Decamping to Minnesota

Early Heat In Nevada Chased Us Away

The best-laid plans…..The original post is below this one! Who won me or the deer? We should have an over under bet on the cost of body work to get this fixed. Airbags didn’t go off and there is no damage to the frame. Need a new hood, a/c, radiator, front bumper.

I was driving east on I-70 when a deer jumped over the concrete barrier a foot in front of my truck. Rats with ears and longer legs they are. The deer is not okay. It is dearly departed.

We had a loaded truck. Everyone is fine. Now we have logistical issues par excellence. Next-level logistical issues. But, we will be fine. I do get to fly back to Las Vegas and do it again with the other car.

Below is the original post:

This is not a post about global warming. Who knew it gets hot during the summer when you live in the desert? I have many friends in Las Vegas that get away during the summer. In that respect, it’s not a lot different than Florida or Scottsdale, AZ. But, I have many friends who stay the entire summer. Vegas doesn’t clear out like a lot of cities do.

Usually, June in Las Vegas is in the nineties. It’s nice. It's not too hot to golf and no humidity stifles the air like Florida. Cools off at night. At night, you can sit outside without bugs of any real substance. Of course, Nevada has bugs because when we walk the dog, we see bats. The other day while playing golf, I saw a bird catch a moth in midair.

But, we don’t have bugs like the Southeast. Or Minnesota where you learn screens are an important part of a window.

Saturday night, there was a segment on the news encouraging tourists to head to Death Valley where there are discounts in the summer. “Less crowded too”, they said! Right now, it’s hard to walk our dog and if you take him in the desert near our house, there is the potential to run into a rattlesnake.

Learning about the Las Vegas climate has been an interesting part of the journey here. In December, January, and early February, it can be downright cold. It’s not that penetrating Midwestern cold, but it can be cold. My goodness, sometimes with the frost warning we don’t tee off until 8 am! For reference, we are ten degrees cooler than Phoenix. In the winter, that will make you jealous of Phoenix, but I laugh at Phoenix in the spring/summer/fall.

In addition, there is a bit more to do.

One thing I did not know about Vegas was that the wind is a real thing here. When we rehabbed our house, we moved a few walls. Some of those walls were called shear walls. I had never heard of them but they keep the house stable in windstorms. It’s generally not windy from April to November, but it picks up in the winter.

This year though, El Nino had other ideas. It’s been hot—over 100. We are five degrees cooler in Summerlin than they are on the Strip; believe it or not, those five degrees make a difference. It’s also hotter in Henderson than it is in Summerlin.

I was headed to Chicago to play in the Clubber Open on June 24th. It’s a great cause. If you can, donate a few shekels to it.

I will be in Chicago a couple of times over the summer, so maybe we can organize a blog meet-up at a bar for people who decided to stay in the Fascist city by the lake. It won’t be in August for obvious reasons.

If you see a blue pickup truck on I-80, wave. (Or a black SUV Porsche pulling a U-Haul)