Thanks for the comments. I do want to lose a few pounds to make it easier to climb the rocks. Richard was crawling all over the rocks, but I had too much weight to lift. I do remember hiking climbing being easier when I was lighter, although even then I was never the best hiker or climber. I was thin when Kevin and I first went into Ubehebe Crater, and I had a bit of a time climbing out of it. This year I stayed on the rim. I'll try to post a collection of photos from our Death Valley trip soon. The videos are probably better, and so I'll see if Kevin has put any of them on YouTube. We mounted the GoPro camera to the side mirror of the pickup, and it took great videos there. Kevin stopped the camera just before the scariest part of our trip over Hunter Mountain - the part where he refused to drive any more because he had lost his nerve. Oh well. We got some good video through Titus Canyon between Rhyolite and Scotty's Castle, where we visited a ghost town called Leadfield. Lars

As I said on the other thread, my definite favorites are Poppycock, (adore him), Jackie, Fighting Gravity,Michael Grasso.. The rest of them are fabulous as well. The singers are all good but Jackie is a talent that one doesn't see in a lifetime. She is so sweet , lovely, modest and the one of the best singers I ever heard and she's 10!!!That said I also LOVE Poppycock. He is the real Vegas act. The bike act is great too but how much more can he do?. I love Michael too but remember he was wild card brought back. He will perfect his act. Wonderful talent this year.

Graywings, thank you for the heads up about the show. I finally got a chance to watch it last night and you were right, it was really good. So good in fact that it caught my husbands attention and he never watches these types of shows. All of a sudden he was sitting down watching it with me. When it was done, he asked me to record the program so he can see if his favorite act wins. Oven Mits was hilarious, 13 year old gave us good bumps as well, DH was stunned, the 6 year old was just too cute for words and the japanese guy's act was captivating, couldn't take my eyes off the tv. I didn't watch the scissors thing, can't stomach that kind of stuff but I even found the last act where the guy jumped into the pool to be funny only because of the reactions from the judges and audiance. It was really fun to watch.

I just watched the finals and have not yet seen the results, but I gather from the discussion that Grace won. Good for her, but I would rather have seen the Clairvoyants win. Grace's songs were poignant and relevant to today's youth, much like the songs from the late 1950s, except those were written by adults. She is like Taylor Swift in that regard. Her voice is different, but she can carry the tunes, so she'll be fine. Laura Breton screwed herself in singing one of the most tragic songs ever written with a huge joyous smile and lolapalooza last note. When sung properly, even this song in Italian should leave non Italian speakers (and sometimes the performer) in tears. If you're not familiar with O Mio Babbino Caro, the singer is telling her father that she's going away to find her lover and if she cannot marry him, she's going to jump in the river and kill herself. The last lines are "father have pity on me" sung twice and NEVER with enthusiasm. This is not to disparage her vocal talent. She'll get plenty of work, but this performance definitely changed the way I saw her. If she knew what she was singing about, she would have done it differently. If you want to see it sung like it's supposed to, check out Sissel on YouTube. Victor Kee is a less skilled version of Michael Moschen from the 1990s. Check out what Moschen can do with his crystal balls and bouncing balls in the triangle on YouTube. Sal Valentinetti absolutely killed it in the finale. He won't have to deliver pizza for long. I can't listen to that genre of music for long but he killed it. Linkin' Bridge did the same. They're the first good thing to come out of Chicago since forever. Sofie Dossi is cute and flexible but all she does is handstands and neck hangs. Her cleverest trick was shooting an arrow with her feet. That's slick, but I think I see why there's no National League of Professional Handstanders. The Clairvoyants do a mentalist act. It's a version of magic with secrets all their own. They do it VERY well and are so charismatic.