We had been to Salt Lake City a few times in our summer travels and at that time we did the Mormon thing, visiting Temple Square and hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. So we skipped any of that this trip. The first thing we did was drive by the Capital Building and take a picture for our state capital album. We had one from our other visit but there was a major renovation to the building and there were lots of cranes and scaffolding in the picture.  Our first day in town we drove up to Park City where the 2002 Winter Olympics were held. They also hold the Sundance Film festival here at the Egyptian Theater.  We walked the main street and finished up with lunch at the Wasatch Brewing Company.  

While we were visiting I was able to go on an all day birding trip as part of the Great Salt Lake Birding Festival. Saw lots of great birds and scenery but the highlight was seeing a Badger, the first one I think I have ever seen. 

On another day we drove out to Antelope Island State Park in the Great Salt Lake. The sand fleas had just hatched and I hope from the second and third pictures below you can see them swarming. Driving out to the Garr Ranch interpretive center we had a handsome coyote walk along the side of the road with us. They have a nice size buffalo heard on the island and as you can see from the picture below they like to stay out on the dried lake bed. The lake was as low as we have ever seen it. The docents at the ranch clued us in on a baby Great Horned Owl who had just left the nest a few days before. We found the owlet and the mom and dad. We also found another pair nesting in the Bison hay barn and then came across a Burrowing Owl on the drive out. We were going to drive on the Bonneville Salt Flats but the spring rains had flooded them and they were closed. 

The Pony Express RV Park we stayed at is right next to the Jordan River and a 40 mile bike path. Josie enjoyed walking a few miles on it everyday that the weather was good. It had great views of the Wasatch Mountains with Downtown Salt Lake in the foreground. It was also was a good birding area. 

 The highlight of our visit was attending Odysseo, a show produced by Cavalia.   If you are not familiar with this production, as we were until we saw the big top and the many billboards throughout the city. It is a production by one of the original founders of Cirque du Soleil. It is basically a Cirque du Soleil type show with horses playing a major part in the production.  It would be hard to describe, but it was fantastic, a feast to the senses. If you want to look it up on You-tube just type in Odysseo and see for yourself.  We highly recommend this show. 
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We have driven through Mesquite many times in our travels both in the RV and earlier in our van. To tell the truth, there is not much to do here if you don't golf or gamble. We did hear there was going to be a big BBQ cook off so we thought that would be something else to do. It turns out that the health department will not let you eat any of the BBQ from the competitors. So you have 50 BBQ teams cooking and the only thing you can eat is from a couple of local restaurants. That was a bust so we did not hang around. I was able to play the spectacular Wolf Creek Golf Course. It is laid out up, through and down a series of badlands and just driving the cart from hole to hole was a white knuckle adventure. On many holes you tee off hundreds of feet above the fairway. You can drink a beer just waiting for the ball to land. 

One of the casinos had a nice Kentucky Derby party with door prizes, appetizers and drinks. All the ladies who wore hats were given a pass to the buffet. We had a great time even though we were not in the money with any of our bets. One evening we had a small house boat pull next to us, definitely a different type of RV. 

On Mother's Day I went birding at 6 am and let Josie sleep in, and sleep in she did, till 9. I birded the Lytle Ranch Preserve an oasis in the desert. Found lots of colorful birds and a few Turkeys. The bush below with the red flowers is a pomegranate bush, first one I had ever seen. The next day I took Josie out to the preserve via the Joshua Tree Scenic Road. With all the rain, over the past month, all the cacti and desert flowers are in fine form. We also scared up a beautiful Roadrunner and Chukar. Of course all of this BLM land is open to grazing and we had to share the road with the cattle in a few spots. 

Tonight we chowed down at the Eureka Casino Buffet with the free tickets Josie received for wearing her hat to the Kentucky Derby Party. Tomorrow we drive north to Salt Lake City. 

We started our month in Las Vegas by meeting our friends Jim and Darleen Jackson for a great Mexican lunch, which is ironic since we met them on our trip to Mexico. We then followed them to Las Vegas International Speedway where Darleen drove a Ferrari around the road course as part of her birthday present. It was great watching her get faster and faster each lap. We then took them to Downtown Las Vegas and the Fremont Street Experience. Still a pretty tacky place, but we had fun watching all the "different" people. They now have a zip line over the street and it was fun watching others fly overhead. We ended a fun day at a local brewery, sampling their wares .

My cousin Mike and his wife Jeannie were in town visiting their son Matt, his wife Kristin and their two children, Brandon and Kate. So we got together for their final three days in Vegas. We started off birding the Desert National Wildlife Refuge and then on to Mt. Charleston, where there was still plenty of snow on the ground. We were fortunate to get 6 life birds for Jeannie and 2 for Mike. A very productive day capped off with dinner at BJ's Restaurant and Brewery, and a visit with Matt and his family. Mike and I then played golf the next two days at two great courses in the hills surrounding Vegas. Always fun times visiting with them and we are looking forward to seeing them in Montana in June. 

On our first Friday night in town we went to see Jerry Seinfeld at Caesars Palace. The man is a comic genius. Made us laugh without telling one joke, just making observations on everyday life that had us roaring. The next week we saw the Terry Fator Show, he is the ventriloquist, impersonator who was the first America's Got Talent winner. He has many puppets that he makes sing like Kermit the Frog, Elvis, Lady Gaga, Donald Trump and many more. It was a very entertaining show. 

On the suggestion of our friend from El Mirage, Gloria Burke, we visited the Shelby Heritage Center at the south end of the Strip here in Vegas. They have all the makes and models of the Cobra and Mustangs that they have made and are still producing on display. They have over 150 people working there today and you can buy a Cobra and frame for around $150,000. The engine and transmission are extra. We took at least one day each week to go sightseeing outside of the city. We drove out to Hoover Dam and walked out on the new bridge for a view of the dam. We then stopped for burgers and beer at The Boulder Brewing Company. The following week we drove over to Red Rock Conservation Area Park and checked out Desert Tortoise and also watched a few rock climbers on the red cliffs.  

One evening we had a great dinner at the Stratosphere's Top of the World restaurant. Besides having a great meal with a great view we were able to watch the Sky Jumpers fly by while we were eating. Looked like fun but not sure we want to try it, maybe next time. We also attended opening day of the Las Vegas Foodie Fest. Over 50 food trucks parked at a local casino. We had to wait for over an hour while a heavy thunder storm came through, with hail, and heavy rain. It was well worth the wait as we sampled Lobster Rolls and then tried bacon wrapped Oreo cookies dipped in batter and then fried. 

Thanks to El Nino the Southwest is getting much needed rain. This April was the wettest ever recorded in Las Vegas. We are sure it had something to do with us spending the month here. Along with the rain we have had very gusty winds with the storms. We had to batten down the hatches a few time during our stay. In the higher elevations around Las Vegas, above 6500 feet they had snow. So we drove up to Mount Charleston Lodge for lunch and a hot buttered rum. While we were there it started to snow and we got a taste of winter for an hour or so. That's the way we like it, we go to the snow instead of it coming to us. 

During our final weekend we had the pleasure of visiting one of Josie's nephews who lives here in Las Vegas. We had a delightful dinner and visit with Norm and his wife Deb. Norm is a very successful food salesman and he and Deb are quite the foodies. They prepared a both tasty and visual feast as you can see from the picture below. Josie had not seen Norm in over 45 years so we spent the remainder of the evening catching up while drinking fine wine and scotch. Their dog Baxter also entertained us and he also wanted to get in the pictures. It was a very nice evening and a great way to spend one of our last days in Vegas. Tomorrow we drive 75 mile to Mesquite Nevada.