Valley of Fire

It was easy to see how this state park got its name. The rocks were so red and it was 104 degrees! Mitch thought I was crazy but we did get out and did a few small hikes. Valley of the Fire State Park is Nevada’s first state park and was just North west of Lake Mead. We stopped at several trails to get out and do some exploring. First at seven sisters, where there were seven big towers of rocks. Then down at white domes and lastly on the petroglyphs hike. I commented to Mitch that it was interesting to see how much the petroglyphs differed from the ones at Dinosaur National in Utah/Colorado. Those were huge, like my entire arm span where these were the size of my hand...I’m assuming it’s just the difference between native tribes.

The highlight was seeing all the Big Horn Sheep. They told us on the Lake Mead cruise to look for them, and we definitely saw at least a dozen at Valley of Fire. We even witnessed two male rams head butting several times. It was amazing and I couldn’t wait to share the video with the girls. The sheep were definitely not worried about civilians hanging out. Everything about this Park was awesome. Nature is cool!

Desert Princess

After we finished up at Hoover Dam we went down to Lake Mead. We looked a little online and I was bummed to not find a kayak or canoe rental...you could launch your own, but we certainly didn’t bring one on the plane Fromm illinois, lol! Instead we opted for a lake cruise on a paddle boat. She was named the Desert Princess and reminded me so much of the Becky Thatcher or Tom Sawyer paddleboats down in St. Louis that Cruise the Mississippi.

We stayed up on the top deck for most of the cruise. They talked about the history of the land. The white line on the rocks is so high from when the river swelled and flooded in the early 2000’s. They said currently the lake was down about 20 feet. It gave fantastic views of the shoreline around Lake Mead and of course of Hoover Dam. Definitely time well spent. We were in awe of the enormous house boats lined up at the marina. Maybe someday.

Nevada

Mitch and I knew we wanted to take a vacation in July. Our lives have seemed like a hot mess of chaos this summer with all we’ve had going on. And with all the chaos we of course had to wait until the last minute to book our trip. Our original destination plan was ridiculously expensive so we opted for Plan B...Vegas. Flights were cheap, air bnb got us a suite at the Signature MGM for cheap so we booked it and went. But we aren’t gamblers...casinos aren’t our style?!?!

Plan B also included getting outdoors. We love visiting State and National Parks So that’s what we set out to do. In all my times visiting northern Arizona and the Grand Canyon I never visited Hoover Dam so that’s where we started. The Pat Tillman memorial bridge was seriously impressive and the views of Hoover Dam were impressive. It was a $240 million project between Nevada and Arizona that took 6 years to complete. That in addition to the Hoover Dam is some impressive engineering. Unfortunately you couldn’t take trips down into the Dam this trip. It was all closed, but we enjoyed it all the same. It was windy on that bridge, perfect for cooling down on a 104 degree day!

Us and Them!

So we are on vacation...but not together, lol! Back in early March I reached out to Mitch’s family and told them we were free this week if they wanted the girls for the week. We had it on the calendar and all set to go. Mitch decided since the girls were going to be in family we should take advantage and take a trip. We talked about Lake Tahoe or Outer Banks but then the rental house happened and we waited to long to make reservations so Vegas got the win!

After our swim meet yesterday we got on the road for Minnesota. Dave and Tootie met us in Minneapolis. They took the girls to Lobster Lake and early this morning Mitch and I got on a plane. The minute we landed I had pictures of the girls already catching fish. They didn’t waste any time. They live fishing and boating at Lobster lake. They were out with poles in hand by 7am. In the meantime Mitch and I are enjoying our view at the Signature MGM!

Illinois Open

Today we swam at the Illinois Open over in Champaign. It’s always a good experience because it’s a Big 10 facility, although the viewing area is terrible. However, now that I’m an official, I’m on deck! I hope the girls grow up to remember all the ways their dad and I stepped up for all their things!!! Swim coach, official, timer, softball coach, training for 5k’s, Community club chair and most of all their biggest cheerleaders, lol! Gigi even came for this meet since it’s our last one of the summer.

Kiersten had some really solid time drops. She dropped 35 seconds in her 100 back. But more importantly Ed said her strokes looked smooth and strong, and it was even the hot heat! Sister got her self a $5 DQ gift card. She dropped 19 seconds in her 50 butterfly. She added two seconds in her 100 free, she just went out too slow trying to pace herself. And then she DQ’d in her 50 breast...her beast stroke! She looked good and would’ve dropped .03 but she had a false start. Oh well!

Leah looked great in her 100 free and dropped one second. She swam her seed time in the 50 breast. Her butterfly looked awesome and she dropped over 3 seconds. Most of all her backstroke has improved. She stayed centered in the lane, didn’t hit the lane line and dropped 3 seconds. She went out pensive, a little too slow trying to conserve her energy but she turned it on in the last 30. Always good to see them in the water. Now we are officially on VACATION!!

Happy 4th of July!

We had no plans for 4th of July this year. I told the girls I’d take them to the pool, maybe? But then on Wednesday night Matt called and asked if we wanted to bring the girls out to the lake. Everything just feels off right now. Our holidays just aren’t the same with Jackson in the hospital...there’s a big old hole in our hearts. But at the same time we don’t want to stop doing things. The kids deserve to have fun together. Turns out the lake was just what we needed!

We all piled into Matt’s new boat, Big Red and headed off to a cove. Once we got there we tied up with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Cindy, Jeremy and Tiffany and My cousin Tiffany was along with her kids, Brooklyn and Parker. We had to ride out one small little rain storm but it was still a great time and the cousins had so much fun. Going tubing was the highlight. And now they think we need a boat. When we got off the lake we went to the campground, made dinner and enjoyed some fireworks together. I love making memories with these people.