Just Cruzin' the "Strip"

  

KayCee hasn't spent any time away from us and we needed a break. I have used the Petsmart Pet Hotel in Henderson Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas for daycare so I called them up and made a reservation for 

her to go spend the day. We are going to do that again this coming Monday and have another day out! She gets tired out playing with the other dogs, and we get tired walking, shopping and seeing the sights!This is KayCee being naughty and acting bored when we came home after leaving her alone! She is supposed to be on top of that blanket!  We drove by the Wayne Newton Compound - Shenandoah Ranch, and about the time DH took a picture he captured the side of a black van! So hopefully we will get that shot the next trip in town. It was a cloudy day and fairly cool, a great day for walking around and only had a very few sprinkles in the morning. There's still just a hint of snow on Mt. Charleston behind us.  

It isn't difficult to find things to keep busy here in Nevada. We are enjoying the Resort and all it has to offer, and exploring the town of Pahrump. Only about 70 miles from Las Vegas up over the hills, we had to go into town and have a day out! The McCarran Airport is booming! Flights in and out every other minute and so low you sometimes think they aren't going to clear the fence!

This resort is really quiet and laid back. A beautiful property, it reminds me of a swank hotel when you enter the lobby! Our site has a really nice outdoor kitchen and I've been taking full advantage of the grill. I've missed that, and I have even been trying out some new recipes! This one is Stuffed Pheasant Breasts wrapped in Bacon. The gym and locker rooms are very special, offering seperate men's and women's indoor hot tub and saunas. An excellent gym facility with all the latest in free weights and machines for strength training, tread mills, cross trainers, steppers and bicycles. The complex has a small store with emergency RV supplies, snacks and drinks and another part of the building has been converted to a beauty salon. There are several meeting rooms available and a Bar and Grille. The laundry room has two lines of washers and dryers that are very nice, worked well for me! The double decker pools and hot tub area are the most relaxing in the morning and a great place to have morning coffee or meet with friends. I will definitely stay here if we ever come this way again. I can tell it's definitely spring as I've been getting into the cleaning out mode. Getting rid of clothes we don't need and going through the basement compartments trying to decide what we really need and get rid of what we don't. We have to do that once or twice a year or it almost gets overwhelming. This morning the All Around RV Service came and installed the new Kwikee Step kit on our entry step that had stuck in the out position when we left Buckeye, AZ. He also took a look at our door latch problem and readjusted the door pole, and will be replacing the handle. We will definitely be ready to rock and roll when it's time to leave and I'll breathe a sigh of relief, when the step retracts and the door will open and close without the threat of locking us out! 

It was fun to drive around the town and let someone else take the pictures for once. There were lots of people on the street for a week day in April and there's been lots of changes to the bottom of the Strip. Monday I plan on getting my daily exercise walking up and down this street!

A Day in Death Valley

We have been here in Pahrump for about a week. Most of the time spent getting settled and exploring the town. Boring day to day things. Pahrump is kind of a funny name, and besides the fact that it is a known mecca for legal Brothels and Casinos, it is an Indigenous name meaning(Pah-rimpi) meaning Water Rock because there are abundant Artesian Wells in this valley! One day this week we decided to go to Death Valley before the temps get unbearable. It is most often the hottest place in North America because of the low elevation and the fact that there are mountains enclosing the valley, keeping the heat from dissipating at night. We are forecast to hit triple digits today and it got really close yesterday here. The day we went, it was 102 at the bottom of the Valley. We started travelling west on Hwy 273 and took a side trip through the Ash Meadow Wildlife Refuge. Lots of miles of quiet roads and trails and a reservoir to watch for wildlife. We hiked up to one Phenomenon called "Devils Hole" which is an underground spring. The story at the Visitor's Center is that a while back, some divers broke in through the fence and when down into the spring...two came back out and went for help when the others didn't appear. They were never recovered! The video of that water moving and causing waves enough to displace catwalks in the aftermath of a recent Mexican Earthquake is pretty awesome. We are a long ways from the southern tip of Mexico! Don't know how that happens! Bodies of water in the Preserve also holds the Amargosa Pup fish...an endangered and protected species and it is the only place on earth that they reside. We headed out continuing on to the west and north through the Twenty Mule Team Canyon and were close to the Borax Mine, however, everyone else was hiking to the peak and an overlook, and the signs said no dogs, so we chose not to go! KayCee was along, and it was too hot to leave her in the car! The mountains and hills around that area were very colorful. Onward to Furnace Creek by noon, we stopped beside the Furnace Creek Ranch Resort and Golf Course to have our lunch and share a little with the resident birds! They were really beggars! After lunch, we pulled into the Furnace Creek Visitors Center looking for more information and since Earth Day was being observed, the National Park Fire Department had a couple of trucks out and their rescue Equipment for all to see. DH had a great time visiting with the Firemen and Rescue Personnel and admiring their trucks. We headed south through Golden Canyon, past the Devils Golf Course to the Badwater Basin, which is the lowest elevation in the U.S. 282 ft. Below Sea Level. Temps there were 102 degrees and I was feeling a little enclosed then and wanting to be on the way. We began travelling back up, rising over 2000 feet through the town of Shoshone and back to the home base. There's other trips through that National Park that would be interesting, but I don't think it is a summer activity! Even this female coyote was begging for cool! This week the admittance to all National Parks is free! If you have one near, it is a wonderful way to spend some time. I am spending my Sunday grilling stuffed Pheasant breasts for lunch, along with other great sides for our dinner. It helps to have some left over pheasant from the last fall hunt in the freezer and a wonderful outdoor kitchen! A new recipe and I will see if it's worth repeating! We are liking the Nevada Treasure RV Resort. Pool is excellent and gym is all anybody could want for and more! I am spoiled. 

On the Road Again!

We left Yuma AZ on March 30, 2012 and back East on Interstate 8, eight miles south of Casa Grande and the Desert Valley RV Resort.

Having spent a couple of winter seasons there, we still know some folks in that area, and had a really nice visit.

We took a day trip down Interstate 10 to Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Ranch. I really enjoy the birds and the other creative displays for the animals that he has.

They have changed a lot since we were there last.

We also tripped down to Tucson and drove around to some of the Sonoran Desert locations to witness some of the waking up of the desert!

It was just a bit early, but we did get in on seeing some big fat Saguaros, and other blooming flowers and Cacti. The bloom of the Saguaro is the Arizona State Flower.
Another day we spent looking at Real Estate in a 55+ Golf Community. It is always good to have a plan for the future and that community is beautiful. A person couldn't want for much in there, and when the time comes to hang up

the keys, it is definitely on the top of our list! We spent a couple of evenings playing games with our friends. I have never played darts competitively, and got the high score of the evening and helped our team knock out the top scoring team for the season! Beginners luck, but they were greatful! Then we played a game of washers (like horseshoes, but inside) and I didn't fare so well with that, but DH was on a good team that won. His back isn't cooperating much with letting him play golf right now, so was a good diversion.

We bid them farewell after a week and headed up to Buckeye and the Glendale, by Phoenix. We had to visit the Cabelas store in Glendale. Credit points were burning a hole in his pocket! I got a nice pair of pink cammo flip flops out of the deal! We have been to that area before, so the drive was not bad, and we got to have lunch with one of DH's hunting buddies that comes to Nebraska in Pheasant Season.

We pressed on from there and headed north and west to the metropolis of Bullhead City Arizona on the east side of the Colorado River. On the West side of the river is Laughlin Nevada. We visited several services in Bullhead and drove around to see the area. Slipped into two of the casinos on the Laughlin side and made a usual donation. Not big losers, just paid a little to have fun. We didn't spend all our time in the Casinos however, we took a side trip to Oatman, AZ,

an old Mining town that has been turned into a tourist trap. Their Volunteer Fire Department is strong there, so we spent a little on shirts to support them. Most of the town is shops and places to eat.

The old Hotel was the site for a gunfight in the street and wild burros are pretty tame and walk around being fed special Alfalfa pellets that are for sale at several locations.

After a few hours walking around, we loaded back up and headed for town to pack up for Monday's departure.

All trips cannot be uneventful. Luck does not operate that way!

On our way up to Bullhead City, the battery tray came unhooked and pushed the Battery door open! We rode along for several miles by Parker AZ without being able to pull over. Thankfully when we found a spot to safely pull over, it was a simple fix and nothing was harmed or broken! The most recent event happened on this last trip from Bullhead to Pahrump Nevada..when we got ready to pull out, the step wouldn't retract.

That is definitely not good! With no one available to fix our problem we crossed our fingers and held our breath as we drove over the Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, the new Bridge across the Canyon by the Hoover Dam.
It is very high but with the high sides, you barely know it's a very long way down! While here we have several exploring side trips.

It was a beautiful day when we travelled through Las Vegas, the usual gritting of the teeth through the traffic and construction, and we arrived safe and sound in the town of Pahrump Nevada, stopping at an RV dealer before checking in at the Resort. after about a 4 hour trip and waiting for them to diagnose our problem, I was ready to be done for the day! We're set now, and we'll spend some time exploring Death Valley and more of the desert. It is really starting to warm up and the snow left on the peaks is really melting a lot every day. After a trip to Home Depot this evening, the battery tray problem is a thing of the past, and as soon as the parts arrive, they will fix our errant step! No more moving until that is taken care of!~ We have to venture back into Las Vegas a couple times too. Time moves the fastest when we don't want it to!