Winter Showgirls

Although Las Vegas summers can feel hotter than the face of the sun we also experience cold desert winters. Even Las Vegas Showgirls need to dress for the cold! Brrr....
~Christy

Conservatory Creation

Most visitors to the Bellagio Conservatory don't get to see the transition between displays. We got lucky (?) the last time we went down to see my favorite spot on the strip. Here you can see all the equipment required to make the displays so beautiful. If you're lucky we'll show you the final product in a few days :)
~Christy

NFR!!

Having grown up in Utah rodeos are not unfamiliar to me. Simply stated- I LOVE THE RODEO! I love the bronc riders, barrel racers, team ropers, steer wrestlers and those famous bull riders. Last week one of my dreams came true when I had the opportunity to attend the National Finals Rodeo! The best of the best were there to show off their cowboy and cowgirl skills. The night I attended was "Tough enough to wear pink" night wherein all the participants wore pink in support of the battle against breast cancer.
~Christy

ps- apologies for our recent deliquency in posting daily. Perhaps our new years resolution will be to make the "Daily" in Daily Photo more of a priority ;)

Adoring Joseph

I went to a live Navity last night at a local LDS church(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) and took some photos. It was very well done and the costumes where great. I caught this photo of Joseph gently helping Mary down from the Donkey, I appreciate his expression. In the background you can see the Roman soldiers collecting taxes. -Wendi

Moon over Vegas

As I drove back into town, the moon was setting over the city, it was a stunning site.- Wendi

Chocolate Heaven!

The Bellagio has the largest chocolate fountain in the world and we took a picture of it, just for you! Have a great day! -Wendi

Happy Holidays!

The Bellagio was putting up all it's holiday decor! Once again there is Dale Chihuly's blown glass hanging off the ceiling! -Wendi

Chihuly

Christy and I went to visit the Bellagio! The Bellagio boasts a conservatory, with a cool garden display that changes with the seasons. Next the conservatory is a Dale Chihuly blown glass store, it has some pretty cool sculptures made from colored blown glass! Sorry we have been so delinquent lately, I went down to Mexico, but should be getting back in the swing of things! -Wendi

Cold Spell

It's gotten cold in VEGAS! My friend Dave, took this picture of some ice that formed outside! BRRRRRRR! Wendi

Discovery

At the other end of the Forum Shops at Ceasar's Palace is a giant fish tank where the tropical fish can display their colors. I loved watching these sweet girls discover the magic of the "ocean".
~Christy

Spirals

I love these spiraling escalators in the new section of the Forum Shops at Ceasar's Palace. They are so elegant.
~Christy

Down the Street

What is going on here?!? Well, I'll tell you. On monday morning at around 2am a drunk driver rammed into this house 3 times and hit a few other houses and cars along her way. Luckily no one was injured... just some major damage!
The crazy thing for me is that this happened on my street!! So, yet another reminder... PLEASE don't drink and drive!
~Christy

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

I spent the weekend in Los Angeles and thought I'd share some of the photos I snatched while spending a beautiful sunday afternoon at the Getty. These photos reminded me of some of the many things for which I am grateful.

I am grateful for dear friends and family.

I am grateful for the innocence of youth.

I am grateful for curiousity and adventure.

And I am grateful for the wisdom that comes with age.

Also... I'm thankful for the DP Family, for all your photos, visits to LVDP and your comments. Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good nap!
~Christy

Tragic Accident

I caught this photo yesterday while driving on the 215 in Henderson. The eastbound lanes were closed for about 10 hours where a tragic accident had occured at around 5am. According to the news report a truck had pulled over to help out a motorcyclist who had broken down. A car collided with the truck then crossed 3 lanes of traffic and was hit by this bus where the car and bus went up in flames. Unfortunately the driver of the car was killed.

So this goes out as a loving reminder to the DP family to please drive safely! Especially those of you in the States who will be traveling for Thanksgiving. Take good care out there!
~Christy

Desert Serenity

Cool views after a good hike :) ! Thanks for the comments lately! -Wendi

Twisted Tree

This silhouetted tree, was very, very cool! You can't see it from the photo, but it had grown up in the crack of a rock and was pushing the rock into two pieces as it grew. This tree could be the basis of a parable on growing in adverse conditions! The tree was definitely an inspiration to me! -Wendi

Mountain Reflection

This is a photo taken up at the top of Ice Box Canyon. There are two pools of water at the top of the hike. I think they call it Ice Box canyon because the further into the canyon the more the temperature falls. If this picture is a little confusing, it is because I turned it upside down. The mountain with the light on it is actually a reflection in a pool of water. -Wendi

Rock Climber

Today I went hiking out in Red Rock Canyon with some friends. We hiked Ice Box Canyon Trail and saw a group of climbers scaling the canyon wall. Red Rock Canyon is also well known for it's rock climbing (see the link attached if you want more info). The canyon has world class rock climbing and people will come great distances to climb here. Have a great rest of the weekend! -Wendi

Treasure Island

I went down to the strip last night to see the new Vegas style version of The Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian. I have seen it on Broadway and now on the Strip and it definitely is done Vegas style. They have taken out the intermission so the show is 95 minutes long, added pyrotechnics, and spent tons and tons on a cool theatre, extravagant sets, beautiful costumes, etc... It was fabulous. On the way there, Treasure Island was having its "Sirens of TI" performance out in the front. I honestly have never watched the whole thing, just not my taste, but the fireworks are pretty cool! -Wendi

Bootlegger Trails

This is a photo looking down the teeter totter built for the bikes. This is an obstacle course set up for CRAZY bikers :) I only say that because I am too chicken to ever attempt any of these stunts! Click on the picture to enlarge it, and you will get a better view of the course. -Wendi

Bootlegger Canyon

This is a picture of the mountain above Bootlegger Canyon near Boulder City, Nevada. It is about a half hour from Vegas. This canyon is know for it's extreme mountain biking and it's mt. bike races. Check out this cool link all about Bootlegger Canyon. If you look close you will see a "BC" laid out in white rocks on the side of the mountain. This is a common practice out here in the desert. Towns and Cities will have their communities initials spelled out in rocks on the side of a mountain and then white washed. I think this might be a common practice everywhere, but I am not sure! -Wendi

A First

I had never seen this before.... This license plate had scrolling words underneath it advertising Papa John's pizza! What will they think of next! I think the guy driving got a little nervous that I was taking pictures of his car! -Wendi

LVDP on Vacation!

This is where I was all last week. It's a rough life, isn't it? 10 fabulous days in Hawaii, but I have to admit... I'm glad to be home.
~Christy

Driving into Vegas

I thought I would show you the view of Vegas from someone driving into town. Notice the smog... we usually don't have smog this bad, but with the overcast day the clouds seemed to lock in the smoke. -Wendi

Breaking Sun

Today was a rare overcast day for us in Las Vegas. I decided to go out and attempt some mountain biking regaurdless of the weather. It was a good ride, but I was especially pleased when the sun started peeking through the clouds at the end! -Wendi

Cookie Cutter Homes

Vegas is constently growing. Houses are always going up. We call most of these new houses "cookie cutter" homes, well I think you can see why ;) The homes pictured above actually have side yards where as most of the cookie cutter homes that are built are just several feet apart. There are lots of good reasons to build homes that way, but sometimes I miss seeing unique homes with large yards! -Wendi

Edge of Town

This is the edge of town. It looks like this all around the edge of Vegas, a road separating the desert from the homes. We say wait a year and this will be blocks from the edge!

That's ME!

There I am under the tree... At Canyon de Chelly. So obiviously I didn't take this photo. This is in response to a request to see kind of the size of the canyon in relationship to people. My friend Kara who traveled with me took this picture of me taking pictures at the White House Ruins which are to the right. They are behind the fence. Thanks Kara for sharing this excellent photo with us! -Wendi

More Canyon de Chelly

This is a close up picture of some Anasazi ruins in the canyon, this particular set of ruins is called the white house. There is an upper portion and a lower portion. In the upper portion an Anasazi mummy was discovered years ago and was buried there later. To mark it's burial home they white washed one of the houses in the upper section of the ruins(which from this angle is not shown). The picture below shows the river bed that we four wheeled through. As to respond to some comments from yesterdays post... I am working on posting a picture tomorrow that shows the canyon in proportion! Thanks for all your comments! - Wendi

Canyon de Chelly

This was the highlight of the whole trip! Canyon de Chelly, located within the Navajo Reservation, it is an expansive network of three large canyons. To get in the canyon you have to have a permit and a guide. The guides are locals who actually live in the canyon or farm there. The tour consists of four wheeling up the canyon to look at old Anasazi ruins and petroglyphs, as well as Navajo petroglyphs. It was extremely beautiful this time of year as the trees are changing colors! Look carefully in the picture above and you will see some old Anasazi ruins above the trees. -Wendi

Navajo Rugs

Our trip proceeded onward to Pinon, Arizona, which is situated in the Navajo Reservation. On our way there we stopped to look at an old trading post on the reservation. There were hundreds of hand made Navajo rugs that were beautifully made. I couldn't help but stop and admire the many different patterns and colors. - Wendi

Lowell Observatory

This was taken at the Lowell Observatory and it shows the Clark Telescope. We spent the night in Flagstaff and were fortunate to be able to go do some star gazing up at the Lowell Observatory. It was neat viewing comets, clusters, and galaxies through state of the art telescopes! -Wendi

The GRAND Canyon!

I know, I know, this is NOT Las Vegas. But I went on a trip with my friend Kara and wanted to share it with you! After eatting off route 66 in Kingman, Arizona at a small Cantina we spent the night in Williams, Arizona, which was quite charming. The next day we drove to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was a beautiful day and the sky was amazingly clear, but the air was crisp and cold. So we were thankful for a small overlook house where we could look out over the many great vistas in warmth! The grand canyon is not to far from Las Vegas, it is about a five hour drive! -Wendi

Something that will soon be gone...

OK I totally admit that I stole this photo but I didn't get a chance to go get one of my own!
But, I wanted to join in on today's theme day. The Stardust Hotel and Casino closed its doors permanantely today at noon after 48 years of service. It will be demolished sometime in the next year to make way for a new resort complex called Echelon Place. If anyone is interested in owning a piece of history, items from the Stardust will be up for public auction November 17-21.
~Christy

Stairway to Heaven

I love this staircase in the Tsunami Asian Grill inside the Venetian. What wonders are to behold at the top of those steps? Probably just more dining tables. But it's fun to imagine where those stairs could lead. I love how the reflection in the glass makes it look like a stairway to Heaven.
Happy Halloween everybody!!! Hope you all got lots of good candy. I dressed up like a soccer player (or une joueuse de football if you like) and Wendi was a Parisienne. Good times in Vegas!
~Christy

A Case of the Mondays

What better way to start the week than to take a 2 hour lunch break and go to the Hard Rock Cafe for a free concert by G Love & Special Sauce?! I found out about this show at the last minute so I rushed over and enjoyed a great lunch with a great friend and a great show by a great band. No monday blues for me!This is how close I was. There was only a hand full of people there so every seat in the house was good. Awesome!
~Christy

St Marks Square

I went to Venice tonight! OK, so it wasn't the real Venice. I love the atmosphere in the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian. There were lots of folks milling about St Mark's Sqare so I had fun catching the action.
~Christy

Wouldn't be Vegas without...

For most people thinking about Las Vegas conjures up images of Elvis in a jumpsuit. Well, here he is!! The King was hanging out on Fremont Street. No big deal ;)
~Christy

Risky Business

The clouds ahead looked daunting but I'll tell you, the travel was definitely worth the risk!
~Christy

Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus)

Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus), okay this is the last lizard I will post this week. Obiviously I think they are fascinating. I took this photo in Zions National Park, a four hour drive from Vegas. This lizard is very tiny, unfortunately you can't tell from the photo! -Wendi

Western Whiptail

I thought I would post another lizard photo. This one is of the Western (Great Basin) Whiptail. Unfortunately I don't have any fun stories about this one yet! -Wendi

Leopard Lizard

I took this photo on a trip out to the Valley of Fire, but just found out today that this lizard is called the Leopard Lizard. The Leopard Lizard is not friendly and will bite, not only will they bite us, but they will bite other Leopard Lizards. They are canabalistic! The females which are larger than the males, will consume the smaller males, if they are hungry. So how do they overcome this problem to actually mate? Well, during mating season the spots on the lizard turn red, indicating that it's okay to get close! It's amazing what you can learn on public TV!
-Wendi

When you wish upon a Star!

We went up to Mt. Charleston and watched the meteor shower which peaks now until November 24th. I had to try to take some pictures of the sky. It's amazing how much the sky moves in a 4 minute exposure or should I say how much we move! -Wendi