Despite the fact that we went to Nevada in JUNE, we were in the part of Nevada where the time of year has very little to do with the weather experienced.  You can see snow on the tops of these peaks and yes, it is only a little snow, but the first day we were there, there was a lot more and it got below freezing that night and not much warmer during the day.  One very windy day, relatives took us to the river and all the kids jumped in and immediately turned blue. Someone mentioned that they were surprised how cold the water was and The KingofHearts replied, "Well, what do you expect?  This water was snow yesterday."   Just another example of how most of Nevada... is not Vegas.

Another day, we "went hiking," which apparently with this crowd, means loading everyone into two cars and driving to the highest peak we could find.  See this?


Look a little closer.  Se the white ball at the very highest point of that peak in the distance?  You might have to embiggen the photo to even notice it.  That was our destination.

Also in the photo above: A dust devil, which we seldom see here, but The KoH and I grew up with and are quite blasé about them.  The girls, however, were endlessly fascinated by them and began yelling "DUST DEVIL! DUST DEVIL!" every time they saw one.  That gets old when you see approximately one per hour, just so you know.

Near the white ball.


Nearer.


Nearest.


Once we got to the top, I guess we hiked around a bit, but most of our trip was spent inside the car, which was just fine with me, because I would have spent the whole damn day making sure one child or another didn't go tumbling down the mountain.


I was also concerned about the cows, which apparently think sideways on a peak is a totally fine place to graze.



Apparently that white ball is some sort of radar station and can track planes in the area.  I was told there are people who live up there for several months at a time during the year.  Let's hope they do not have to live in this structure.


Once, you're at the top, however, the view is simply breathtaking.  I have lived in a lot of places and seen some beautiful vistas, but I have yet to see as much in one stretch as you can at the right places in Nevada.



You can see some farmer's circle crops down there.  I'm always amazed at where people choose to settle.  Like this dude looked around all that expanse of dirt and scrub brush and said to himself, "Now, hmmm.... where shall I grow stuff?  Whelp, this looks like as good a place as any..." *breaks ground with plow*


This might be my favorite photo of the week.


The switchbacks up this road were relentless and I found myself thinking about how I used to get carsick as a kid and this drive would not have been my friend back then.  Nor would it have been anyone else's friend.  Let's just say there was an "incident."  But what we all learned from that incident is that if you're an adult and know you'll be driving in a car for long periods of time with a kid who tends to get carsick, do not give that kid an orange soda to drink because neither you nor that kid will ever be able to drink orange soda again for the rest of your lives.



Some day, I'm gonna have to explain to the Shortlings that they don't get to call it hiking if they just get out of the car at the top.  But not today.