Kirsten's Visit, Version 3

Kirsten is a great friend - she has come to visit me three times since I moved out here! She was here for three days this weekend, and us girls had a crazy time on the town. The night she got here, we went to Stoney's for some country dancing and were out until 2:30am.

On Friday, she did the tourist thing on the Strip while I was working. Fortunately, she wasn't hanging out on the roof of the Monte Carlo hotel, which went up in flames.
That night, we met Leigh, Brian, and the LA boys at MGM for drinks at Rouge and dinner at Fiamma (not on the list of places I would eat again). Afterward, we went to a comedy show at Tropicana that I slept through.
On Saturday, the seven of us went to the Neon Museum to check out some Vegas history. Although it's essentially a junk yard, it's incredible to have so many famous signs gathered at one place. It will be very neat when they restore the signs.
Afterward, we got another taste of old Vegas at the Peppermill restaurant. My Cobb salad was the largest salad I've ever seen in my life. Three days later, I still have two boxes full of it.
That night, Kirsten and I shopped at the Miracle Mile Shops while Leigh, Brian, and the LA boys played in the Planet Hollywood poker tournament. Aaron and Scott joined us afterwards at Trader Vics for some tasty island cocktails.
Kirsten and I took a break from the LA boys to meet up with Brad and Rob at Firefly for some mojitos. After they wimped out, we met the boys back at Paris for some Let It Ride and much needed coffee. We finally hit the road at 4am.

Red Rock in the Snow

It amazes me that this place that is 100+ degrees in the summer can get snow on it in the winter. I love looking out the window and seeing snow, but not having to shovel it.

Boring white walls

I need color on my walls (anyone who had seen my walls in Burlington would know this), and it kills me to be renting a house with plain, boring, blah white walls. My boss showed me a website of stick-on wall graphics, Blik, and I knew I needed some to spruce up my house. I ordered the Leaves pattern that reminds me of Matisse in black, silver, and two shades of blue. They filled the area above my headboard perfectly and provide a nice splash of color in a minimalist black, white, and grey room.

Skiing in Utah

I bought a new car and decided to take it on a road trip. I headed to Brian Head, which is a ski resort in southern Utah, about three and a half hours from Las Vegas. It was a perfect day - the weather was amazingly clear, the drive was relaxing, and the snow was soft and powdery. Though it was a holiday weekend, the slopes were not that crowded. I spent most of the day tackling the black diamonds at the top of the mountain (doing everything in my power to avoid the moguls), and then racing on the course closer to the bottom of the mountain. I earned a silver pin for the second fastest time of the day!

Here's a picture of my new ride, a Lincoln MKX, with the slopes in the background

Mussels in Brussels

I traveled to Brussels, Belgium to attend a conference. It was a quick trip but I certainly made good use of my time. I presented a poster that earned an award for being the distinguished poster at the conference. I saw the sites (not much to see in Brussels), had amazing food (must try the mussels in Brussels), drank delicious beer (mmm, raspberry beer!), and even played some blackjack at a casino!

Frenchman Mountain

Rick and I hiked up Frenchman Mountain. It's an awful hike up, with absolutely no scenery and endless elevation gain. But the top is an unbeatable view of the valley.

Scrambling at Calico Basin

Mike, Kristin, and I spent Labor Day scrambling at Calico Basin, one of my favorite hiking spots. It was a beautiful day. The last picture of the bee won me first prize in my hiking group's photo contest - I got free Jimmy Buffett tickets!

Gold Strike Hot Springs

Rick, his girlfriend Loren, and I went to Gold Strike Hot Springs for a day of scrambling. I had done this hike with Joe in January, and it was quite the challenge. It follows a creek down to the Colorado River, and much of the hike involves climbing over boulders using ropes. This time, the hike was much easier for me, I assume because I am in better shape and because I have a lot more experience scrambling now.

Within minutes, I had already injured myself. The rocks in this area are very sharp. I lost my balance while standing on a rock about 6 inches off the ground, and it cut my hand when I braced myself falling. This is not a good sign considering the boulders that I would be climbing down later in the hike are 10+ feet off the ground!

A sweet little frog that posed for me.

The creek, close to where it meets the Colorado River.

The Colorado River as seen from the trail.

Me standing under a very wimpy waterfall.

Me using a rope to climb up a boulder.

Zion National Park

The Las Vegas Hiking Meetup group went to Zion National Park in southern Utah this weekend to do a number of hikes. Almost everyone went up on Friday night and camped, but I am not much for sleeping on the ground. So I drove up Saturday morning with Calvin from my wine group. We had to meet the group at 9am Mountain time, and Zion is 3 hours away from Las Vegas, so we had to leave at 5am.

We started the day with a hike up to Angel's Landing. This rock formation gets its name because it is so narrow that only an angel could land on it. The peak is 5785 feet and 1500 feet above the canyon floor, and it was a 5 mile hike round trip. As you can see from the picture below, there is a sheer cliff on either side of a tiny spine.A chain railing follows the path almost the entire way to the top. In this picture, you can see the rail as well as the people making their way up.
I had seen pictures online prior to the trip that conveyed the narrowness of the spine. I took this picture at the most narrow point. The cliff on the left is clear. On the right, there appears to be brush, but those are actually trees at the bottom of the canyon.
This is one of the steepest points.
Here I am at the top with the canyon behind me. You can see the road below, and the tiny white line is the bus that runs throughout the park.
Our group at the top of Angel's Landing.
The beautiful view looking down the canyon.
Starting our way back down. For the second hike in a row, I ran into a group of French Canadians and got to practice my French. Who knew there were so many of them out here on the West coast.
After our first hike, we took a quick walk up to Weeping Rock, which has a small waterfall and hanging gardens. Then, we went to the Zion Lodge to eat lunch. I had packed a peanut butter sandwich, but the hot food and ice cream were too tempting! We ate under this huge tree on the grass with the mountains towering above us.
Our final hike of the day was the Emerald Pools trail. This was an easy 3 mile trail that passed by three sets of waterfalls and pools. This is the light waterfall at the Lower Emerald Pools.
The scenery along the way was magnificent, with beautiful views across the canyon.
Here I am at the Middle Emerald Pools.
And here I am at the Upper Emerald Pool. Our whole group waded or jumped into the water, which was cool and refreshing.
On the way back down - you can see the Virgin river at the bottom of the canyon below.
The setting sun had a nice effect on the mountains at the end of the day.
Calvin and I finally headed home at about 7pm. We had a great view of the sunset on the drive home, and we made it back to Las Vegas at about 9:30pm. I am jealous that the rest of the group camped another night and were planning on doing more hikes on Sunday. I'd like to go back to Zion soon to see some other parts of the park.
I filled up the entire 1GB memory card on my camera with pictures from the day! After deleting some of the duplicates and ones that didn't turn out, I ended with 217 keepers. If you have the time and patience to view 217 gorgeous pictures, you can see them here.