road trip: enchanted highway

The Enchanted Highway in North Dakota is a thirty mile stretch of road that has many different metal sculptures every few miles, from Teddy Roosevelt on a horse to 15 foot grasshoppers all created by one artist with just donations. This one is titled "Pheasants on the Prairie." The drive was beautiful and the sculptures worked surprisingly well amongst the farm fields.

hay and horses

road trip: miss salem sue

New Salem, North Dakota is home to the world's largest Holstein cow. Weighing in at 12,000 pounds, it is difficult not to notice that the dairy industry is a big part of this region.

road trip: crazy horse

Here are just a few of the amazing facts about Crazy Horse (find more here):

*It is being carved in the round and when completed it will be 641 feet long and 563 feet high, larger than the pyramids.

*All four 60-foot high heads on Mt. Rushmore would fit inside just Crazy Horse's head.

*There are one million visitors a year.

*They allow dogs!

las vegas part iii: art walk

I knew that Vegas had opulent architecture, but it was very cool to see how much new art is around town. Before, there were a lot of marvels inside casinos, like the famous Chihuly ceiling at the Bellagio. But now the new City Center and its casinos have put many whimsical and fantastic pieces from their collections outside and in the mall, like the canoe sculpture.

las vegas part ii: dessert in the desert

What was amazing to see in Vegas is that all around me, at all times, there were abundances where there should be none. Water in the desert? There are hundreds of fountains and sometimes the water dances. We are in an economic downturn, but every where I turn there is opulence and bells and pings from wins and high limit areas. One thing that I was quite pleased to see in abundance were the various European pastry shops that I found in nearly every casino like Payard and Jean Phillipe. The largest chocolate fountain in the world and the best lemon creme and raspberry-filled macaroon with a sugar dusted rose petal are found in Nevada. Not one treat was a gamble and all were winners.

vegas part i: cityscapes

I have wanted to go to Las Vegas for years. I don't really drink, I never gamble, and I don't do well in high temperatures. So why have I been so curious about this desert destination? I LOVE SPARKLE. I love lights and excess and majestic design and absurdly over the top curiosities. And Vegas did not disappoint. In just a few miles,I could visit Paris, New York, and Venice, see water dance, and sit in a crystal chandelier. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.