Indescribable....

Las Vegas is truly the 24 hour city. It is happening all the time. And in a big way. It is indescribable.
Our first full day in Vegas got a late start. We had reservations for the variety show "V" at Planet Hollywood at 8:30 pm. Fortunately that gave us time to stop at Gordon Ramsay's Burger for a quick....burger. Delicious, and unusual. He seems to be able to get away with unusual combinations and make them taste exquisite. The menu offers choices that include the Farmhouse Burger with bacon and an egg, a Crispy Cherry Pepper Chicken sandwich with fried chicken skins and avocado, as well as Turducken Burger with a turkey patty, a fried chicken egg, and duck confit. Sounds awful...

Bill and Diane turned us on to this restaurant, and it's always "interesting"!

The variety show included some extraordinary strength performances, masters of illusion, and a host that described himself as a "redneck Mexican" since his mother was mexican and his father was from Georgia...it was hilarious and amazing.

Public transportation was not user friendly from the Sams Town KOA, so we elected to drive into the various venues. After leaving the show on Friday night, we checked out a bit of Las Vegas Blvd,

and then drove about a mile to the Mandalay Bay. It took 25 minutes to drive that distance. Add on trying to find the entrance to the self-park facility, and you have about an hour until we got to Ri Ra Irish Pub for a cup of Irish Coffee.

Donna was cute with whipped cream as a fashion accessory!

One of the most eye-catching features of the Vegas landscape is the High Roller. It makes a revolution every 80 minutes, allowing guests to enjoy a view and a beverage in encapsulated comfort.

Saturday afternoon found us at Harrah's at 4:00 pm for a performance of "Menopause, the Musical". While Bill and I were a bit skeptical about this, we found it hilarious. Four ladies carried the show for 90 minutes, commenting on the various things that are involved in "the Change". A broad spectrum of 60's songs with new lyrics sent our wives into hysterics! I can't begin to relate the jokes, but without a doubt the performance of these women was flawless. Good show!

Later in the evening, we rose to the 107 lounge at the top of The Strat for a view of the city from the 107th floor of the tower.

Sunday was our last day in the city, so we changed directions and visited Zak Bagan's The Haunted Museum. Purported to be the scariest place in Las Vegas, we found the the first fright was the $44 per ticket admission fee. Zak, of course, has been a television host of paranormal investigative programs for some time, and has collected many frightening objects that are claimed to possess extra powers not "normally" seen....hence "paranormal".

Bill and Diane seems perfectly ok with the skeleton seemingly growing out of Dianes head, but Donna had another reaction when that same skeleton attacked us!

A leisurely lunch downtown at a small restaurant in The Strat and a slow drive home completed our day. This morning, Monday, we prepared to leave for points in Arizona. We've decided that the KOA at Sam's Town in Las Vegas is a reasonably priced, clean, and very acceptable place to stay while in the area.

We crossed the Colorado River near Hoover Dam and while we couldn't see the dam from the highway, we did notice how low the water level is. That white band in the distance along the mountains is roughly 30 to 40 feet tall. Considering the area of Lake Mead, that's a huge amount of water!

155 miles south of Las Vegas, we find ourselves set up for the night in Wikieup, AZ. The hamlet is named for a lodge made from a wooden frame and covered with matting or brush used by American Indians in the southwestern United States. I believe that all 305 residents here are using modern versions of a wikieup...known as mobile homes...We've tucked into Dazzo's Store and RV Park, site number 1. The rest of the handful of sites are taken with long-term residents. One can only wonder what they do out here! The rent is cheap, $200 a month, so that is a big draw, along with the Chicago style hot dogs the store/restaurant is famous for.

The wind is blowing 15 to 20 mph, so we'll stay indoors this afternoon. A meal, a night's sleep, and we're off again tomorrow. New adventures!

After All This Time.....

We've been at home in NorCal since Labor Day '19, and the hitch itch has become unbearable! We celebrated the Holidays with family and friends and even threw in a couple of birthdays. This Christmas was, without a doubt, one of the best that we've enjoyed in many years! For some reason, we managed to eliminate most of the stress and simply enjoyed the company of wonderful people. What a concept!

We had to do a few repairs to the motorhome over the last month or so, but those are complete, and we set about preparing to hit the road. After so long a time, every move had to be thought through with care so that we didn't forget anything! After a couple of days, we had most of the preparations done, and left the homestead on January 16th. One of our New Year's Goals was to relax a bit while traveling and drive shorter distances, having more time to enjoy the scenery. Accordingly, we only drove 155 miles that first day, more to find our sea legs than anything else. We stopped for the night in the quaint little burg of Santa Nella, CA, best known for Anderson's Pea Soup restaurant and the dozen or so truck stops scattered between the two exits to town. Anderson's does indeed sell a lot of pea soup, so if that's your thing.....go head on...

Our second day of travel took us to Bakersfield, CA, and Orange Grove RV Park east of town. This is a great park set in an ancient orange grove (duh). Guests are encouraged to pick as many oranges as they wish, and staff even provides bags and "picking poles" to reach those oranges that are on the top of the tree.

After loading up on fresh water and getting a good nights' sleep, we again found some asphalt that needing pounding. This third days' journey took us over the Sierra Nevada mountains on Highway 58 through the town of Tehatchapi, and then out into the high desert of southeastern California. This pass is famed for the constant winds that are harnessed by hundreds of wind turbines. A bit of snow on the ground added to the interest of the Tehatchapi Valley.

Turning south on US 395 at  Kramers Corner, we bailed off into the even higher desert of San Bernardino County and Interstate 10, heading east into Palm Springs, CA, and finally the town of Indio, CA. This has become one of our frequent stops, being located at just the correct day trip mileage and the Spotlight 29 Casino welcomes us and dozens of other rv'ers to a paved, well lit, and secure parking lot. It ain't pretty, but it's a great value!

Crossing the Colorado River the next day sent us into Arizona.

Where our first stop was at Exit 5 to get fuel at greatly reduced Arizona prices. Needless to say, California fuel prices are sky high, so it's a relief to find a product at a more reasonable price. Our destination this fourth day of travel, was Quartzsite, Arizona, home of what is advertised to be the "largest rv park in the west".





And it is:

Every year, thousands of rv'ers gather in the desert for a few months of "off grid" camping. Dry camping, or "boondocking", is a way of life out here in a town that normally is home to roughly 2500 people. On a good day. Campfires are required, and this year the weather was very co-operative, so we had a fire most every night.

We stayed four nights out in the desert, enjoying sunsets and good company, and trying different views of the same cactus.

Quartzsite in January is home to "The Big Tent" rv show. Vendors come from all over the country to sell items that appeal to campers and off roaders. "Fair food" is abundant, along with dust, dirt, and thousands of people. Oh, yeah, Great Fun!

We eventually left Quartzsite for the bright lights, hot showers, and good tv reception of Las Vegas, Nevada! On US95 near Searchlight, Nevada, we happened on an interesting rock formation.

That was pretty much the only thing of interest we saw on our trip! We slid through Parker, AZ, and Needles, CA, before getting into Las Vegas about 4:00 pm. We're camped at the Sam's Town KOA next to our friends Bill and Diane.

We expect to be here a few days to see a couple of variety shows and eat some good food. It's wonderful to be back in civilization!

Home Again, Johnnykin

From Elko to Verdi, Nevada, is about 300 miles. We covered that in about 5 1/2 hours on Tuesday, the 20th of August, and spent the night at a KOA. We don't normally stay in KOA parks due to the tight quarters and narrow roads. This one, the Reno/Boomtown KOA was no exception, but we needed the electric service since the temperature was in the 90's and we needed the air conditioner!

It doesn't look too bad, but consider that A: this pic was taken mid-afternoon before we had neighbors, and B: this was a site on the end of a row that required us to make a 250 degree turn to exit. We did it, but had to unhook the tow car and "back-and-forth" it several times!

Next morning, our last of the trip, we hit I-80 again and finally got back to Cali!

Pulling into home 175 miles later, it was immediately apparent that some cleaning was needed to the motorhome. Along with the flagpole installation and some cleaning in 90+ degree heat, reminded me why I don't like the Dog Days of Summer!

But we had the carrot on a stick out in front of us: two burgers at In-n-Out! Extra crispy fries and a chocolate shake!

This summers trip was considerably shorter than normal because we needed to return to address some health issues, but it was nevertheless a good summer. We practically ran back to the motorhome factory for some repairs, then visited friends and family for a month or so, and then it was time to come home. We met Larry and Debbie in Forest City, Iowa, Dave and Toni in Charlotte, Michigan, Chris at the motorhome factory, and Bill and Diane in Michigan. The summer had it's ups and downs, but rather than get discouraged by the number of trees in the forest, we're concentrating on just one at a time and keeping a sharp axe!

We managed to drive the tow car 3,406 miles in 90 days, while putting 6,392 miles on the motorhome! Almost 10,000 miles in three months! It was a good time overall, and we are blessed to have the opportunity to see so much of this wonderful country, and have so many good people in our extended and immediate family.

We'll be stuck in NorCal for the foreseeable future, so I won't be posting much. Next stop....Arizona in the Winter!

Once again, Elko, Nevada

211 miles south of Declo, Idaho, lies the wonderful town of Elko, Nevada! And here we are again at Iron Horse RV Resort. We kinda hated to leave Village of Trees in Declo, as it was a nice park with lots of grass for Sasha and the Snake River close by. This morning the maintenance crew was out early with sprinklers watering the grass....it looks great!

We crossed the Snake River again in Twin Falls. As we were crossing a bridge over the canyon, we caught sight of a golf community down near the river. Pretty cool!

Bailing off of I-84 at Twin Falls, we picked up US93 towards Wells, Nevada. It's kinda lonely out here!

It's 106 miles from Twin Falls to Wells, on one of those straight and semi-uninteresting western roads. The highlight of that leg of todays journey (aside from driving through Jackpot, Nevada, a casino town mere inches from the Idaho/Nevada state line) was waiting at road construction for most of a half hour. We were hoping that we would be stopped under the wild animal overcrossing, but no such luck.

Iron Horse is a very nice park, and with the change in time to the Pacific time zone, we gained an hour, which Donna is putting to good use doing laundry!

One more stop in western Nevada tomorrow night, and then it's home to NorCal! Can't wait to see family and friends and see wassup!!

Ya Gotta Go With The Flow...

We left Great Falls, Montana, in a rainstorm. There's been a lot of that lately! Zipping south on I-15, we followed the Missouri River until it went a bit east near Wolf Creek, and into Holter Lake. We continued south into Helena, Boulder, and Butte, until we ended up in space C2 of Countryside RV Park in Dillon, Montana. The Missouri, however, continued on to its headwaters near Three Forks, Montana, where the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin Rivers converge to form the Missouri.

The mountains in the distance appear to have snow on them, but it is just a collection of clouds!

Rolling into Butte, Montana, we noticed that it is an extensive city that just about fills the valley it started in.

We needed to stop just west of Butte for fuel at a Flying J truck stop. Diesel was $2.78 per gallon here, and $2.62 across the street at the Mom and Pop shop! Unfortunately, the onramp back onto the interstate left something to be desired.

Countryside is a quiet, primarily overnighter, park. The wind was kicking up a bit, and the temp had plummeted to the 40's, so we stayed indoors most of the evening.

Then things started to get interesting: we decided to disconnect the car and go into downtown Dillon. Well, maybe not....as we drove away from the rv park, we noticed some unusual shifting patterns in the cars transmission. We kept on for a few miles with no change. Uh-oh. It's Saturday night in a small town. No stores or repair shops open. So back to the park trying to decide what to do.

Leaving Countryside on Sunday morning, holding our breath, the car towed fine, so we headed south again. Somewhere near Lima, Montana, we pulled off onto a roadside rest to talk about our options. We had reservations at an rv park near Teton National Park, and planned to take a tour of the park tomorrow. After an hour of back and forth, we reluctantly decided to cancel the Tetons and go straight home. So off we went again.

In Pocatello we merged onto I-86, heading toward Twin Falls, Idaho. This is potato country. Thousands of acres of potatoes as well as a lot of sugar beets.

At a rest stop near Blackfoot, Idaho, we came across some very interesting lava formations. According to the sign, molten rock was forced upward for 30 to 50 miles through fissures in the earth, where it has cooled into the hard lava seen here. This area of eastern Idaho is primarily a lava plain lightly covered with layers of windblown soil. Eventually these lava formation will be covered with soil and vegetation.

Just a bit west of American Falls, I-86 nears the Snake River, and follows it closely for miles.

West of Pocatello about 50 miles, we found Village of Trees RV Resort, whose only address is: Interstate 84, Exit 216, Declo, Idaho. Still, it's a nice park with wide gravel roads, good utilities, and lots and lots of trees! Plus, it's located right along the Snake River!

Tomorrow we're rolling again, hopefully into Nevada if all goes well. Wish us luck!

Great Falls, Montana

We've been in Great Falls for two days and three nights, after negotiating US 87 from Lewistown, about 106 miles east of GF. Our main reason for visiting here, aside from never having been here, is to visit the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center. Quite a mouthful of a title!

In 1803, Meriwether Lewis was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the Missouri River and determine the most direct and practicable water route across the continent. Sounds simple enough, right? But at the time, the Louisiana Purchase had not been ratified by Congress, so Lewis had a custom keelboat built in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and floated it and a huge amount of supplies down the Ohio to the Mississippi. Meeting Captain William Clark there, they waited until the United States officially owned the Louisiana Purchase, then assembled a group of 44 men and additional supplies and set off. Lewis had an inventive and analytical mind, and had used this time of waiting to foresee almost every eventuality of the journey. Trade goods, extra clothing and shoes, a collapsible iron boat frame designed to be covered with animal hides, and even an air-powered rifle obtained from the armory in Harpers Ferry that could fire 40 rounds before reloading!

On May 14, 1804, the expedition set off under a 'gentle brease". Captain Clark, like so many 19th century writers, spelled words the way they sounded, with little concern for consistency. He managed to spell "Sioux" 27 ways, without ever spelling it S-I-O-U-X. Both Lewis and Clark were not totally unprepared for the coming mission, being frontiersmen and military men, but neither were prepared for a 28 month journey that would become the most universally known event of American exploration.

The Great Falls of the Missouri tested the company's skill and endurance as they had to portage boats and supplies around five separate falls. An exhibit in the Interpretive Center shows how that was accomplished. Lengths of Cottonwood trees were cut as wheels and carts were constructed to haul the dugout boats around the falls, some 18 miles overland.

With the help of many native american tribes, and making the best use of native indian guides, the Corps of Discovery reached the Pacific in mid-November, 1805. Winter quarters were set up at the mouth of the Columbia River, with conditions deteriorating rapidly throughout the season. The Corps left for the return trip in March, 1806, reaching St. Louis on September 23, 1806, with a wealth of information about this huge new addition to the nation.

We also visited the falls along the Missouri while we were in town. This is Black Eagle Falls, or at least what's left of it. Named by the Corps of Discovery after a black eagle that nested in a large tree just above the falls as they traveled through.

 The Great Falls is now also being used to produce hydroelectric power. When it was first seen by Meriwether Lewis in June of 1805, it was just short of 97 feet high and produced a cloud of spray that looked "like a collum of smoke."

Downstream from the Great Falls, the water from the hydroelectric generators and the water from the dam overflow come back together in an awesome setting.

This is grain country. Whether wheat, barley, rye or other, there are thousands of acres of grain. We saw these two combines slowly making their way across the plain.

Our last stop was Rainbow Falls and Crooked Falls. This view downstream is of Crooked Falls. Not so impressive these days, but an impassable area of the river 200 years ago.

Rainbow Falls is but a trickle of its former glory. Of course, much is made of the electricity produced, but I couldn't help but long for the wild river of the old days!

 We're outta here tomorrow, with an overnight stop in the little town of Dillon, Montana, along I-15, heading south toward Idaho. So long, Great Falls!

Central Montana

Lewistown, to be exact. Just a bit northwest of Billings and 280 miles from our last stop in Terry, Montana. We elected to leave our friend I-94 in Forsyth, MT, and take US 12 northwest. From Forsyth to  Roundup, MT is 103 miles of two-lane road, surrounded by grain fields, hay fields, and ranch land.

On that 103 miles we saw exactly 40 other vehicles. Yes, we counted them...

Eleven miles of road construction slowed us down to 20 miles per hour. We felt like we were packing down the gravel for the worker guys! A pilot car led us the whole way, but had trouble slowing down to our snails pace. We didn't want to send rocks and gravel back onto the tow car.

At Roundup, we turned north on US 87, which is a much better road overall than US 12, but still had some rough spots. The countryside continually changed from rolling hills with pine trees to flat range land. Very interesting!.

This state is truly awe inspiring! The length and breadth of the "wide, open, spaces" is amazing.

Nearing our destination of Lewistown, we began to see thousands of round bales of hay. Hay in every direction!.

In Lewistown, we're site 33 of Mountain Acres Mobile Home Park and Campground. This is a great park, with wide and long spaces, good utilities, and good weather (at least this time of year). This next weekend is the annual Cowboy Poet event, but sadly, we'll be gone and on....

As we were walking Sasha tonight, we discovered a hidden treasure just across the street from our rv park. Keep in mind that Montana is known for great fishing, and this area in particular is a favorite fly fishing area. We found a perfect little river tucked into the trees. I just know that there are hundreds of fish in there!