Steve's Volunteer of the Year Award

FIRST is a national organization which hosts high school robotic competitions across the country and then hosts a world's final competition in Atlanta. GA.  My husband Steve became involved several years ago when he discovered parents of these high school students coming in to his business buying bearing and belts.  Since then he has sponsored and mentored several teams in the Las Vegas and Kingman areas, he has traveled to several regional and the national event, and has convinced other adults to get involved supporting and mentoring teams.  This year at the Las Vegas Regional this weekend, Steve was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award.  he was very surprised and honored.  Congratulation Steve!

Valley of Fire

I bet it has been at least 10 years since I've been to Valley of Fire.  So Steve and I decided to go and we invited our friend Nicole who is visiting from Paris, France.  This is a picture of Nicole and I.  We all had a great time.  We drove around the park, hiked a little at Mouse Tank and Elephant Rock and had a wonderful picnic lunch.  Nicole was super impressed with the beautiful colors and the Indian petroglyphs.  It seems to me that the facilities have been improved upon since the last time we've been there.  What a fun day trip to get out of the city and enjoy nature.

My friend Nicole

My friend Nicole who lives in Paris, France is visiting Las Vegas.  Last Thursday I decided to take her on a hike.  We ended up hiking to Hoover Dam.  This is the greatest hike to take Las Vegas visitors on.  We drove toward the dam but pulled off the road and parked at the Lake Mead Visitor Center which is on the left hand side of the road before you reach the Hacienda Hotel.  The trail is well marked and for the most part follows the old railroad bed which was part of the dam construction.  The trail follows through five tunnels without much elevation change for about 3 1/2 miles and ends up at the top of the parking garage at Hoover Dam.  We did a little sight seeing at the dam and had lunch at the cafe before heading back to our car.  Nicole throughly enjoyed the hike.

Skiing

There is not a whole lot to like about downhill skiing.  Let see; you're dressed up like a football, your fingers and toes are registering somewhere between really cold and freezing, you're in the most uncomfortable foot ware and you've got a board strapped to the bottom of each foot.  One thing I do like is once you have figured out how to manipulate the skis and poles you can become one with the mountain and terrain as you're cruising down the slopes.  But what I like the most is the scenery. It is breathtaking to be at the top of a peak and look across the surrounding mountains and valleys.  Here are two of the pictures I've taken recently while skiing in Telluride, Colorado.  Both pictures are taken from a ski run called "See Forever".   In the second picture if you look closely you will see the Telluride airport runway; the shoveled out black line on the mesa in the distance.  Imagine flying along looking down in a canyon and having the ground come up to meet you as you land.  Disneyland has nothing on landing at Telluride.

Bacchanal Dessert

I'm sorry I don't have a picture for this but it is so easy and there are so many variations that you will be fine without a visual. This is a dessert that was very popular at the Bacchanal Room at Caesar's Palace years ago. The only ingredient that is mandatory is pound cake; either fresh from the bakery or the frozen Sara Lee version. If using Sara Lee make sure it is thawed. Cut the pound cake into 1/4 inch slices. Use a dry skillet (no butter or oil) over medium heat to brown the pound cake on both sides. Frying the pound cake carmelizes the butter in the pound cake and gives it a whole new flavor. Simple enough! The hard part is deciding what to use for toppings. I like fresh berries and a little whip cream; my sister Nancy likes fresh berries and ice cream. Think of how much the Bacchanal Room must have charged for this dessert and it's only fried pound cake!

Pictures of my Maui vacation

here today; gone to Maui

How relaxing to spend a week on the island of Maui; except for all the other thousands of people trying to do the same thing.  Maui is the "Valley Isle" and appears to be actually two islands connected by a narrow isthmus - on the larger side is the Haleakala Crater which a dormant volcano and on the other side is beautiful rugged mountains.  The interior is surrounded by tremendous beaches, rocky cliffs, sleepy harbors and the zigzagiest two lane road you ever saw.  Of the numerous outdoor activities we decided on kayaking and snorkeling and fell in love with both activities.  We even got to watch a turtle under water feed off a coral reef.  This is whale watching season so every stop along the road is a chance to spot spouting and tail fins.  We spent a day on the road to Hana which is an adventure all of it's own.  It's is definitely not the destination that matters but the journey.  Our journey ended at Mama's Fish House in Pa'ia for our best meal on the island.  Their menu changes twice a day so that they can not only tell you where the fish was caught but by which fisherman!  We went with our friends Paul and Jeannie and had a marvelous time.