Madeira Canyon Park, Henderson, NV.

 My visit to City View Park was 4 days behind me before I had the strength to head out for another adventure. But, that was four days of admiring the views of photos I had taken from the top of that hill. And, I started wanting more.

Just below Black Mountain is Madeira Canyon Park, one of the most beautiful examples of a community park I have ever seen. Gambling and the nightlife draw millions of people yearly visitors to this valley, but the views of the Las Vegas Valley and the mountains surrounding the valley are what made me fall in love with life in the Las Vegas Valley.

Amenities for the park include baseball and softball fields, basketball courts, walking trails, tennis courts, picnic shelters, barbeque pits, picnic shelters and tables, a playground, splash pads, restrooms, family atmosphere, and fantastic views.

Find your way to the park via Maps or Google Maps to:

Address: 2390 Democracy Dr, Henderson, NV 89044

Hours: 

Open ⋅ Closes 12 AM

Phone: (702) 267-4000

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Dreams Die Hard.2

Short Term Plans

Looking at how bad my finances have become, the condition of my transportation, and how bad my health has gotten over the past two years, I believe it will take every bit of a year, maybe 15+ months to get things done that need to be worked on. 

Also, I have decided that if I keep doing my photography I will need to do things differently. My Adobe Stock site is still leasing photographs almost every week, but there is just not much money in micro-stock. Most of what is being leased from my Adobe Stoke site are photos of community parks in the Las Vegas Valley. where most of my work has been done. Some of my work in Oklahoma is also leasing. I am planning to add another photo specialty to broaden my market. Meanwhile, I am writing articles to go with the subjects I have already photographed for use in marketing them. And, maybe someday I can get back to the Las Vegas Valley to shoot more parks.

My Bucket List Buggy

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My van blew its motor on my birthday in January of 2022. Replacing it cost me $6,000. A few month's my van was rear-ended while I was sitting still at a stop sign. My insurance paid me $6,000 to fix the damage. But, I chose to spend that money on 3 more (I had already made 2 attempts to do this.) attempts to resettle in Las Vegas Valley where most of my photo work is waiting. Yeah, sometimes I don't make the best decisions. But, I still have my van, love my van, and hope to find a way to make the money to rebuild it or replace it with a larger RV. So, now I have no choice but to live where I now live, try to get healthy, and rebuild my financial situation. It all takes time. Time is all I have.

Will I Give Up

18-year-old me.

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I should be getting new glasses via the VA within a week or so. I will not be doing much photography and computer work until then. If they do not help me, that is, if I cannot work easier and better with my new glasses I am pretty sure I will give up the work I have been doing for the past 12+ years. 

Dreams Die Hard.1

 

Bucket List Buggy

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I am posting these “Dreams Die Hard” posts in the hopes that other wanna be van lifers will learn from my mistakes. And, as a review so that I can learn from my mistakes. 

The last week of February 2021 was a game-changer in my life. That is when I left my home in Weatherford, Oklahoma to relocate once again to the Las Vegas Valley. The fact is, I have lived in the LVV for about six of the thirteen years of my retirement from the trucking industry. But, I had returned to Oklahoma to care for an ailing sister that has since passed away. I am still glad that I was able to come back and help my sister and I hate that she is gone, but my time in Oklahoma since her passing has been a mess, to say the least. 

Since February of 2021, I have made five trips to the Las Vegas Valley in failed attempts at finding a place to live. I blame my failures on the Covid Plandemic. (Yes, I am still convinced that it was a planned event that was managed terribly by a corrupt government.) This entire country, Southern Nevada included, lost its sanity during that event. It seems that everyone in the LVV went into a constant state of panic. On each trip, I had made arrangements beforehand with people that were looking to rent homes or just a room to share. Each person seemed reasonable before I got there, and I had good references. But, they all turned into false failed hopes. And, I wound up moving back into the very same apartment that I had left in February 2021. And, I may be here for the rest of my life. But, not necessarily. I am on a one-year lease until November of 2023. That gives me some time to get back on my feet, update and rebuild my transportation, and make preparations to live the life that I hope for.

My 35 years in the trucking industry have made a permanent drifter out of me. I have an urgent need to be somewhere besides where I am. But, I have things to do to be better prepared for the lifestyle that I want to build. Between all of my trips to the LVV a few things happened that destroyed my finances, and the trips out west were very hard on my health. I am doing all I know to do to rebuild my health. And, there are five people that helped me monetarily that I plan to start paying back soon. They may not expect payback, but I expect it of myself. They helped me when my van was re-ended and I had nowhere else to turn.

There is much more to this insane story that I am not of a mind to share at this time. I will say that I plan to do more traveling, and I may still return to southern Nevada to live someday in the future. I will post more about why I want to return to Nevada in future blogs. For now, it is time to fix some breakfast.

Putting Together the Building Blocks

Music*Photography*Travel*Writing: What I do. Who I yam. 

Loving Her Was Easier

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It has been a long time coming. Many times I considered giving up the struggle because I just could not figure out how to put things together. I have gone through several company name changes. I have changed photographic specialties to fit my own personality. I have struggled to define exactly what it is I want to accomplish. And, I think I am finally closing in on a way to get the job done.

Better World Media is the primary blog for a growing list of blogs that separate each of my life's passions. BWM is also the foundation for what I hope will be a future media corporation, and a legacy for my family.

By the Spring of 2024 I plan to relocate back to southern Nevada. I plan to spend the next months working with each of my enterprises to prepare them for the direction I plan to take them once this relocation is made. I have been working for the past ten years in photography and music to learn skills that I believe will help me bring every part of BWM together to achieve my goal of multiple incomes. I plan to write articles and work with photography as I travel to perform as a busker. And, since my travels will often land me in many truck stops along the way, and since I have a previous 35 year career in the trucking industry, it seems only fitting that photographing and writing for and about the trucking industry would be included in my plans. It also seems to be the logical and best way to enjoy my life while living in my van. And, I believe these enterprises have a good chance of being of interest to my children and grandchildren.

Allegro Park, Henderson, NV.

*****

This is a small but well-maintained neighborhood park that, although it appears not to be listed as part of the Seven Hills Trails system, seems to me like the actual start of the trail that is an easily walked trail from the park south to the three parks connected by the Seven Hills Trail connects.

 

Allegro Park is located next to an elementary school and sits behind the offices of a Robert's Realty  company. To travel to the park, and on to the parks of Seven Hills Trail simply follow St. Rose Parkway from I-215 going south, or from I-15 going north to Seven Hills Drive. Turn south on Seven Hills Drive and travel about 2 miles to 1023 Seven Hills Drive.

This is a small and not very busy park. I have stopped there 3 or 4 times and have seen no more than one person. But, it is well maintained, and scenic park with a great walking path from the playground down to a pathway leading south toward Seven Hills Trail.

AMENITIES:

Children's playground, restrooms, picnic area, barbeque pits, large open grass area

As I mentioned before, I consider this park to be a good start for those who want to explore the Seven Hills Trail and three beautiful, well-maintained, and scenic parks. I am now rebuilding my website. It will contain galleries of all of the parks and include photos from the trail that connects them. You will receive notice when the website is up and running again. Thank your for visiting and reading my blog.

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Slightly Battered and Abused

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When I awoke this morning I had but one thing to do before I planned to sit down and write a blog about a Las Vegas Valley community park. All I had to do was go buy some groceries. And, I did that. But, although I did look up some info that I wanted to include in an article about Madeira Canyon Park in Henderson,  that was the end of my plans. I decided I would do that article later on. Instead, I now plan to write about Seven Hills Trail, a 2.7-mile loop that connects three community parks in Henderson, Nevada. But, due to interruptions from neighbors and other people, it will have to wait until tomorrow.

*****

Music heals a broken body.

This song was written on May 2, 2013, by me and recorded soon thereafter. At the time I was living in Las Vegas and recovering from ill health due to over-work, no sleep, and the end of my second marriage. My occupation as an over-the-road trucker allowed me plenty of hours of listening to the radio as I drove, and drove, and drove. I fell into the habit of listening to classic rock and classic country. In November of 2009, I retired from trucking, moved to Las Vegas, bought a guitar and some camera equipment and the rest is history. Music and photography helped heal the wounds of years of abuse to my body.