She speaks....

I had nothing to say for the last however many months it's been. I'd sit down, open up this page, and....nothin'...., simply nothing seemed interesting. I guess that's writers block. Or laziness. Or a combo of the two. It seemed like an effort to write.

But, we were in the US of A this past weekend and everything seemed interesting. I couldn't wait to get home and share. 

I realized how much I love train graffiti. Is it a "thing"? Or is it just graffiti? I don't know, but it's always fascinated me...who does it? Where does it come from? What do those designs symbolize?  Do the train owners get pissed off and have it cleaned up all the time? Why are so many talented artists hanging out by the train tracks? Do these artists recognize each others work? I wonder if they say things like "Hey...Riptide did that one..." and "damn....Snake-eyes is slipping...".

Anyhow. I like to see it, so carry on, all you train car taggers.

We went down to Coeur D'Alene for a few days and stayed at a little RV park that was close enough to the river to walk there, it was, coincidentally called The River Walk RV Park. You can walk to the river. Which we did. It was a scorching day, and the river felt great. Steven still can't swim (I don't mean he doesnt know how, but rather, his incision is still healing) so he sadly sat on his little stool and watched me.

We then took a back road over to Libby, Montana and stayed at a campground, called Woodbury-by-the-Creek. Actually, I think it is called something longer, like Woodbury-in-the-trees-by-the-creek. I guess so you know exactly what you're going to get. We were in the trees and by a creek, so, truth in advertising I guess. It was nice, and Stevens favorite part was the fact that they filled our propane tanks for $10 each. In Cranbrook they want $30 each, plus they won't fill an outdated one. This fellow couldn't have cared less about the date, and you know he probably put the $20 right in his pocket. That's all good with me.

As a matter of fact, at the previous RV park, it was $35 a night, and Steven said to the kid: "I'll give you $30 a night if you don't need paperwork." The kid jumped at it, you know that $60 went towards a weekend party fund. Win-win.

Anyhow, after a great sleep listening to the creek,

 we headed out the next day towards the Libby Dam. I've heard that it's a pretty drive, and I googled the dam to see if it they have tours, and they do, free tours actually, which sort of surprised me.  It always surprises me when stuff I's free, because there ain't no free lunch anymore. Although we found two free things today, which I know wouldn't be free in Canada. 

The first was on our way to the Dam, and I saw a sign that said something about a swinging bridge. I'm game to try something new, so we pulled over to check it out. It's a short hike, maybe 20 minutes, to the bridge, which was narrow. And swinging. I wasn't really fond of it. I instantly pictured every movie where someone is crossing the bridge and either the boards give way and you're dangling, or the bad guys cut the cables and you plunge down into the raging water below. Neither ofthese things   happened though. 

And we safely crossed and walked here:

And sat and enjoyed the sights, and the cool breeze.

I was pleased at how clean it all was, considering it was free and easily accessible. There were quite a few cars in the little pullover spot, and a small ice cream and water stand, but we didn't see any litter at all. Also, this is where The River Wild was filmed.

We then headed to the dam. I was surprised at how big it was. You just don't expect something this large to just appear in the Montana wilderness. The parking lot was massive, and also almost empty. I don't know if we just timed it right or if they don't get many visitors. 

They give a tour every two hours, and while you wait you can browse the little wildlife museum, showing the local animals, birds and fish, as well as watch a movie on the building of the dam (I couldn't be bothered, I generally tend to hate the little movies you always see in museums and other tourist attractions) or you could play with the many different interactive-hands on displays, meant for kids really, but loads of fun for everyone (meaning me)

The tour was interesting....way down to the bottom of the dam in a speedy elevator. The doors open to a cool (temperature cool) hallway with little puddles of water. Apparently all dams have leakage and seepage and its not a big deal. Not to them maybe, but to slightly claustrophobic folks like me, whose biggest fear is being trapped underwater....ummm, yeah, it's a big deal. But I'm still here, so I guess it wasn't my time.

The tour was really interesting, but you can google all the info, so I won't go into detail, other than two interests facts:

1. I was curious about all the "you are here" signs and maps, the guide told us that before 9/11, the tours were self guided and the dam is so large, with so many different levels and hallways that visitors used to get lost and sometimes ended up spending the night, so they put up signage. Now of course, they have a guide in front of the group, and a guide behind you (no sneaking off!) and constant walkie-talkie communication with someone up top.

2. After the builders installed the huge...HUGE generators and things; gauges and dials and whatnot, they found out that the company that built all that stuff was going out of business. The dam builders knew that they'd need to retrofit and repair things over the years so they purchased the entire company! TONS of stuff. TONS! Where to put it? Why, in all the corridors in the dam of course. 

So there are thousands, literally thousands of slatted wooden crates lined up on both sides of the corridors, stacked from floor to ceiling. You know what it looked like? You guessed it, exactly like that final scene in Indiana Jones. I absolutely loved it. That made the whole tour worthwhile.

Crazy Americans.

 

Sort of a creepy day...

We woke up to a beautiful and sunshiny day, and with no pressing chores to do, we decided to take the side-by-side for a drive. I packed a little box lunch, and off we went. We drove for an hour or so, and then decided to take a stroll, I wanted to get some spring-ish photos. 

The wildflowers and wild strawberries were bursting out of the earth.

And nothing is a prettier shade of green than the new needles of a tamarack tree

We ran into  a small herd of elk, looking somewhat scruffy as they lose their winter hair.

We strolled along, enjoying the peace and quiet, and the lush feeling of spring.

And then, we came across a small and shaded circle of trees, and in that circle were bones. Artfully arranged bones. Remember we were not near a road, nor even near a regular path. We were halfway to nowhere on a tiny deer trail. It was pretty creepy, and I was glad it wasn't nighttime.

This didn't die like this, crows and coyotes and other scavengers will quickly remove all signs of a carcass, these bones were put back together by someone with two legs. 

Every tree had something hanging on it, and the large "fully boned" animal was in the centre. There were skulls from deer, elk, and cows. Most unusual.  I wouldn't want to be there for the ceremony.

I do love Facebook...kinda

I love Facebook, really I do. I love being able to stay in touch with family and friends without having to write letters to everyone, or constant phone calls (I'm not a phone chatter type of person). Facebook fits my lifestyle perfectly, I can catch up with whoever  I want to, and I can ignore whoever I want to, or whatever I want to. 

Having said that, let's talk about the things that annoy me. The things that I could just ignore, but they annoy me so much that I feel the need to write about them. And the nifty thing is, you too can ignore what I write if it annoys you! The Internet is truly a marvelous place to be. 

 Ah yes....those quotes. They are my number one annoyance. People who post all those nuggets of wisdom, those pearls of inspiration, those jewels of knowledge....come on now, you're crafting an image of yourself that isn't you. You want us to think its you, but it isn't. And besides all that, no one reads that stuff and then suddenly changes their lifestyle. 

Oh. You quoted from the Dalai Lama? Ohhhhh...you're so deep and profound. Day after day after day. Even the Dalai Lama himself wasn't that profound. He did say this though:

Have you read that? It's very profound, I see it on various Facebook walls at least once a week. But guess what? The Dalai Lama never said that. Yup, it's it's true. People get so moved by something that someone else posted that they quickly get motivated to share it themselves without actually believing it or practicing it or living it...but they are crafting their image. To who? I don't know, but it doesn't work when I see what you've posted. I already know you, remember? You know what's inspirational to me? Seeing pictures of you and your family having fun, doing everyday, ordinary "fun" things. Your achievements are interesting to me, I  don't need you to post someone else's viewpoint, I admire you for being you, not for copying a strangers meme.

Post funny things! Things that make us laugh! The world is sad enough as it is, we all see the news and hear the latest scandal. We need humour in our lives! Or, alternatively, post something that bothers you or infuriates you, but be willing to discuss it without resorting to name calling and stomping off in a huff and going home with your ball.

The other annoying Facebook thing is those that post scripture. Now, first of all, I have four Facebook friends that I know who truly believe in god, they pray to him and it gives them comfort, and as far as I know, they really do live their life according to their beliefs. I think if you really believe in god and get comfort from your faith, that's a marvelous thing, and I am truly happy for you. It's not hurting anyone and if it brings joy to you...then I'm all for it. You are not the ones I am referring to in the next paragraph. 

Religion is a personal thing. Now, I love to discuss religion, the various types, what I believe and  why, and what others believe and why. But Facebook isn't the place to spout your platitudes if you can't back them up or if you get offended when I comment.  I mean, when you post something on Facebook, you've done so because you want your friends to see it. Duh. That's a given. If you don't want comments on it, then don't post it. Simple. Or unfriend me. And that would make me sad because I only have you as a Facebook friend because I consider you a friend in real life too. And friends don't always agree on every single thing. Especially religion. I believe that religion causes wars and arguments and unhappy events. And if you unfriend me because of my comments...well, the proof is in the pudding isn't it?

Which brings me to the people that send their prayers to the families and loved ones of the latest catastrophe.  *huge sigh* I don't get it. Praying does no good. Think about it...let's use the flight from Malaysia as an example. The minute that plane crashed, the people were dead. No amount of praying could change that. They were dead before we even knew they were missing. All the prayer in the world is not going to raise 232 people from the dead. So all those prayers were useless. As are all prayers in a death. A person is either dead or not dead. Praying will not change that.

Someone said to me that their god has his reasons for doing what he does, and he does not make mistakes. Not ever. He is perfect, or infallible. So, if that's the case, if his plan is already in place, then why even pray? What's going to happen can't change, since if he changed his mind, then that means his original plan was wrong, and apparently he can't be wrong or make a mistake.  So why pray? Just ride it out. 

And besides that, I don't think god reads your Facebook Wall. If he did, don't you think those kids that need a wheelchair, or some prosthetic limbs or a family would miraculously get one without human intervention...at least once? Actually, never mind prosthetic limbs, how about growing a whole new limb? Why does that never happen?  Of all the supposed miracles that your god performs, why, in the past 2000 years, has limb regeneration never been a single miracle?  Or surviving being dead for a few weeks...or months...or years....why aren't those things ever miracles?  These are the kind of things I like  to talk about, but someone always gets offended. 

So many Facebook rants that I haven't even touched upon. Selfies in general, but particularly bathroom selfies. Just stop it. You're not a teenage girl. And if you are, stop it anyhow. Asking me to sign petitions. If you're so concerned about your cause, get off your ass, print it the petition and go door to door and get real signatures and be involved in the issue. The "drama status". You're posting things like "omg....grrrrrr.." and "I don't know what to do" and "worst day ever".  You want sympathy? Ask for it...I'll be more than happy to sympathize with you, but don't play the "ask me whats wrong" game.  

So there ya go. My take on the Facebook that I love so much.

“But luxury has never appealed to me, I like simple things, books, being alone, or with somebody who understands.”

― Daphne du Maurier

Mostly true. I guess it sort of depends on your personal definition of luxury. Living the the luxurious style of say, Madonna, no, that doesn't appeal to me. Nor the style of the various royal families throughout the world. All those bodyguards and hangers-on and managers and agents and things like that, I'd be constantly hiding in closets just for some peace and quiet. Closets with lights and a cozy chair and some books mind you, but still a closet nonetheless.

Kinda like this:

Or this:

But having said that, I wish I had their money for a while, so that I could build myself a cozy little hideaway.

Olympic halfpipe champ Torah Bright upset she can't honour Canadian Sarah Burke | News and Blogs - CTV News at Sochi 2014

Olympic halfpipe champ Torah Bright upset she can't honour Canadian Sarah Burke | News and Blogs - CTV News at Sochi 2014



So there's the article. It's causing outrage and hair pulling throughout the snowboarding community, and I'm sure by the end of today it will be talked about  on by all the sports channels, the news, probably TMZ and maybe Jay Leno will return for one final joke.



However, I see it differently. So does Trennon Paynter, the head coach of the Cdn Ski Halfpipe team. He says, and I quote "We've known for two years that the Sarah stickers wouldn't fit within the Olympic protocol. No big deal."



Rule 50 in the Olympic Charter explains the policy. I can't be bothered to write it all down, it's long and filled with legalese, but you can just Google "Rule 50 Olympic Charter" and read it for yourself.



Basically, it's a blanket ban. The committee doesn't want to have to start to examine every single statement, sticker,  pin and embroidered logo. Once they allow a charitable sticker, you can be guaranteed that political innuendos will not be far behind...embedded discreetly, but there nonetheless. And then what? A line has to be drawn, and after all, it is a long standing Olympic rule.  And if that's the rule in the Olympics, well then, that's the rule.



And if you want to ski for Sarah, then ski for Sarah. Why do you need a sticker on your board to ski for Sarah? Wear it inside your helmet, wear a pin inside your jacket. Talk to her as you ski, don't ruin her memory by trashing the games that she fought so hard to get her sport into. Focus that energy into getting a place on the podium and thank her. Being a whiner  has no place in the Games.

Trouble in Sochi?

8Here are 8 rather fascinating bits of info that I have found on various newspaper sites. Read them, and tell me what you think of the Olympics in Russia. 

1. Security issues. A mentally ill man from was able to use a homemade all-access pass at the opening ceremonies to clear several layers of security at and get close to the vice-president,  who authorities say the man had an infatuation with. Before he could reach him however, he was stopped by two plainclothes policemen who escorted him away. The man has been committed to a psychiatric facility.

2. Breakdowns. The men's 500 meter speed  skating event was delayed for over an hour when both ice resurfacers experienced  mechanical failures and a third ice machine was unable to resurface the ice properly. At least one skater withdrew from the race because of the delay and other racers stated that the delay hurt their race times.

3.  Safety issues with maybe a bit of corruption? About 28,000 tickets for spectator places along the slopes of a number of outside events were recalled for safety reasons; ticket holders were reimbursed but are having difficulty or are not able to gain access to tickets at comparable prices to these events. Visitors were also upset by a twenty dollar charge to attend ceremonies to honor medal-winning athletes. Traditionally, these ceremonies had been free of charge. Organizers also expressed concern about blocks of VIP tickets going unused leaving conspicuous empty seats at events.

4. Some bias in the biathlon? Observers and participants reported that several starter errors occurred during the men's biathlon  per suit. CompetitorsJeremy Teela and Jean-Philippe Leguellec were started too early, before racers who were seeded higher than them. Teela stated that the early start threw-off his strategy, contributing to his missing two targets in his first two shooting range stops. Said Teela, "We have a couple more races this week. Hopefully the organizers figure this problem out and they make the races fair."

Starter confusion was also present during the women's pursuit earlier that day. This time both Liudmila Kalinchik and Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek were held back and had to start several seconds too late. U.S. coach Per Nilsson stated that he had never seen an Olympic biathlon as poorly managed as the women's race.

5. Totally unacceptable!  After problems with malfunctioning buses and lost drivers delayed spectators trying to go to or return from Olympic venues, the games organizers called in an additional 100 buses and drivers. The problematic buses hired drivers from other states/provinces  instead of local drivers.

6. I'm not even going to get into the protests, the rally's, the demonstrations, union problems, cost overrides...I could write pages and pages and pages.

7. What a foolish place to have Winter olympics: to Almost 30,000 spectators have now been turned away from Cypress Mountain because the standing room area has become waterlogged and unsafe.

8. And worst of all...heartbreaking and disgusting, is the following article: Oversized neon Olympic rings illuminate the skyline, while a giant mural of a snowboarder mid-trick welcomes visitors to the airport. In the city centre, a sleek steel-and-glass Olympic clock is counting down to next month's winter games.

But for 51-year-old Nicholas, , a homeless drug addict, looking up at the snowcapped mountains where the downhill competition runs will be fills him with dread.

"We're all going to be cleared out of here before the Olympics," he said, wrapped in a flimsy sleeping bag and clutching a bag of bottles plucked from street bins which he will exchange for money. "The clean-up will happen – they all want to hide the city's black eye, right?" 

"Last month, homeless people started showing up in droves in towns 100 miles or so outside of the city.They had been given one-way bus tickets and were forced onto the busses. Local shelters in those communities have been completely overloaded. All so that the world can see a shiny and clean (and totally false) version of our city."

Doesn't that make you think? Think about all the things wrong with these Olympics, and with #8, whats wrong with humanity in general?

  And umm, by the way, all 8 of these statements are taken from articles about the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. Glass houses people, glass houses....

Cynical Saturday.

The latest trendy phrase that annoys me is the ever more frequently heard (and heard in a cynical and/or arrogant and/or condescending tone) "Phffft. First world problems...."

You've heard it. You may have even said it.  I say it to myself quite often. Myself. I say it to myself in the context that I would say "Oh for gods sake Shannon, don't cry over spilled milk."  Prime example: I received the niftiest little table calendar in the mail a few months ago, and completely forgot about it until today, when I was at the table, and needed a calendar. I searched and searched and just couldn't remember  where I put it. I stomped around in a funk for hours. Well, for 15 minutes. And then I looked at my other calendars and said "Stop whining. Sheesh....first world problems. Gads. Grow up."

(And I accidentally came across it a cupboard shortly thereafter, thanks for asking.)

And of course there are complaints that really are first world problems  but they're not news articles or complaints on Internet forums or Facebook. Things that we joke about because we are lucky enough to be able to joke about them. Things that you don't really take seriously.

But when a person does have what they consider a genuine complaint or concern  about something, or even just a rant about something that went wrong that day, and someone else says "Oh, first world problems", that person is trivializing someone else's concerns. Who gets to decide what a valid problem is? Why should your decision about what constitutes a problem be the only correct decision?

To me, it's like a backhanded, "pretend to be polite" way to say "Shut up. Your problems aren't important to me. You're ridiculous."

I might complain because I can't get in to see my Doctor in a timely manner. Don't tell me "First world problems....you're lucky to have a doctor." My concern about my health care is a valid concern, and please don't make it sound like I'm selfish.  

I might complain about having to walk somewhere in the slush and snow. Don't tell me "First world problems....you're lucky to have waterproof boots." Or even worse, please don't dare tell me that I'm lucky to have feet. If I am upset about having to walk somewhere, I have every right to voice that feeling without being made to feel like I'm self-centered. Yes, I know that there are people with no feet. That is not relevant to my problem.

I know that I'm lucky to have so many petty problems to complain about. Really, I do know that. So please, do not trivialize my problems to satisfy your own Western guilt. You have no idea what genuine problems I may (or may not...) have. Or what charities I may (or may not) support. 

And if you truly feel that my problems are not worth a moment of your time to listen to, then kindly go away. And take your #arrogance with you, and remember:

"Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do."

~Voltaire.

The cost of Health.

 This was finally The Year of Remicade.

I'll give you a brief rundown of what it took to get approval. We first heard of Remicade a few years ago, and it was being touted as "the wonder drug" for severe Crohns patients who had exhausted all other avenues. At that time Steven was on a regimen of drugs  that seemed to be working quite well, his Crohns was in remission, so he was not eligible for Remicade. 

Then, his Crohns came back with a vengeance and he needed surgery, so they were hoping the operation would solve his problems, so once again he was not eligible, and, as a matter of fact, he was pretty much symptom free for almost 5 glorious years.

Then, as Crohns is prone to do, it returned. This time surgery wasn't an option, or, I should say, it was but it would mean a colostomy. What the BC Health care system now has to decide is whether the money they spend on his ever more frequent hospital visits is more or less money than the cost of Remicade every 8 weeks, perhaps for life.

It's $4500 per infusion. 

He was in the hospital for a week in April, again for a few days in May, 2 ER visits in June, an overnight in July and a week in August. Finally, the powers that be decided to set up a visit with a gastroenterologist in Calgary.

Really long story short....a pain in the leg bad enough to warrant a visit to ER, diagnoses: blood clot, ambulance to Calgary (they wanted to fly him,but this was the week of the rains and floods and the airports were closed, the highways were closed, the detours and delays were unbelievable, but eventually he got there, but not before the ambulance actually broke down half way there, and they limped to Sparwood and borrowed one of theirs...jaysus!) anyhow, when they got there..., diagnosis: broken bone in foot (what? Yes, you read that correctly) Meanwhile, the specialist in Calgary phones to book an appointment, and when they discovered he was already in Calgary, they set the visit up. Result? A plethora of tests and an "OK...let's do this!" And the first Remicade was ready to be administered when....hold on....what's this? A anomaly on the ultrasound? More specialists.....diagnosis: ....kidney cancer. Cancel everything for 24 hours....more specialists....diagnosis:  just a (whew) genetically deformed kidney.

Actually....this is what the oncologist said: "Considering the amount of test results I've seen, I'd say the chances are a million to one that you didn't have cancer. Today I'm telling you to go and buy a lottery ticket, because you're that "one".

So, the Remicade is once again a go, and it actually got done. The first infusion is monitored very closely because there can be so many side effects, but he sailed through without a problem.  It's 3 vials of Remicade.

Eight weeks later he had the second treatment done here in Cranbrook, also no problems, also three vials. The third one is four vials, didn't go so well, we ended up back in emergency that night, with severe abdominal pains, but apparently that's "normal" because it's a higher dose. 

The fourth sort of went well, a few days prior to the infusion we ended up in emerg again, a Crohns flare up, and the doctors here decided to admit him for a few days, on IV fluids to give his gut a chance to "rest", and they ended up doing the infusion while he was there, in his room, and the nurses on that floor weren't used to doing it, there was all sorts of running around and question asking, plus Steven was to fly to Calgary the next day to see his specialist and the Drs here were not sure that they'd discharge him, plus, while there was no rain and flood this time, there was snow storms.....the worst in years with temps of -40, flights being cancelled, all this resulting in one huge stress attack....will the flight be cancelled? Will the Dr in Calgary even be able to make it to his clinic? Will our motorhome shelter collapse due to the heavy, wet and freezing snow? (see below for the answer to that.) So infusion 4 was rife with panic and more unneeded stress.

(I didn't tell him about this until he was home from his Calgary visit.) and "booo" to the fellow up the street who drove by as I was trying to get the snow off the roof, before it collapsed and hollered "Put a hat on....it's cold outside." Oh well. We got it fixed up shortly thereafter.

But infusion 5 was the other day. We arrived a few minutes early, and got a bed a few minutes early. They nurse got the IV in on her first try (that never happens, they usually have two or three nurses give it a try, and often the anesthesiologist has to come and do it, the result of years of prednisone that ruins your veins). Anyhow, kudos to Sharon who had him hooked up and on the drip in minutes, she said we should be done by 12:15, and we were done and out the door at 12:20! We both slept like logs that night, finally, a successful infusion in Cranbrook, and the weather was beautiful!

So the hope is, now he can have the same thing every 8 weeks for about a year and then they reassess the situation and we'll take it from there.  

Each infusion requires a "letter of special authority" from his Calgary specialist to BC Medical, as BC does not cover Remicade. Then, when they eventaully agree to pay 80%, we have then go to bio-advance (the distributor)  and after more back and forth, they pick up the rest. It's a long procedure, and kind of a pain, but the end results will hopefully be worth it, and I'm just thankful that I live in a country where we can at least get the help we need....in one way or another. 

  

Others stuff we did in Nevada. Like go to California.

One can only see so many cars before they all start to look alike. It's like churches and cathedrals and castles in Europe, when you first go inside, you want to sleep there. To live there. You can't wait to see the next and the next and the next. Who could ever get tired of these magnificent edifices? Not I. Well, not right away, but eventually.....they really all start to look alike and when you look at your pictures you wish you had taken better notes. Thank goodness for Google.

So we hopped in our rental and headed out of town to Virginia City. Yee-haw! 

It's quite a spectacular drive from Reno to Virginia City, the road is twisty and climbs steadily uphill. We looked in vain for wild mustangs, but alas, not this time. We did see this however, not as exciting as a wild horse, but cute nonetheless.

This is a nice spot to stop and stretch and go for a little hike. The scenery is beautiful and as we clambered over the rocks, which were warm from heat, I didn't have a care in the world. Until afterwards when I realized that that was probably prime rattlesnake and scorpion territory and I silently berated myself for being such an idiot. I don't want to ever be "that" foolish tourist who ends up injured or in a hospital for not using common sense. 😡

I'll just plunk my ass down on a rattlesnakes front door, and precariously balance my camera on a rock.

The drive to Virginia City is super short, I think it's about 30 miles, but it took us longer because around every corner was a new photo op. In hindsite, around every corner was the same view, just a little further away, but I still like to stop and look around. Eventually we arrived.

Our first stop was the graveyard, which we had managed to not visit every other time we've been here. It's a short walk, as in 10 minutes, if that, but we've always been with other people who: #1. Didn't want to stop there and then walk. #2. We were on a tour that simply didn't go there.  #3. We were with someone who had injured her foot and was in a wheelchair and couldn't manage it. #4. We were with people who didn't even want to leave Reno! I have a passion for graveyards though, and we spent a lovely hour just wandering through, reading the epitaphs and looking at the crumbling remains. (Of tombstones that is, not of bodies.)

The dusty little town of Virginia City though, it's changed. It's nothing but a tourist trap now. The wooden sidewalks are jammed full of souvenir shops and trendy cafes serving fancy coffees and gluten-free this and vegan that. There are a few tiny and dusty museums that still remain, but they look  like no one has gone into them in many a year. There's no shop owners dressed in period costume, no honky-tonk music being played, no street performances. We went into the old Bucket of Blood Saloon, which still has the original bar, but it was surrounded with neon beer signs touting the joys of Miller and Coors. 

Perhaps I'm just used to the authenticity of our Fort Steele. 

And I do have to say, the architecture is well maintained and really interesting, the signage on the buildings is well written and informative, there are a few fun displays, like the Suicide Table and a lot of Mark Twain memorabilia and the town was spotless...no garbage in sight.

But it still made me sad to see the struggle to survive the tough US economy, and the compromises that the town has to make to entice tourists. 

So, off to Lake Tahoe! A place that makes no pretense about the fact that it was  built for tourists.

I love this place, it's beautiful and wild, and tacky and glitzy, it's outdoorsy and Gucci. It's got something for everyone. First stop: Lunch outdoors, looking at the Lake.

Yum. After being fortified with sugar and coffee, we decided to take the gondola up to the top of the ski hill and hike back down. Kidding....we are most assuredly taking the gondola both ways. 

I was surprised to discover that the gondola goes up about 3/4 of the way only. You can hop off and then get on the ski lift to go the rest of the way, or you can get off and have a coffe or beer at this great  viewpoint, and then hop on the lift and go to the top. 

The gondola ride ended way back at the building you can see (follow the cable) and the ski lift took us to the top. I don't ski and was thus quite nervous that I'd fall off and plummet to the ground. It was quite a way down. The total ride took about 45 minutes, and it was a hot day, so we enjoyed being in the open air. At the top there was an amazing amount of things to do....tubing down a "sand slide", rock wall climbing, hikes, and a large lodge to have a beer or meal.

We wandered around, walked over to California, because I am such a geek, I love state lines and province lines, and even more so, country lines. Borders I guess. In this case, you come up the hill in Nevada, but you can choose to ski down in California or Nevada. 

It's the little things that make me happy. When we got down to the bottom, we did the same thing in the city...I'm such a tourist. 

We stopped in a few of the casinos and gambled a little bit and then decided to drive back to Reno the long way around the lake, so that we ended up circling the entire lake. Its a spectacular drive, more so for me, being a passenger, as the roads are very twisty and narrow. There are a lot of viewpoints to pull over at though, so we stopped quite often for a stretch and a photo and a pee. 

We got back to Reno shortly after supper and stopped at this place:

Because Ive started googling places that are on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives", hoping that they might be a bit off the tourist trail, and will hopefully have good food. This place has been owned by the same owner since, I think, the 1950's (going along nicely with the Hot August Nights theme) and I think it has the original tables and carpet. It was a little dicey looking, but I enjoyed the food. I had a taco salad thing that was about the size of my head, and Steven had a beef dip. No frills and no extras, but a huge portion and pretty darn tasty.

We headed back to our hotel and decided that we should get tickets to see "Grease". Once again, I have a weakness for the 50's, and also for Broadway Musicals. The tickets were inexpensive, around $60 each, but here's a nifty story. With our hotel card, you could scan it in this giant pyramid thing every two hours and win some sort of prize, or discount. We scanned it an awful lot of times and got things like 10% off at the gift store, 15% off meals, things that are all pretty much useless. But on our way to buy tickets, I scanned it and "voila," a two for one on Grease Tickets, and 2 free drinks! That was the only time I ever saw that particular prize. So that made it even more enjoyable, getting freebies. And the show was faaaabulous!

We spent the rest of our time there wandering through pawn stores and second hand shops, going to the few remaining older casinos from "back in the day" and looking for fun places to eat.

A yummy salad in a rosemary bread bowl.

Now, isn't this about the ugliest meal you've ever seen? I know, right? But, oh, was it good!

It was a veggie layered thing. Layers of quinoa, sweet potato, carrots, asparagus, portobello mushroom, zucchini, cheeses (mmmm....lots of cheeses) topped with, no, not an egg, buffalo mozzarella. And surrounded by a roasted red pepper sauce. Seriously, it was SO good.

The hotel had an outdoor pool on the 7th floor, and no one seemed to use it, so we spent some relaxing time there as well.

So, between a bit of gambling,

And some great sightseeing walks,

Checking out the old and the new.

(I love the old retro signs, I hope the leave them alone. The juxtaposition between them and the new high rises is amazing.)

We also went to Scheels, which is a store for outdoorsmen, hunters, campers, fishermen etc, and this store is the size of a mall. With a Ferris wheel inside. And animatronic presidents. And an aquarium that you can walk underneath. It's huge!

I realize that this looks like the walking around part of a mall, but it's ALL ONE STORE. It was very odd walk into into a department and grab your item and then leave and walk through the rest of the building. The tills were at the main doors that led outside. 

Anyhow, between all these things to see and so, the time sped by and before I knew it, we were back at the airport and heading home. It was a really great holiday, a person doesn't always have to go somewhere foreign to have fun.

Checking out the next time that Barrett-Jackson is in Reno.