Red Raider Country...Here we come!

Well, we have good news!  Kyle accepted a job yesterday with the NRCS in Tahoka, TX.  This is a position that he had applied for back in January, and they had told him that there likely wouldn't be any openings until September.  He interviewed with them back in April, and then, out of the blue yesterday, got a phone call with the job offer!  He starts September 28.   

So, it looks like we will be returning to Red Raider country.  While Lubbock doesn't top our list of places we'd love to live, I think we will be happy there, for a little while anyways.  There are a few things I am really looking forward to.....West Texas sunsets, the possiblity of snow!, Bless Your Heart, RED RAIDER FOOTBALL, the drive-in...and the lack of humidity : ) 

Yesterday was Kyle's last day of work with the Great Basin Institute.  We have decided to head to California this weekend to check out the Sequioa National Forest.  We'll probably return from that trip either Sunday night or Monday, and then we will be on our way back to Texas!  Finding a place to live, moving all of our stuff out of storage in College Station, and finishing my EMT cert will on our list of things to get done!

Sin City Weekend

Kyle and I had a great time this past weekend seeing the sites in Vegas with Kyle's parents.  We earned a little money at the casinos on the new strip on Saturday with Chuck and Betty, and then Kyle and I went to see Zumanity Saturday night.  We loved the show!  We thought we would be going back up to the mountain, but we were so tired after the show that we ended up getting a really cheap hotel room at Bill's Casino...surprisingly, the room ended up being pretty nice.  On Sunday, we all went to see the Hoover Dam and then spent a little time at the old strip.  Chuck and Betty went to see Don Rickles that night, and Kyle and I went to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay, which was really cool!  It was a great weekend!

   

slow day

Here's a series of photos of Kyle goofing off on top of Angel's Landing:

 

Nothing too exciting happened here today, but I am updating anyways, just for you, Mom. 

I took Turbo into town after lunch today for an "evaluation" at the place where we are going to board him this weekend while Kyle's parents are in town.  He passed : )  And, it seemed like he had fun.  I will feel good about leaving him there this coming weekend. 

Before taking Turbo, I went by one of the libraries in town to borrow a book that I heard about on NPR the other day.  It is called To Live or to Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years in Pakistan by Nicholas Schmidle.  I became really interested in books about this part of the world after reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson last summer (a great read!).  While Turbo was being "evaluated", I found a Starbucks and started my new book with a good cup of iced coffee...one of my favorite things to do : )

I just had to take Turbo outside to pee...in the dark...one of my least favorite things to do.  There were a few deer that scampered away, and somehow, Turbo didn't even notice them.  Hopefully his bladder will be able to hold off until morning now : )

Night!

Vegas and Zion National Park

Well, Kyle and I just enjoyed another great weekend! Making memories!

On Thursday when Kyle got off of work, we dropped Turbo off at a friend's house and then decided to go explore the strip. I have been in Vegas for a few weeks now and had only seen the strip from a distance, so I was very excited to go see what all the hype is about. I had read about a buffet that was supposed to be really good called the Spice Market, which is in the Planet Hollywood Casino, so that is where we started out. It was set up with different stations: Seafood, Italian, Asian, Middle Eastern, American, and Deserts. We tried a whole bunch of different foods, and for the most part, it was pretty good (but for $30/person, I'm pretty sure I'll never go back). After dinner, we walked down to some of the hotels/casinos that I was wanting to see...NY NY, MGM (the lions weren't there!), Bellagio, ect. I have to say, I was a little disappointed in it all. All of the casinos pretty much look just alike, and Kyle and I really aren't too much into gambling. Kyle's parents are coming to Vegas this next weekend, and we thought we may stay at NY NY to celebrate our two year anniversary which is quickly approaching, but after seeing it, we decided we'd just rather make the drive back to the camper and save a little $$ (or spend it doing something else : < ). We are going to see Zumanity one night this weekend, which I am super excited about!

We decided that we wanted to go somewhere this past weekend, since Kyle had Friday and Monday off. It came down to either Sequoia National Forest, Yosemite National Park, or Zion National Park. We ended up picking Zion...I think that is where we both really wanted to go, and it is so much closer than the other two destinations. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed in most national parks. I had found a place to board Turbo, but then one of the girls that Kyle works with volunteered to keep him. So, on Friday evening, we dropped Turbo off again, and headed to Utah!



Kyle had visited earlier in the summer and found a free place to camp, so we ended up spending three nights sleeping in the back of the truck. We took our tent but never ended up using it. The Virgin river runs right thru the place and it was very sandy, like being on the beach. These pictures are of us after just waking up the first morning.

We did two hikes our first day in Zion. The first one was the very popular Emerald Pools hike, which takes you by three different pools/waterfalls. We didn't take any pictures here....Kyle had taken lots when he went earlier in the summer. Next, we tackled Angel's Landing, a 5 mile round-trip hike (1500 ft elevation gain). It starts out on a paved path that zig-zags upwards. The last 1/2 mile follows a steep, narrow ridge. From this point, they have put in a chain to help you climb to the top, where you find great views of the canyon below. This little guy kept getting uncomfortably close...

After a good, long day of hiking on Saturday, we stopped by the store and picked up some hot dogs (yum!). After dinner and a nice campfire, it was time to sleep! The next day, we tackle the Narrows...

Kyle hiked the Narrows ealier this summer, and I was very excited to get to do it with him! It is ~ a 10 mile round trip hike up the Virgin river, which meanders through towering canyon walls. The final destination is Big Springs, three small waterfalls that flow from the side of the canyon. Most of the hike, you are knee-deep in water. Other times, you are either wading in water chest-deep or walking on short river banks.

We started at about 9 am on Sunday morning (aimed for 7 am...didn't work so well...). To get to the Narrows, you take a 40 min bus ride through the park, then walk down a paved mile long trail. I was just fine with our late start as it meant that it was just a tad bit warmer than it would have been at 7 am. The Virgin river was a chilly 60 degrees, and when it's only 60 degrees outside, that's pretty cold!

So a little ways into the hike, we stopped to take some pictures. I really wanted to know how to take a photo where the water looks really smooth...

So, here is Kyle standing next to some pretty water.....next, I tell him,"do something funny"...and the result was...

Well, he flashed me...had the picture up, but he was embarassed, so I took it down. As he pulls his pants up and turns around, two other hikers appear around the bend!

Here are some more pictures of our hike up the Narrows:

We ended up finishing the hike around 5:30 pm on Sunday and were both so exhausted and ready to take off our cold, wet shoes! We treated ourselves to a nice dinner at one of the restaurants in town. On Sunday, we managed to sleep until about 9:30 am. After finding some t-shirts and food in town, we were on our way back to Vegas!

What a great weekend!

9 miles, 3000 feet, 6.5 hours

Today, Turbo and I hiked the South Loop trail to Griffith Peak, the 3rd highest peak in Southern Nevada. We didn't quite make it all the way to the tip-top of Griffith Peak...somehow we missed the trail. We followed the trail alongside Griffith Peak, but when the it started descending (on the wrong side of the mountain), I thought we should probably turn around. So, I thought there just must not be a trail to the summit, but after reading some reviews of the hike online tonight, it looks like we just missed it somehow. Anyways, we had a great day and I am proud that we made it as far as we did! I have never hiked so far and so high in my life. There were some beautiful views from the top...you could see Las Vegas, Lake Mead, and pretty far westward, into California.

View of Griffith Peak:

There were pretty meadows with lots of pretty flowers at the top. I think the little bitty purple one is my favorite:

Views westward (the side of the mountain where Kyle works!):

Look at those roots!

Turbo and the meadow below...he got frustrated with me everytime I stopped to take pictures:

Some type of bluebonnet:

And, lastly, my LUNCH : )

I am in desperate need of a shower. Once I'm clean, I think Turbo and I will sit outside for a while and see if we can spot any meteors from the meteor shower. Kyle will be back tomorrow!

Great weekend!

Well, Kyle left for work again this morning about 5:45 am. But, we had a great weekend! Here's a quick summary:

Before we met Kyle on Friday, Turbo and I hiked up to Robber's Roost, a very short 1.4 mile round-trip route that leads to a few caves and a rock-climbing area. If you look closely in the last picture, there is a guy climbing in the top left corner.

When Kyle got off of work that evening, Turbo and I met him in Vegas at a house of some of his co-workers. We left Turbo there with another pup and all headed to the old strip for First Friday. First Friday is something that we had both in Lubbock and Bryan, and it is a community event held on the first friday of every month that give artists and musicians a chance to showcase their work. There's also free beverages and food : ) I have to say, I saw many more strange people and things than I ever saw in Lubbock and Bryan at First Friday!

On Saturday, Kyle and I woke up and headed back into town to run some errands (REI, groceries, wash car, ect.) That evening, some of the other employees that also live in the campground were grilling, so we joined them and cooked some steak, veggies, and brats. It was nice to meet some of the people that I have seen wandering around the campground. The people staying in the campground are all about our age...some work with the Great Basin Institute (like Kyle), some with the Forest Service, there are a few firefighters, and then at least one who is training to be in law enforcement.

On Sunday, Kyle and I decided to get out and explore a little. We hiked to Mummy Springs, a 6 mile round-trip hike which climbs about 1400 ft. In this first picture, you can see Cathedral Rock in the upper left part of the picture, which Turbo and I made it to the top of last week.

This tree here is called the Raintree and is "possibly the largest Bristlecone Pine in the Spring Mountains".

These are pictures from Mummy Springs. The water was so cold and Turbo enjoyed a drink : )

View of the desert below:

In other news, Kyle applied for a job yesterday thru the Great Basin Institute in Winnemucca, which is in north central NV. According to the town's website, the main industries in Winnemucca are cattle and sheep ranching, gold and silver mining, and other agricultural industries. Sounds interesting...we'll keep you updated : )

Fletcher Canyon

Today's adventure was the Fletcher Canyon Trail, a 3.2 mile round-trip hike which partly follows a spring-fed stream and then leads to a narrow canyon with towering limestone cliffs. I forgot our nice camera, but took some pictures with my cell phone:

If anyone is curious what the weather forecast is for our area, go to www.weather.gov and type in Kyle Canyon, NV. It is supposed to be 45 degrees and breezy tonight...I've already plugged in the electric blanket : ) The high tomorrow is 60 degrees. I'll be thinking about all of you in Texas!

We get to see Kyle tomorow!

Cathedral Rock

Yesterday, Turbo and I ventured out on our second adventure. We did the Cathedral Rock hike, which is about 3 miles round trip and gains 1200 ft in elevation. While the trails were easy to follow at first, as we climbed higher they seemed to fork and branch! After several steep detours, we ran into another couple with a dog who were also having a hard time finding the right path to the top. We went different ways, and about 10 minutes later they were hollering to me about 40 ft up saying they thought they found the right trail. So, Turbo and I scrambled our way up and, finally, were rewarded with a beautiful view of the little town of Mt. Charleston below, Kyle Canyon, and, in the distance, Las Vegas.

Boy am I out of shape! When we are climbing up the steepest parts of the trail, I sometimes let Turbo off his leash so we don't knock each other over. He bounds ahead several feet and then stares back at me with a look that says, "hurry up! what are you waitin' for??" He is such a climber too! It's really funny to watch him go down the steep, rocky slopes. He just kind of slides and scrambles down, without inhibition. We've developed a method when going down...I make him stay while I climb down several steps, then he follows. I'm so afraid I'm going to knock some big loose rock down on him! Anyways, we are having a great time, and can't wait till Kyle can join us on some longer hikes.

I will leave you with a few pictures of Turbo chillin' in the camper. He seems to have no problem getting comfortable.