Where Are We? Viva Las Vegas!

There is no place like Las Vegas to remind us that all is not as it seems. This is the city where it is difficult to tell whether it is day or night. In fact, this city is the "brightest" spot on planet Earth as seen by satellites orbiting above. Is that not ironic? It is a City of Illusion.

Are we in Egypt?

Not at all, it's New York.

Wait -- Camelot, I think?

But here's the Brooklyn Bridge, so we are in New York after all.

Yes, Times Square.

And Broadway burgers.

And here's the Rainforest. Oops, guess we're in the tropics somewhere.

Ah, it's Africa and the Lion Sleeps Tonight.

At least that's the illusion the lion is putting forth -- zooming in, the lion does NOT sleep.

And here's the overhead view of Las Vegas Boulevard, "the Strip," during a time of very light traffic. I'm not telling whether this is an illusion or not.

As far as I could tell, there were no sunsets in Las Vegas. And was it a good day? Or was it a good night? Let's just say it was an experience!

Kristi and Doug

For family and friends who could not be there, she was a beautiful bride and it was a lovely wedding. You were all missed!

Kristi and Doug with best friend Caren and her guy, Jay, having just arrived at the hotel.

Leaving city hall -- we got the license, Mom!!!!

The chapel.

Inside.

Signing the last of the paperwork.

Caren helping Kristi get dressed, the bracelet was blue, and then a kiss for good luck.

Meanwhile, the groom was still pretty relaxed, he's NOT the one in the suit!

Okay, here he is, looking darned handsome, with his "best" -- son Doug.

We weren't allowed to take pictures of the ceremony, but here they are after the ceremony, stepping out into the gorgeous sunshine. What a great couple!!

The sunshine is so bright it doesn't quite let you see the beautiful dress, which was absolutely elegant. There were a few tears as the bride walked down the aisle! Chiffon that flowed with each step and beautiful draping and gathers across the front, fastened to the left below the waist.

Caren worked out the lacing so that no skin showed in the wrong places!

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The rings and bouquet.

With Auntie Cheryl and Mom.

Auntie Cheryl sending the news around the world.

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Here's Doug and his buds: Nick, Doug, Doug and Jeff.

Nick and Coco. Doug and Vonda.

And Kristi and Caren.

Living it up afterwards!

What can be better than seeing your daughter so happy.

It was a good day.

Buckskin Mountain State Park

We took a little side trip today and visited Buckskin Mountain State Park. The most amazing thing about this park is the BLUE Colorado River! I love the water!! And it is a stunning blue ribbon at the base of this red rock canyon.

The Colorado River forms the boundary between California and Arizona. Here, below the Hoover and Parker dams, it is a lazy, slow moving recreational playground complete with a sandy beach.

This river begins in the Rocky Mountains near the Colorado/Wyoming border and flows down into Mexico where it empties into the Gulf of California, on the east side of the Baja peninsula.

I did enjoy seeing water that had flowed from closer to my Montana home, like coming across a neighbor in the Arizona desert.

I didn't realize what a popular campground this would be and was told we were very fortunate to get the "last" spot. Here we are backed up against a baby mountain.

There were some unusual things about this state park. This was the first one that featured an arcade. Hmm.

It also had an attractive desert garden.

At the bottom of a canyon, we don't see the sun when it sets. Still, the sky showed some colors.

And I liked the look of the layers of mountains in the twilight.

Today was a good day.