Vegas wrap up and on to Susanville, CA

So Saturday we decided that our diets and our budget could go on hold for a day and we went over to Sam's Town for their prime rib buffet.  The buffet is $12.95 with their free slot card and that includes a beer or a glass of wine.  The buffet in general and specficially the prime rib was actually very good.

After bragging in a previous post about avoiding the slots we secumbed to a brief decadent period of gambling.  Not to worry.  On a $5 investment and ten minutes of time I hit four aces on a poker machine.  I immediately cashed out and pocketed $161.  Chuck didn't do quite as well, but threw in the towel right after me with $5.50 on his $5.oo investment.

After dinner we knocked on the door of a park neighbor that we had reason to believe were friends of our good friends in Oregon, Don and Don.  Sure enough, our suspicions were correct and we sat down with Vicki and Casey to enjoy some good conversation and a little wine.  We also got an invite for dinner the following evening.  Many thanks to these two for a great meal and some enjoyable conversation.

On Monday morning we took off for our next destination, Hawthorne, NV.  After parking at the RV lot for the El Capitan and nosing around the casino, we decided that the ambiance wasn't what we had hoped for and that since it was early enough we would push on to Reno for the night.  Still trying to get used to the fact that we are retired and that plans and schedules are open to modficiation.  Anyway, we stayed one night at the Boomtown KOA, a park we have previously visited.  A decent park, but this visit we arrived late and left early so no stories to tell.

So Tuesday morning we drove the short 1 1/2 hours to Susanville RV Park in CA.  This is a gem of a park with space for big rigs, some grass, and good satellite and Verizon signals (picture above.)  The weather is at least ten degress cooler in the day time and even more at night than we have been experiencing in our last few stops.  We are staying here two nights before we push on to Don & Don's place in Chiloquin.

Valley of Fire State Park

We decided to drive out to see the Valley of Fire state park. Most people get to this area off of I-15, but we chose to come in 'the back way' via Lake Meade's Northshore Drive. Lake Meade's water levels seem to be at historic lows. This makes the lake less attractive, but the bigger issue is what this means for water availability down the road.

Shortly before getting to the eastern entrance to VOF we stopped at a North Shore marina area called Echo Bay. About ten years ago we flew into the Echo Bay airport to participate in a flying club outing on Lake Meade on a houseboat. The airport runway is now a decent 3400 feet long and paved. When we landed there it was shorter and strictly dirt. Both then and now it slopes down toward the lake and being in the desert has its share of very windy days. Anyway, on our way out of town after the house boat trip it was an 'E coupon' ride taking off downhill with a 20 mile per hour tail wind on a short dirt runway. It was nostalgic to go back and see the area.

From Echo Bay, it was only about 15 minutes away to the eastern entrance to Valley of Fire State Park. This 36,000 acre area derives its name from the brilliant sandstone formations that were created 150 million years ago by a great shifting of sand that continued to change over time from wind and water erosion. This park provides some of the greatest scenery available in the Mojave Desert.

Like other settings of this type the extensive panoramas are difficult to capture with conventional cameras. A best attempt is included at the following link:  Valley of Fire Pictures

There are campsites available including many for RV's. One campground has hookups available for an additional $10 per night.

Viva Las Vegas

We got to Thousand Trails LV Tuesday afternoon. This is an older park with the spaces somewhat close. Even though the park is about 3/4 full, we have not had neighbors on either side for three days so it has not been a problem. Satellite and Verizon access are both excellent here. We see some coaches here who were in Verde Valle with us, probably on their northward migration back to OR, WA.

Spent the first two days on laundry, shopping and routine maintenance. On Friday we drove west on Charleston Blvd to Red Rock Canyon. The picture says it all. Very beautiful scenery. We only did the scenic drive, but really enjoyed it. They say that the hiking trails take you to sights that puts the scenic drive to shame. However, it was pretty warm and we had the dogs with us so we stayed in the car.

After dinner we drove to the strip to check out the town. We meadered through the Bellagio, Ceasars, Mirage, Bally's and Paris checking out the casinos and watching the crowds. The slot machines usually assail the wallet for a few bucks but not this trip.

Walnut Canyon Nat'l Monument near Flagstaff

On Tuesday we walked both the Island and Rim trails at Walnut Canyon with Frank.  The Island trail requires you to drop down 240 steps and then walk around the side of this area in the middle of the canyon.    This canyon provided dwellings sheltered by overhanging cliffs that were home to the Singua people about 800 years ago.  Walking around the island you get to see not only dozens of dwelling caves, but also different plantlife zones with obvious variations from the sunny side to the shady side.  The climb out via the 240 steps will definitely get your heart pumping since you are doing this at an altitude of nearly 7000 feet.

You can see other pictures taken here at:  http://picasaweb.google.com/chuckandbillweb/WalnutCanyonMay2009

Even with the 240 steps, walking the Island trail takes only a little over an hour.  This was a most enjoyable side trip and is highly recommended for anyone coming through Flagstaff  on I-40 with a hour or two to spare.  There is also a shorter, and flat trail called the Rim trail if you aren't ready to climb the 240 steps.

Wednesday morning we departed for Las Vegas.  Many thank to Frank for his hospitality and for showing us around the area.

Landed in Meteor Crater

We got to Meteor Crater RV Park on Sunday.  Our parking spot, weather, satellite and Verizon coverage are all excellent.  The park personnel were extremely helpful and friendly.

We met up with our good friend Frank Sunday evening for dinner and on Monday morning walked out to the ruins of an old building that used to be a 'trinket' store on old Route 66.  The building is in great disrepair but the bell tower is still somewhat standing and is now holding a huge nest where a family of ravens are living.

Later in the morning we took the 1/2 mile guided walking tour at the crater, which is actually five miles south of the RV park.  The tour is included with admission to the facility and it was very educational and enjoyable.  They also have a movie theatre, a museum and the prerequisite gift shop at their large facility.  The picture above is my best attempt with a regular lens to show the crater.

In the afternoon, we made a brief stop at Walnut Canyon near Flagstaff and then took in a movie, Star Trek, with Frank.

Had some scattered showers and little lightning in the distance this afternoon.   We returned to the RV park to be met by a by a power failure for the whole facility due to a failing transformer.  No problem in the RV.  We simply went to dry camp mode for the evening.  Dinner and some TV went off without a hitch despite the power failure which was fixed overnight.

Planning on going back to Walnut Canyon today.  This time we will do one of the hiking trails so that we can see the cliff dwellings that surround this canyon.

Busy looking at RV Lots, and buying one.

The last three days have been filled with looking at various Arizona RV lots in search of one that we can use 'down the road' as a summer getaway.  We re-looked at various lots in the Prescott area and likewise in Show Low, and settled on a new undeveloped lot at White Mountain Vacation Villages in Show Low.  WMVV is in a heavily tree'd area with a mountain cabin type feel.  One nice option is that in the future we could put an oversize park model on the lot if we wanted a more permanent structure.  You can see much more about the community at the following website:    www.whitemountainvacationvillage.com  

The picture above only shows a narrow view of the lot, but when we get it developed it will have a concrete pad and full hookups for our RV, car parking, a covered outdoor eating area and a shed.

While we are on the road this summer we will close escrow and get our plot plan submitted for all of our lot enhancements.  Hopefully on our way back from Canada we will be able to get the development process started to make the lot useable.

Checking out the area

Yesterday and today we've been exploring some nearby areas we have been to before as well as some new places.

While looking at a hillside house we noticed the flower in the above picture.  Actually its a weed, but has nice flowers that look like eyeballs.  Chuck said the friendly weed was 'a sign' to buy the house, but I don't think so.

We have kept up our daily walks and continue to lose a little weight day by day.   Actually, Chuck takes a long, 5 or 6 mile walk every morning and we both take a shorter walk each night with the dogs.

Temperatures have been in the low nineties with severe clear skies.  We are scheduled to make a visit up to the Show Low area tomorrow to check out some RV lots up there.

Thousand Trails Verde Valle - Our home for the coming week

Got to TT - Verde Valle about 2:30pm.  Got a nice spot with grass for the dogs.  Verizon access is excellent.  Space selection was easier than at most TT parks because about 3/4 of the spaces have good satellite access.  We parked, leveled, hooked up electric, water, sewer, put out the three awnings, put on the front window sunscreens, hoisted the 'pride' flag, put out the chairs, a table and a small dust mat, raised the satellite dish, turn on the A/C and the water heater, and tested out the Verizon connection.  Whatever happened to pitching the pup tent and firing up the coleman stove?

Anyway, we had dinner, took a short walk and settled in for a little evening TV.  

The picture above shows Chuck coming back from taking the dogs for a morning walk after we had breakfast.

Day 1 of 120 - Departure glitch

Everything was going smooth until we hooked up the car and did our 'light check' to make sure the tow car lights were working.  The left brake light failed to come on.  We had a similar problem once before and it was a fuse in the motor home protecting the tow connector.  This time it wasn't the fuse and we suspected the Honda's brake light.  We decided to go to the Fry's parking lot to diagnose.   After taking apart the tail light assembly we think it was a loose connection where the tow diodes are inserted in the brake light line.  It started working while we were in there.  We'll watch it closely from this point and see if we need to go back in there.

After all the diagnosing and messing around we got on the road 1 1/2 hours late, but no big deal as we only had a four hour trip to TT-Valle Verde.

After a busy weekend of loading the motorhome and de-activating the house, it's departure day.  We spent the night in the motorhome in the back yard and we are about to leave for TT-Verde Valley near Cottonwood, AZ, our first destination of our four month summer sojourn.  

We are leaving at the perfect time.  Starting last week, temperatures in Yuma started reaching 100 degrees or more.  The Foothills area has become very quiet.  When Chuck walked yesterday morning he said he only encountered one vehicle on the road during his 1 1/2 hour walk.  We may be one of the last to leave.  Should we turn out the lights?