5/25/17

Some Funny Business

We drove from Boulder City to Pahrump, Nevada, yesterday...a distance of just a little over an hour's worth of driving. Occasionally on these trips, we take a day to be lazy and just hang around. Yesterday was one of those days. With that in mind, I don't have much to tell you. Nevertheless, I have been saving up some things that gave us a chuckle along the way, and I'll tell you about them here. Allow me to start with this selfie of two people who have shared 42 years of wedded bliss.


Now, you might wonder why Mike is looking so glum in that picture. Okay, well, neither of us has mastered the art of the selfie, and nearly 100% of the time, one of us ends up looking funny. Below is the first attempt. Mike has his smiling face on...mine, one of deep concentration because I'm always trying to keep my finger off the lens while simultaneously finding the shutter button.


Which picture do you suppose I posted to Facebook?

Okay, then there was this guy. I nearly missed the shot as we left the park. It isn't as funny in a still shot as it was seeing it in motion. This guy walks his dog dutifully morning and evening, but the dog is the only one walking. The dog is tugging the leash, which makes it look as if the scooter is running on one dog power. That is a happy little dog, let me tell you.


As we drove out of town, check the time and temperature please. If you've ever wondered why we didn't stay in Phoenix when Mike finished school so many years ago, here's a clue.


We saw this cell phone "tree" both coming and going. Surely you've seen when they try to disguise a cell phone tower as a palm tree or (where we live) a fir tree. What kind of tree do you think they're going for here. To us, it looks like a fir tree in the desert that desperately needs some rain.


Smitty and Sadie didn't have warm enough weather in Oregon to shed their winter woollies, and they've been too warm in these desert temperatures. Smitty has taken to spreading himself out on the cool leather chairs like so much melted butter.


We arrived in Pahrump just before noon, had some lunch, and then sat out by the pool for a couple of hours. Fortunately, there were plenty of umbrellas and lounge chairs. After getting wet in the pool, a warm breeze allowed us to experience that natural air-conditioning that comes from wearing a wet swim suit. Even with temperatures in the high 90's, we had goose bumps. Sitting there by the pool made us feel as if we were on vacation.


We spent a good part of the afternoon right there until the sun moved into a position that would require us to either move the umbrella or our chairs. Instead, we moved ourselves back to the trailer. By then, it was nearly time to go to dinner.

Symphony restaurant here in Pahrump was a great choice for dinner. Even though we'd been here the week before, we enjoyed it just as much. I want to commend them on their excellent service at both visits. We didn't have reservations because the folks in the RV park told us we wouldn't need them. When we arrived, the restaurant was full, but the hostess didn't bat an eye and separated two tables (set for six) so that we could have a table for two, and then seated us within minutes. Our server was a woman with a lot of personality and a great sense of humor, and we had a wonderful time. Since it was our anniversary, they gave us a free dessert. I let Mike have the free one since he was paying. (Let that sink in for just a moment, and know that "generosity" is my middle name.)

After that, we took a little walk around the place. There are baby grapes in the vineyard.


And of course I took pictures of every blooming thing.


There were a lot of these decorative shrubs growing all around the vineyard and the park. I don't know what they are, but they look like small orchids. We got Smitty out for a walk yesterday evening. Smitty doesn't do a lot of walking, but he does like to roll in the dust and sniff the air. He took up a position next to one of these, and while we were standing there, the tiniest hummingbird slurped the nectar from every single flower. 


I so wish I could have gotten a picture of it, but I didn't have my camera and it was dark anyway. When I did a search of Nevada hummingbirds, the only one that looked anything like it was the Calliope Hummingbird. According to Wikipedia, it is the smallest breeding bird in Canada and the United States. Indeed, it was barely larger than a big moth. I can't post the image here, but if you'd like to see it, you can click right here.

Finally, here's another oleander. The oleanders in the park have been groomed to look like trees, rather than the shrubs that they are naturally. We saw them often where we grew up in Southern California, but they will not grow in Oregon. We've seen them everywhere this trip, and it's a little like coming home.


Finally, I have this one story to share with you. We were aware that prostitution is legal in Nevada. Just now I looked it up. It isn't entirely accurate to say that it is legal all over Nevada. In fact, it is only legal in regulated brothels, and those are kept far away from the cities. Nevertheless, Wikipedia tells us that despite legal prostitution, most prostitution is conducted illegally in Reno and Las Vegas, and that most of the money spent on prostitution in the state is spent illegally. Weird, huh?

When we drove into Pahrump the first time, coming from the north, we saw quite a few of these brothels, and we got a chuckle when we drove by the "Shady Lady Bed & Breakfast." And I said to Mike, do you think...? And I'm not sure why else you'd give a business establishment that name when you're in a state with laws like Nevada's...right? By the way, online booking available right here

So with that background in mind, it was quite a hoot when we were in the grocery store the other day. We purchased some Mike's Hard Lemonade (so good on a hot day), and Mike, in all innocence, asked the cashier if we needed to have it in a bag to drive it home. She looked at us and said in all seriousness, "You can do anything in Nevada." It might not be as funny re-told, but we both cracked up.

Okay, so today, we're on our way to Lancaster, California and the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. To be completely accurate, we have reservations at an RV park in Acton, California. We're hoping to see some blooming poppies, but we're also going to see the Musical Road. Here's a video I found online. If you can't see the video, click right here.


Well, no video will do for these intrepid travelers. We must see it for ourselves. Also, there's a quilt shop nearby, so off we go.


17 comments:

Sher S. said...

The poppies might have finished their blooming by now, I wish you luck in seeing them. They are beautiful. Enjoy Acton, Rick drove that route every day going to work from Valencia to Palmdale. Boring road. There are a few quilt shops in Palmdale/Lancaster area, none in Santa Clarita, it closed a few years ago. Enjoy your travels. You are in my old stomping grounds. Lived in Valencia for over 40 years.

gpc said...

I've never heard of a musical road -- how fun! I hope it really sings for you!

QUILTING IS BLISSFUL, DI said...

So the trip is fun and full of entertainment and that is sooo good!!
as for the old guy in the motorized chair walking his dog--I live in a senior apt building--4 floors and we have several here that walk their dogs that way-sometimes I feel sorry for the little dogs cause the owners go too fast in the motorized chairs --
continue to enjoy the moments, di

Cathy Smith said...

What a great trip! The pink flowers are Desert Willow. There is one just outside each corner of my back fence. I love them! Just wish they would bloom all year. :-(

Ray and Jeanne said...

Happy Anniversary! With temps of 100 degrees, it's definitely time to head north! ~Jeanne

WoolenSails said...

More wonderful and interesting sights to see and I can't wait to see you drive a musical road, that looks like fun.

Debbie

crazy quilter said...

How much fun you are having! Happy Anniversary, quite an accomplishment . You both look fine in your selfie, I don't do selfies either, as Gravity has taken its tole. I think we have those little humming birds in North Texas. When I put the feeder out they are almost so tiny I can barely see them. I usually mount it on the fence in the sunshine but this year with all of our rain my wisteria has taken over the mounting spot where I can watch them. It has been great weather for ya'll , perhaps being in the desert will help The kitties shed some of that winter fur, but oh all over the RV, maybe not so good. I have never heard of Music Road but I have only been in Cali once for about 6 months while my hubby was in the Service. It wasn't quite my cup of tea so to speak. SanFrancisco is a beautiful city but coming from Texas I missed the winter weather and Summer weather, the temps always stayed on the cool side . Safe travels to you both and keep these fabulous pictures coming. I especially enjoy all the blooming things and the Quilt Stores.

Brown Family said...

The first cell tower trees I ever saw were in El Paso! They look like palm trees. Our area does not try ti disguise them. They are just tall and ugly. My Daughter works for Ericson and they design and install those funny trees.

That is a fun musical road. I had never heard about it! I was trying to determine what song it was playing!

kc said...

Lots of fun and funny stuff! The little dog walking the old man is funny, for sure, as is the drought stricken pine tree. Couldn't they make a cactus or something more appropriate for the area?

Sure hope you have your own camera rolling when you hit that musical road! Never heard of such, but sure am enjoying the ride along with y'all! Safe travels...

Kate said...

Happy Anniversary! Sounds like you celebrate it in style. Happy travels this weekend.

piecefulwendy said...

Happy Anniversary, if I forgot to say it before (I meant to)! We have the same problem with selfies; we're hopeless. Looks like you've been having a great time. I don't know what to think of the cell tower cover up, other than that it looks a little needy. I have never heard of the musical highway; can't wait to hear your thoughts on it. Enjoy!

Dana Gaffney said...

It's nice to see the two of you relaxing by a pool and enjoying that natural air conditioning. I hope you have your phone set to video when you drive that road, is there a set speed you should travel it?

Unknown said...

Temp not too bad for Pahrump. When we were there last year this time it was 115! One morning at 6AM temp was 99 and on the way up.

BTW did you try Mom's Diner? We enjoyed it last year, great homemade pies. Found out the owners were esapees from Illinois which explained why they had one of favorite childhood foods - pork tenderloin sandwiches.

Californianativedaughter said...

We had an old family friend that lived in Lancaster when it was a "hole in the wall." She was a characters, as a child we had a meal at her home and I remember she was more interested in getting the dishes done than in having them clean. So it was my job to "dry" the dishes, many of which were still dirty-funny the things you remember as a child
This has been a busy month for us. In addition to celebrating our 44th Anniversary, it was our old daughter's 40th B-Day. Her partner arranged a suite at a Giants game and invited about 40 people. It was a blast. But the highlight came before May, our first granddaughter, who was due in May, arrived on April 26.
I look forward to reading your blog posts.
Rosemary

Beth said...

Oh, beautiful, deadly oleander! Remember how it lined and prettied-up the freeways in SoCal? Beware, hitchhikers! I grew up with a very careful gardener who was also a very conscientious RN, and she assiduously rid our yard in Huntington Beach of any wandering oleander. We were warned of its dangers: don't eat it, don't pick it, don't touch the fallen flowers. If the dogs drink water pooled beneath the plant, that can kill them...No fooling around.

When I moved to Oregon and our yard was dotted with Andromeda--none of it blooming yet--I had a mini freak-out, because to my eye, the leaves looked awfully close to that of the evil oleander. We were a breath away from ripping up our new garden when things burst into bloom and I got a lessen in Northwest flora.

As ever, I'm loving your trip. To your selfie story I say, so true.

quiltzyx said...

As to your anniversary selfie - crop, crop, crop! Take Smilin' Mike & put him with Beaming Barbara!! Glad to hear you had another wonderful meal at Symphony for your celebration. You are so kind to let Mike have the free dessert. ;^)

As usual, love all the photos, especially the melted Smitty in the chair!!

Lyndsey said...

I read your comment about letting Mike have the free dessert since he was paying, to John. He roared with laughter before confirming that's just the sort of thing he'd expect me to do. Poor kitties in their winter fur, but Smitty has certainly made himself comfortable. Picasso has slimmed down as he's lost his winter coat - he left most of it on John's chair before I caught him and groomed him.