August 19th, 2015

Tonight's blog is dedicated to Rosie, the Araneus diasematus, or Cross Orb Weaver, who lives in our kitchen. She, at least I think, Rosie is an immature female, is a SPIDER. Please don't look if you are at all nervous about spiders. You have been warned.

Look! She is just tiny!

Rosie was a good sport about getting her photo taken. I did mess up her web a tiny bit, but I fed her some of the frogs fruit flies as a peace offering.

(Rosie was named by Maddie, my niece who isn't so fond of spiders or insects, we am trying to change her  mind out them.

August 1st 2014

Driving through Nevada on Highway 95 we saw Walker Lake. It is a very beautiful place.

(Spider Alert)

It is also a great summer home for thousands of Orb Weaver spiders. The flies and other insects that hatch from the lake provide a great food source for these large spiders so they are very abundant in the summer months. (Here is a news piece done about the spiders from 2007 by the KLAS-TV news)

I was really excited to find the spiders. When we stopped I had no idea they were even there. I make Joel get out of the car to come and look. Once you saw them you could see them everywhere in the landscape. It was probably the coolest thing I saw to photograph on the whole trip!

I think there one of the spiders food sources was these damsel flies. They were everywhere too!

We finally made it to Las Vegas. I thought the drive was pretty pleasant. The roads were very smooth and there was very little traffic.

Joel's family likes to stay in Down Town Las Vegas at the California Club. We played a little bit of slots with Grandma Chiz.

We found the Iron Man slot machine and played it in honor of Jen. We  lost.

I did win playing black jack. I left the take with $35. (I stated with $20)

Spoilers: That is the only positive outcome of the meager gambling Joel and I did in Vegas.