LaeLae.com
Connect with Lae Lae!
  • Home
    • benefits of the Lae Lae collection
  • Awards
    • 2nd Book Excellence Award
    • AT THE BEACH Wins!
  • Lae Lae's Blog
    • Zoe's Blog
  • Books 1
    • Books 2
    • New Year - New Book
    • More Products
    • Coloring Pages
  • Testimonials
    • Acknowledgements
  • The Author
    • Learn about Lae Lae and Poco
  • Buy Now

Into the Wild, Wild West

6/28/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
A wonderful family trip back into the old west...  We started from Los Angeles with two grandsons and a little dog in an RV and traveled to the small town of Williams, AZ (the town that inspired the movie "Cars").  Using Williams as our base we rode the Grand Canyon Railway in an open air Pullman Car from 1923 on a restored century old track to the Grand Canyon itself.  The maximum speed was 35 miles an hour so we didn't go fast!  But we were entertained along the way with guitar and banjo players, a very humorous conductor and even a great "train robbery".  

At the Grand Canyon we were mesmerized by the awesome (to quote my grandson) canyon, one of the great natural wonders of the world, and entertained by local Navaho Indian dancers.  That adventure took all day as we visited the Hopi house and the visitor center and wandered.  Little Tinker was left behind at the RV park's doggie day care while we did the train trip.

The next day we visited Bearizona, named one of the top ten best drive through wildlife parks in the U.S. by USA Today.  Only six years old, it is quite impressive.  The boys loved the Birds of Prey show where the birds swooped down just above their heads, and then the "wild ride" open air tram tour to see animals, such as the baby bison that ran right up to us and the bears in trees, and timber wolves and mountain goats, all in an open setting.  Then we walked to see the smaller animals like the bobcats and otters and the boys loved playing with the pigmy goats in the petting zoo.  It was delightful and entertaining.

In between these activities, we saw old west shows and street cowboy standoffs with plenty of dancing included.  The town of Williams has managed to keep itself a fun little cowboy town on historic old Route 66. Nestled at the base of Bill Williams Mountain, Williams sits in one of the largest Ponderosa Pine Forests in the world. I happen to love the smell of pine and it permeates Williams.

One thing that I was impressed with was the environmental stewardship of the Grand Canyon Hotel/RV complex where we stayed, the train system and the Bearizona wildlife park.  The resort has been awarded, among many other things, a TripAdvisor Green Leaders Gold Certification recognizing their commitment to sustainability through their solar thermal program, landfill diversion efforts, and water conservation measures.  Among other things, they recycle all of their paper waste to use 100% recycled paper daily and they clean the resort with all citrus-based biodegradable products.  They also divert 7 tons of food from the hotel cafe and pub to feed the animals at Bearizona.  

​The railway recently became the first tourist railway in the U.S. to receive ISO 14001 certification for its environmental management system.  Two vintage steam locomotives have even been converted to run on waste vegetable oil!  

Lastly, because I am an artist, I loved the way that all of the backdrops and "rocks" at Bearizona were constructed over waste materials, old train cars, and materials from junkyards.  The artists simply added to this base to fabricate the realistic rocks and backdrop for the park.  

​Way to go, northern Arizona!

What a fun little vacation that I highly recommend!


* much more about the environmental stewardship efforts can be found on the internet.    

​

0 Comments

A Father's Day Tribute

6/20/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
I was so busy celebrating Father's Day yesterday that I did not get this post completed.  As I went to various functions in my day, I realized that one of the sweet things that I witnessed over and over was the manifestation, in so many different ways, of a father's love for a daughter. Each was a tender and gentle scene. 

I want to give a tribute to all of the wonderful young fathers who obviously adore their daughters and take time to spend quality time with them.  Psychologists stress that the "daddy-daughter" bond is a critical factor in a girl's life which begins in infancy and affects the daughter positively or negatively throughout her life. A nurturing, loving father-daughter relationship is one of the sweetest and most meaningful forces in a girl's life.  It affects her feelings about herself and her sense of self worth as she matures into womanhood. The relationship also affects positively what she expects and will accept from the other men who come into her life.

As I look around, I also see that, in this younger generation, the roles of the mother and father have become fluid and the duties of child rearing are being shared cooperatively. That is wonderful because each parent has something different and valuable to bring into a child's life. What is important is to have that spirit of working together to create a solid, secure and loving home for every member of the home.  Our world can certainly benefit from a little more of that spirit. Happy Father's Day every day!

Thoughts from Laurenn

1 Comment

Gazing at Our Big Blue Sea

6/9/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Hi, this is Tinker and I want to tell you about the oceans.  June 8 is World Oceans Day and we have much to appreciate about our oceans.  It is a worldwide celebration and this year's theme is "Heathy Oceans, Healthy Planet". Lae Lae and I want to challenge everyone to do one thing to help our oceans in honor of World Oceans Day. 

Most of our earth is covered by water and the oceans connect the world.  All living things need water to survive and ninety seven out of every 100 drops of water on earth are seawater from the oceans.  People who study the oceans think that as many as two million kinds of animals may live there and the oceans and waterways of the world are a source of life for our planet.

​But our oceans are in trouble.  For one thing, plastic trash is choking our oceans and most of it comes from us on land.  Scientists estimate that there might be more plastic than fish in our waters by 2050. People sometimes think that, if you leave something on the beach, it will just get covered by sand or it will dissolve, but that's not the case and at least 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year.  Fish can't tell plastic from their normal diet and they eat the plastic and choke and die.  Each foot of coastline contains an average of five bags full of plastic.  There are now half as many fish and sea creatures in the oceans as there were in 1970 largely because of all of our trash and especially our plastics.

One thing that you can do in honor of World Oceans Day is to organize a beach, or if you don't live by an ocean, a river cleanup and give prizes for the person who cleans up the most plastic and trash. Another thing you can do is to use recycled or reusable bags when you shop and you can remind other people to do the same.  Let's all work together to keep our oceans clean and help them stay our beautiful Big Blue Sea.

​With love from Tinker and Lae Lae,

​



Picture
0 Comments

    Archives

    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014

    RSS Feed

    Submit