Land Life in the Desert
/It doesn't take long to settle back into life on land. We don't miss the long morning treks to the toilets and showers, and doing the laundry is pretty easy. Jumping in the car to head to the grocery or hardware store is a snap. Instead of boat chores, there are house chores to attend to, but they're not all that time-consuming, so we're spending our time on other things. David is studying for his Nevada Master Electrician's Exam and I'm working on our 2016 IRS returns. I've also just volunteered to be on the planning committee for an upcoming high school class reunion. On a friend's recommendation, we're looking into some free on-line courses that might be fun. All take up a considerable amount of time and we're enjoying the change of pace.
We do appreciate the long morning walks around the Stallion Mountain Golf Course. We've got a pleasant routine of waking in the morning around 5:30, having a cuppa, checking the morning temps in Vegas and Chesapeake, reading the news (always alarming lately) and then heading out for our walk. The paved walk around the golf course is about 3.5 miles long and if we head out before sunrise, we miss the early morning golfers. I particularly enjoy seeing the local animals ... desert cottontails, herons, coots and ducks … they all seem to be waking up then, too. There's a falcon that sits in the same spot everyday, patiently waiting for an opportunity to swoop down on an unsuspecting bunny. Sometimes, we see the resident coyotes trotting along on the hillside, heading for their daytime retreat.
The views of the Strip when the early morning sun reflects off the buildings are quite beautiful. It's hard to imagine while we're enjoying the quiet and peace of our walk, that we're so close to the hustle-bustle of the Strip. It's walkable if we chose to make the trek. Heck, we can see the Linq's High Roller, currently the world's tallest Ferris wheel, from our front yard.
David has planned several outdoor tasks including staining the new raised planters that he and Paul built on our last visit. Mary and Karen are looking forward to planting veggies soon. The backyard irrigation system is complete and with our newly acquired knowledge about native plants, trips to the local nursery have been on the agenda. It's like a scavenger hunt finding just the right plants to achieve our goals of beauty and color combined with low maintenance, xeriscaping and reasonable cost.
We've been up making the rounds of local doctors and dentists for past-due check-ups and physicals, having lab work done and generally catching up on healthcare that we've delayed. The verdict? We're healthy … must be our crazy lifestyle.
We've taken the time to visit a few local places that we've not seen before. This year's Chinese New Year display at the Bellagio was a pleasant hour spent. Our day at the Springs Preserve was outstanding and we plan to return soon and probably buy a membership. We've revisited places we especially enjoy like the Clark County Wetlands Park, one of my favorite places in Las Vegas. We saw a roadrunner there the other day. We plan to head to the Henderson Bird Preserve one morning soon, too.
Added to the agenda, we've recently learned about the China Ranch Date Farm, which is only about 1-1/2 hours away. It sounds interesting, so I've put it on our local “to-see & do” list. I mean, what do we know about dates? Could be a fun, learning experience.
Yes, we're keeping busy. Land life is certainly a different kind of life than we're used to, but we're easily adaptable and, for the most part, we find it enjoyable. It's a relief not worrying about whether the anchor will drag or what the wind is going to do tonight or tomorrow. On the other hand … we've scheduled our return trip to Nine of Cups at the end of February. Can't get too used to this land life nor being anchored in the same spot for too long!