Some recent bike photos, all at Cowboy Trails in Las Vegas, NV:






:

Been a while

I don't post here any more. I've found some use for MySpace, so I've been blogging there, though I have to admit, it's not as good. You can't really add pictures to your blog which for a visual person like me, makes more sense. If I have something cool to blog about with pics, like riding and trips, I'll post those here.

In Vegas news...

New Mexico, that is! I wonder if this would fly in Nevada? Hmmm.....

LAS VEGAS, N.M. - Jessie Vigil's black-and-white car sports a red-and-blue emergency bar across the top and the word "police" painted on the doors. Vigil, however, isn't a cop. Law enforcement agencies say what he's done with his car isn't illegal as long as he doesn't act like a police officer.

Link meet Title

This MUST be true for it's in the News....

PARIS (AFP) - Short people should pray for a return to the Seventies fashion of stack heels, for the power of jealousy depends on how tall you are, the British weekly New Scientist says.

The rest is linked in the title.

Live in Concert

We went to see Live at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. What a great show! It's such a great venue for a concert. It seats only a few thousand - at best - but our concert was all general admission. It was more like a bar performance than a concert but nontheless, there it was. Check them out here by linking the title to their site.

2 Minutes to Midnight

I've grown a new affinity for old music. This one is very poignant considering the times we are still living in. As much as things change, in reality, they never do:


Kill for gain or shoot to maim
But we don't need a reason
The Golden Goose is on the loose
And never out of season
Some blackened pride still burns inside
This shell of bloody treason
Here's my gun for a barrel of fun
For the love of living death.

CHORUS
The killer's breed or the demon's seed,
The glamour, the fortune, the pain,
Go to war again, blood is freedom's stain,
But don't you pray for my soul anymore.
2 minutes to midnight
The hands that threaten doom.
2 minutes to midnight
To kill the unborn in the womb.

The blind men shout let the creatures out
We'll show the unbelievers
The napalm screams of human flames
Of a prime time Belsen feast...YEAH!
As the reasons for the carnage cut their meat and lick the gravy,
We oil the jaws of the war machine and feed it with our babies.

CHORUS

The body bags and little rags of children torn in two
And the jellied brains of those who remain to put the finger right on you.
As the madmen play on words and make us all dance to their song,
To the tune of starving millions to make a better kind of gun.

CHORUS

Midnight, midnight, midnight
Is all night

Midnight, midnight, midnight
Is all day

Midnight
All night

"The Fountain" explained

I saw this movie at the theaters but I didn't really understand it until recently. I think I finally figured it out and if you have not seen it, you may not want to read this first:

So, follow the bouncing ball...

We've been watching this cool new show on Showtime called "Californication" with David Duchovney (aka Fox Mulder) and in that show he has a tattoo on his ring finger to, I assume, demonstrate his dedication to the show's female main character whom he never married. So it got me to thinking that maybe I should do this because as a massage therapist, I never wear my ring anymore. In the movie "The Fountain", after his wife dies, the main character takes an ink quill that his wife had given him and tattoos a ring on his finger. Earlier in the movie, his ring is lost after removing it for surgery. So thinking of all this one day inspired me to dream about "The Fountain" and I solved the puzzle of how the movie ties its three distinct time periods together and what it all means. See, the tattoo is significant because it tells you that the person of the future and the present are the same man and that when he pledges to find a cure for death, he in fact does through ingestion of the tree bark (the Tree of Life). But the tree begins to die and he takes it to Shebulba for, what? Rejuvenation? That's not clear. What's also not clear is the reason for the other tattooing. I speculate it could be for all the wives this man has had or all the ages he's lived. Either way, it's obvious that death is the ending to his "story" but he only realizes it at the end and at the direction of his dead wife whom he is still haunted by either in his own mind or his physical world. The story of the Conquistador is her fictional tale which inspires and directs him ultimately into closing the circle, the ring if you will, of life and death.

The odd part is that I figured this all out in a dream. Crazy...

:)

Snowy pix

We got a bit of snow here around 4000' or so and I was able to get into it on the trail. Here's a few shots. It's seemed like spring lately though as it's been raining a lot and the temp has gone up some.

In odd news, there was a fire at the Monte Carlo on the roof. There has not been much forthcoming info about it, but it sure looks ugly! Luckily, no one was hurt and as far as I know the hotel is back in operation. It appears that there is some water damage to the top floors where the suites are, but hey, at least people are still gambling :)

My New Year's Wish

To all my family and friends, near and far, my sincerest wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year! I hope you all find a little grace in each and every day. I hope you all put fear and worry behind you. I hope you fulfill a few more dreams this year and make some more for next. I hope you see new places and meet new people. I hope you hear your favorite song every day, find time for your favorite restaurant and don't miss that big game (whichever it may be!). Remember to love, live and dream each and every day!

Keep the rubber side down!

Some more random pics done while biking

The Grand Canyon

We went to the Grand Canyon in AZ over the Christmas holiday season. Crystal's parents came to visit and we booked a tour that included air travel to the Canyon, land, air and water tours while there. We were hosted by the Hualapai tribe for lunch where they've built the Skywalk (we didn't do the Skywalk-too much extra money. Check that out here: http://www.grandcanyonskywalk.com/). After that, we took a helicopter tour down to the Colorado river and then rode a boat along the water. It was cold that day, but an enjoyable tour nonetheless. Here are some random pictures from the day. As always, they get bigger if you click on them.

Have you discovered the Morph?

pics of biking in Vegas

Looking north into Red Rock canyon, this is the start of the trail labelled "3 miles of smiles". It's a long downhill run to the parking lot and it is fun, fun, fun.


These Joshua Trees are really cool. Sort of a desert Xmas tree.


Red Rock Canyon


Gratuitous bike shot:


I went back to this area a few days ago and the smoke from CA has settled into the valley. You can hardly see any of these features from these vantage points now. It makes for some cool sunrise/sunsets though.

I got it!

My license was issued by the state on the 25th, for those of you keeping score at home. How stoked am I?

SUPER

New updates

Just wanted to get an update in since it's been so long.

I still have not received my license from the Nevada State Board of Massage Therapy. My application was filed in early August. But, I do know that things are moving along; I have received some correspondence from them this week and one of my listed references has noted that he got something from them as well. It shouldn't be long now. At least they have not forgotten about me. It's been a frustrating process and had I known then what I know now, I would have done things much, much differently.

The weather here has turned incredibly beautiful lately. The high temps broke about mid Sept and it's been pleasant ever since. Fall is in the air, even though it still hits about 80* during the day. There has been snow in the surrounding mountains already, up above 11,000'. Too bad for you suckers in CO - it's gonna be winter soon! :)

Finally...biking!

Met up with a guy from MTBR and got a ride in at Bootleg Canyon (http://www.bootlegcanyon.org/). What a cool place. You'll be seeing more of me out there as the weather takes it's turn to "cooler"...you know, like the 90s and, dare I say it, 80s?!!!

las vegas update

It's been a hectic month with the move and all, but we're finally settling in and getting on with life. Probably one of the most harrowing things about moving to a new state is all the change of address and I.D.s that is required. We've had to jump through a variety of hoops in order to acheive any sense of progress. It is frustrating to say the least and living in a city with 2 million people makes offices busier and lines much longer. In order to be a massage therapist, I've had to apply for a state license, which while being $300, takes 4-8 months to receive. They do allow people to work for 90 days on a temp license, but hold that application for 30 days after receiving it (to fill the gap on the 4 month wait). In the meantime, I was offered a job at the Oleans Casino Spa. Currently, I'm waiting for that damned license to come back to start working. On top of that, the state of North Carolina has put a hold on driver's license for tickets I received (and cleared!!!!) over 10 years ago (they want $50 - hey, isn't extortion illegal? Oh yeah, not if a gov't does it!). On top of that, I needed to get a health card to be a CMT (shots for TB and Hep A- $50) and a new Social Security card (haven't needed that in YEARS). All in all, we've spent hours upon hours at various NV gov't offices (and we're not done yet!).

In the meantime, we've been going out to the local hotspots a lot and have learned how to work the system, getting in free just about everywhere and often drinking with discounts, coupons or other such charity (bartenders love to share!). We went to one show, La Reve at Wynn. It was FABULOUS! Highly recommend it. It's been too hot to really get out into the mtns and trails yet, but it's starting to slowly cool off. It makes the pool a popular destination. So far, we've gone to Studio 54 at MGM (2X), Light at Bellagio (2X), Caramel at Bellagio (2X) and House of Blues at Mandalay Bay (2X). This really only scratches the surface of what's here, but it's a good start, IMO. Here's some random pics from those evenings:







Recently, we took a trip up to Rachel, NV, the famed home of Area 51. It's a remote place and the entire town is populated by only 98 people. There's not much to do there, but it's a novelty, kinda like Leadville in Colorado. Here's some pics - sorry, no UFOs on this trip!



Check out the City of Loveland sticker on this sign! How funny! We didn't do it, though :)



Any kind of alien souvenier you can think of is sold at this place. It's the town hotel/bar/casino/restaurant/camping site. They do it all!



Nothing but blue sky in Nevada.

All packed up!

Well...mostly anyway. It was a busy day of packing and spending one last day with friends and neighbors. We'll be off for Las Vegas tomorrow, with a night stop in UT, just to minimize over travelling and being too tired to function once we get there...

:)

Recent weather pics

Recently...Hiking!

A trip from the Poudre Canyon