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Hi Everyone, we have finally returned home after 6 years on the road. We have collected so many different stones and ideas for our designs. We hope you enjoy some of them at kiya.artfire.com. There is more to come. We have missed the horses next door, and they do remember us. They came right up to the fence. They are a joy to have around, and we don't even have to take care of them. Our dogs are extremely happy as they now have an acre of land to run on. Our concentration now is on local arts and craft shows in the Reno and Lake Tahoe area. Come see us at the Dayton Valley Sports Expo, Saturday and Sunday, September 19 and 20!!!

Hoover Dam Bypass

Hi everyone, we just went to see the arch at the bypass. It is almost complete, just 6 more feet to go. If you have never seen this is truly amazing. We watched from the beginning to now. Before it was just 2 out stretched cement columns. What an engineering feet! I have included a before and after picture. There is a great hiking trail that starts at Lake Mead and ends up on the parking garage at the dam. The hike goes through 5 old railroad tunnels. 9 miles round trip but it is mainly flat. My malamute and I have walked it several times. Sometimes there are Desert Big Horn along the way. And speaking of sheep! After the dam we stopped at a city in Boulder City. The big horn hangout there. They know they are safe from hunters and such. They are starting to think about the rut. Some of the rams did hit horns. What a sound. If you aren't prepared for it, it will catch you off guard. The rams are following the ewes and curling their lips. While I was taking some pictures one ram starting walking right up to me. Slowly backed on that one. Also, a coyote showed up, probably looking at the bunnies and quail. The sheep sure did give the coyote a look. The young are too big for a single coyote to take down. Enjoy the pictures and we will keep you updated on our next outing.

Goldfield Camping Trip

We have just come back from a camping trip near Goldfield, NV. It was a blast. We camped with a herd of wild horses and burros. We got to watch the stallion of the wild horse herd chase off a bachelor group. Pretty cool to watch him kick up his hooves. Our dogs loved harassing the horned lizards. Our Britany, Sonny, actually caught one and spit it right out. Those horns do work! We also saw coyotes, owls, herons, bald eagles, chukar, and hawks. The best is the mom and baby antelope. What a surprise to see them! The chukar were near the pond. Lots of water there. This water source was also near for the horses and burros. So, there is water out in the desert. As we drove around discovering old ghost towns and such we found, outhouse with a view. The door is on the other side looking out into the valley. We all should have such a nice view. We visited Goldfield, Manhattan and Belmont. These towns are considered living ghost towns. The Belmont court house is on the National Historic Registrar list. There is a bed and breakfast there too. We might have to try that out sometime. Other ghost towns we visited included Monticello, Klondike, and Alkaline. Our trip was successful in collecting agate and jasper stones. We have quite the load full. It will take some time but, we will eventually polish them and set them for jewelry. This always fun to do because sometimes the stones don't come out the way you think. The same is true of creating designs with them. We will keep you posted on the progress of these stones.