Viva Las Vegas! Part 2: Red Rock Canyon

Closer to the end of the trip, we decided to veer off of The Strip and venture into nature.  At first we wanted to visit the Grand Canyon but we didn't have that much time.  My boyfriend's Geology professor recommended we check out Red Rock and I'm so glad we did.  My boyfriend needed all that fresh air and I needed to feel some sort of nature.  Being around all that casino energy can get noisy and hectic.




For each element, they had a segment where they talked about how each element affected the area.  For example, in Air, they talked about dust devils, wind and erosion.  For water, they also talked about erosion and how dry the desert is and how it affects plant life.  For Fire, they talked about wildfires and how they are great and terrible for the environment.  Circle of life, y'all.  For Earth, they talked about what creatures and plant life inhabit the area and all that fun stuff.  We actually learned a lot and I'm sure my boyfriend would've spent all day here if we didn't have an agenda.  Oh well - another reason to go back!



While we drive around the Scenic Route, I kept imagining what it would be like to live and work in Las Vegas or the surrounding area.  Imagine seeing a beautiful mountain range like Red Rocks.  Would you love it and appreciate it everyday or would you start taking it for granted eventually?
I took a photo of a tourist standing on the rock because I wanted to show the scale of everything.  In photos, it just looks like a bunch of rocks and dirt.  While you're there, it's amazing to see just how big and beautiful everything is.  The ancient handprints were beautiful to see, too.  I felt like I was in an episode of Ancient Aliens.



The day was cloudy but not rainy, which was good because I think if the sun had been out, my poor boyfriend would've been burnt to a crisp!  The cloudiness helped slow us down.  The entire trip had been all lights and this and that and "it's Las Vegas, we should be partying all the time" and we just needed some time to slow down and appreciate everything.  It helped walking around.  If my boyfriend had been feeling better, we probably would've walked around more but, like I said, it's all the more reason to come back.

Red rock got me thinking: we have these kinds of things here in Georgia, why don't we check them out?  Because of that, my boyfriend and I vowed to go out on more adventures in our neck of the woods.  I guess we both realized that we have been in Georgia for so long, we don't even realize what's around us.  Once Summer hits, we'll be adventuring and taking in all the nature we can...shake a stick at?  Ha!

Do you have any plans for Summer?  I hope your week is going well!

North Georgia Weekend

This past weekend, the old man and I went up to Helen, GA and, unbeknownst to us, the Southern Wörthersee VW-Audi Car Show was going on.  I thought it would be a little exciting but it was a bit of a bust.  The weather was iffy and the atmosphere was...weird.  The one thing I wanted to go to - a crystal shop - was closed that day for a graduation ceremony.  Bummer.  We tried to make the most of it but we ended up walking around the whole town 3 or 4 times secretly hoping something fun would materialize but there was nothing.  I think because it was a dreary day and the town was full of loud cars, it made for a weird and not-so-fun trip, unfortunately.
I wanted to go gem mining at one of the few roadside gem mining places up there but we kept forgetting to get cash while in Helen because the ATMs are cleverly disguised with little Alpine accents and we kept missing them.  I used up most of my cash getting coffee beans, paying for parking and on a single Bratwurst that was way too overpriced for what it was.
The old man took me by this pretty tiny church on the way in to Helen, which was a great sight because it was opposite the Nacoochee Burial Mound - that I didn't photograph.  Oops!  Here are some photos.
I managed to divert us towards the Cabbage Patch Kids Babyland attraction on the way back since I hadn't been since I was a kid and we never go that far north for anything so I made it a YOLO moment and we took a slight detour.  We didn't go in, we just did a little drive by...
All in all, it was an alright trip up to North Georgia, I guess.  Maybe next time will be better?
Because of this, I've decided that I need to order the Weird Georgia book to see what kinds of neat things are nearby!  Until then, I'll just keep checking this map for fun stuff to do...

1 - 2: Tiny church across from the Nacoochee Burial Mound
3: Wedding Chapel in Helen
4 - 5: Metal sculptures outside of a restaurant in Helen
6: A mini waterfall in the park
7 - 9: Cabbage Patch Kids Babyland

Hiking Adventure

For Father's Day, the old man and I ventured up to the North Georgia Mountains (Squidbilly country) to meet up with his Dad, sister and brother-in-law to hike up the 425 steps to the top of Amicalola Falls.  I had been there once before with Oni for some location scouting that didn't exactly work out but I got some great photos!
This time was no different except I knew we would be hiking so I dressed appropriately.  We started at the base of the falls where the reflecting pool was and walked up.  The view was amazing!  When Oni and I went, we started at the top and walked down the steps to the bridge over the falls but for some reason, the view was way better walking up and then back down again.  On the way down, I did get a case of jelly legs, so I kept moving in a very strange manner so that my legs wouldn't give out from under me.  I thought my legs were stronger than that but I guess I thought wrong!  Either way, it was a wonderful walk and even though some pre-planning had gone awry (or didn't happen at all at the hands of the day's organizer - not me) and nagging party member aside, it was a fun day.



This photo was taken on the way back down the steps so technically, we walked 850 steps (not including another trail we walked...)


Here's a very sinister looking photo I snapped of the old man at the top of the falls


Check out the route I tracked with the Nike+ GPS app

I like how erratic the stair climbing makes the path look. The big loop on the right side is some mini trail we ended up walking because our organizer thought was an alternate way down to our cars...Meh. In all, we covered roughly 4.1 miles.  I say "roughly" because the green dot where I started my tracking was into the trail some and the finish was at the trunk of the car.  Either way it was a nice walk and I'd like to come back for another go at those steps!