Gypsum Dunes

As an all-too-appropriate last outing for this tour, we visited the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. These massive dunes of gypsum sand fill 275 square miles of the Tularosa Basin at the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert. Gypsum is hardly ever found as sand because it dissolves in water, but since the basin has no rivers to drain it, the gypsum basically stays put. Not many plant or animal species have been able to adapt to this harsh and ever-changing environment, but a few, including a pocket mouse, two lizards and several insects, have evolved a white coloration to blend in with the sand. The pictures of them in the museum looked like they had all been bleached. The dunes themselves are impressive. We felt like just over each next one we should see the beach, but it was more like the deserts where people could easily become disoriented and hopelessly lost. We were lucky to have a cool day for our hike. We also got a good shot of the US Gypsum truck among the gypsum dunes. Addl. pics click HERE.

Bomb Your Beer

Our week in Phoenix leading up to the NASCAR race was pretty hectic. We did however get a chance to have Japanese food twice while we were there. We discovered a trend by accident. After ordering a beer the waitress came out with the beer plus a bottle of sake. At first we thought she didn't understand our order. Upon further investigation it seemed that every beer she brought out was coupled with sake.

So our second night out for dinner at another restaurant we noticed on the menu that you could make any beer a "bomber" for a dollar more. We both had heard the term before but it seemed like the Phoenix area was crazy for the Sake Bomb.

VIVA!

If anyone noticed the gap in posts after we visited Zion, it's probably due to our week in Sin City. Being limited by the size of the trailer, and since most of our events were in North Vegas, we checked in to the Fiesta Hotel and Casino. This is one of the "Station" group, known to be more local and not as flashy as the casinos on the strip. We signed up and got an Amigo Card right away, so we could start accumulating bonus points along with our winnings.

Embarrassing as it is to admit, we raced home from work each day to plant ourselves in front of the penny video slot machines. Since it had paid off in Reno, Donny stuck with the Goldfish game. If you bet ten extra credits, the Bubble Bonus is randomly initiated. Different fish swim down and you play various bonus games. There's also a fish food bonus where you have to match cans before picking a turtle at the end. He also boldly stepped up to the table and abused the novice dealer in Texas Hold 'Em.

My system was a little different. I played Coyote Moon for my sister Caroline, the Adonis game for a young man by that name, anything with a water theme (Mermaid Treasure, Dancing Dolphins, Lobster, Shrimp and Crab Mania, etc.), and Hexbreaker in honor of Halloween. Ultimately, as the casinos count on, we came out losers, but we got many hours of entertainment, countless free drinks, and stayed pretty much within budget. Oh yeah, we were able to afford breakfast on the last day with the points from our Amigo Card.