On Monday, Helen and I took Scott out to tour Red Rock Canyon, a national nature preserve only 10 minutes from our apartment.
The charge for visiting Red Rock is $7 per car, but Helen has a lifetime National Parks pass which gets us in for free. She received that a few years back when we visited the Grand Canyon. It's available to anyone who is permanently disabled.
Red Rock features a 13-mile paved road that takes you through the impressive beauty of the canyon. There are several spots to stop along the way to take pictures and soak up the scenery.
The weather was beautiful, roughly 60 degrees and bright sun, and we spent almost two hours doing the tour. Scott and I got out at several stops to take pics.
By the time we ended the tour, it was time for some lunch. We went to Red Rock Casino, just a couple of miles from the Canyon, and ate at Yardhouse, which boasts a selection of about 100 different beers on tap. We didn't have any brews, but enjoyed a great lunch. Helen had a Southwest Chicken Salad, Scott enjoyed a big plate of Chicken Nachos and I had a lunch combo of a small Caesar Salad and a BBQ Chicken personal pan pizza. Lots of chickens in that meal...
After lunch we headed back to our apt and just relaxed, watching TV and talking. We were so full from lunch that we didn't even think about dinner. Scott had to head over to Green Valley Ranch to prepare for a Tuesday business meeting, so he left and Helen and I watched TV.
On Tuesday, I did a morning interview with a woman who runs a delivery service in TC. It's for an article I'm writing for the TC Business News. I also left a voice mail for another article involving an Elk Rapids group that is setting up a home for older dogs who are abandoned. It's called Silver Muzzle Cottage and I'll write that one for The Ticker. www.traverseticker.com.
About noon, Helen encouraged me to go play some blackjack, so I headed over to the Suncoast. We also needed some fresh bread from the Middle Eastern Market, so I headed there first. I got all the way to the store before realizing that I had left my money clip at home. So it was back in the car and back home for the $$$$$. Then I headed to the Suncoast and sat at a blackjack table that was empty. The whole casino seemed real quiet for 1 p.m.
Anyway, on my first hand I bet $10 and got a 9-2 against the dealers 6. Naturally, I doubled down, putting out another $10. The dealer flipped a 3, then slapped a King on there for 19. I got another King for 21 and was up $20 to start. That was sort of an omen, as the cards ran pretty well. I stayed between $20 and$50 up for the half hour that I played. I decided to leave before the cards turned bad, so I walked with a profit of $55. Not huge, but a nice little run.
Then it was home and an evening of TV with Helen, who is getting more independent each day. Her ankle seems to be healing nicely and she's reporting less discomfort each day. She's looking forward to her dr. appointment next Tuesday and we're hopeful that her cast will come off then. Her good friend Gail and her husband David are coming to town next Wednesday for a week. They are staying at the Venetian and we're planning on spending some time with them, so Helen is really eager to get this broken ankle episode behind her.
And now our LV adventure continues...
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