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

What we're all about

Golf courses, Urban sprawl and the Strip. This is the what life in Las Vegas is all about. We boast 38 golf courses, 1.8 million residence and 102,000 hotel rooms. What more could you ask for?
~Christy

Where's the Wildlife?

I couldn't resist putting this picture up... What is the wildlife in this picture and how many of them do you see? -Wendi

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

On our way out to the wildlife preserve we got rained on. Yes! It occasionally rains here and decided to do so last weekend! So we were blessed with two full sized rainbows and excellent lighting! We started to look for the treasure at the end of the rainbow, but didn't get there fast enough! Have a great weekend! -Wendi

Serene

Travel north on I95 in Las Vegas and just past the edge of town you'll find the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. At the Corn Creek Field Station we stopped to enjoy the beauties of nature. It felt like a world away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Good for the soul!
~Christy

Out into the Wild Blue Yonder!

Took this on the way to the Desert Wildlife Preserve! Be prepared to be Shocked at what lies 40 minutes from the Strip! -Wendi

Inside a Sunken Ship

After you have perused the many huge aquariums at the Shark Reef you are led to the biggest tank of them all, the SHARK TANK! Here you get the feeling that you are in a sunken ship surrounded by sharks, barracuda, sea turtles, etc... circling, above, below(see the window in the floor) and too each side of you. It's an erie feeling. Oh and by the way, did you know that sharks can hear a beating heart, their eyesight is very poor but their sense of smell and hearing is excellent!
I took this as a long exposure, the blur to the left is my sister walking under the light, kind of turned out weird! Anyway, if you ever get to come to visit my home town of Las Vegas, make sure you stop by the Shark Reef, just for the experience! -Wendi

Jellyfish Dreams

This tank holds jellyfish and is part of the Shark Reef exhibit at the Mandalay Bay. They keep the lights dimmed in the exhibit and light up the tanks, it makes for a cool experience! By the way did you know that jellyfish don't have brains or hearts?
-Wendi

Welcome Inside Mandalay

The interior of the Mandalay Bay is classy, the high ceilings, and sky lights add to the whole ambiance. We are working our way to the Shark Reef, an indoor aquarium. -Wendi

The Road... again

Who knew the road to Manadaly passed through Egypt?

The Road to Mandalay

The picture speaks for itself.

Welcome to the show

This was a pretty cool lookout to the folks walking into the Blue Man Theater. I wonder if they knew what was in store for them.
~Christy

King of the Mountain

Had to take a few shots of these kids on this hill. Brought back many memories of climbing up hills in a race to get to the top. Those where the days! The race is a little bit different now! - Wendi

Snow Canyon

Here's a shot from Snow Canyon in St. George, Utah. Near where the racers ran. It resembles Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas with the red rocks. I love the red rocks against the blue sky, guess that's why I live in the desert! -Wendi

Harvest Moon

On the trip out to St. George I saw the Harvest Moon rising. I couldn't resist pulling over and taking a picture of it. Kala, of the Honalulu Daily photo, has posted a spectacular photo of a full moon in past months, which inspired me to try to take a night shot of it! So here you go! -Wendi

St. George Marathon

St. George, Utah is about an hour and a half or more(depending on the speed of the driver ;) ) east of Las Vegas. Today was it's annual marathon. I drove out to visit some family, who had friends running the race. It was exciting to see so many people running together. They start the race out in the middle of the desert and run 26 miles into town. This photo was taken at the 17 mile mark, near Snow Canyon. The sign says, Grandpa Rob Way to Go! Love, Kylie! Way to go everyone who ran, you are an inspiration to me! -Wendi

Moon Rise

I know we post a lot of moon shots here but we really do have incredible moon rises. There's just something about the purple sky that makes you want to take a photo!
~Christy

Favorite Escape

Red Rock Canyon is one of my favorite get aways in Vegas. The other day I needed to escape so I drove out there for a bit, did some hiking, and photographed the red rocks as the setting light hit them. -Wendi

Sky on Fire

This is the same sunset I saw through the rearview mirror... except that I was at a point where I could stop and photograph it properly. This was taken on the road into the Village Monte Lago at Lake Las Vegas. I think this is one of my favorite views of the city.
~Christy

Rear View Sunset

The other day as I was driving out to Lake Las Vegas I looked in my rearview mirror and discovered one of the most incredible sunsets I've ever seen in Las Vegas. I couldn't stop and take a photo so I thought I'd just show you the view I got.
~Christy

Sunrise

Monday morning brought a beautiful sunrise! In Vegas if we have clouds in the sky (which is rare) we get some beautiful sunrises and sunsets. If you look closely you will see the outline of the strip in front of the mountains in the distance. Have a GREAT WEEK! -Wendi

Backyard Bliss

Today is Sunday a day of rest. So I did not venture far today to take a picture instead I went into my own backyard to see what I would find. I took some pictures of some birds, flowers, etc... then looked up and found that I was not alone! This cat had been hiding up on a fence behind a tree watching my every move. I don't know whose cat he was but he was quite content to stay up there and cat nap on this restful day! -Wendi

It's Greek Again!

Just wanted to post another Greek picture. Hope you enjoy! -Wendi

Playing before the Play

Here's another shot of the actors warming up. Note the VIP tables in the foreground. -Wendi

Lakeside Play

Tonight we went to Lake Las Vegas to watch "A Comedy of Errors". It was a free production put on by the City of Henderson. The stage sits over the lake and the yatch docked next to it served as the actors changing room. It was a great production and it was especially cool out there on the lake, under the stars! -Wendi

Harley Fest

Down at Freemont Street Experience, there was a Harley Convention taking place. I had to stop and take a pict of the motorcycles under the Vegas Lights. -Wendi

Continuing Education

If anyone is looking to join the circus we know who you need to talk to!
~Christy

Greek Fun

Tis the season of festivals! The Greek festival beat the Italian festival hands down! It was so colorful and lively. People danced Greek style, even if you were not Greek you could not help but get up and dance with everyone! The vendors were especially vibrant. As this vendor is selling his Greek clothing. Fun times, fun times!-Wendi

Prayers

This weekend we attended the Greek Food Festival ('tis the season for festivals!) at the Greek Orthadox church grounds on Hacienda and Jones. The food was great, the dancing even better. As we toured the church I was taken with this collection of prayer candles. It was hard to get a good photo with the low light and my simple camera but I think this little girl was captured pretty well.
~Christy

Street Artist

One of the coolest things to see in Vegas is this artist on Fremont Street. He uses only spray paint and newspaper to create the most amazing paintings. I don't know if I'd ever want to display the art in my house but I could sit and watch him work for hours. I couldn't find out any info about him so if any of you know who he is let us know.

Twist on a Classic

I scored some free tickets to the Blue Man Group this week so Wendi and I went and experienced all the sights and sounds. If you get a chance to see these performers I highly recommend it. They employ so much creativity! Be forewarned though. At the end of the performance you will be exhausted and leave on sensory overload! I loved the classic paintings with a twist that were displayed in the lobby.
~Christy

Viva Vision

At Fremont Street about every hour a night the casinos turn off their lights and the ceiling lights up. Music comes on and everyone stops in place to look up and watch the show. Viva Vision was installed in the year 2004 and dazzles locals and visitors alike! -Wendi

Fremont Street Concert

Christy and I visited Fremont Street this past weekend. They have free concerts on the street, which is enclosed on either side by casinos. It also has street vendors all the way down the street. This was one of the over the head, "I hope that this is pointed at the right thing" short of shot.

The Joys of a Carnival Booth?

Looks like she is having a fun night!? -Wendi

The Joys of a Carnival Booth

On your mark, get set, SPRAY!!!! The goal is to spray water into a round hole, if your aim is steady and you do not miss, you just might win a BIG STUFFED DOG or BEAR! This brings back lots of childhood memories of my aunt bringing a big black plastic bag to my Grandmothers home, which was full of carnival stuffed animals. She was a pro at carnival games and would always bring my cousins and I some exotic fabricated animal. Ahhhh, to be 8 again and get excited about a stuffed animal! -Wendi

BIG Games, BIG Prizes

More from the San Gennaro Festival. There where TONS of people, lots of food and lots of carnival booths and rides. Definately was a great place to take some pictures and watch the people! -Wendi

Innocence

This evening we attended the annual San Gennaro Feast. The festival included festival, vendors, carnival rides and musical entertainment. The highlight was the deep fried calzones Wendi & I had for dinner. Best ever! However, we were too full to try the deep fried oreos and twinkies. I caught this photo while I was taking in all the sights and sounds and fell in love with the freedom and innocence displayed by the children. Ahh, that we could all fly so free!
~christy

Lakefront Property?

So is this Vegas? It is! This is what we call "The Lakes". It is a community built around a cement lake that is maybe 3-4 feet deep(?). Each home that is up to the lake owns a paddle boat, and or a mini boat (for the sake of the term) so that they can go out and enjoy the water. I find it funny, yet intriguing that this not so deep lake is such a novelty. I guess when you are in a desert like we are that such a lake like this would automatically become a note worthy and wanted. Or maybe it's just the aesthetic nature of water, which draws us to it. -Wendi

Vegas Cyclists

My friend informed me that there is a group of cyclists that meet in her neighborhood who cycle together on Tuesday nights. I had to go and check them out. It was fun to watch them and quite exciting to see a whole group of cyclists pass you on the street. -Wendi

Stratosphere

Was out at a friends house tonight and had to stop and get a shot of the Stratosphere. I tried to capture the changing neon lights on the bottom. The colors are always changing from white, yellow, to orange, red, purple, blue, etc... Look closely and you will see the Big Shot, the ride at the top that shoots you upward on the needle. The Roller Coaster, the X-Scream, and Insanity. All rides that do require some insanity! Honestly I have only ridden the Big Shot and that was enough for me. If you aren't up for a ride I hear the Top of the World Restaurant is quite nice!
-Wendi

What can we say that hasn't already be said about this memorable day? Though we were both here in Las Vegas, 25oo miles away, when tragedy struck it felt so close to home. I think we all remember so vividly where we were when we found out. May we all remember the brotherhood and love that was born from the aftermath of the attacks and may God continue to comfort those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001.

Tree Silouette

I pulled this from an old file. This was taken on a hike up to Mary Jane Falls, on Mt. Charleston. We keep this mountain a pretty good secret here in Vegas, and yes it does have real pine trees and skiing, etc... It is also about 20 degrees cooler than Las Vegas, so it's a favorite place to go in the summer when it is hot. It is also about a 40 minute drive from my home. -Wendi

Burned Red Rock

Here is a picture of the damage. You can see the burn zone below, if you look at the bottom of the picture. I wanted to show a little bit more of it, but there are firefighters out there cleaning up and construction work, which limited me to one photo site. So I was just able to get a few shots and that was after having an encounter with a red ant hill that I accidentally stood on!

Desert Tortoise Again!

Here is our tortoise friend again! He was living up his photo session! He was right off the road, I think he came so close because he was fleeing the fire. -Wendi

Desert Tortoise

There was a fire today out in Red Rock Canyon. I had to drive out to see what damage was done and I saw this tortoise off the road. He was more than willing to have a photo session and he turned out to be quite photogenic! -Wendi

Who Said Las Vegas Wasn't Heaven?

On my way to play frisbee tonight I was taken aback by the clouds and the moon! It was one of those moments you turn your car around quickly pull over and pull out a camera! By the way sorry about missing a few days recently, we have gotten pretty busy with trips and jobs. -Wendi

Petroglyphs

These petrogylphs where pecked into red rock outside of Las Vegas at the Valley of Fire State Park. They are thousands of years old, and are in excellent condition! Researchers aren't quite sure what each symbol means, but it is cool to check it out!

Palm Shadows