Recent Events

Oatman

Oatman is a small cowboy town in AZ that is off the grid on the old Hwy 66.  They have electricity but no cell phone or running water.  It is named for a young gal who was taken and face tattooed by the local Mohave indians.  Back when times were really tough.  Lots of burros wander the town.  We used to bring carrots for the animals but they say eating too many carrots cause digestive issues so they prefer you feed them alfalfa balls instead.

A local group of riders ventured out that way this morning before the heat hit.  We stopped at the annual ‘remodel after a fire’ at Rosies Cafe.  They did a good job.  I think Terribles sank some cash into this place so riders would fill up next door.  Smart.

Riding in 100 heat is no fun.  The bikes give off a lot of heat by themselves.  The sun and the pavement makes riding like sitting in front of a hair dryer in a sauna.  Really nice ride in morning.  I was impressed by everyone’s bikes.  4 customized HDs and a new Indian.  I took the honda as it has a 7 gal tank.  220 miles round trip.

Rosie’s Saloon
Oatman
Lucky burro who got a few carrots before a local told me to trade for alfalfa.
Happy burro
Can we take this one home?

 

Nora’s Cucina

The 3T’s dining club ventured out to a trendy and happening Italian kitchen.  This place was loud and crowded with tables difficult to come by.  It’s a nice building with private rooms, outdoor patios, rooftop dining and wine cellars.  Caprese Salad was good, Lasagna was good, Clams were good, Eggplant was good.  We will try to come back and try the osso bucco and butternut ravioli.

Caprese Salad
Linguini and Clams
Lasagna
3Ts

Lazy Man Wellington

Hamburger buns get dry and moldy.  English muffins work well, but we never have them around.  Low carb diets tell you to just to throw it all on a plate but that gets sad after a while.  There are some low carb (5g) high fiber tortillas that fold to make a nice home made hot pocket.  Butterball turkey burgers are good (No JennyO) or beef or black bean burgers or salmon.   Add sliced jicama for crunch or pickles or whatever.  They stay warm a lot longer than a bread bun too.

Lazy Man Wellington

Low Carb Burger Solution. Tortilla Surprise. Fun way to serve burgers.

  • Grill
  • 1 1/3 Patty (beef/turkey/salmon)
  • 2 slice cheese
  • 1 glug condiment
  • 1 each tortilla, 10" (low carb)

  1. Grill up a circular patty of whatever

    Cover with cheese because everything is better with cheese

    Add small dollop of condiments

    Add to center of tortilla

    Wrap like a crunch wrap supreme at Taco Bell. 6 folds.

    Put on grill for a minute, flip for another minute, flip again and again.

Aunt Linda

I finally got to see Aunt Linda in SF.  I had a few hours before my return flight and drove across the bay.  Luckily she was home and had a small block of time to get coffee.  Her little dog Bandito was a good trooper as we walked around town – except when skateboards are nearby – then he goes into attack mode.  Linda is a huge animal advocate and always looking out for their well being.

Bandito under the table wanting to be on my lap
Bandito wanting more attention
Group photo

Birthdays of My Parents

Although my father passed away several years ago, I still celebrate his birthday along with my mother’s.

They both were born in August, Dad in 1944, Mom in 1945.

Here is a picture of them together, celebrated their anniversary dinner in 2016.

Anniversary dinner in 2016

And here is my family celebrating Mom’s birthday (a bit early) this year!

Mom's birthday get together Aug 2021

Wishing her many more years of happiness and health from Boulder City, NV 🙂

 

Big T’s Cantina

Big T’s Cantina is where the old scary doll shop was downtown.  This is a great improvement just in that alone. This is a small but good menu where you want to try everything.  A few unique things on the menu which is something that we look out for.   We went with a few neighbors so we got to try a number of things.  We will have to go back to try the others – cannot wait.

Not pictured was the Holy Shrimp platter, Fried Chicken, and Flank Steak.  I wanted to try their Masitas (which sounds similar to Mofongo that you would find in Puerto Rico) but they were out of plantains.  The owner stopped by and told us to try the queso fundido next time too.  I also saw sopapitas on the dessert menu and I will have to also try those next time.

The atmosphere is open with big windows and the staff was very helpful.

Mexican Corn: When you see this on a menu it is usually corn on the cob with lots of stuff on it. What is awesome here is they take it off the cob and mix it so it can be shared as a dip. This is a must try.
Asada Taco: I could eat a dozen of these
Chicken Burrito
Swordfish, Shrimp and Carnitas tacos

Mt Charleston

Mt Charleston is about an hour away and as it is at 7800ft it is about 20 degrees cooler than home.  There is a lodge at the top that has a big restaurant and about a dozen cabins.  We were lucky and found a vacancy in one of the cabins.  They are real log cabins with a great view and a big semi private deck.  There is an indoor fireplace, couches, hot tub and nice decorations.

We walked down to the Old Town of Charleston where there are a couple dozen houses, a small school, and library.  We also drove to Lee Canyon where the ski slopes are.  They have chairlift rides and Frisbee golf.  We have come here before for day trips to hike Cathedral Trail and Mary Jane Falls.  It can get very busy here in the summertime.

The Lodge is always has a LONG waiting list to get inside for dining.  They have a pretty standard menu and do a good job considering they are 30 miles from the nearest store.  There are hummingbird feeders all around and the view is worth the wait.

Cabin with fireplace, couch, hot tub, deck, A/C, and refrigerator. Nice decorations inside too.
Full deck with chairs in a quiet location
View from the room
The smell of the pine trees is a nice change from the desert
This is a desert view walkway. 70 years ago people would come here to watch the above ground nuclear testing off in the distance.
Way off in the distance is the nuclear testing grounds. Folks would come here to watch the mushroom clouds.

 

Nittaya’s Secret Kitchen

There are a number of Thai restaurants in the area which are good but not great.  My favorite Thai restaurant /by far/ is Chatthai 92 miles away out in Pahrump.  We had high hopes after reading the reviews for Nittaya’s.  It is 45 miles away in a beautiful modern building and has a great menu and great wait staff.  The first thing I noticed was they have both Shishito Peppers and Angel wings on the menu – 2 of my favorite things.  They also have some unique items on the menu not commonly seen elsewhere.

I have only seen shishito peppers at upscale Japanese restaurants.  These were supposed to be charred with garlic and scallions.  Angel wings are tough to find – probably because they are hard to make.   You take a chicken wing and carefully dissect the upper arm bone and meat keeping the skin intact.  Mix the chicken with some pork, onion, veg and re-stuff it back in the wing.  Fry it up and you have a strange looking egg roll.  This by itself is worth the 92 mile drive out to Pahrump.

All in all it is the best so far in the Vegas valley but takes the Silver medal when compared the Chatthai kids in Nye county.  It is a bit spendy (as we say in Minnesota) but we will go back as there are a number of other things on the menu that need to be tried.

Shishito Peppers: with garlic, scallion, sea salt. Not ‘charred’ as specified but very good
Angel Wing: Nice and crispy. Best one in the Vegas area so far.
Kao-Soi: Pork shoulder in a Panang curry with crispy egg noodles. Panang really needs a bit more kafir leaf in it but the egg noodles are a nice touch.
Green curry with flank steak, avocado, zucchini.  Well balanced and creamy.

Pretty Raining Day

Lulu was asleep under the bed while I was quietly working at home.

All of the sudden, I heard a thunder in far, then huge rain drops started to fall.

I love the smell of desert rain, so refreshing!

Our patio looks more beautiful in rain, with such vivid colors!

Summer Rain

TREVI

Fountain of the Gods

We went back to Caesars to walk around in the Air Conditioning.  The mall was busy and full of tourists.  There is a fairly new Italian place right next to the Fountain of the Gods.  It is loud with the running water.  This place does have atmosphere.  The food was better than I expected.  The menu is just your typical Italian standards.  Lots and lots of clams in the linguine.  The Lasagna was still al dente and not a reheated mush (as typically found).  The Eggplant could have been thicker but overall not too bad.  The service was slow but we were not in a hurry.

Linguine and Clams
Eggplant Parmesan
Lasagna