Blue Man Group - Gum balls & Marshmallows

While in Vegas we went to see Blue Man Group. They are a funky group of 'Blue men' who do a theatrical/percussion/visual ensemble thingy. Not a word is uttered by the Blue Men. they have some messages that are blasted overhead with neon signs. It is very entertaining. We were in row 6 - and were provided with plastic ponchos as some of the paint sprays into the audience.

Kevin LOVED it. I bought him the original creation of a painting made by the paint balls from the Blue Men. I will send a separate blog post with a photo of that .

SW Trip # 3 - Sedona, AZ

It is called Red Rock Country. About 100 miles south of the Grand Canyon. We had a beautiful drive through a mountain range and down an incredible canyon with red rocks and Ponderosa Pines (Flagstaff south on 89A). We were in elevations of 7,000' at the Grand Canyon, 8,500' north of Flagstaff, 6,000 at Flagstaff and then 4,000 in Sedona.

The red rocks surround the entire city of Sedona. There are dirt roads just outside of town with wonderful views of the rocks.

Below is Cathedral Rock.

Enjoying breakfast with a view.

Amazing rock formations of all shapes, sizes and colors.

Below is one of the off-the-beaten path roads we took. The red dirt is REEEDDD!!! Wouldn't want to put kids in white socks here.

The rock formations are often named. Kevin thought this was quite interesting and being the creative soul he is, started naming some rock formations himself.

Below is Dual Face Rock - in the center Buddha is looking toward the sun with his eyes closed; on the left edge is Chief Red Rock's profile.

Below, Kevin identified and named Resting Camel Rock.

And of course......the ever intellectual, latin speaking Kevin named this one

Penis Rock.

SW Trip # 2 The Grand Canyon

Truly a magnificent sight!

Here we are at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Northern Arizona. We didn't plan well for the temperatures! As we drove towards the canyon we were in a snow shower. Neither of us had packed appropriately....we were cold!!! 7,000 ft elevation and a cold front. We had a comfortable, warm room and there were 2 nice restaurants that we enjoyed dinner at each night. The second day was clear, with blue skies but cold temperatures. We spent several hours driving the south rim and stopping to capture some of the glorious views below.

Watch as light in the canyon changes throughout the day - above and below are morning light.

Colors get richer as the sun gets higher. The above and below are mid-day light.

The next two are at sundown...the shadows are long and colors muted.

Most of the photos capture the canyon at about 8-10 miles across - but at the widest it is 17 miles across.

The photos do not begin to express the vastness and the magnitude of this wonder.

Even though it was cold, it was a great to be in 'nature' - a total juxtaposition to the lights and noise of Las Vegas.

The view from our room - morning after a light snow fall.

We stayed in the National Park where there is beautiful wildlife . This deer was eating some clover outside the lodge.

And Mr Elk appeared both evenings we were eating. We joked he was on payroll there because his entry was definately a crowd pleaser. After dinner we saw him at a different spot with another crowd of tourists. There were signs around the park saying it is 'Unlawful' to approach the animals.

Southwest Trip Blog 1

We spent 2 days on the Vegas Strip - staying at the New York New York Resort. The view from our hotel (below) of the Res Rock Canyons enticed us out for a drive through the canyon one afternoon.

The geological interest had Kevin amazed. It was beautiful....especially only 20 miles from the center of Vegas.

Then we drove over the Hoover Dam (and the new bridge behind us) into Arizona.

We passed through Williams - and drove on Route 66 for a stretch.

Still looks like an old west town.

Check in tomorrow for the next Chapter....2 days at the Grand Canyon.