Life With My Head in the Clouds

So where else but Vegas can you suffer in 108° heat and 34° cold in the same week...in relatively the same area? From the scorching heat of the valley, to the snowball fight up in the mountains, its been a great couple of days, with great pictures, great food, and even better company. This weekend we took a drove up to Mt. Charleston, once on Saturday, and again on Sunday, since the batteries were dead in the camera. ;) Surprisingly, cell phone cameras have become quite good, and I managed to make a great panorama of several shots taken by my cell phone...

Cell Phone Panorama

So anyway, Saturday started around 11:30 a.m., and we headed up to Mt. Charleston to see the snow, stopping only at the Mt Charleston Lodge to grab some grub and warm liquid. Fleeces and jackets were put on, and stocking caps were thrown on, but quickly removed. The whole drive had me grinning like an idiot, staring at the majesty that our Earth has to offer. Obviously, it was my first trip up into these mountains, and I was amazed that something so amazing and beautiful was a mere hour from the bells of the slot machines, and the smell of smog. Made our way up until we hit snow, pausing alongside the road to enjoy the sights, wander off the road a little bit, and take marvelous cell phone pics. :-P Got up to SNOW, it'd been my first since Michigan, and was a welcome change after the heat of last weekend. Had the obligatory snowball fight, made a slushy snow angel, and just enjoyed being. The sounds of wind blowing through the trees, the birds chirping, and the fact that the area was devoid of the honking of horns, screaming of children, bells of slot machines, and just human life in general. It felt good to get away.

Today started with the promise of charged camera batteries, Vitamin Water, and an amazing breakfast complete with some fabulous steaming hot banana bread. I had my fortune extremely accurately told by a Zoltar speaks-esque machine for the low low price of a mere two quarters, which weren't even mine. I was also fortunate enough to sit in the eagle chair...pictures to come at a later date. The clouds were pretty heavy this morning, which made the pictures slightly more difficult to actually capture an image of, well, the mountains. Still, we soldiered on to Cathedral Rock, and took some pretty bitchin' pictures, and saw some pretty awesome sights. I tried to limbo my way out, but I'm not quite as limber as I was in my younger days. ;) 30 minutes, a bathroom break, and $7 later, we were on our way further up the mountain to the overlook so I could get my panoramic taken again... but with a real camera this time. ;) Somehow some binoculars materialized as well, and I got to peruse the caves and crevices from afar, which was the next best thing after actually physically exploring them myself. Thanks again for bringing the binocs, kid.

After this, I napped.

Enjoy the view, I did.

Real Camera Panorama