We settled into a comfortable routine that included walking the dogs around Denise’s neighborhood.
Here’s what it looks like to take Ruff and Reddy out for a walk. Of course Reddy has the red harness.
And here are the cute pooches hanging out together. Can you tell they are brothers?
We’ve known Denise’s pet cat Pavoratti for 14 years, so it was great to spend time with him too.
And in addition to taking care of Denise, Kristina worked a lot on physical therapy for her knee. She found a wonderful chiropractor who treats injured athletes, and he taped her knee to help her partially torn ligaments heal.
We rode our tandem most days, as it’s great physical therapy for Kristina’s knee and a lot of fun. Notice the street sign. We didn’t see Elvis, but since this is Vegas, we figured anything was possible!
Pete is near the Rancho Badillo sign, but we didn’t see any ranch.
Our favorite ride was going out to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (RRCNCA).
Once near Red Rock Canyon we saw a wild burro. Actually, we heard him braying first and we stopped by the road to get a closer look.
In addition to this charming sign, we also saw warnings not to feed the wild burros and horses. Denise explained that animals expecting food from cars can end up as roadkill, so we didn't feed the burro.
We saw signs for tortoise crossings several times on the Red Rock scenic loop, and we kept looking for them.
But it wasn’t until we were at the Visitor’s Center's desert tortoise refuge area that we spotted one. Supposedly there are ten tortoises in the refuge, but we only saw one.
There was also a tortoise sculpture at the Visitor’s Center that was much larger than the tortoise we saw, which made it easier for Pete to have a seat.
Back in Denise’s neighborhood we spotted more sculpture decorating people’s yards.
This deer has a crazy look in his eyes.
We thought the polar bear was an odd choice for Las Vegas!
We liked the potted plant holder shaped like a tricycle.
After a few weeks Denise was able to get around with just a cane, so we took her around town.
We went to the movies.
And loved sitting in the recliners, munching popcorn and watching Everybody Wants Some. Since the three of us went to college in the 1980s, the film was hilarious to us!
Denise has the prettiest roses in her neighborhood. Kristina had fun picking a bouquet for inside.
We had time to cook some tasty meals like Thai pork laarb and brussel sprouts.
When Denise was diagnosed with anemia after her surgery, we cooked red meat and greens like this beef short rib over polenta with beet greens and broccoli.
Our favorite thing about Las Vegas (after Denise and her pets) is the natural beauty. We were able to ride to Red Rock Canyon half a dozen times during our stay. With all the wet weather this past winter, there were lots of blooming cacti in the desert.
These flowers open for only a few hours in the early morning.
One morning we paid to ride the Red Rock Canyon 13-mile scenic loop. It was spectacular!
Red Rock Canyon is filled with dramatic rock formations. The red and white rocks are Aztec Sandstone.
180 million years ago, these were sand dunes. The sand dunes lithified, became cemented with calcium carbonate, and where there was iron oxide, the rocks turned red.
This close up shows how the sand dunes, now hardened into rock, still show how the wind sculpted them initially.
The flowers on the scenic loop were beautiful.
We especially liked seeing the flowers against the dramatic red rocks.
Kristina is in an area called Calico Basin, which has some of the most striking sand dune rock formations.
The Mojave yucca plants were also blooming.
This was such a beautiful cactus that we had to photograph it. Kristina and the Aztec Sandstone are in the background.
We had a lot of fun riding around Red Rock Canyon.
We spent just over three weeks at Denise's, and then we drove back to the Bay Area. Originally we had planned to volunteer at the Tassajara work period, but they didn't have room for us. So we stayed at Pete's Mom's house while she was in Las Vegas with Denise, and we enjoyed the flowers in her yard.
It was an unexpected treat to visit friends in the Bay Area, like Paul and Sean. Go Giants!
The four of us had lunch at La Torta Gorda. Before we went in, Pete was making a critical assessment of the menu and ambiance of the restaurant.
It turned out to be delicious and a lot of fun.
Their sandwiches are huge, as Kristina learned. She ordered carne asada with cactus, avocado and onions, and it was yummy.
We stopped by Sean and Paul's house to see it beautifully staged and ready for sale. Pete helped Sean construct the master suite in 2001.
We spent some time with Kristina's cousin and best friend Cynthia.
Humberto made us risotto and salad for dinner, a springtime feast.
We got a Mystery Basket from Mariquita Farms. We used the carrots to make quick pickles.
This is our friend Chris on his birthday in Tilden Park. Chris is holding a present of, yep you guessed it, pickles!
We love Chris' daughter Mira too, and we were glad she joined us to celebrate her Dad's birthday.
Chris also received Exploding Kittens card game, for ages 30 and older due to its raunchy nature. We didn't play with Mira.
And a birthday wouldn't be complete with sweet treats. Which cupcake will Chris pick?
And the winner is key lime!
The four of us enjoyed walking around Tilden Park, near where Chris grew up.
Then the four of us went to our friends Paul and Julie's house for a fundraiser party for Planting Justice.
Planting Justice is a non profit in Oakland that started by teaching inmates in San Quentin how to grow food. Notice all the barbed wire and fencing behind the raised beds.
This is a photo of Big Mo, who we met at the fundraiser. He works at Planting Justice on the Transform Your Yard team, and he is passionate about the company and his work. He has been out of prison for 160 days, and in his free time he's also a media assistant at Planting Justice. We watched his first video, and it brought tears to our eyes as Mo and other previously incarcerated men talked about their determination to be productive members of society and to stay out of jail.
This is another worker named Bilal, making friends with the goats on his 11th day free (he went to prison when he was only 17 years old and served 20 years). Both Mo and Bilal worked with Planting Justice to create this five acre farm that provides healthy food to low-income families in Oakland. Bilal writes about his Planting Justice experiences in his blog The Freedom Chronicles. We were thrilled to learn that Planting Justice employs 30 previously incarcerated men, and has a 0% recidivism rate!
We were inspired to donate to their Kickstarter campaign to buy 2 acres and build a
Planting Justice Nursery & Aquaponics Farm Incubation Center in Oakland. We hope you'll help them reduce recidivism and end food apartheid in Oakland too!
We rode our tandem several times from Pete's Mom's house, enjoying the green hillsides.
This photo was taken near the Calaveras Reservoir.
Kristina is happy to report that her sprained knee has healed! She is still doing acupuncture for some remaining stiffness, but she's back to practicing yoga ever day.
We rode the back side of Mt Hamilton, and it started pouring rain right after this photo was taken.
We love our new Biciamo Oakland cycling jerseys, especially because they say "DUBS" on them. We've been watching the Golden State Warriors and we think they look ready to repeat their championship win this year!
We'll be on a three week meditation retreat in Pioneer, California next.