Lazarow World-Hike-About

While Jenni reaches another milestone on Wednesday, that's nothing compared with what she has achieved these last few months. There was a time when I used to be on the trails and look back to see where she was. These days, I have to look ahead.  I understand tact or discretion prevents me from mentioning her actual age. All I would add is that she is very old. In fact, should I be her age, I'd shout out to the heavens how pleased and proud I am that I can still hike. As an example, today she reached the peak of Corkscrew Mountain in Death Valley, California . She rose 3,300 feet along a tricky trail, treacherous at times on the way down, steep as heck on the way up, the last 1.5 miles rising at 1,700 feet per mile. That's amazing. I was so impressed that on her return I got out of the car to welcome her back even though I was very bored.  While we are so far behind in blog postings, we have included some highlights from the latest Hike-about. Should there be...

Not all 'windows' come from Microsoft, although we know one of their nicest employees, pretty well. We always accentuate the colors, forms and textures of Utah, and Arizona, too. It's obvious and valid. However, one should not forget the deserts of Nevada which have its own slant of beauty. Funnily enough, much of this is not far from Las Vegas, a city of which we may not have been with praise. We'll bet you that. Frankly, wherever and whenever we travel in the wilderness, the deserts and in between, the natural beauty continues to astound us. Of course, you've read this before but nevertheless, it seems impossible that on each occasion spent in the wilds, we know we'll confront something unique, always outstanding features, and usually tucked away just out of sight from the roadways. Deeper inside the land, often where trails don't exist but for animal paths, the unspoiled features provide even more delights.  Should we have any regrets, it might be t...

One of our least favorite places, Las Vegas, fed from gambling revenue. However, the city viewed from distance and height, is a sight to behold. The photograph is taken from the summit of The Frenchman, a grueling hike. The telephoto does the trick. One of our favorite places, Lake Mead. Once again, another lake and dam is fed from the Colorado River. "Hey, who said life is easy?" A tough hike but the 'girl' returned after vowing to remove the Frenchman from her life. ('Vive La France'). A glimpse of Lake Mead, Boulder City, Nevada. Cheers,  Jenni and Jeffrey

We find the scene stunning.   One of the great dilemmas we face on the road, perhaps it's a paradox, is dealing with basins. Wash basins. They are, of course, wonderful inventions but they can be temperamental. How is it possible that when a person wishes to soak something in the basin, say to wash clothes, the stopper (plug) does not seal and so the basin drains, hampering the wash. However, the same basin, when used for another purpose, say washing hands and brushing of teeth, clogs and drains so slowly that a person wastes time and becomes frustrated while completing a relatively short task.  Some of the staff at the front desk have the answers. Recently, we requested maintenance service for both the bathtub and basin because the stoppers were not sealing.  "We don't do that any longer", she replied.  "Then how do we take a bath or use the sink?" The obvious reply.  "Our policy is not to to have stoppers that seal to avoid guests floodin...