Rocky times . . .

     Ah, to camp out by a lake. Peaceful, serene, quiet, great neighbors, lovely view, excellent facility . . . Now Vegas - um - not so much.
     Phoenix is a great city. I could move there in a heart beat. The only draw back is time. As in, it takes so much of it to get anywhere.  But, we had fun. The boys played disk golf, a couple rounds of real golf and we hiked to the summit of Camelback Mtn. Can not believe we did, in fact the boys thought absolutely, positively that I would never, ever, in this universe, ever get to the top. To which they stated over and over again how shocked they were that I did. Geez, oh ye of little faith. Well, it was pretty strenuous, and steep and I'm not one for heights, as in, I don't much like going on the second rung of a ladder, but - this was a mountain to conquer and conquer it I would! The boys ran, er, climbed, scampered, bouldered to the peak well before Gary and I -  and while he and I  were taking selfies on one side, the boys sat down on a ledge on the other side blocked by a huge group of college swimmers- (I know 'cause I chatted with them all the way down). Since the boys didn't see us, they just proceeded to climb back down and so we missed each other completely at the top. So when they got back down and didn't find us there, they thought I was taken away in an ambulance for sure. They couldn't believe that I really reached the summit.  But hey, I have the pictures to prove it so come on now - and is it really, really that hard to believe? Come on guys! I mean it was hard, that is true, but it was invigorating at the same time. But I will say - I will never do it again. Bucket list #27 - check! (Thank God)
     So, onward we roll. Las Vegas here we come! We climb the hills toward Hoover Dam and we loose power in the pickup and more water. OH NO!  Radiator blows again! We stop every few miles, fill up with water and pray we make it to the next Walmart. Time for 'Stop Gap' again and 16 gallons of water to try to make it to the RV park by dusk. God was with us, (as always) and we sputtered in to our spot. After trips to the auto parts store, the mechanics on duty (Gary and the boys) fix the truck. Somewhat. Time will tell . . .
     Sleep is a blessed commodity when you don't get it. When an RV park says 'conveniently located',  it really means it sits beside a 6 lane super busy highway and right smack next to an airport. First night - no sleep. Then an angel of a front desk lady says, after a chatty conversation, "I have some ear plugs someone gave me!"  They are the ones given to parents at rock concerts that they take their kids to, to drown out the loud music. Hey, I'll try anything. Miracle! Those things really work! Maybe that's what my entire family wears all day long - since they act like they never hear a single word I say!!!  Finally, sleep. Nice.
     After a treat at Whole Foods, we hiked the trails at Valley of Fire. Oh. My.  Gosh. So now this is our new favorite thing - so far. It was breath-taking. The beauty of God's creation is so awesome we just stood there staring, trying to take it all in. Gorgeous. Majestic. Stunningly beautiful. I loved it because I could run and jump and then sit and gaze. The boys loved it because they could climb to the treacherous heights, crawl into perilous caves and leap from boulder to boulder. Fantastic. This is the Las Vegas I'm talking about.
     It's raining all day today, so the hiking to Red Rock Canyon will have to wait til tomorrow, God willing. There are so so many trails just waiting to be hiked! Ah, the wonder of nature! Gotta love it.
     We drove the strip to show the boys the lights and the hoop-la. The noise and the people. The hustle and bustle. They hated it. Our mantra to ask on this trip has been - Man made or God made? The God made sites always win out. They have been checking off places they DO NOT want to live. So far, there are none in the 'yes' or even 'maybe' column - so, we will move along.
     I feel like Abraham, we know we are supposed to be going, we just don't know where we're meant to end up!
     Happy trails, and stayed tuned!