Sunday, April 18, 2021

We wake up in Primm, Nevada and hit the road after heating up yesterdays breakfast burrito and a cup of coffee. Shortly into our drive we pass into California and come across the Ivanpah Solar Project and I am just too curious. So we drive down an offramp and find a road that takes us right into the solar field. This place is an interesting feat of engineering. Instead of solar panels, it is acres of mirrors that direct the sunlight to three central towers that apparently collect the light and generate power. We’re intrigued that we were able to drive right into the solar fields.

We drive off into the California deserts and head for home. We get to Calico and I want a break from driving as the winds are strong today. So we visit the Ghost Town that was once a thriving Silver Mining Town. The theme park, “Knott’s Berry Farm” purchased the property several years ago and restored the buildings into a small theme park of sorts. A fun distraction for an hour and we eat lunch here.

The rest of the drive is fairly uneventful. We hit heavy traffic in the top half of Cajon Pass but it clears up in the bottom half. The last hour is smooth except for the horrible condition of the roads. California has the absolute worst condition roads of our entire drive.

We arrive home and unload our gear from the RV. We clean it out as per the instructions we were given when we picked it up. We will deliver it to El Monte RV in the morning and we are Home Sweet Home!

Saturday, April 17, 2021

We wake up in Hurricane, Utah in the most beautiful RV Campsite I have ever seen. Real paved roads. Real grass lawns, etc. Costly but we see why. We get breakfast at the Red Rooster Cafe, a place we looked at for dinner last night, but it is clearly a breakfast/lunch restaurant, NOT a dinner place based on the menu. The breakfast burrito and the sausage & eggs were very good and plentiful and half my burrito is in our fridge.

We hit the road and today decide to head for Hoover Dam. We have both been there a number of times but not since they built the new Bypass Bridge back in 2009. What a streamlined way to cross through the area! It used to be this little 2 lane road that zigzagged down the mountain, across the Dam and zigzagged back up the other side.

We wanted to take photos of the bridge from the Bypass Bridge above it but that can’t be done from the driving lanes. But we are in luck as we pass across the bridge to see a Walkway along the Dam side of the Bridge. We take 20 minutes or so to locate the parking area by which to access the walkway and our cameras rejoice!

We climb up the stairs to the Walkway and our cameras take over and guide us along the path to marvelous sights. Hoover Dam is quite the sight from above.

Back at the RV, we drive along down and cross the Dam, our cameras still happily chirping away, this time pointing up at the new Bypass Bridge. We opt not to park and walk around, as the RV Parking is a half mile past the Dam and up the Arizona side in elevation. So I find a place to turn the RV around (something you have to plan for) and we go back across the Dam. It’s easy to shoot photos out the side windows of the RV when you are driving under 10 miles per hour!

It is 4:30 in the afternoon and our destination for the night is Primm, Nevada, right on the California state line. This place is also called, “State Line”! We are under 4 hours driving time to Home and are comfortable with the distance.

But we have a small pressing issue with the RV. It seems something is blocking the pipe from our toilet to the “Black Water” holding tank. I need a plumbing snake to clear it. It turns out that the hardware stores are back in Vegas and we hate to backtrack. So we get creative at a truck stop in Jean, Nevada, halfway from Vegas to Primm. And Elee finds a four foot stick in a trash can and I buy an extension cord. I use the stick to push the extension cord down the drain and voila! The clog is broken! Now all we have to do is clean the cord (and we rinse the stick and store it in an outside bin). We’re back in business!

So we drive the last 10 miles to Primm and stop at the “Primm Valley” Casino. We go inside and eat at the “Primm & Proper” restaurant and both of us have a tasty, yet a bit overcooked chicken dinner. We get to have our masks off for dinner, Yea!

Elee wants to check out the slot machines for a bit and I walk around and find Security to confirm we can set up in the parking lot overnight. I find a guard and he takes me outside and points to where I can park. I tell him, “That is one of mine!”. He replies, “One of yours?”. I laugh and correct myself, “One of those is mine!” We both chuckle and he just tells me that I have parked in the correct location!

I find a Penny Slot Machine and put $5 in it, thinking this will give me 500 pulls. But it has been so long since I was in Vegas that I don’t understand why the first pull costs me 75 cents. The next pull costs me 45 cents. Then I win a pull and get 3 dollars. It’s all downhill from there and I lose different random increments ranging from 25 cents to 2 dollars each pull. I never do figure out how the numbers work, but in the end I only lose 12 cents!

So I set up the RV for the night and shortly after, Elee comes in. We compare notes and it turns out that, for once, I beat her in Vegas! I told her that I lost $0.12 in the penny slots and she admits to losing $20! A new one as she always beats my spending!

We get these Blog Posts written and it is time to turn in! Good night all and we’ll see you in the morning!

Friday, April 16, 2021

Waking up in Escalante, Utah, the location of the “Grand Staircase”, whatever that is. We never find out because we need to keep moving. So we find the one and only restaurant that is open and has breakfast food and we order Breakfast Bagels to go. Outside the restaurant we get a couple shots of a Vulture sunning itself in the early morning light!

We eat in the RV before driving on. (I can’t eat AND drive The Beast at the same time!) It takes us one hour to get near to Bryce Canyon National Park. We stop in a lot that announces “Mossy Cave” and take a short hike to it and a waterfall. Neither one impresses much, but hey, it’s a fun hike!

We soon find out that Bryce Canyon National Park is not very RV friendly and parking The Beast is difficult. We finally find a place near the visitor center to slip into and are grateful for that.

But now it is hike or take the Shuttle. The Shuttle wins. It is free and takes you around to all the viewing sites! They run every 10-15 minutes like clockwork. We get out at the farthest site, Bryce Point, that we are taken to first and we get off and walk around and thrill our cameras with activity! We wanted to hike the Rim Trail back to the next site, but this section is closed due to snow and ice, even though it is still April.

So we get back on the next Shuttle and ride to Inspiration Point and get off again. This site is aptly named for it is very inspiring! From here the Rim Trail is open and we hike it back to the next site, Sunset Point. My camera worked like a dog, (whatever that expression means, LOL).

We decide we need to move along, so we get on the next Shuttle and ride it back to the Visitor Center where The Beast is parked. As we prepare to drive out a snowstorm begins and we watch the spectacle as the swirling snowflakes increase in volume. We drive away, windshield wipers pushing the snow aside. As we leave the Park the road goes downhill and the snow stops.

In the Park, we found a pretty little friend, hoping to get a free handout of food, which we did not have!

We drive on through the gorgeous scenery and eventually make it to Hurricane, Utah, where we look for a place to stay.

We find an RV Park in Hurricane and it turns out to be the best looking RV Park we have ever seen! Manicured lawns and paved roads make it look better that most mobile home parks! We check in and find our spot and then it’s off into town to find food.

We find the “Stage Coach Grill” and are informed it it a 2 hour wait for a table. So we put our names in and sit outside in the cool air to wait. We chat amicably with a couple from Cleveland, Ohio, that has the same dilemma that we do and we get along great! Someone has a great idea and the gentleman we are chatting with goes inside. He comes out with great news that if we share a table and eat together, the wait won’t even be an hour! It is chilly and we invite them to come to our RV and visit while we wait. We no sooner get in the RV and pop out the side and begin to visit and we get the call that our table is ready! So we all go in the restaurant and continue our visit over dinner. Are we worried about Covid, you may ask? Not at all! Elee and I are long since vaccinated and so is the other couple. We spend a very fun evening making new friends!

Then we head back and set up the RV for the night and get a good night’s sleep. See you tomorrow!

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Waking up this morning in Moab, Utah just outside of Arches National Park, we get up and pack up the RV and hit the road. We have decided not to head for the Grand Canyon because of their no camera policy on their glass walkway. So, instead, we head for a route that a friend has suggested and he didn’t steer us wrong!

We leave the major highways behind and head down Route 24 out of Green River, Utah and toward Hanksville. Looking forward we see a very mean looking stormfront that covers everything in front of us. A bit scary looking but beautiful also. Our cameras soak up the glory of recording what we are looking at. Spectacular images! When we finally get to the storm, we are pelted with quarter inch hail. The windshield appears like we are driving through a snowstorm. The ground outside in all directions has turned white with an accumulation of hail. It is simply spectacular to watch. I have slowed the RV to a literal crawl and we trudge on. This only lasts less than 20 minutes and either the storm abates or we finish driving through it.

A half hour later, we arrive in Hanksville, a quaint little town in the middle of nowhere. We stop at a small market to stock up on water and other sundries we are running out of. Then we go to a small restaurant for a bite to eat. Sliderock Cafe is a nice little place where I have a BBQ Brisket Burrito and Elee has a burger. While we are there, the place has WiFi and we actually Close on our purchase of two Condos in South Carolina! Everything is handled through “DocuSign”, an online legal document signing company. Even two years ago, I would have never thought this possible! We are now the proud official owners of these Condos!

We get back in the rig and drive west into Capital Reef National Park and the scenery is fantastic! Our friend certainly did not steer us wrong. We turn on Route 12 and drive south now, still in Capital Reef. The road takes us up to the top ridge and a chain of mountains and we drive along through changing terrain but all of it qualifies as ‘Eye Candy’. At one point, the road sits atop a ridge where both sides of the road drop of into sheer cliffs on both sides. Absolutely awesome!

Eventually, we drop down into Boulder, Utah and then into Escalante where we finally find a campground to set up in. We buy a pizza and take it to our campsite with us and have dinner. I can’t wait to start editing all the photos from this trip but I’ll start that after arriving home.

Good night all and we’ll see you in the morning!

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

We awake in the campground in Moab after trying to see sunset last night but it was too overcast. We have enough doggie bags in the fridge to make a breakfast. Then we head straight back into Arches National Park to start our tour.

We drive The Beast of a RV back up into the park. The good thing is that I am getting much more comfortable driving it. We stop at a couple Arch Viewing sites and shoot some photos, but basically head for the far end of the Park. It was a wise choice as the crowds are building and we barely find room to park our beast. But we do and we head out on a short hike along Devil’s Garden Trail to see Pine Tree Arch, Tunnel Arch & Landscape Arch. The short hike turns a bit longer before we get to Landscape Arch. But it is worth it.

After have a couple sandwiches in the RV, we head back through the Park, stopping at various sites including Fiery Furnace, a place named for the color of the rocks during sunset.

Several stops keep our cameras purring happily and All are happy! Fiery Furnace is named for the color of the place near sunset. We also find what is referred to as “Balanced Rock”. Can you find it?

We also stop at an area called Courthouse Towers and as we are about to take a few photos, we chat pleasantly with a couple that are from Pasadena, CA. We have quite the pleasant chat with apparently like-minded people and we even exchange info! So we may even see them at some upcoming gathering back home!

We photograph the area and get back in the RV. It is late afternoon and we leave the Park and head into Moab, just a few miles down the road. We find Moab Brewery and have an early dinner. Then we head back into Arches to try to catch a sunset. We stop at Window Arches and Double Arch and get some successful sunset shots along with what appears to be a Wedding Shoot!

Our cameras are very happy with us and we head out and back to our campsite. Once set back up with water and electricity, we kick back and wind down from the day. Even though I have become more comfortable with driving the RV, it is still a job!

Good night and see you tomorrow!