Wild Hogs Las Vegas Style

For years people have complained about the smell of the "Pig Farm". People including Steve Wynn have tried to oust the Pig Farm. Builders have built brand new homes up to and almost touching the pig farm, hoping to put the squeeze on the farm and force the farm out. These people fail to realize they(R.C. Farms) have been there for 40+ years .

Well today the shoe was on the other foot. Today the people of Las Vegas needed the pig farm's expertise. You see this morning there was an accident on the 215& 15 freeways, a semi truck overturned with.....a truck load of ..........pigs!

There were 160 pigs in the semi, about 10 of the pigs got out and were running a muck on the the freeway. The NHP had to call the folks at R.C. Farms to come & help them out.

Moral of the story, be nice to your local pig farmer.... you never know when you'll need his help!

The Juice is loose

Helicopters filled the Vegas Valley sky tracking the fallen ex-football star's release from jail and trip to the Palms and finally his Maccarran Airport departure.

The circus has left town for at least a couple of weeks. OJ's family has posted bail and he is back in Florida. Hopefully, most of the media will clear out until mid October when he is due back for the next proceeding.

His attorney Yale Galanter(flown in from Florida) is not licensed in Nevada, apparently he has to obtain some sort of special privileges. It will take him at least 5 days to secure them. He does have local attorney Gabriel Grazzo as well.I wonder if the Juice thinks Nevadans are a bunch of goobers, that's why he brought in his own hired gun.

It also makes me wonder how that will play out in the courtroom. Good luck picking a jury. You'd have to have your head up your ass to not know anything about this case.
I wonder if they will try to move the case to another venue. How about Petticoat Junction? Ooops, I mean Searchlight. The courthouse/police station is in a trailer/Quonset hut. I wish I could find picture of it.That would be an excellent place for his trial.

I was watching at video of his court appearance this morning, at the very end of the video the clerk sitting on the judge's left snapped a picture of OJ with his cell phone. That should be a great story for his grandchildren, "look kids here's a picture of a man who getting with murder wasn't enough for him. He now resorts to kidnapping and burglary (allegedly) for fun." Maybe he'll put it on his mantle. Maybe it too will be considered memorabilia.

Free OJ

Las Vegas gossip columnist Norm Clarke tied his column in today with the current OJ Simpson debacle. Norm's column which is appears in the Las Vegas Review Journal, featured a piece today about our beloved Mayor Goodman receiving a call from OJ's agent (back in the day) requesting then defense attorney Goodman defend him in the double murder case. Good ol' Oscar was apparently up to his elbows in alligators at the time with his own legal problems and had to decline.

While that is a very interesting story about our Mayor, I think the bigger story was overlooked.
The bigger story is under the Scene and Heard section of his column, Norm goes on to report that the Las Vegas Motor Speedway has a "Free OJ" promotion.If you stop buy the speedway and buy tickets for an upcoming event you will receive a free serving of orange juice.

Don't believe me check it out at www.lvrj.com/news/9847211.html

Who knew that OJ pairs well with cheese.

I love Las Vegas.

I see the OJ he be lookin' might scared....

Who can forget the those famous words, especially if you're a Howard Stern fan.

Football Star/Sociopath OJ Simpson was arrested tonight in Las Vegas and is being held without bail.

Hey OJ haven't you heard "What happens to in Vegas stays in Vegas", looks like you're staying in Vegas. Instead of staying at the Palms tonight looks like he will be staying in one of the Clark County Detention Center's finest isolation suites.

Charged with 5 felonies that range from 1-30 years a piece, it looks like the Juice maybe staying in Vegas for a while.

Apparently getting away with murder wasn't enough for this guy, robbing sports memorabilia dealers is his new thing. This guy has got to be the biggest moron on the planet.

LV Metro talking to the OJ........

Las Vegas Metro Police having a chat with OJ Simpson. Local News stations are reporting that Metro did confirm that they had a conversation with OJ about a robbery at the Palace Station Casino.

Apparently, there was of break in at the Palace Station and sports memorabilia.
Metro will not confirm if OJ is a suspect or if he was a witness. Hmmmmmmmmmm I wonder if gloves were involved?

The "lady on the car"

My 3 year old neice exclaimed "Daddy look at the lady on the car! " Dad's response "that's no lady." My brother has a way with the one liners.

I used to see this every day at the corner of Sahara and Paradise, and never had my camera with me to snap a shot. I finally captured the infamous "lady on the car" this week. not a great picture but you get the idea.

I read an article about Mayor Goodman in which he mentions the mobile billboard at the corner of Sahara and Paradise. He said something like she wants to meet you, but I'm not sure what she wants to do with you.

Well, Mayor I'm sure she doesn't want to sit around and read poetry.

Only in Las Vegas.

Healing Field

Last night we stopped by the Palm Mortuary to check out the Healing Field. The Healing Field is an amazing display of 3,000 American Flags memorializing the 2,996 lives that were lost on September 11, 2001.

Each flag has a memorial card with the victim's name an a short blurb about their life. As we walked around checking out the flags and their name cards for each of the 9/11 victims, you become lost in a "sea" of flags. It almost felt like being inside a maze.

As evening set in more and more families arrived all filled with the same sense of awe. I watched a mother explain to her children the significance of the date. A toddler entertained herself, darting in and out of what seemed like the never ending rows of flags.

It's truly an amazing tribute to the people whose lives were cut short. The Healing Field will be on display through September 30th. You can sponsor a flag for $25.00 which you can pick up between October 15-31, 2007. The are also selling a Flag of Honor for $50.00 which has the names of all the victims who passed on that fateful day imprinted on the Flag. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the Salvation Army.

The Healing Field is a the Palm West located 6701 North Jones Boulevard. It will only be there for about another 2 weeks, it really is a must see.

The 2nd Annual Freedom Walk

8:00 this morning Las Vegas' Mayor Oscar Goodman led about 150 Las Vegans on a 2 mile memorial walk, honoring the men and women who lost their lives on 9/11. The walk was held at a the Kellog Zaher Sports Complex. Walk was party of a National walk that honors the men and women who protect and serve our country.


In true Las Vegas style, entertainer Clint Holmes sang America the Beautiful, an honor guard made up of members from the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, Las Vegas Fire Fighters, Las Vegas Detention and Nellis Air Force Base.

The weather was ideal. Sunny with a slight breeze, the temperature as about 90.

The event piggybacked with the Mayor's healthy initiative campagin.

T-shirts, flags and American flag dog tags were some of the give aways for participants.

Juy Duty

I finally had the privilege of jury duty. I have to tell you it started out traumatic. I arrived at the assigned parking garage only to find that the meter was not working. Some poor woman was stuck handing out parking lot tickets to the hundreds of people trying to get in there for jury duty.

Actualy, jury duty wasn't so bad. The chairs were very comfortable. It was very quiet with the few exceptions of a couple of blowhards on their cell phones trying to feel important.

I knocked out about 50 pages of my novel that only gets my attention before bed. Life is good.

Always remember life is an adventure.........You never know what's around the corner, make the most of every moment.

You have to do it yourself

Remember the old saying "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

In search for the delicious vine ripen tomato? Go out and pick yourself which is what I did early Sunday morning.

This is a picture of the first tomato I picked at Gilcrease Orchard. We picked several pounds we also scored beautiful eggplants, spaghetti squash, zucchini, cantaloupes and the juiciest watermelon.

I spotted at couple of pumpkins already in the works. I can only imagine how big they will be come October. As for now I have a few tomatoes to eat!

Nature Discovery Park's Farmers Market

This explains how I missed the Farmers Market.This was one of perhaps 3 signs advertising the market.

The Market was held at the Aliante Nature Discovery Park which is off Aliante Parkway and the 215 beltway. (This is a busy area a couple of banner signs would be appropriate.)

We arrived at 6:00 filled with hope to purchase farm fresh produce that we would create some culinary masterpiece with and instead found disappointment in a extremely small selection of produce. I purchased a tomato, a head of garlic, a red onion and 2 yellow onions. That was entire selection of produce.

A few other vendors offered barbecue, hot dogs and fruit smoothies. They even had a booth with a couple of women selling their candle creations. These things were all nice but not what we came for.

I spoke with the owner and she assured me that there would be more next week as 2 other farmers would be joining her with their produce next week.

I will give it another shot next week and see if it improves.

Wine Tasting

I managed to stop by and check out Bella Vino about a week ago. It's a great shop. I bought a bottle of French Merlot that was reasonably priced. The owner was friendly and helpful.

Bella Vino is tucked away in the newCentennial Plaza shopping center at 2745 W Centennial Parkway #120, North Las Vegas 89084. Telephone #396-8700. Major cross streets are Aliante Parkway and Centennial. http://www.bellavinowinecompany.com/

Bella Vino has Complimentary Wine Tastings on Thursday evenings between 5:00-8:00pm. Tomorrow's tasting will be Perfect Summer Reds.

Cheers!

Stop to smell the roses and the tomatoes

Sometimes I forget to stop and smell the "roses".

Years ago I can remember asking my Dad where he got the pale purple roses that were on the kitchen table. He rolled his eyes and replied "the front walk". Oops, how did I miss that! Right under my nose all the time.



I felt the same way the other morning when I picked up the newspaper and read that Aliante's Discovery Park has a Farmer's Market on Fridays. How many times do I pass that park and I missed that? Well, not this Friday. I can't wait. Produce can sometimes be kind of iffy here in Las Vegas. It seems like the Hotels and Casinos get the choice stuff.

A Farmer's Market in the neighborhood means I could possibly score a vine ripened tomato or some fresh corn on the cob for the weekend and that makes me happy.


The Farmer's Market is from 4:00 to 9:00 pm on Fridays. For more info check out http://www.ci.north-las-vegas.nv.us/DynamicContent/NewsEntry.cfm?NewsEntryID=2106.

Cross your fingers!!

Not your everyday pole dancing story..........

A guy spends most of the night drinking and watching strippers pole dance, he then gets kicked out of the Palomino club and tries to run the security guard over.
Next the drunken fool gets into a high speed chase with the police.

Here's my favorite part....he wipes out and hits a truck with his SUV.....and then a pole!

I swear its true. This is what I woke up this morning on the news.http://ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6891532

I love the irony. Only in Las Vegas. I love Las Vegas.

The Champs Decatur

No, this is not the Champs Elysees, it's Decatur and Grand Teton in Las Vegas. The Mountain range is Sheep Mountain Range. There were about 20 cyclists in this group.
I took this shot on my way home from Starbucks Sunday morning. I was watching the finale of the Tour de France and ran out for a latte before the peleton entered Paris.

I was glad I had my camera with me to snap this shot!

Gilcrease Orchard, Las Vegas NV

So you thought nothing but cactus grows in the desert. Well I'm here to tell you that is not the case. Around for years and little know to Las Vegans is Gilcrease Orchard.

The orchard is situated in northwest part of the Las Vegas Valley. The 50 acre orchard is located at the corner of Whispering Pines and Tenaya. They are open the end of May until November. The hours are 7:00 am until 12:00pm Tuesday through Sunday.

The admission price is $2.00 for Adults and $1.00 for children over 3. You have to pick your own produce.

Right now there are tons of zucchini waiting to be picked, apples, tomatoes were green last Sunday but should be ready this weekend. I even picked my own watermelon. I bought a ripe cantaloupe that didn't make it past breakfast that morning.

It really is fun and reasonable morning activity. Though, I tend to get carried away and end up with way to many zucchini. I then spend my time researching new zucchini recipes and the rest of the day stalking my neighbors trying to get them to take some off my hands.

I am interested in any zucchini recipes that anyone is willing to share. Please leave me comment if you have a favorite.

And what kind of orchard would they be without fresh apple juice? Make sure you buy some on the way out.They have it by the pint, quart and gallon.Be sure and buy the gallon, the quart goes much to fast.

Wipe out Graffiti Day Saturday June 23, 2007

The citizens of Las Vegas are being called on the carpet. The City of Las Vegas is supplying paint and supplies to residents who are willing to help end graffiti in their neighborhoods. To receive their free supplies please call 229-5406.

As we all know our beloved Mayor Goodman hates taggers and how they deface our beautiful city. He has been know to suggest cutting off their thumbs as punishment. While, we do understand his love and respect for this city, Oscar does understand that it will take community awareness to address the graffiti problem.

To Turn in a TAGGER 385-5555 the number for the S NV Graffiti Hotline is: 455.4509.

There you have it life in the big city.

See what $125 will get you in Vegas this weekend

Here's an interesting fact, Nevada is home to 50% of the nation's wild horses and burros. I grew up in NY an hour north of Manhattan so, the concept of wild horses and burros is new to me. Our idea of the "wild" was occasional rogue raccoon in the trash on a summer night or worse yet a skunk.

Red Rock Canyon National Park in Vegas is home to wild horses an burros. Yes, wild horses and burros in Vegas. By wild I'm not referring to the horse/donkey "show " that we all have heard about but, have never seem to meet the "guy" actually witnessed it in Tijuana. So when I say wild, I mean wild; like the wild west.

The Red Rock Loop (route 159) is a scenic 2 lane road that has some awesome views and is very popular with people who enjoy riding their bikes through the park. They all claim to always see the "donkeys". Well, I am here to tell you that I have driven through there at least 40 times and I have yet see one. I don't believe they exist.

Even though there are signs along the road that to alert motorists to beware of the "wild burros". Yet, Mojay has never seen one so therefore they don't exist

Well, that may soon change Saturday the BLM is auctioning off wild horses and burros. the bidding starts at a mere $125. That's it for a measly $125 you can own a real wild mustang. This will all take place at the Horseman's Park 5800 East Flamingo Road where I hope to see the wild burros with my own eyes, once and for all.

Lucky 7 7 7

7 has always been a lucky number. 7 is a natural number, roll a pair dice several times and 7 is most likely to come up more a than any other number just ask any craps player.

Las Vegas is betting that July 7, 2007 will be the Luckiest Day This Century. Wedding Chapels are offering special packages and are filling up fast.

Here's 7 wedding chapels here in Las Vegas that won't strain your budget.

http://www.alittlewhitechapel.com/
http://www.gracelandchapel.com/
http://www.alvgardenoflove.com/
http://www.ahollywoodweddingchapel.com/
http://www2.blogger.com/www.chapelofthebellslasvegas.com
http://www.aspecialmemory.com/

http://www.702wedding.com/

Most Hotel and Casino's have wedding chapels that are very nice as well.

You can obtain for marriage license info here:

www.accessclarkcounty.com/clerk/marriage_information.htm

I recommend you go a day or two before your wedding day to get your license. The bureau tends to get pretty backed up around special occasions. It used to be open 24/7 but that is not the case anymore.

Sweat in the City

This morning I woke up to hear on the 5am news that my City, Las Vegas ranked #2 on the Old Spice Top 100 Sweatiest Cities Report. Yes, folks Las Vegas is #2 on the nation's sweat-o-meter.

This year marks the 6th Annual report to be published by Old Spice. Yes, Old Spice the crappy after shave that you ran down to Kipps Pharmacy every December to get the Christmas gift pack for good old Dad. When did Old Spice become the sweat experts? I guess since they started making the "Red Zone" line of antiperspirant/deodorant. If the sweat report was written by Right Guard, Mitchum or even Secret it might hold water.

This changes everything. I have this feeling that my conversations with family and friends back east will become awkward at best. Will I still get the easterner's standard "but it's a dry heat" response to the "what's the temperature" question.
For year's I've been getting away with the old "stick your head in the oven" routine when I get hit with the "dry heat" comment.

Will I instead be peppered with sweat questions? How will I respond?

Looks like this girl has got to come up with all new one liners. Maybe, Sweat in the City or Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. OK, OK I'll work on it. Until I do remember "Never let them see you sweat".