them fun beyond the strip. They were game.

I was worried that the rains would foil our plans. I checked radar every 15 minutes. At first, it looked like it might clear up by 2, but then it was 3 and ultimately it was 4 o'clock before the clouds began to break. Fortunately, they were troopers and we took our chances with the rain once it began to taper off. The drizzle was light so it wasn't uncomfortable. The only issue was the bugs. I've never seen swarms of bugs out in the desert before, but the cool air and rain must have brought them out. In droves. Without a windshield we served as the bug graveyard. It was really gross.

The rain was done by the time we made it to the cave trails. The clouds cleared and the sun finally peaked through about 5:30. We were able to enjoy the rest of the ride and take in the beautiful sights.











30 minutes after that last photo was taken - It's Red Rock but the red is hidden in the shadows - we were downtown at Casa Don Juan noshing chips, salsa and fresh guacamole. Yeah, Las Vegas is pretty great. I think our new friends are more eager than ever to make the move.

Useless Trivia

Here's one to stump your friends. On second thought, they probably won't much care. Unless they are Vegas geeks like me or in need of a charge.

Do you know where the first public hybrid/electric car charging station is?



There it is. That's it. Not that it provides any hints.

You'll find this first station, that was dedicated July 7, 2011, at Mandalay Place.

Yeah, I'd never guess there either if I hadn't seen it myself. But there you go, particularly notable for any Nissan Leaf owners.

Dinner and a Show

After a full day of cleaning and running errands Frank and I were off to Mandalay Bay. First, we stopped at Ri Ra the Irish bar at Mandalay Place. I wanted to check out their draft selection. There was one that piqued my interest, Delirium Tremens. A Belgium pale ale. We both had one, I loved the pink elephants on the glasses and tapper. The irony was fun, it was good strong beer to boot 8.5% abv. Frank also had a Weihenstephan, I had it before in Chicago and didn't care for it, but it was right up his alley. No Irish beers for us, but we found another Irish bar that was a winner.

We left to make our dinner reservations at Border Grill. Their chips were excellent two of the four salsas were good, we requested hot and we like the tomatillo. Our $49 meal deal from travelzoo came with house margaritas that weren't very good. We had an appetizer platter (chosen for us) to start. That had taquitos, empanadas, and sweet corn tamale. The taquitos were the best, we only wished we had known they were coming because Frank ordered the entree so he was stuck with more of the same. I had beer battered fish tacos which were tasty. I liked that they lacked the creamy slaw that so many places like to add. For dessert, we shared Tres Leche cake. It was drier than those I've had before, but still good. Service was attentive, the meal was ok. I'm glad we got it at a discount, but I see no reason to return.

It worked out perfectly before the concert, though. We were able to walk out from the patio, hit the bathroom, and we were right at the line to enter the pool. We were among the first inside, we grabbed a spot in the shallow end of the wave pool so we were front row. The water was bit more than ankle deep.

Us, waiting for the show to start.



I had no clue who was headlining Dirty Heads or The Wailers. With the ties to Bob Marley, I thought it might be the latter, but I was wrong. The Wailers went first. They were good, but straight up reggae gets old fast. I much prefer dub and reggae rock. It was hotter than hades and humid as can be. I went to get water, they were price gauging $8 for a liter of Fiji. $16 later we were refreshed and rehydrated. Dirty Heads took the stage and the place came alive. It was the largest crowd we've seen yet at a DH show. Good to see. They played three new songs, two we heard at the San Diego show a couple weeks back.

Before they went on, we were talking to this guy (Eric) who saw them in SD and the night before in Catalina (I tried to win tickets to the show, he actually did). He was chosen to go on stage and perform the Buenos Noches rap. They've never done it at the shows I've been to, but my brother told me they did it at the one in Chicago. Anyway, we thought that was cool. Then, last night we learn that the guy is a friend of Frank's friend in California that went to school with the DH's in Huntington Beach. Small world. Frank found video of Eric rapping at the Catalina show.



Awesome show, but liked the one in SD better. So I'm glad we caught it. Weather mainly affected that. I hope they come back soon, and don't wait another year to return.