Road Trip to Laughlin, NV

Entrance to Laughlin, NV from the North

View to the south from our room on the 21st floor

Colorado River

View directly across from our hotel room

Jan 19th & 20th we took a road trip to Laughlin, NV. There were four of us on the trip. My wife & I, along with friends Barrie & Donna Findlater. They had got the same offer to stay at the River Palms Casino as we had. They are in El Golfo, MX and came out so we could all travel to Laughlin. We had a great trip there and back. We managed to return back to Wellton, with the same amount we left with. The rooms were complimentary and the meals were inexpensive. The breakfasts cost us $1.99(two eggs, 2 sausage, 2 bacon, hash browns & two slices of toast) after them swiping your Players Club Card. Supper was a smorg that included seafood(shrimp, crabs legs that were huge, fish etc.) and also Prime Rib(so tender you could cut with a fork) all for $9.99. We of course made a feast of it and left rather full! We went to see "The Rat Pack" Legends show at the Riverside Casino. We had front row seats, and I do mean front row seats. We were close enough to touch the stage and of course that meant that the performers interacted more with those that were closest to them. The legends performed songs by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop & Sammy Davis, Jr. All did well and all did the signature songs of each. The fellow that represented Frank Sinatra did an excellent rendition of "My Way". Joey Bishops character was funny and when you closed your eyes you could envision Joey doing the jokes and he sounded very much like him. Dean Martins legend portrayed him as if he were slightly inebriated and always with a drink close by. Sammys character did "Mr. Bo Jangles" and he could dance! We enjoyed the show.

We got back into Yuma, mid afternoon on the 20th. Barrie & Donna headed back to El Golfo & we back to Wellton. A good road trip!

Trip to Old Yuma

We along with Bob & Cathy and our son-in-laws dad, Danny went into Old Yuma. There was an arts and craft fair held on the streets. We went there as there is always something new and interesting to see. This year we were fascinated that one gentlemen was taking each one of the New quarters of the U.S. and he was cutting out the excess medal and leaving the highlights of the coin intact. For example he highlighted the Empire State Building that is featured on the New York Quarter. On some he cut around the words "In God We Trust" and others he cut around the date of issue. I should have taken a picture, but I didn't! He also had several International coins done. Canada, he had a dime, nickel, quarter(moose head) and the loonie & twoonie done. Also saw one from Israel. He said it took him anywhere from 2 hours to 14 hours to cut out a coin depending on the complexity of the coin. Excellent craftsmanship.

After touring the many kiosks that had artists and crafts we found ourselves hungry. So it a tradition to go to Lutes Casino for lunch. Before Yuma became what it is today, Lutes was a casino in this part of town. Today it is a bar & cafe. A double cheeseburger is $4.99 and a basket of fries is $1.99, enough for two people. After leaving Old Yuma we shopped in a couple of the malls, as we were on the lookout for some CD discs (specific brand)needed for our karaoke system. After leaving Danny at his trailer we came home. That evening we went over to "Shooters" a local bar in Coyote Wash (across the highway from our rv park) that features karaoke on Sunday nights. Fun, fun, fun...thats what its all about!

Full Moon Jan 10, 2009

These two pictures of the Full Moon were shot at 6:19 pm AZ time. I just used a normal lens exposure. The first picture was taken zoomed in at level 3. The second picture I zoomed in about 6 stops to see if I could get some detail on the surface. The moon really didn't become full till 3:27 on the morning of the 11th, but I would not be up at that hour to see. this was good enough for me!

I had read that this Full Moon would be the closest to earth this year. It was reported that it is about 50,000 km closer to the planet earth and about 30% brighter. This caused higher tides and I am sure some other wierd happenings.