Escape to Magnificent Arizona White Mountains

God has created Greer and then God has created us. And then God united us with Greer. We had a delightful experience of visiting the mountains. What makes White Mountains special is a meager 3.5 hours drive from the desert town of Phoenix. It was a short price for the return that was in store for us. The temperature was 30 degrees lower than where we started from and we were only a few hours away from out point of origination.
Show Low Lake is a small lake with a very good kids play area. The Fool Hollow Lake is 149 acres and has good view of mountains and a trail that goes along with water. We were trapped by rain and lost our way due to an unplanned shelter and an associated detour. This meant that we had to locate our way and then our car, all while getting drenched in the rain.
Pinetop has an excellent Park called Woodland Park. Woodland lake is about 23 acres and is surrounded by an extremely walk able Trail. While one is on this trail, one is constantly admiring the trees and vegetation that surround the lake. We enjoyed our Lunch in one of the well equipped Ramada’s in the park.
The drive in the woods from Pinetop to Greer is very scenic. Surrounding the road are Pine trees with sunflowers appearing in between. Apache National forest has vast stretch of land with sprawling farms and ever expanding sky that makes it a visual delight. The serene wind which was gutsy at one time and cold at other times was blowing us away. Near the forest, we were amidst the clouds as they greeted us.
We stopped on the way to Hawley Lake that is about 300 acres. At an elevation of 8,200 ft., it is one of the highest lakes in the state. The temperatures were freezing. We saw clouds kissing the mountains and almost coming down to touch the water. The water was quiet and the mist was adding to the charm.
Then we reached Greer. Greer is Arizona’s well kept secret. It is pristine and not yet affected by big city structures. The little Greer town reminded us of Switzerland, the heaven on earth. It has been a few years that we saw Luzern and Interlaken and their mountains and since then we have travelled to many new places. No spot had come close in our minds to the supreme exquisiteness of Swiss Alps. Greer changed it for us. The town of Greer offers fabulous views of the mountains and the valley. The houses are built with great taste that made for some great pictures. The place had a magnetic pull. The Little Colorado River that flows through the town provides the musical and therapeutic sound.
Greer Lake has large reservoirs. They are on the footsteps of hills and offer a great opportunity to walk around in the nature while thanking heaven for the experience. The lakes are gorgeous and are very attractive. We were sure that lot of Indian movies have shot their song and dance sequence in this splendor. It is hard to verify though.
Our memories of this trip won’t fade and we will cherish them for years to come. Very soon we will decide to go back, this time with Fishing and Camping kits. I slept that night with a feeling of having met God and thanked Him for the experience. The blissful sleep took me to Greer again.

Visiting Vegas

At about 300 meters in the air with a panoramic view of the Sin city I felt on top of the world. The Bellagio fountains were swiveling to the music. We were viewing the naked power of artificial lights. It looked day at about 8:00 PM in night. I took some pictures that I will never be able to take from the ground. The Las Vegas Blvd or the strip city got busier as night advanced. But the night never darkens and the neon lights are up entire night , add to it the mobile Billboards on the truck. Traffic was crawling, The Deuce Bus was being overtaken by teh enthusiastic walkers on the street.I was wondering that the power generated from the neighbouring Hoover dam is exhausted in a shameless manner. When I saw the depleting water line of Hoover dam the next day I was not surprised. But who bothers about Power consumption on a Friday night in Vegas.
Each resort hotel on the strip is a city in itself and has its own architecture which is very unique and the hotel thus offers its distinct experience. The indoor forest at Mirage had aroma that we did not want to leave, infused with energy, Excaliber had its own Palatial style and granedur. Paris and Newyork Newyork were remeniscent of the respective cities. Stratosphere offered its own adventure of thrill rides that we could not enjoy as our daughter did not meet the height requirement. We were not complaining as the idea of hanging up in the air did not seem very exciting. Circus Circus was a heaven for kids and the kid games were making gamblers out of young kids. I read somewhere that On an average an adult loses $ 481 in gambling during one visit to Vegas, My guess is that child loses close to $50 in the child games. The circus acts were class. Shark Reef in Mandalay Bay offers an opportunity to get real close to marine life with its audio wands. We purchased a souvenir photograph from the place. The hotel has its mini beach. There was plenty of stuff that makes Vegas a playground for adults from bare pools to bare billboards to the adult shows , the strip has rampant nudity. We had so much to absorb in three days that we realized this is not going to be an easy holiday as we had earlier planned. Our unintended detour to Prescott while on the way to Vegas from Phoenix and our venture on the low fuel had left us tired. When people said that Hotels can have wild animals we did not believe until we almost encountered lions in the glass house in MGM and admired the white lion in Mirage..There is much more left to explore, Fremont street to the different shows, Titanic exhibitions.
From the 28Th floor of our hotel we were mesmerized by the awesome beauty of the well lit Building. I now believe that nights are not always meant to sleep.