Monday, October 20, 2008

Hiking to Hawk Watch!

Hey all!
Well, this week I thought I would share about our recent hiking trip to Hawk Watch. Hawk Watch is a non profit organization that sends about 10 bird scientists to live on top of a mountain just a few miles south of West Wendover to study the migration patterns of hawks, eagles, raptors, and other large birds.
John and our friend Brian have made the hike a few times, and we all have been able to get to know several of the scientists that work there. This past Saturday I, along with John, Brian, and Brian's parents, decided to take on this 5 mile hike (2.5 up and 2.5 down). As most of you know, I am not exactly a fitness buff, so needless to say, a 2,000 ft gain in 2.5 miles was plenty difficult for me.
We started the hike at about 12:30. If you look behind the boys, in the picture about you can see a rocky ledge at the top of the mountain. That is where our hike ended, to give you an idea.
The hike up was exhausting, but completely worth it! It took us about 2 hours with several short stops to catch our breath and take in the beautiful view.
When we reached the top we were greeted by several scientists and two sweet dogs that were very excited to have visitors. Although the scientists were having a slow day, as far as bird watching goes, we were able to see a few hawks, and hear about some amazing birds they had seen just a few days earlier. I think the thing that amazed me most is how they had been living on top of a mountain for 2 months! They were definitely a cool group of people and were great hosts.
After about an hour of visiting and bird watching, we began our descent. Surprisingly, I found this much more difficult than the climb up the mountain. Going up is exhausting, but going down is painful! I think my knees are still trying to recover. One of the coolest things we saw on the entire trip happened at the very end of the hike. We were lucky enough to spot a herd of wild horses only 100 yds. from where we were parked. This picture isn't the greatest, but it was amazing to get to see them so close!
Just a reminder for those considering visiting, this is one of the many exciting adventures you could choose to do while visiting exciting West Wendover, NV.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Mom's Visit!

The past few days we have been blessed to have my mom here visiting. I didn't realize how much fun it would be getting to show off our new home, friends, school, and community. We are so glad that she took the time to come and spend some quality time with us. I don't think I could ever express how wonderful it was to have a little piece of home here with us, even if it was only for a few short days.
While visiting, we did our best to show Mom all that is important here in West Wendover. Although the weather was not it's usual sunny self, we were able to get out and do some fun things. Because Mom arrived during West Wendover homecoming week, she was lucky enough to get to participate in a football party hosted by some of our friends. Although we weren't sure how much fun she'd have, we were pleasantly surprised by the fun she had simply getting to meet and spend time with our new friends.
Because of the cold weather Saturday we decided to spend most of the day inside watching movies, visiting, playing games, and even made a batch of caramel apples. We also ventured out into the cold to have a beautiful dinner and do a little bit of touring. If you haven't read my previous blog, you may not be aware that Wendover is home to the airbase which trained and housed the planes and men that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. While Mom visited we took the time to go out and see many of the buildings that still remain from this era. The building to left of us is the building that housed the "Little Boy" and "Fat Man", or the two atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Enola Gay.
Another cool spot of interest on the airbase is the "jail bird". The "jail bird" is the plane that was used in the filming of Con Air. The Wendover area has been the site of several movies, including Con Air, Independence Day, and the 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean. While at the base at we were able to see many of the places used in the Con Air movie; such as the "jail bird", the airline tower, and a old swimming pool.
Sunday, Mom and I spent in Salt Lake City. We had such a nice time even though it felt as though we were in a winter wonderland. Yes. Mom came to visit sunny Nevada, and instead she got cold and SNOW! I still can't believe it. We spent the entire day walking through huge flakes of snow! Although we were cold, we managed to have a great time!
Well, now Mom has left and our lives will go back to normal. I thought I would have a much harder time when she left, but I seem to be doing just fine. Now that we have had a visitor it has made me even more anxious for more! Her trip, I hope, will be the first of many. We had such a wonderful time and we miss all of our family so very much! We hope you can all make it out some time soon!




Monday, October 6, 2008

Preparing for Guests!

Hey all!
Well, as many of you know, John and I are anxiously awaiting Mom's arrival this coming Friday. We are so excited to have company. In preparation for her visit John and I decided to sit down and make a list of all the fun things we could do with visitors. This process has actually provided us with some information on things to do in Wendover that we didn't know was available. For example, a friend of mine took me out the air base located on the very edge of town. I was not aware that this base is where the planes took off to drop the bomb on Hiroshima. I was shocked. There is all this history here, that I didn't even realize was in my backyard. Also this base is one of the only WWII bases that has most of its original buildings still standing. Its pretty neat to see, not to mention, the Wendover residents tell me it's very haunted!
I have also discovered multiple activities such as horse back rides, atv rides, and tours that I didn't know even existed.
Also, West Wendover often has great musicians in town playing at the new concert hall. Unfortunately there aren't any great artists while Mom's visiting, but we have had David Spade, Jay Leno, The Beach Boys, Collective Soul, REO Speedwagon, and Smash Mouth; to name a few.
Anyways, we are planning a great trip for mom, including fun dinners, salt flats, salt lake city shopping, golf, and much more! We're so excited to have her coming and are hoping that some of the rest of you decide to join us soon!
We miss you all so very much!
Amy