Our stay in Menifee was only a week long, but definitely an exciting one. It was here that an adventure we had been planning since we lived in Juneau was to take place. Up in the Pala mountains, about an hour away from our RV park, is one of the few muti-gem mines in the United States. They offer a fee-dig there, and you can go sift through their mine tailings to find treasures like aquamarine, morganite, kunzite, quartz crystals, and all kinds of different colored tourmalines. With prizes like these, we wanted to make the most of the experience. So on the day of our dig, we had a big lunch packed, extra buckets on board (to bring home our would-be bonanza), sunscreen lathered thick, rubber boots on for dry feet, and sun hats to keep our heads cool. The day was a four-hour whirlwind of hauling buckets of rock and soil (and hopefully gems!) to our sifters and water buckets. By the end of the day, our eyes were keen for anything colored or shiny. Since this was a timed event and we were newbie gem hunters, our strategy was to keep anything that looked remotely interesting, and to ask questions after our four hours were up. The strategy was sound, and we wound up with a bucket of lower-quality pieces of lepidolite, and a few handfuls of higher-quality aquamarines, tourmalines, and quartz crystals. When we arrived back at the RV park, it was almost as exciting going through our bounty a second time, looking for the nicest pieces, and scrubbing off what dirt remained to reveal their true beauty. What a fruitful day it was.
After a short week, we turned our sights from gem-filled, water fowl-loving Menifee to the "City of Lights": Las Vegas, Nevada. Our day of traveling began with surprising, but eagerly welcomed empty roads, and pretty much remained that way until we reached Las Vegas.
Not many people are making the trek from Southern California across the vast and empty Mojave Desert to Las Vegas on a Sunday. Instead, they are all returning to Southern California! So we surely picked a good day to travel. Vegas welcomed us with her massive, wildly themed hotels and casinos, barrage of advertisements, and many, many lights. In a city of infinite adventures, John and I chose the destination to our first outing carefully: Costco. The busiest Costco we've been to yet. I say busiEST because if we've learned anything in our travels, it's that all Costco's everywhere are always busy. Every. Single. One.
Anyways, one flight delay later, my parents finally arrived to meet us, and we began to experience what Vegas is really all about. Catchy music, flashing and dancing lights, acres of slot machines and card game tables, restaurants on every corner, miles of walkways through designer stores, zip lining, sports car rentals, shows and entertainers galore--anything you could ever want to do right at your fingertips. My favorites among the many experiences we collected were watching the elegant water fountain show at the Bellagio hotel, standing only inches away from what was at one time the largest gold nugget ever found (what every rock-hound dreams of finding!), and my first-ever roller coaster ride around the New York New York hotel. I will spare the internet the photographic evidence of us en-ride screaming our terrified heads off.
Fun aside, our main reason for being in Las Vegas was to attend the 2015 Shot Show convention. Companies specializing in sporting good products come together in this colossal event. Retail business owners come to see, test, and purchase the latest-and-greatest as well as tried-and-true products. All the big names from UnderArmor to Leatherman to Winchester were present, as well as hundreds of smaller companies. When we entered the convention center for the first time, John and I had to pick our jaws up off the ground. With more than 60,000 people in attendance and thousands of booths to choose from, it truly was a spectacle to see.
With a few days of dizzying amounts of people, lights, and sounds under our belts, we decided it was time for a different type of adventure. The four of us piled into the Jeep (my parents were with us) and headed for the Valley of Fire state park. Fire is a key word here, for the entire park is dominated by boldly red rock formations.
I've wondered why on Earth a city of luxury like Las Vegas would thrive so well in the middle of a vast desert with seemingly little to offer. But besides the gorgeous views that the Valley of Fire has, its many petroglyphs taught us that people had been living in this area for over 1,500 years. A stop at Atlatl Rock offered us a glimpse through time to an ancient civilization. It is a surreal feeling to stand in the exact same place that another human occupied and created art so many years ago. This someone lived in a completely different culture and most likely frame of mind, yet we have shared the same physical space. Amazing.
Besides all the petroglyphs, the Valley of Fire has more to offer in an infinite amount of awe-inspiring rock formations. All have been slowly chiseled into gnarled sculptures through time by wind and sand. Any artist could take notes and learn from this landscape's beautiful sweeping lines, bold colors, and varied textures.
If you are headed to Vegas for a long weekend of fun, make sure to put the Valley of Fire state park on your radar. The city will entertain and dazzle, but the park will certainly not disappoint.
This is all so lovely Cindy!
ReplyDeleteThank you Becky!
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