As you can see the accompanying photo collage, the stain cleaned up nicely. It took a few go rounds. First with Oxi-Clean Laundry Stain Remover and with Folex Carpet Spot Remover. In the future I won't use the Oxi-Clean. I think it is too strong.
I am very pleased that the fabric held up to the cleaning and the stain is gone.
This year we were able to play pickleball at a set of courts right across the street. I went for one nice run on the blue path though this year the path was torn up with construction.
The highlight of the trip this year was a visit to the brand-new Mazatlán aquarium. The displays are fantastic. The map of the site is not so fantastic. Granted our Spanish is not great, but the map was absolutely undecipherable. We did manage to visit most of the exhibits...we think.
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| The enormous main "tank" with sharks and groupers and thousands of fish. |
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| The eel display was especially fun. |
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| There are several bird exhibits as well. |
Here is a link to last year's Mazatlán visit post.
This year's birthday event was fairly low key. I thought Smash Park in Roseville would be a fun place so folks could choose different games to play. You have to rent/reserve most of the games in advance and it is expensive, so I went the cheap route and didn't rent/reserve anything.
I truly appreciated those people that came and enjoyed playing corn hole a few times.
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| This might be my favorite photo. These are just very common Bermuda Chub but the photo composition of color and light represents the feel of being there. |
The video is long this year. Jenny and I are getting better at taking the underwater photos and this year there were so many things to photograph. But I get ahead of myself.
There were more guests this year for the week after Thanksgiving. Jenny B., JT, Ellen, and Dave M. joined me. Jenny stayed another few days of the second week before I finished out the second week by myself.
It was more humid this year than I remember this time of year. For those that don't know, I have a timeshare at Coral Princess on the island of Cozumel, Mexico. Coral Princess has been around for a long, long time. The accommodations are not top-of-the-line but I enjoy it. There is a kitchen, living room, massive bedroom and stunning balcony. Dave had his own room and JT and Ellen their own suite.
But the best part is the Coral Princess staff. The same staff have been here for years, and they always treat me and my guests with such care. There is so much laughter.
On land we saw and interacted with Mapachi, a small raccoon.
We went to our usual restaurants - Pancho's Backyard, The Mission, Guido's, and, of course, Casa Dennis. We also did more "homecooking" which made it feel even more comfy cozy.
It kind of goes without saying, but I look forward to this trip every year. It is a good way to hang on to summer before diving into a Minnesota winter. It is also a great way to spend time with friends.
Click here to watch the video. It is 8 minutes long (there were LOTS of fish 😊) and best viewed in landscape.
Finally, the last edition of the Las Vegas Road Trip.
Left Vegas on Tuesday, September 26. My first stop was planned in advance. I wanted to the see the Great Salt Lake. I had heard that it was fuller now than it has been for years due to huge snows in the surrounding areas over the winter.
On the way to Antelope Island, I stopped in Cedar City, Utah, to check out the Utah Shakespeare Festival site. I worked there in the mid 1980's. Yikes! The little outdoor theater is still there but now there is an enormous complex of buildings and grounds that are just for the Shakespeare Festival. What a difference.
Antelope Island is a Utah State Park that is IN in the Great Salt Lake and there is camping! I had reserved a cabin for two nights so that I could explore the area.
It turned out I needed to get home a bit earlier than initially planned so I modified my reservation to stay just one night. I only got to explore Antelope Island and not any of the other Great Salt Lake area.
The Lake was not full, but it was definitely spectacular and being on an island meant I could see the Lake from nearly everywhere.
There are lots of bison on Antelope Island and some mule deer but no antelope. There are also some waterfowl especially near the causeway that you take to get onto the island. The other thing that makes so much sense but that I hadn't considered was there are billions of mosquitoes...nothing like briny water to attract the state bird of Minnesota!
I took what was supposed to be a short hike along the lake but turned into a long hike up and over a small mountain. I ended up doing a bit of rock climbing which I'm pretty sure I was not supposed to do. The views of the Lake were fantastic, but I was nowhere near the water. Nearly hiked right into a bison lying near the path which scared the you-know-what out of me.
I headed east from the Great Salt Lake and unfortunately was not able to visit the Utah capitol as there just wasn't enough time.
I wanted to avoid the interstates even though I was trying to cut an entire day out of the return, so I made my way up to US-30 to drive through southern Wyoming. My tourist destination was Fossil Butte National Monument. Didn't know anything about it other than it sounded interesting and would take me through the mountains off the interstate.
It was a beautiful drive as Fall was in full color in the higher elevations. I ran into (literally) some cowboys moving cattle from the higher elevations to lower. The geology of Fossil Butte is very interesting. You can read about it here. The visitors' center at Fossil Butte is really well done and informative. The trails near the visitors' center don't get near the actual fossils and there are still archeological sites within the park and regular visitors aren't allowed near them anyway.
I did take a really pretty hike that has good views and descriptions along the way.
I was hoping to make it to Cheyenne for the overnight, but I did have to end up on I-80 which was down to one lane of traffic, and I was running out of steam. I spent the night in Rawlins, Wyoming and was hoping to see some of the cowboys I had encountered on US-30...alas...no cowboys for me.
The capitol is quite handsome. It was a beautiful day and I ate lunch in Cheyenne at a local café.
Back on the Interstate I realized I wasn't going to make it Grand Island. It was just that much too far for my tired eyes. I had gained two companions from Wyoming - a pair of flies - that kept me company but even they were getting bored.
I made it to Kearney. If you recall, this was the first stop on the west bound journey.
My last day was going to be a long one and I really didn't want to go back the same ole' Interstate way so I zigzag-ed my way across Nebraska to South Dakota.
I heard the falls at Sioux Falls, South Dakota were worth seeing so that's where I was headed.
There was one hiccup along the way. After driving over some railroad tracks, my tire pressure alarm went off. I was kind of in the middle of nowhere except the railroad tracks were in a small town. I turned right and wouldn't you know it, there was a tire repair garage right there in this small town! I pulled in, explained my situation, they had me pull around to the garage doors, two young people fixed my tire in 15-20 minutes, charged me $20, and I was on my way! To say I was lucky is an understatement!
Again, here is a link to the video montage for more of the photos of Las Vegas Road Trip East Bound.
The other two blog posts are here...
I am falling further and further behind. This is the Vegas portion of the Las Vegas Road Trip.
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| Arkansas River |
Left Minneapolis on Monday, September 18 with only 2 stops planned - Mesa Verde and Zion National Parks. Plan was to get to Colorado as quickly as possible so without much stopping made it to Salida, CO by the second day (spent a night in Kierney, NE). Salida sits along the Arkansas River and has many interesting shops and restaurants.
Day three's final destination was Mesa Verde National Park. Took US-50 through the mountains of Colorado. Took a gamble on US-50 as there is a major construction project with lots of warnings of delays and closings. It turned out to be a good gamble. The views were spectacular, and the delays were not bad. The delays allowed for more calm viewing time.
From US-50 you take a left in Montrose on US-550 and head higher and higher up the mountains. Fall colors brightened the slightly overcast skies. A short stop in Durango and a right turn onto US-160 then Mesa Verde National Park.
Pitched a tent in the campsite at Mesa Verde. It was a beautiful evening with a half-moon and lots of stars. It did rain a little over night, but I was dry and comfortable in the tent. Got up early and fixed a healthy breakfast before heading up the mesa to the cultural historic cliff dwellings.
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| Mesa Verde - Cliff Palace |
The Cliff Palace is the largest of the dwellings. The photos do not give a true sense of the immense size. The history of these dwellings is astounding. Click the link above for more information on the history. The Park rangers do a really good job of telling the story of the Ancestral Pueblo people that lived on the mesa and the cliffs for centuries but only in the cliffs for a very short time.
Took the self-directed road tour to see many dwellings and the progression of where and how the Ancestral Pueblo people lived here. Then toured Balcony House which is kinda beyond explanation (for real - it isn't known what this structure was truly used for).
One thing to keep in mind at Mesa Verde is that it is a cultural history site and not a geological site like the Grand Canyon and Zion. You are not permitted to wander paths and explore too much on your own. Thousands of people lived here for centuries so there could be artifacts nearly anywhere and everywhere.
From Mesa Verde, headed toward Zion to close the distance and realizing that it was going to be a day's drive and wanted to spend time in Zion. Spent the night in Bluff, Utah which is surrounded by dark red buttes.
From Bluff passed through Monument Valley which straddles the Utah-Arizona border. Took part of the drive tour on the Navajo Nation's park. Glad I had an all-wheel drive vehicle.
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| Glen Canyon Dam |
From Glen Canyon Dam to Zion National Park and through and into the Park via eastern entrance which takes you through incredible views and tunnels.
Zion National Park is crazy popular even in September - why aren't all these people at work or school?! I had been to Zion in the 1980's and enjoyed it very much. I figure it hasn't changed much since (it has been in here for centuries, right?) and didn't want to be part of the throngs of people. After a good night's sleep, I decided to take a back country hike along the Coalpits Wash trail, part of the Southwest Desert Wilderness Hiking Trails. I was the only one on the trail!! While not having the crazy views of mountains and buttes, this trail offered plant and flowers of so many types...the kind of hiking I love.
From Zion it is a short 3 hours to Las Vegas. Stay tuned for the Vegas leg. Click here for the video of this leg (westward bound) of the road trip.
