Michele

I started taking cake decorating lessons 3 weeks ago. One of the secrets of making a great cake in my opinion is to freeze the cake first. The cake is easier to handle and is deliciously moist… almost like you added pudding to the mix. We are using Betty Crocker’s cake mixes for this class because we aren’t really learning to bake. We are learning techniques for decorating!

The first cake was a simple sample cake made our teacher, Eva Seibert.  Don’t be afraid of sprinkles!

Our next class we were to bring a cake “set-up” before class. The cakes had to be baked then crumb coated and then another layer of frosting. Lots of sugary frosting.

Recipe for the yummy frosting we used.

Ingredients
1 cup of Shorting
1/2 cup of whole milk
1/2 teaspoon of Almond extract
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1-2 pounds of powdered sugar
and a pinch of salt

Mix the shorting and milk together in a large mixing bowl mixer with a pinch of salt and the extracts. Add one cup at a time the powdered sugar until you get the texture you like. The frosting needs to be thick enough to pipe, but not too thick so you can not spread. It needs to be kind of fluffy. I will be sure to add pictures of the frosting the next time I make it.

We use two batches for each of our cakes. One for the crumb coat/ top layer and more to actually decorate the cake. When we colored the frosting we used frosting paste not the food coloring you get in the tear drop bottles.

I started taking cake decorating lessons 3 weeks ago.

Making a baby Shower cake. This was difficult for my hands. Hard to pipe the frosting. We learned how to reverse shells, making baby boots, rattles and simple flowers.

June and Peppermint plotting…

I have been experimenting with polymer clay and I absolutely love the medium. The boxes take me about a day to complete and 15-20 minutes to bake in the oven.

This is my first project with an small candy tin.

I didn’t know what to make so I decided to have a go at making a peacock type design.

I think it turned out okay. I was really fun to do. I think I am hooked now.

I cut out some foam so I could place my calligraphy tips in it.

Banana for reference.

I made one for my boyfriend.

I decided to do the bottom too.

My third box.

The Space exhibit flyer we had gotten in the mail sparked my interest and it became my mission to finally visit the Springs Preserve. It was the day after Valentines and the weather was unusually cold for Vegas. What better day to go. When we arrived at 333 South Valley View there was hardly anyone there. Happily we were greeted and given a map of the 180 acre site. Overwhelmed with the size of the park, we started down a path between a man-made canyon (complete with sounds of the wilderness) towards the Origen Experience where the Space exhibit was being displayed. A lovely man pointed us toward the viewing room where we were to watch an introduction film about the history of the Las Vegas Springs and how the preserve came to be. Once the video was finish we noticed there was art displayed on the walls from local students. We spent about an hour admiring the talent of these young artist before entering the Space exhibit.

Space: A Journey to Our Future

Spinning in the space “ride” was dizzying. After we experienced how it would be like to exercise in space, we played with some of the interactive exhibits. I learned about the different types of light used in telescopes and I tried to build a spaceship to Mars.

The Space exhibit will not disappoint you and will be at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve until May 13, 2012.  If you want to miss the crowds try going on a weekday, but remember that if you want to go to the Nevada State Museum it is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Dutch and I spent a great deal of time exploring the Space exhibit and when we saw how much more there was to seewe knew we couldn’t do it all in a day. Thankfully, we were given a map at the beginning of out expedition… otherwise we would be completely lost in the huge complex. I couldn’t believe how wonderful of a place this was and how inexpensive it was. Once we were finished with Space: A  Journey to Our Future, we stumbled across the outdoor living animal collection. I didn’t realize how much life was out in the desert!  It is mostly rodents, lizards and scary venomous bugs, but it’s very fun to explore.

Back inside we discovered the Natural Mojave Gallery. We learned about flash floods, geological formations, and about the vegetation of the Mojave desert. The Flash Flood exhibit demonstrated the dangers of flash floods by having you in a room with the flood!  It’s not to be missed.

Sustainability Gallery

The Sustainability Gallery was my favorite of all we saw. I really love the idea of children learning about recycling and saving valuable resources. I really don’t see why we all can’t live sustainable lives. Get your kids involved.  This exhibit is inspiring!

The Gardens features “junk art” by David Thompson. We didn’t know what to expect when we finally reached the Gardens. We were not disappointed. It was really fun to make out all of the “garbage” the artist used to make art.

A library for visitors is located in the gift shop. We didn’t get the chance to visit the Spring Cafe this trip, but it looks promising and the view of the strip looks great. The Spring Cafe’s hours are Monday through Friday 11am to 3pm, and Saturday and Sunday 11am to 4pm. I was so happy to finally make my way to the Springs Preserve. I look forward to going back during the Summer! If you would like to share your story about the Spring Preserve contact Michele@Localvegas.com and become a featured storyteller on our Local Vegas website!

If you haven’t been to a Renaissance Fair you are truly missing one of the most fulfilling experiences in life.  The Age of Chivalry is celebrated every year in October, usually at Sunset Park, but this year it was held at Silver Bowl Park by Cashman Center. The turkey legs were great and the entertainment was exquisite. Bravo knights and knaves, looking forward to next year.

Live blacksmith who told us stories of yore while making stuff.

Ahoy there matte, a ship in the grass! The ship was “shooting” at another!! Very loud and really fun.

My magical tennis shoes and staff ;).

Funny story…

The Romans

Jesus was even there.

Belly dancer who play with fire!

And there was the “Posh” experience.

The “Posh” potties are on the left.

Gimp is a great program for those of your who are just starting photo manipulation. This is my first picture using Gimp. I am still very much new to the whole graphic art world. Gimp is free and there are a ton of great tutorials online. Most of the pictures I used I found on Flickr under the creative common license.  Enjoy 🙂

It has been two years since I smoked a cigarette. I started smoking at a young age. Trying to fit in with my friends I took up the habit when I was 16 years old. Most of our parents smoked which made it easy for us to obtain a cigarette here and there. If I knew then the horrible struggles I had to go through to quit, I would have never started. I was a promising young athlete at the time, but cigarettes really sent me down the wrong path.

Peer pressure is no joke. It was the summer of 1995 and I was visiting my best friends. I was shocked when Joann and Linda told me they had been sneaking smokes from their parents for a few weeks. I protested, but soon I felt I was being too harsh toward my friends. I took up my first Marlboro red, my head went light and I was buzzed. I laughed with my dear friends and we didn’t think much of it. The whole summer we stole cigarettes from our parents and found ever opportunity to smoke. We even had a code word! Pretzels = cigarettes. When school started back up I wasn’t able to focus during my studies and I couldn’t run as well anymore. The withdraws for a young hormonal teen were horrendous. Often I was mean to my family.

It wasn’t until I was about 22 that I wanted to quit and it took me seven years. You really need to want to quit. I actually believed I enjoyed it and it became the background of my life. Unthinkingly buying packs at 7-11, stocking up on cartons from the PX and smoking every change I could get. I smoked while driving, when I had a cup of coffee, after sex, in the bathroom, waiting for something, after eating at every meal and always while socializing. It started to cut into my sales at work. I would be busy smoking and as a result I would lose on a sale.

I would quit for a few days, would think I could have just one and I would end up starting back up again. Your mind must believe you are not suppose to be a smoker you can not justify to smoke for any reason. You should be aware of your thoughts as you are breaking your habit. Have a bag of nuts like almonds around to snack on. Chew gum.

Keep busy and put off having a cigarette as long as you can. If you have to smoke only take a few drags and do not finish the whole cigarette. Know when enough is enough. Make new habits. Understand smoking is bad for you, unattractive, and expensive. Look at pictures of lungs, read accounts of cancer, read health risks of smoking and ask yourself if you want to life longer. Just think, that cigarette you are about to smoke is shorting your life! Constantly remind yourself of the negativity of smoking and you will soon become strong enough to over come the addiction.

Once you stop smoking you will realize all of the positive benefits like, living longer, tasting food, breathing right and saving money. It is going to be a hard addiction to kick, but with willpower you’ll be able to do it and help your friend in the fight against smokers. Remember parents who are smoker: You have children who look up to you!

The reason it took me so long to quit is because I was always around it. I worked in a club, I drank coffee and my boyfriend smoked. My boyfriend and I quit together. We were short with each other, but we were aware it was the withdrawals causing it. If you have a partner to quit with, be each other’s support and you will make it through this difficult time. There are other thing you two can do besides smoke ;). It is going to be hard to stay positive so be aware of what this addiction has made you become.

You may want to take a few days off from work to sleep some of the addiction off. Exercise is an important element in quiting. Exercise and learn to breathe right. Keep busy. Remember if you must smoke, take a drag or two and put it out. Stay away from triggers during your first month of quiting. Example of some of my triggers were other smokers and drinking. There are some medications you can get from your doctor to aid you in quiting, I however do not recommend them. I tried to use medication myself and ended up even more depressed then I have ever been in my life. It has taken me a year to get back to my normal balance. Remember depression may result in more smoking! I’ve used the gum, but it always gave me too much nicotine causing me to smoke again, and more! With E-cigarettes, I am not convinced in the science and I don’t want nicotine in my system at all. Nicotine is an addictive drug! E-cigarettes are just another way to inject poison into your blood!!

The solution which worked best for me:

Every morning I would wake up and I would not have a morning cigarette. I’d have breakfast, then take my dog for a walk while listening to music or an audio book. Whenever I would think I wanted a cigarette I would push the thought away and I would look for something else to do. If the craving got really bad I would pop an almond in my mouth. When it got extremely difficult I would take a drag or two always reminding myself my life was shorting and I was better then cigarettes until finally I didn’t need them anymore.

Looking back, I regret all the times I quit for 3 months and start back up thinking I could be a casual smoker then end up being full time again. Two year is a long time to be without nicotine… and it has been great! I have no desire to smoke and I do not miss it at all. People smoke around me and I do mind because second hand smoke kills. Fortunately, laws are being changed and the ugly smoker is no longer in a majority of places. I see them huddled together in their little smoker’s corner and wonder if they realize they are actually killing themselves. It’s been proven folks, cigarette smoke kills.

I have a dear friend who is very trusting and ambitious. She recently was called by a company who fed on her desire to reach financial freedom by selling her on a turn-key Amazon store front for pretty close to $700.  A few weeks later, they tried to upsell her by offering to market her new storefront for her for close to $3k.  They sent her a small brochure with inspirational bible quotes and got her really excited about the possibility of her “investment” paying off many times over.  After several months, she has yet to see a single dollar in earnings.

The fact is, her story is not unique.  After she reluctantly told me about the situation, I spent some time researching and have found site after site of these types of “store fronts” that other people have bought into.  So many customers have been taken for a ride by this scandalous company who knows good and well that their customers won’t be seeing any return on their investment.  ClickShopNow.com is a scam, pumping dreams and charging hundreds to thousands of dollars for what boils down to a sub-domain and an HTML template.

Seeing her being manipulated by a company which offers her nothing really upsets me. I am deeply saddened when I consider all of the people who get involved with these scams. They spend money they don’t have for an impossible dream. Almost $700!!!  It’s outrageous.

What is a sub-domain? Well… this is tricky… these companies promise you with unique domain names and technically they are right, but the names are ridiculous. First of all the domain name is the most important thing on a web-site because people will need to remember it and you. Unfortunately most of the really good names are already taken. Be creative with your URL name, make sure it is easy to remember this name represents you, I for example use my first and last name as my domain name. It is my domain. I registered it, and I pay $8 a YEAR… I use WordPress for my blog and I signed up to Amazon’s affiliate program all for FREE. Sub-domains are commonly used by organizations that wish to assign a unique name to a particular department, function, or service related to the organization. For example I own MicheleCosper.com I can make an infinite number of sub-domain names like, ForSale.MicheleCosper.com or TheReal.MicheleCosper.com to sell to other people. They do not actually own the sub-domain name at all. If I let my MicheleCosper.com domain expire then each of the sub-domains I sold would expire as well. Even if the domain name is picked up again by another person the sub-domains are not active unless the new owner takes the time to remake the sub-domains. Another option  the owner can do is  make what is called a “wild card” sub-directory forwarding all of the previous sub-domains to the original site.

ClickShopNow.com resells sub-domains. The number of sub-domains are infinite. You may think you are getting five unique original and great websites but the reality is you are over paying for something you have absolutely no control over. This company charges its costumers $150 per sub-domain or more depending on the package you choose to buy plus processing and promotion fees.

Google: “ClickShopNow” and see all of the sites for yourself. As I am digging deeper and deeper in this it is just makes me sick. I wonder if even a single one of these “store fronts” have been able to recoup their initial investment. One of the most interesting things I found on their invoice was this little disclaimer:

“Cardholder acknowledges receipt of goods or services in the amount of the total shown hereon and agrees to perform to the obligations set forth in the cardholder’s agreement with the issuer. By signing this Client Authorization, Cardholder acknowledges that advertising products and services cannot be refunded; this includes Media productions, Website add-ons, Unique Domain names and any Internet marketing products. Cardholder hereby acknowledges that all website set-up, design and graphics and any web stores are the only transaction that have a 30 day cancellation policy. Any additional sales are final. Cardholder also acknowledges that the purchase of product or services from Web Media Services. LLC. (“WMS”) does not in any way guarantee success. Cardholder also agrees to direct any concern or disputes about products or services purchased to WMS directly, and not to engage the services of a third party source for such purpose.” (Third party as in a Lawyer perhaps?)

I believe the disclaimer is put on their invoices to scare people into doing nothing. I have never in my life seen such a disclaimer. It is almost as if they admit their guilt.

Web Media is the L.L.C running the ClickShopSell.com site. The address is

67 E Weldon Ave Ste 121
Phoenix, AZ 85012

It also happens to be a company named: Aggressive Advertising….. hmmmmm.

I searched the Better Business Bureau for Web Media Services L.L.C.

I found that this company has an F rating, with an estimate of 5-25 complaints in the past 36 months.

The Reason for Rating as per BBB

BBB concerns with the industry in which this business operates

BBB does not have sufficient information to determine how long this business has been operating

6 complaints filed against this business

1 complaint filed against that was not resolved

2 serious complaints filed against business

BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business

link

For those of you interested in taking your first steps to financial freedom stay away from ClickShopNow.com!  This outfit charges so much for nothing.  They make you believe that they are some sort of branch of Amazon.com and that Amazon endorses this site.  They make it sound like they are offering you something of value that has the potential to make you rich.  The reality is that everything that they are offering you can be found elsewhere for free.

The Site Wizard is a wonderful site where you can learn the basics of web development to choosing a domain name. The best thing about this site is that it is 100% FREE! and filled with lots and lots of great information. Start there see where you end up, if anything you’ll learn terms and be more comfortable when dealing with future web projects.

How to Join Amazon:

Go to https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/ and Join free. Click on the blue “Join Free” button and follow the directions. If you already have a Amazon account you can just plug in your username and password and the rest of the information should populate for you. The questions are easy to answer and will only take a few moments to complete.

Making a website is not easy. You do have to take the time to learn how a website works. Be creative with the content and make it your own. Make sure you do your homework, read reviews, forums and ask friends about new social trends like twitter and facebook. There are numerous web designers that will give you original work. http://99designs.com/ for logo contest and web designs and  http://wordpress.org for blogger themes Free.

Do not pay ClickShopNow.com hundreds of dollars for a sub-domain and a free Amazon affiliate account.  It’s a scam.  They are selling snake oil and taking advantage of people.  The truth is there is a lot of opportunity right now doing business on the Internet.  Unfortunately, there are also a lot of fly-by-night operations who are trying to take your money and leave you with nothing but the sick feeling in your stomach that tells you that you’ve been hustled.

If you or someone that you know has had a negative experience with ClickShopNow.com, please comment and share your experience.  You shouldn’t be ashamed that you bought the snake vapor that ClickShopNow.com is selling.  All it means is that you were willing to invest in your dreams.  But this company isn’t going to help you reach them and they will continue taking other people for $700 at a time until enough people speak out against them.  Please also link to this site so that more people can see how this company is taking advantage of people.

Every year there is a place where Horde and Alliance coexist. Deathwing hadn’t shattered Aaeroth. Starcraft 2 had come out and I had already beaten one of the story lines.  Blizzcon 2010 was Epic.

September 20th 2010

3 am was the start of our two day drive to Port Orchard, Washington. I packed too much for the trip, but I still managed to fit my 2 year old shipoo in front with me. June Bug, my shipoo was really frighten of the moving car. I had done my best during the past week to get her ready for this trip driving her to Starbucks’s and back. Ready or not we set off to Washington.

We traveled up the 101 toward the California and Oregon coast. When we finally reached California, I loved how the desert hills turn into the golden plains. Living in Las Vegas for almost ten years now, one forgets life beyond the desert.

The first night we planned to camp at Red Wood National Park. Map Quest had us traveling longer then the estimated time. We finally settled at a camp site an hour away from Red Wood.

In California filling up on gas, this was the view across the street

June got to stretch her legs and we quickly set up camp. It was 8 o’clock when we got to bed and we slept until 7 in the morning. Well rested, we continued our way through California.

The first time we had gone camping we lacked an air mattress, this time we were well prepared.

I love the  California mountains. I felt as if I was home.  My family used to drive through the mountains to pick black berries and aluminum cans.

It was really cold

The California coast is so beautiful! Dutch wanted to stop at one of the shoreline beaches to stick his feet in the freezing water. It was June first ocean experience. I thought I was going to lose her in the ocean. She chases a seagull into the water missing the first wave, but then almost got sucked in by the next. I ran to her like it was my life being taken away. June showed no fear. Heart pounding, barely breathing I fetched my June up rescuing her.

June right before she runs into the ocean after a seagull

Before we hit the coast we were in the mountains. We stopped during our decent to take this picture.

Into Oregon

There is no sales tax. I thought I would have enjoyed Oregon a lot more. It was a strange place. You can’t pump your gas and you can’t tip the gas attendant. Apparently  it is against the law to pump your own gas…

Yes it says Population 10,910

We got into to town late. The next day we took  my mom dad and sister to the Light House restaurant. My mom was dress pretty in a silver turtle neck. Cindy, my little sister looked wonderful. I had not really seen her in a long time. We are distance my sister and I, it is awkward for me to talk to her. I feel as though I am the one always trying to make polite conversations. I  love my sister, I just do not understand her. My mother is a delightful when she wants to be. My mom, Lisa hasn’t had the opportunity to experience the little things I take for granted, like going to a nice dinner. It can be a nightmare eating with her because she can be difficult, but its okay I understand. My Daddy, David is a passive easy going joker. My mom ended up not ordering anything and picking off of all of our plates :). We ate outside and enjoyed the view. Cindy saved us all and killed a bee.

After dinner at the Port Orchard Pier

I just love this picture

The last time I visited my brother was for my 29th birthday in 2009.  Aubree has grown so much since then. Her personality is really shining through!  Richard and Kelli are as happy as ever in their new home. Their home is truly a castle. A dream come true! I have to admit I am a little envious but mostly very proud of them.

Richard has two houses on his property. One used to be a garage, but was converted to a “mother-in-law” dwelling.  There is an old horse stable, another shed and a garden complete with corn and squash growing.

The main house

The “mother-in-law” dwelling

Garden

Dutch and I caught up with the family and met their brand new addition, Molly a dachshund shih tzu mix filled with lots of licks. I have never seen a happier puppy. June was a little jealous but got over it. They were soon chasing each other around the yard. Later on we stopped at Hi-Joy to check out the poker game. 7 card stud high-low roll your own, was the game being played. Dutch waited for a seat and played until he lost his 50 dollar buy-in. It was my fault, I gave him a time limit because I was exhausted. I didn’t play, I watched the folks and listened to their stories of how they got into poker. No one recognized Dutch, which was good, but everyone thought he must have been a noob since he wasn’t local. He is a two time World of Series of Poker Champion and has come in 3rd in stud high-low WSOP 2007   against Scotty Nguyen and Eli Elezra AND 4th place last year in the stud high-low mixed WSOP against Phil Ivey and Carlos Mortensen. He is really good. I have seen him play amazing poker. I think it is funny because one of the guys was trying to give him advice… we understand the guy was trying to be nice.  Que Sera, Sera we had fun and everyone at the game was really nice.

Hi-Joy Poker Room

Thursday the 24th after Miss Aubree Mai finished school we took her to the Port Orchard Pizza factory. Then we ventured off into the Goodwill and I found out Aubree does not like Hanna Montanan… I tried to buy her a purple guitar with  Miley Cyrus pictured on it but she rejected the idea real quick. I did find some treasure! Two packages of 1979-1980 first cover stamps! Just recently I rekindled my love for stamps collecting. Most of the stamps are worth a few bucks on ebay.

Pizza Factory Port Orchard, WA

Breakfast at the House of Pancakes before we hit the road to get to the Puyallup Fair

Don’t be late to do the Puyallup!

I woke up Bree at 7:30 and we were out of the house by 8 am. Hungry we decided to eat at the Pancake house across the street from Hi-joy bowling alley. I  ate too much and got sick. I was really thinking about the irony of it all as I was throwing up in the Pancake house bathroom. I wasn’t going to ruin my niece’s day at the fair. I managed to get back to our table and I was shocked at how ill I had become. I had never gotten sick from just eating… but then again I was eating fast. No matter we still headed out. We crossed the Tacoma Toll bridge and was on our way. Parking was 12 dollars. I walked off my sickness and was ready to go on some rides! Until… we calculated the cost of it all. Tickets were 75 cents each and rides were 6 tickets a ride. I wanted Aubree to have a good time so Dutch and I decide to ride one with her and give the rest of the tickets to her. We decide to ride the haunted house. Which was a HUGE mistake. 18 tickets later we looked at each other and laughed. The ride was so bad and short that we couldn’t do anything but laugh. We wanted to stand in front of the haunted house ride and take pictures of people’s disappointed faces as they were coming out of the ride.  Even the guy who ran the ride couldn’t look us in the eyes as we gave him our tickets. It was so bad! I felt hustled. In such disbelief of how bad the ride was I punished myself and swore I would not ride another ride at the Puyallup Fair. Aubree was a good sport though. She spent the rest of the tickets on some really cool rides.

They are waiting for me

Thank goodness the rides aren’t the only things to do. As the day got later the fair got packed. This was the last weekend of the Puyallup fair so it was expected. I found a great place to get scones and that made my day worth it. After our snack we walked around to see as many animals as we could. I wanted to get my monies worth! Poor Aubree… I told her a bunch of times to wear comfortable shoes.  I wore my hiking boots so I felt zero walking pain. I could see it in Aubree’s face, she was in pain but didn’t want to say anything. We found a spot which sold lamb skin fluffy shoes and got her a pair.

Sunday

Port Orchard, Washington has the BEST dog park on Long Lake Drive! My niece took me, June and Molly to a wonderful dog park. Las Vegas has only a fenced in area where the dogs run around in. Port Orchard’s park is a huge area complete with trails in the woods! It is fenced in, and there is plenty of space. I was so impressed by it I made Dutch go with us again a few days later. From Mile Hill take a right on Long Lake Drive and it is the second road on the left. Easy to find. There is a membership of ten dollars. You do not have to join. The membership is to help maintain the park. If I lived it Port Orchard I would be a member for sure! Sure a wonderful place for puppies to play. There is not a separate area for big dogs and small dogs. It is an open area for all dogs. There are doggy bags spread out all over the park, but the bags are very thin… Be careful when picking up after your pup!

Long Lake Dog Park

Monday… The plan was to get up early and go to Seattle.

Port Orchard from the Foot Ferry

Eating lunch at Anthony’s

I do not remember what time we ended up getting up but it was later then I had wanted. I wanted to see my cousin who lives in Seattle. We took the Port Orchard foot ferry to Bremerton when I realized I had forgotten my phone. I will have to meet up with my relatives some other time. I was sad, but I also wanted to show Dutch around so it worked out. We rode the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle and got some great pictures. We decided to go to the EMP and SFM and found out they only stayed open until 5pm. We made it to the museum with an hour and a half to go through everything. We rushed but we got ‘er done. My idea was to walk to the EMP from the ferry terminal we got to about 5th street before we took the monorail. THANK GOODNESS. It would have taken us an hour to walk! My memory of Seattle isn’t what it used to be.

Seattle Ferry

Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum (EMP/SFM)

Cost $15 each and it get into both the music and Science fiction parts of the museum. We went through the Music experience first, played some music and looked at all of the instruments. The Science Fiction was a lot cooler in my opinion. I love SciFi.

The tree is from the movie “The fountain”

Dinner on the Docks

My dinner

I wanted French, Dutch wanted a view. The Fisherman’s restaurant is were we ended up and I was pleasantly surprised. We ate the local food and watched the sunset. The Seattle weather was prefect. I thought it was going to rain, but instead it was a hot and humid. We finished up dinner then caught the ferry back the Bremerton in time to catch the last foot ferry to Port Orchard for the evening. Lucky…

Looking out of the foot ferry

Dutch, June, Me, Aubree, Richard and Kelli

Hoover Dam, one of man’s greatest building achievements is just 45 mins away from fabulous Las Vegas!  Enjoy the spectacular view while eating a soft serve ice cream twist ( sold at the circular concession stand by the gift shop).
View Larger Map

Parking is free on the Arizona side on the hill.

This is Henry Ried’s Bridge. Even if he owns most of the land this new highway is going through, it is a good idea. The traffic on the dam is very noticeable.

(I am an Aquarius in case you were wondering) The dam has a great history. Architect Gordon B. Kaufmann requested artist Allen Tupper True to decorate and design the walls, but it was Oskar J.W. Hansen who added the “star map” and several of the sculptures on and around the dam.  I admire Oskar J.W. Hansen’s work the most because he based his work on visitors from another world. Hansen wanted his work to express “the immutable calm of intellectual resolution, and the enormous power of trained physical strength, equally enthroned in placid triumph of scientific accomplishment.” because “The building of Hoover Dam belongs to the sagas of the daring.”

The “star map” on the terrazzo floor,  are the visible stars in the Northern Hemisphere as they were when the dam was dedicated by President Roosevelt on September 30, 1935. Future astronomers will know when this dam was built because of this ingenious “star map” regardless of language.

In September 30, 1935 the top of the flag pole pointed to the sun.

There is parking on the Nevada side, but you have to pay a small fee of seven dollars.

Lucky toes!

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From Las Vegas you drive through Lake Mead National Park to get to Hoover Dam. Lake Mead has a lot of Carp, bring bread to feed them. I didn’t get any pictures of Lake Mead for some reason. We plan on camping out there so when we do I will be sure to take lots of pictures.