Countries visited

It has been a slow two days around here in Camp Verde.  We went to Pizza Hut and ordered their $5.00 all you can eat spaghetti & meatballs on Wednesday and enjoyed the meal.  Of course we each had a beer and they cost $4.25 each, so there wasn't such a great savings.  Next week we will stick with water and still enjoy the spaghetti.

Gerry is working on her card making hobby and has stuff spread all over the motorhome.  It looks like dinner will be served on trays this evening, but that is fine with me.   It looks like cheeseburgers are on the menu for tonight, with home made french fries.  Yummy!

While Gerry was doing her card thing, I ran a few errands and paid for another week here at Rancho Verde RV park.  After that I went geocaching almost got skunked finding one.  I finally found two caches and entered them into the computer.

I ran across a program the will create world maps where you have visited and was fooling around with it.  Just for kicks I entered all the countries I remember visiting and entered them into the program.  This is the result of that effort.

It looks like I have a long way to go filling in all the white spaces with green.

Hot time in the ole campsite

We both knew it couldn't last forever and enjoyed the nice weather we've had the past month or so.  That all came to an end today with temps around 104 degrees and no wind.  We have two air conditioners in the motorhome and they both were running full blast today and working hard to keep it cool inside.  I had already put the outside window shades down and that helped cool the unit, plus we have shade from a tree next to us.

This was a good day to stay inside and watch movies, so that is what we did.  "Acts Of Valor" was the movie of choice today and it was a good one.  It was more of a tribute to the Seal Teams and the sacrifices they have made defending our freedoms.  If you get a chance to watch the move, take it.  Lots of shooting and violence, but that is what they have to deal with.
  "Act of Valor" follows a Navy Seal squad on a covert mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent, and in the process takes down a complex web of terrorist cells determined to strike America at all costs. The filmmakers had unprecedented Naval access resulting in high-octane combat sequences and never-before-seen military operation scenes which are composited from actual events in the lives of the men appearing in the film and their comrades.

Our luck continues to be good on this trip.  We have the bikes on a rack on the rear of the Saturn.  We've used this particular bike rack for at least 12 years and it's been a good one for us.   A local Mexican restaurant was our destination for tonight and as we pulled into the driveway, one of the straps holding the bike rack on the car broke and the bikes dropped down almost to the road.  

I parked the car and got out to check the damage and immediately a couple came over and offered to help us.  Turns out they were fellow RVers and wanted to lend a hand.  Nice to see the bond that RVers have with each other.  We chatted a while and I assured them we would be OK.  Thanks, you guys.

We removed the bikes from the rack, took off the front wheels and stored the bikes in the back of the Saturn.  Now I will have to find a new strap for the bike rack or buy another one.  I do have a rack for the motorhome and may just go back to using it.  

BTW:  The meal was great at the restaurant and we had good service.  The food is real Mexican cusine, rather than Tex-Mex, but we enjoyed it anyway.

That was our day, how was yours?

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

There is an old saying that "only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun" and some of my ancestors were English.  Maybe that is why we went geocaching in 100 degree heat today.  Actually, I was looking for a drive through river crossing on the Verde River near the campground and there happened to be some geocaches on the other side of the river.  We never found the river crossing, but did find three geocaches.

It was hot to say the least, but there was a little breeze so it was bearable.  Most of the caches were near the road and didn't require a lot of walking or climbing hills.  Thank God for that.  

We continued on down a road until it turned into a dirt road and then became rougher driving.  Finally we came to the end of the road and drove through a housing area with beautiful homes on 5-10 acres.  We stopped and picked up some brochures on two homes and they were in the $535K range.  Most of them had watering systems going full blast trying to keep their lawns green.  One home had a large pond in front of it that came right up to their porch.  You never know what you will run across geocaching.

The scenery out there was beautiful and wild.  

The house below had two trees in the front and one tree appeared to be growing out of the porch roof.  It was difficult to get a good shot since we didn't want to cause a problem with the home owners.

 We are both surprised to see so many rose bushes here in the Camp Verde area.  There must be a very good Jackson Perkins rose bush salesman out here.  They look like they grow very well and are healthy looking bushes.

We had a nice relaxing day and other than geocaching just sat around and read.  Even RVers need to take it easy every so often.

The Slide fire north of Sedona has grown to 18,000 acres and is 35% contained.  We can still see large columns of smoke over a 10-15 mile line.  Every once in a while the smoke comes over us, but it isn't that bad.  It could be a lot worse.

 

Memorial Day

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. General Order Number 11 was issued by Major General John Logan of Murphysboro, IL on May 5, 1868. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,”  He picked that date since no major battle was fought during the American Civil War on that date. It is believed that the date was also important since flowers would be in bloom all over the US and would be available to decorate the graves.

All of the Northern States observed the day by 1890, but the Southern States refused since it referred to the Northern service men. It wasn't until after WW I and the Order was changed to recognize all who died in the service of the country that the Southern States recognized the day. They also have a day of remembrance for Confederate Soldiers who gave their all.

During WW I, as a result of a poem about Flanders Field and all those who died there among the  poppy flowers in the area, poppies started to be sold to honor those who died. The VFW started selling them in 1922 and proceeds were given to help veterans.

I remember Decoration Day as a young child and also selling poppies. I don't think I ever sold more than a couple dollars worth and when I ran out of the artificial poppies, I took the money down to the local VFW Hall.

Later I helped my father deliver flowers to decorate graves . He was helping out a local florist and since he had a carryall, he could haul large batches of the flowers. My job was to find the graves and place the flowers on them. We did this at cemeteries in the southern half of the county where we lived. I learned a lot about cemeteries doing this. Little did I realize this early training would be an asset later in life when I began doing genealogical research.

Now, the last Monday in May is the official date to remember Memorial Day and it's become a three day holiday weekend and kicks off the summer camping season. I wonder how many people today understand the meaning of the holiday?  We continue to buy poppies from volunteers selling them.

Thanks to all our Veterans who served our country and helped keep us free.

Mama Joe's Italian Grill and Geocaching

Early this morning the wind must have shifted since we could smell the smoke from the Slide wildfire.  It wasn't that bad and cleared up later.  As of today the fire is burning over 11,000 acres and is 5% contained.

I had downloaded a number of geocaches and we decided to head east out of Camp Verde on US 260 heading for Strawberry, AZ.  We managed to pick up 9 caches along the way and had a great time looking for them.   One cache was at a marker on Crook highway ( US 260 ).  General Crook forged a trail through the wilderness in 1874 to provide a supply line between forts. 

The caches were a little more difficult to find than an urban cache where you can almost drive up to it.  Also, they were placed higher up the mountain around the 7,200 ft level where the air is thinner.  Yep, it was hard breathing at that altitude and climbing hills, but we enjoyed the exercise and a chance to see some new areas.  

We were almost to Pine, AZ when we decided it was time for some food.  By chance we stopped at Mama Joe's Italian Grill and had a great meal.  I ordered spaghetti and Gerry had lasagne and a glass of wine.  I managed to finish my meal while Gerry brought almost half of hers home.

 
The diners next to us ordered the large Supreme pizza with 6 toppings and it looked super.  We may have to make the trip back there in the future to see if it tastes as good as it looks.

We topped the meal off with a trip to the Dairy Queen in Camp Verde for a couple blizzards.  They tasted great as usual and we were able to finish them off.  It's been a while since Gerry got her DQ fix and she is one happy girl now.

Oh, it rained on us while we were geocaching and when we stopped for dinner.  The temp dropped down to 45 degrees at one point and Gerry turned on the heater in the car.  It sure was refreshing moving around in that nice cool air.

A couple of the caches were in Forest Service areas that looked like dry camping sites.  They had huge fireplace rings in place and the grass was cut short.  We did see a number of RVs in a couple of these areas with trailers to haul ATVs around.  Maybe next fall Gerry and I will head up there with our unit and relax for a week or so.  Maybe!

That was our enjoyable day, we hope you had a nice one, also.  I know my FSILINC had a nice day, since he told me so.

Sedona & the Slide Forest Fire

It is hard to believe that the Slide forest fire is only 30 miles from us and nobody around here seems to know it's there.  The winds have driven the fire even further north along both sides of US 89A and into some very rough countryside.  We have been on that road a few times and loved the drive and view.  In October of 2012 we toured the area and managed to get some pictures.  The ones shown below will give you an idea of how rough the terrain is there.  

Can you imagine how difficult it would be to fight this fire from the ground?  So far they are fighting by a delaying action and dumping thousands of gallons of water and repellant utilizing helicopters and airplanes.  When the wind exceeds 35mph they do not drop the liquids since it isn't as effective when it is dispersed over a large area.

We had some routine errands to run today and drove over to Cottonwood, AZ to Fry's, Home Depot and Walmart.  Cottonwood has a number of big box stores and numerous other businesses.  It seems to be the big shopping destination for this part of the country.

On the way back to the motorhome we stopped to check out the Thousands Trails RV park here in the area.  I got diverted to find a geocache and then checked out a local winery that was closed.  Looks like a trip to the winery is on tap for this weekend.   The TT Rv park looked nice, but some of the sites were double sites and very close together.  They have a restaurant in the park and the public is invited to eat there.  Maybe lunch after the winery is in the works, also.

We are enjoying the beautiful weather here and the forecast is for more of the same.  Possibly some rain on Sunday night and Monday, but that would be fine with us.  Maybe we can get a free wash job courtesy of mother nature.  

That was our day, how was yours?

Las Vegas to Camp Verde

Well, we couldn't wait any longer and got the wheels on the motorhome moving today.  We had intended to leave Las Vegas on Monday but we were having a great time and put it off for a few days.  Time ran out today.

We had a 300+ mile trip ahead of us and the weather forecast called for low winds.  They were wrong!  We had winds up to 40 mph pounding us all day.  Some gusts really smacked the motorhome and shifted it over a few feet.  For a change, I didn't get to see much scenery since I was fighting the wheel most of the time.  At one time it was so strong I decided to pull off the road, but then it eased up.  

This will be another pictorial blog since basically we rode all day long and didn't stop except for fuel.  So here goes:

Lake Mead is seriously low now and as you can see there are small islands in the lake and they were previously under water.  As the lake level receded, the white stain remained.

 Notice the island with a black top and white sides in the lake, plus the row of land exposed now.  Must be rough on boat propellers now that the lake level has dropped so much.

 This is the new bridge that replaced the road over Hoover Dam.  Even though we were in the motorhome and 900 ft above the river, we couldn't see the Colorado River flowing beneath us.  It doesn't look like a $240 million bridge, but that was the cost to construct it and the highways leading up to it.

View of the bridge from above.

Rt 93 South Mike O'Callagham, Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Recreation area along the Colorado River.

 We began to see smoke and smell the Sedona Slide Creek fire in Oak Canyon as we rode along I-40 east of Williams, AZ.  The tall smoke plumes weren't visible, but the smoke covered the forests along side of the road.

 Once we turned on to I-17 south the smoke was more visible and this is a good shot of the fire around the Munds Park area.  The fire is west of Munds Park and it doesn't seem to be a problem for them.  As you can imagine, it is the big topic in the news around here and everyone is watching it's progress.  The area where it is burning is in very steep and difficult areas, so fighting the fire is slow going.

 We came across this sign on I-17 and thought, oh boy.  We've been down this road before and it looks worse than it is.  I put the motorhome engine brake on and we went from 7500 ft near Flagstaff to around 3000 ft in Camp Verde.  Thank God for the engine brake.

There were other signs, but I am sure you are tired of seeing the signs by now.  We were chuckling about how they told you how many miles to go.

We finally arrived at the Rancho Verde Campground in Camp Verde and intend to stay here a couple weeks and check out the Sedona, Cottonwood, Jerome and Flagstaff areas.  We've been here before a number of times and never tire of seeing the beautiful mountains in the area.

Oh, before I forget.  When I went to dump the black tank today it wouldn't expel the liquids.  Oh, Oh!   Not good.  We decided to drive to Camp Verde and let the contents slosh around and hopefully clear up the problem.  Once we had the motorhome hooked up at our site, I connected the sewer hose to their septic system and pulled the plug.  Whew!  Everything worked out fine in the end and that was a relief.  

See, there was some excitement today other than the 40mph winds and bad driving conditions.  I was glad to get off the road today and settle down.

That was our day, how was yours?

Long day in Las Vegas

This sure was a long day for us here in Las Vegas today with a 7:30am wake up time.  We developed a leak in the motorhome on Monday and when I went outside to check it I noticed a mobile RV repairman was working on the RV next to us.  I asked him if he could check the leak when he got a chance and he came right over.  He couldn't repair it on Monday so said he would be back at 8:00am on Tuesday to do the job.

Sure enough, he arrived right at 8:00am and started working on the problem.  It was a bear to fix since it was behind the bathroom sink next to the shower.  The hot water line came to a T behind the sink and both outlet sections were leaking with a steady flow.  So, 4 3/4 hours later he declared the job finished.  There is no way in the world that I could have crawled around on the floor and reached way back into the sink area to make the repair.  So, big bucks later the job was finished and now we don't have the leak.  Enough said about that painful experience.

We decided to wait for the wind to die down from 40mph gusts and stay a couple days longer in Vegas.  It was another trip out to the M Casino for dinner this time, which was basically the same food as lunch, except more costly.  They do provide wine and beer with the meal so we made up for the extra charge by having a few adult beverages.

Gerry and I played the slots after dinner and she won $25 while I lost $20.  At least we came out $5 ahead for the time spent on the slots.  Gerry was playing 20 cents a turn and won for a while and then started a slow process of losing most of what she had won plus a little more.  I convinced her to play a dollar at a time and she hit on the 2nd time and won $32.  That was it for the slots.

The Bellagio Hotel & Casino was the next stop for the night and we snared a parking space right next to the casino entrance.  Our mission was to look at the Conservatory decorations.  They do a fantastic job on the decorations and use tons of flowers.  Rather than describe them, I am enclosing a number of pictures.  It was difficult to get good pictures since about 7 busloads of Japanese tourists were in the Conservatory while we were there. 

Mr Froggy

Tree house with fish aquarium inside

Mr snail tooling along

Another view of tree house

Flowers and kites for spring

Notice the garden shovel on the left of photo

Gerry -  I had to wait for the crowd to thin out to get a clear shot.

 We took a last drive down the Las Vegas strip for this visit and it was slow going;  bumper to bumper for blocks and lots of gawkers slowing down traffic.

Eiffel Tower

 Our next destination was Fremont St in the old downtown area.  They have worked to make this a nice destination and while it does look better, the crowds there seemed to be drunker, rowdier and a lot younger.  We walked up and down the area and visited a few casinos, listened to the band playing, watched the light show and decided to call it a night.  It was pushing 11:30pm by then and we were worn out.

BTW:  They still slots on Fremont St that take quarters and seem to pay out a little better.

Fremont St West view

Fremont St East view

While we know Las Vegas isn't for everyone, we always have a great time here and look forward to our next trip.  We've been here 16 days and could stay longer but we have reservations in Camp Verde starting Thursday.  Memorial Day weekend is coming up and it's always a good idea to have a place to park ahead of time since so many people will be camping out.

That was our day and it's now 1:00am on Wednesday morning and I have to be up by 8:00am to get ready for the drive out of here.  Goodnight all.

Redbox Movie TIme

Redbox was kind enough to send me offers via email the last couple days offering me a 2 for 1 rental and then another rental for $1.00 off.  It was too good to pass up so we located a Redbox nearby and went down and rented:

Odd Thomas
Gravity
Elysium

We had read the Odd Thomas book by Dean Koontz and enjoyed it and wondered how they could make a movie of it.  We were pleasantly surprised how they presented the creatures and the movie followed the book closely.  It was an interesting movie to watch but may not suit everyone's taste.

Gravity was next on the list and Gerry has been wanting to see the movie since it came out.  For one reason or the other we never got a chance to see it in the theaters and finally found a Redbox that had it in stock.  We were both underwhelmed by the movie even though we both like Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.  (Not his politics, but do like his acting.)  I wish I could say something good about the movie other than the special effects, but that isn't possible.  I would imagine everyone has seen the movie, so our likes won't enter into any lost sales.

Elysium will be watched on Sunday and we are looking forward to seeing it.  I hope it doesn't disappoint us like Gravity did.

So, for $1.52 we rented three recent movies and are 1 for 2 so far.  Not bad.  And, in the true movie tradition, we even had popcorn to eat while we watched them.

It was very hot here today with temps around 103 degrees and that was a factor in us hanging around the motorhome.  Not very exciting, but there are days that.

One exciting thing we saw was the running of the Preakness with California Chrome winning the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown.  We both hope the horse wins at the Belmont and completes the triple crown.  I remembered the race was on and turned the TV on 1 minute before the race began.  They only had 3-4 horses to get in the gate when we started watching it.  Close shave.

It was an enjoyable day for us and started out great with a call from our grandson Grant.  He had some exciting news to tell us and we will wait to divulge it until all aunts and grandparents have been notified.  He was excited and wanted to let us know, so called early in the morning.  

That was it for us today here in Las Vegas.  Hope you had a great day also.

Day of rest & 103 degrees

Gerry and I can go full blast for a couple days and then it is time to take a day off.  Today was an off day for us.  We worked a little around the motorhome and then drove the 2 miles to Costco to pick up some needed items.  As usual, we wound up spending more than we thought we would.  That seems to be the case in Las Vegas, spending more than planned.

We did meet Bob & Ihsan yesterday for lunch at the M buffet.  At $15.99 for the lunch buffet it is a bargain here in Las Vegas.  They have a very good selection of food and it is for the most part very tasty.  We also like that they include beer and wine in the price.  We've paid $7.50 for a beer in other places, so when you factor that in, it's a bargain.

Gerry managed to escape me and hide in the slot machines and continued in her quest to win a fortune.  Once again, the fortune eluded her, but she had a great time trying to win it.  I play to win while she plays for the fun of it.  She wound up playing in her first slot tournament, but missed the cutoff for prizes.

Ihsan also ran off and played the slots, so Bob and I sat at a couple machines and talked non stop for 2 1/2 hours rehashing things from working together over all the years from the 70s and 80s.  We kept jogging each other's memories of coworkers from the past.  I think I am going to have to write down their names so I don't forget them again.

I was talking to a neighbor at the RV park and he mentioned this section of town is always warmer than other parts.  Just my luck.  He had set up a fan outside of his unit and had it running, pushing the 100+ degree heat toward him.  We had a water outage this morning and I didn't realize he had a mister on the fan until I noticed later than it was wet in front of his fan.  That was my clue that we had water again.

Well, if you have read this far and expected something interesting or exciting, then I am afraid you are disappointed.  Saturday will be a more interesting day since we are planning on visiting some of the high end casinos and their shops.  It is nice to see $10,000 watches in cases even if we can't buy one.  That is as close to something that costly that we will encounter.

I couldn't publish the blog without including at least one picture.  The Luxor Hotel/Casino is shaped like a pyramid and they have this very powerful light shining straight up into the sky.  It is visible all over Las Vegas and it is visible from space.  That is one powerful flashlight.

Luxor Hotel/Casino

This is what it looks like during daylight hours.

Luxor Hotel/casino

That was our day here in the heat of Las Vegas, how was yours? 

Jersey Boys and Paris

We got up very early in the morning to drive down to the "strip" and pick up some tickets to see the show "Jersey Boys".  I stopped for 10 seconds in the bus pull off so Gerry could get in line for the tickets and then parked in the MGM garage while she bought them.  The policeman standing nearby started chewing Gerry out about parking in the bus pull out.  No bus in sight, but that didn't matter.  Thank God he didn't arrest that dangerous great grandmother to make her an example how serious of an offense it was.

Gerry bought the tickets and gave me a call to pick her up.  This time I drove down a narrow street near MGM and waited for her.  No policeman in sight so it worked out fine.

We walked around the area near the High Roller ferris wheel and found this nice little fountain.  Of course, I had to coax Gerry into posing for a picture in that relaxing area.  The wind was blowing and she had to watch the spray or get wet.

This is a picture of the ceiling between the Bally's & Paris Casinos.  We were sitting near another fountain and Gerry looked up at the beautiful ceiling.  We had a 15 minute wait to take advantage of Happy Hour at a bar/restaurant in the walkway.  It was worth it since the food was very good and the drinks were 2 for 1.
 

 Gerry had already managed to donate some funds to Bally's casino and got tired of waiting for the cocktail waitress to come by and left there to walk next door to Paris casino.  The Bally's casino and hallways looked worn out and badly in need of a major upgrading.

Gerry took her huge fortune of pennies and walked next door to the Paris casino to add to her fortune.  She did manage to win here and I dragged her out screaming & kicking.  I don't think I will do that again.

 Paris casino looked nicer and the walkways had small shops along the way in a French setting.  The area we saw looked nice and was in big contrast to Bally's.

Paris Hotel walkway

Paris Casino & Hotel

 We were at the Paris to watch the "Jersey Boys" show on stage.  It is an adaptation of the rise of the Four Seasons group from their earlier days and all the problems they went through over the years.  They do use foul language in the show, but I would imagine it was typical language they would have used in those days.  Nothing we didn't hear back in that era and now it is common in the movies and cable TV.

Wikipedia
The Four Seasons are an American rock and pop band who became internationally successful in the mid-1960s. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame has stated that the group was the most popular rock band before the Beatles. Since 1970, they have also been known at times as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. In 1960, the group known as the Four Lovers evolved into the Four Seasons, with Frankie Valli as the lead singer, Bob Gaudio (formerly of the Royal Teens) on keyboards and tenor vocals, Tommy DeVito on lead guitar and baritone vocals, and Nick Massi on bass guitar and bass vocals.
The legal name of the organization is the Four Seasons Partnership, formed by Gaudio and Valli after a failed audition in 1960. While singers, producers, and musicians have come and gone, Gaudio and Valli remain the group's constant (with each owning fifty percent of the act and its assets, including virtually all of its recording catalog). Gaudio no longer plays live, leaving Valli the only member of the group from its inception who is currently touring.


The Four Seasons (group members 1960–1966) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, and joined the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999^. They are one of the best-selling musical groups of all time, having sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide.

The show started off slowly and we were wondering if we had spent our money wisely by coming to see them.  After 10-15 minutes they had set the stage and then we got a chance to see and hear them  sing a number of hit songs.  Gaudio was the writer and Frankie Valli was the lead singer of the group.  

It was nice hearing all their hit songs and learning about the rise in the music business.  Frankie Valli is 80 now and still performs. 

The show was good, but not the best one we have seen in Las Vegas.  We felt we got our moneys worth, but weren't overwhelmed by the group.  The theatre was full and they received numerous standing ovations, so I imagine most of the people loved the show.

Jersey Boys cast with Frankie Valli & Bob Gaudio -  London 2008

We gambled a little more in the Paris casino and then drove up and down the strip to see all the sights.  Buildings and people!  It wasn't too crowded on the road like times in the past, but the streets were full of people.  The High Roller was lit up at night.  We snapped a few photos of it as the colors changed constantly.

It was quite late when we got back to the motorhome and we were both wiped out.  It was a long day and we accomplished a lot, so it goes in the books as a great day in Las Vegas for us.

Did any of you win any money at the casinos or see a great play?  

The High Roller - Las Vegas

We have been planning on riding the High Roller for a couple days, but the wind was fairly strong and we put it off.  Later we found out that they close the High Roller when winds are in the 35mph range.

What, you ask is the High Roller.  It is a 550 ft high ferris wheel with 28 cars that can hold up to 40 people.  I don't think it would be much fun if there were 40 people on board since it would be very crowded.

The ride is in operation from 12 noon until 2 AM and the cost is $24.95 during the day and $34.95 at night.  You only go around one revolution and it takes around 30 minutes.  The wheel doesn't stop for loading or unloading and you have to be quick on your feet to enter the pods.  The night ride seems to be the most popular since you can see all the lights on the strip and all over the Las Vegas area.  We took the daytime trip so we could get some photos.

Spiderwork on the cables holding it together

Tires for the cars

Taken from a long block away

Entrance/exit area

Trailing pod

Proof that I rode the ferris wheel.

Highest point.  Note the cars on the ground.

Our car is at he bottom of the wheel

Docking area

Blue lights at night.

A few minutes later they changed to white lights.

 When we were almost finished with the ride it reminded us of the cable car ride we took in Rio de Janerio many years ago.  The wheel moves so slowly that you can't feel the motion.  In order to see the changes you have to focus on a building or an object.  Since it was all enclosed, it wasn't the same as an outdoor ferris wheel.  It wasn't nearly as exciting since the pods don't rock like a ferris wheel seat does.  That is a good thing in my eyes.

We enjoyed the ride and next time we will try the night ride to see all the lights in town and around the city.  

The area around the High Roller has a number of shops and restaurants.  One common thread running through the area is that you will need to bring lots of cash or credit cards if you want to spend any time in the area called LINQ. 

Website for the High Roller.  High Roller website

We did some other things today and I will write about that later.  It is after midnight and I am tired.  That was our day, how was yours?