Las Vegas and B. B. King

Terry likes to play on the slot machines. Because of this, she gets invited to come to various casinos for a free stay. Buffalo Bill's Casino was nice enough to offer her a weekend at their resort.


Terry liked the idea of playing the slot machines, but Andy was very excitied to learn that they would be able to attend a live concert to see B. B. King at Buffalo Bill's. So, on the day after Christmas, off they went to Primm, Nevada.



The B. B. King concert began at 8 pm At the Star of the Desert Arena inside Buffalo Bill's Casino. Andy and Terry got to spend two full hours listening to eighty-four year-old blues guitar legend, B. B. King, talk, sing, and play. It was a memorable evening. It was great to see him while he is still able to perform.







After the show, of course, Terry had to spend some time on the slot machines.
With Andy's help, she quits while she is still winning.


The following day they decided to drive in to Las Vegas to see the brand new City Center complex which just opened last week. It is located between the Monte Carlo and the Bellagio Hotels.


The City Center is a complex of very new, very modern hotels, casinos, restaurants, and art exhibits.

It's so large it's easy to lose your way as you wander from building to building. Here are some shots of the glass and steel complex.

Splendor Photos

Andy and Terry are back from their cruise to Mexico on the Carnival ship, Splendor. They boarded in Long Beach, next to the Queen Mary and the former Spruce Goose Dome.






Andy is pretty impressed with this new ship, but he is more impressed to learn that one of his favorite baseball players is on board for the whole week. He gets several chances to see Steve Garvey, former Dodger star first baseman from the 1970's. Steve is very gracious to all of the passengers who want photos with him. He is a real gentleman.

Mariano Duncan once played infield for the Dodgers and now coaches first base for them. He was traveling on board with Steve Garvey on a promotional Dodger trip.

Andy and Terry spent a little time with him at the end of the trip as they waited their turn to walk off the ship.

Terry and Andy enjoyed meeting the former Dodger players, and they also really enjoyed their time on the Splendor. It is a very attractive ship, and the food was quite good. Here are some photos of the sites on and off the ship.

Puerto Vallarta

Mazatlan

The end of a very pleasant week on the Carnival Splendor.

Carnival Splendor

On Sunday, November 15, Andy and Terry will drive to Long Beach to board the Carnival Ship, Splendor, to sail down to Mexico again. They've seen Mexico before, but they've never been on this new ship. They'll be taking photos and sharing their trip with you upon their return on November 22. Check back later to "see" their trip on the Pacific Ocean.

Road Trip - Part One - Southern Utah

Terry and Andy have just returned from another one of their road trips. This time they were in Nevada, Utah, and Arizona for 5 days and 4 nights. They covered a lot of territory in that time. Andy thinks he should have allowed for another day or two to spend more time in each place.

Their first stop is at the Primm Valley Hotel, formerly the Prima Donna Hotel on the highway to Las Vegas. They stay over night here. Terry enjoys this place. She gets to play with the slot machines. Andy talks her into leaving before she puts her winnings back into the machines.

The following day they drive northeast to Utah, to their favorite National Park, Zion Park. They decide to spend the morning hiking up to Emerald Pool part way up the mountain.

They start at the bottom on the Virgin River.

They end up walking (and climbing) farther than they had anticipated.

The views up here are pretty nice. There is even a bit of fall color in the trees.

The walk back down is more fun than the walk UP.

After a hike in Zion, they drive out, south to Arizona.

See the next story.

Part Two - Northern Arizona

After a few short days in Nevada and Utah it's time to cross the border into the northern part of Arizona. Kanab is the last town Andy and Terry see in Utah.

Then they head east through the desert, past Vermillion Cliffs National Monument.

The scenery out here is unbelievable!

They have decided to come out to the desert in October because this way they can avoid the horrible high temperatures that occur in the summer time. Their strategy worked very well. Temperatures are pretty pleasant everywhere they go.

They arrive at the Colorado River, before it enters the Grand Canyon. Up here there is a fantastic bridge which allows cars to cross this steep canyon. It's Navajo Bridge, Arizona.

Further down the road there is another great bridge across the Colorado River in front of Glen Canyon Dam at Page, Arizona.

Andy and Terry take the opportunity to tour this great dam from top to bottom, inside and out, on a guided tour.

After seeing everything at the dam, Terry learns that we are near Lower Antelope Canyon on the nearby Navajo Reservation. She has seen photos of this place in travel magazines and she is determined to find out exactly where it is.

Andy drives her out through town to the reservation land and pays for them to enter this canyon along with some other hikers. They walk a short way...

Then they come to what looks like a narrow slot in the earth.

Everybody seems to start disappearing into the slot.

With the help of steel ladders they all climb down into a narrow canyon carved by wind and rain.

Soon they find themselves in an unreal world of swirling sandstone canyon walls.

They meet a few photographers who have been down there for hours, taking loads of photographs.

Eventually they find the steep staircase that leads them back to the surface.

Once outside of the canyon, Andy and Terry are pleased that they have taken the time to find this unusual place.

Now it is time to climb back into the van and drive down to the Grand Canyon.


In a few hours they are standing on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Visibility at the Canyon is pretty good today.

Toward the end of the day, they drive south down to Highway 40 to rest for the night in Williams, Arizona, and then they make the long trip back home the next day with a camera full of photos.

... Another successful Road Trip Adventure.