February 8 to February 14, 2003

Saturday February 8:

12:45 AM, I awake and check; temperatures are still above expectations, the furnace has not run.  House is fine when I call.  I sleep until 4AM, then decide to get on line while eastern folks are still starting their day and available.  This is Internet day all day long for me;  Claire shops for groceries, and looks unsuccessfully for a new pair of hiking boots; all she finds is men's work boots.  Her boots are separating uncomfortably, so tomorrow we must look elsewhere for some before heading into Death Valley and more isolation.  In the afternoon a converted school bus RV pulls in and parks.  Claire wants a walk so heads for a planned mile jaunt west along the highway.  She is gone a long time, but finally returns with a large shopping bag;  BOOTS!   She had trekked to an outdoor store recommended by other merchants on her route, and found something worth a try. Later a trailer pulls right next to us. I upload the main website; this cell service is VERY good. I run the generator to assure plenty of battery and coffee for early morning Internet, then I'm off to bed.  Claire follows within minutes, as one of the TV channels we can get is a shopping channel, and the other has nothing of interest to her.  I'm sure her 3 mile walk for the boots helped convince her too...  :-)

Sunday February 9:

It was not too cold last night; I did not hear the furnace starting much.  That is really good, as there is plenty of battery to finish the website upload, which starts at 4AM PST.  I search the web for more info on the  parks we are interested in, and we decide to skip Mojave National preserve, said best in Spring and Fall; it will be cold now.  We really can enjoy the low parts of Death Valley though, with minimum temperatures in the 40's, and perhaps stop in Las Vegas on the way in or out. I search the Usenet archives for info on boondocking in Vegas.  The word is that Walmart welcomes RV's there, and there is a Flying J.  Some casinos may also allow overnight parking depending on their mood of the moment, driven mostly by terrorist security concerns.  Claire shops in the super market near Walmart for supplies, then reads.  We laze in the sun shining brightly through the windows,and marvel at the snow capping the peak visible through the windshield.

We enjoy the feeling that we did well to get lower, and plan to depart for the 83 mile drive to Flying J in Barstow at 2PM.  The computer picked what we thought was the "Fastest" route....it was complex with many turns, but appeared direct on the map.  We started out and had no problems FOLLOWING the instructions, especially with a bit of help from the GPS.  The road climbed some steep hills, through BEAUTIFUL scenery.

The brown item in the foreground to the left of the road is a piece of mining machinery; currently used?  Not sure....   The road changed to lesser grade of pavement several times, but eventually we came to a choice of SINGLE LANE dirt, or turn back.  

Lots of people really do live out here, too.  As we had come 10 miles, I was quite reluctant to turn back, thinking the road would turn paved in a few miles at worst.    Claire was unusually insistent we turn back, so we did.  We found an alternate state route 247 that was a bit longer, and followed it.  Our original route joined it later anyway.  It climbed steeply too, but was good road supporting 55 mph for trucks.  Later Claire found the road the computer picked was shown unpaved for over 20 miles on ONE of our maps, but not the others.  This is the biggest mistake the computer has made in routing us so far;  it exceeds in stupidity the route it picked through the Indian Reservation instead of continuing on the Interstate, near Petrified Forest last fall.  Nothing is fully reliable, but for most things Street Atlas serves us well.  It is just SOOOO disappointing when it fails.....  We passed through dry lake beds and valleys, driving by rural "homesteads" such as this.

Some homesteads came complete with junkyards in the back yard, probably to help maintain the cars and machinery. We passed over "Goat Pass" near Barstow, where we climbed for a long time at 35 mph in second gear getting to the 4100 ft top.  It was also an interesting ride down the other side at 60 mph in second gear to get to Barstow's 2000 ft elevation...  :-)

We found the Flying J easily, filled fuel trying to ignore the sticker shock, and parked for the night.  Dinner was left overs (we MUST get room in the fridge somehow) and then to bed.

Monday February 10:

Temperatures last night were quite moderate…38 under the RV this morning.  Battery is in good shape.  I catch up the log, then we make more coffee, shower in preparation to dump, fill water and propane, and drive to Vegas.  The Flying J dump/water-propane line is a zoo, and it does not help that we must change sides facing the island to complete the job. After one RV pushes in before I can get turned around, and he apologizes but cannot back up for us due to his towed car, Claire must fend off interlopers while I back around.   It is after noon when we finally hit the road. After much searching and false parking, and finally ASKING, we find the California welcome station buried in a nearby mall.  We collect copious info on CA and Las Vegas. The drive is about 3 hours, all on I-15.  We take a break at the NV welcome station; more copious info.  We get our first look at a genuine Nevada Casino, brightly painted and appropriately themed ..  :-)

We now have more info than we can read, but it is easier to take a lot than miss the one gem in the stack.....  Back on the road, Claire drives, as she is better in city traffic.  I've done the planning, so can navigate better.  There is construction on the highway, confusing things a bit but we find the exit easily, and make the turn onto "The Strip".  We are looking for the Frontier Casino, as we heard from a Usenet search that we could "boondock" free in their back parking lot.  It shows up plainly from blocks away among the many others vying to stand out in the lively  bustle of this city that appears to be under constant construction.

There really IS a street opening up to turn into.  :-)  Way back there are many RV's, some blocked up and obviously intending to stay for a while.  Many are the BIG ones, diesel pushers gleaming with fresh wax.   We find a spot under a light and "move in".  It looks like we have a home on the strip for our stay in Vegas.  :-)  Dinner is macaroni & cheese with tomatoes and broccoli; we want something that fixes fast so we can walk the strip.  After washing dishes, we decide to cruise through our host Frontier Casino, then walk the mile along the strip to Caesar's Palace.  Frontier did not look especially busy, but as we exited through the front lobby, we were approached by Billie; she introduced herself as a Las Vegas native, and offered hotel advice upon hearing we did not yet have one...    Of course, we did not tell her of our planned accommodations either...  :-)  She did her best to get us to agree to a two hour sales presentation of time shares in exchange for free show tickets, city tours etc etc etc....  We thank her and escape finally, and vow not to return THAT way.  :-)  This is surely a huckster's town.  The street is lighted like day, but the first intersection is full of the flashing red lights of emergency vehicles.  There has been an accident blocking the northbound lanes of the strip, apparently a hit pedestrian, and the sidewalk on the southbound side is closed for construction.  The crowds pile up on the narrow remaining sidewalk, waiting the traffic officer's direction to cross.  It is gridlock northbound for cars; one bus driver asks me what the holdup is.  It is hard to capture the magic of the bright lights of Vegas in a photo, but this comes close.

We wander  as the spirit moves us, waving off proffered advertising brochures.  There are MANY places to gamble; we are not tempted, knowing full well that the odds are stacked in favor of the house and the state; the more you play, the more certain you are to get results nearing the odds. (There is some mathematical theorem that says this more elegantly, but the results in my pocketbook would be the same).  :-)  We intended to buy a drink in Caesar's Palace, but the cool of the evening also cooled our desire for a cool one.  Besides, Frontier advertised margaritas for $1.99; here they are $15?????????  The fountains here are nicer though.  :-)

The shops show LOADS of expensive stuff in lavish settings.  We look but do not touch.  The yawns start to take control, and soon we are more anxious to find bed than bright lights.  We notice the crowd gathering in front of the Miracle; we assume something will happen in a short time; it is 8:55.  Promptly at 9 a rumble starts, then the lights on the waterfall turn red and the water fountain "volcano" erupts.

Gas flames shoot up, and finally burn on the whole pond.  It is an interesting tidbit...:-)  We are under dressed for the evening cool, and hurry back toward the shelter of the RV.  We see few people in the parking lot, but boondockers soon learn that the best way to avoid trouble is not to be seen unless necessary...  :-)  We find the kitties welcoming us, and have a short snifter of Jack Daniels best straight up as a warming welcome to Las Vegas before bed. Claire reads a bit after I hit the thick quilts.

Tuesday February 11:

Temperatures overnight were mild enough that the furnace never came on to keep the interior above 50.  At 6AM I turned it up to 65 to get ready for the day, and it came on. The construction machinery started about then too.  Outside it was 50 under the RV.  The climate here at 2000 ft elevation is more to our liking.  At 8, just after Claire awakes to pill Purry, the rain starts....it is a strange sound indeed, but is forecast!  It might make walking in town less pleasant, but there are plenty of dry places to poke into here.  We lounged around, relaxing and looking over the Vegas literature we have, to decide what we really want to do here.  I would like a seafood buffet, but these are only certain days of the week.  I go on line briefly to search Usenet for Las Vegas buffets; 20 minutes later we have the e-mail, a little info, but not enough to satisfy us.  This is why we seldom use the net during the week; time just FLIES when you are connected, and we only have 6 prime time minutes a day on our plan before we pay big time extra.  We find a listing in a brochure for the "best value in Vegas" buffet at Circus Circus, and decide to try that tonight.  On Wednesday the Tropicana has a seafood buffet. In the meantime, we can drive to the south end of the strip and walk around THAT end.  We find no parking we can get into there that we would leave the RV in.  We notice our second traffic accident, again involving a pedestrian.  The strip is REALLY dangerous for pedestrians; you MUST wait for the crossing lights.  Perhaps the bright lights dazzle drivers, perhaps they drive too fast to stop, but two pedestrian accidents in two days tells the story.  We decide to drive to Circus Circus and park there early for the buffet, eat, then walk from there on the north end.  On the way we observe the orchestrated fountains at the Bellagio in the midst of their act.

 The Circus Circus lot is very nicely maintained just outside their attached RV park.  There is plenty of security present, but signs prohibit overnight parking without authorization.  I check with the desk to see about "authorization"; it requires a $20/night payment for the campground.  :-)  They have no problem with us staying until 10PM; I'm sure we will be behind the Frontier by then.  Circus Circus is usual La Vegas sparkle; bright lights, slots, game rooms.....the map to the buffet is confusing, but we eventually blunder our way there.  Only then does it occur to us that we had to go up a floor to get OVER the road we drove in here on, then descend again....  :-) The pleasant black man from Arkansas in the line ahead of us tells of his brother who won $2000 yesterday, but over half that is now gone. He has spent too much himself, and is returning home tomorrow. He evidently is staying at the Circus Circus, as he has two for the price of one buffet tickets.  :-)  The buffet is a value at $9...NO way to possibly eat it all, or even sample all, and it is GOOD!  Beverages included, and DESSERTS....wow, canolis, eclaires, cheesecake.....  We started with the main course, then the salads, and finished with a couple trips through the dessert line...  Did we overeat?  Of cuss!  Maybe even as bad as Christmas.  :-))  But afterwards we walked inside the Circus Circus, even touring their wedding chapel, set up for almost instant business for this OTHER noted Las Vegas specialty.....  :-)

 We then walked around the north end of the strip, seeing the Sahara and the sky probing Stratosphere afterwards.

Does that exercise make up for the excess?  Hmmmm, probably not THIS much excess.  :-)   The shops are special priced Las Vegas style; you gotta hit at your game to buy here....  :-)  We carefully obey the pedestrian crossing lights, when a car runs a light, making a left turn close in front of us...YIKES!  This place could be hazardous to OUR health....  Speaking of health hazards, AJ Hackett Bungy Company has jumps in progress from their brightly lighted tower.  

They cheerfully advertise an unequaled record of 1 million jumps with NO fatalities....even with such reassurances I can think of better ways to spend over $50 of my money.....  One gal looked pretty shaky when she tried to stand up (with help) after being  carefully lowered by winch from her final position (AFTER several trips up and down on the cord as the energy damped out) hanging head down half way down the tower.  When we arrived back in the Circus Circus parking lot it was pretty deserted.  The kitties both wanted a walk, so we spent 40 minutes letting them explore here.  This we would NOT do at the Frontier; it does not appear as secure, as we park a LONG way from the hotel.  It's brightly lighted, but watched only by the rest of us RVers.  We have never seen a security guard.  However, they welcome us to park overnight here, so they are good folks!  There is construction all around the parking area we use; I'm not sure how long they will be permitting RVs to boondock there, either.  Most casinos have gone to parking garages that we cannot fit into.  We drove the relatively short distance back to Frontier, parked in the same spot as last night, made coffee for the morning, then turned in.  As I drifted off to sleep, I heard the rain start again.  At least it is cooperative, and does not interfere with our outside activities!  :-)

Wednesday February 12:

It was 50 outside at 7AM when I awoke.  The furnace had not come on, but did as soon as I turned it up.  I completed yesterday's log, then Claire was up.  Purry's pill time!  He really has come to accept it with resignation, but it must get WAY BACK in his throat and well centered to go down easily.  Then it is WET FOOD time!  mmmm  mmmm YECH!  :-))  Best part is Purry still seems to be gaining weight!!!!  :-))  It starts to rain; the forecast is for increasing rain all day and into tomorrow.  Walking the strip will not be fun at all in the cool rain.  We look over our options, and decide we should drive to see Lake Mead an hour away via the old Downtown part of Las Vegas, and Sam's Town Casino.  We can be back in time for the seafood buffet at the Tropicana.  This is a plan, so we start out.  It is amazing the number of lightly dressed folks we see walking in the 50 degree rain.  We have rain gear and don't want to do it!  Of course, we have as much time here as we want to take, too.  :-)  The downtown area looks drab compared to the strip.  There does not seem to be any free place to park this big RV either.  We see nothing to change our plan to just DRIVE through downtown, though the Fremont Street pedestrian only development looks interesting and freshly renovated.  We get on I-515 and drive to Sam's Town. We've heard lots of recommendations of this place on Usenet, and they have a free shuttle to the strip.  They also have a parking garage...big signs point RVs & trucks away from it!!  :-((  Since they also have an RV park, we head there to ask where we can park for a few hours.  We pass an almost empty lot with a few RVs, but closed gate.  The RV park office directs us in a round about way through the RV park to an open gate to the lot.  We park, and see the sign says employee parking only, others will be towed.  The security car passes us with no comment.  Oh well....we walk across to the hotel/casino.  They advertise steak & egg breakfast for $3.99.  After last night, we will CERTAINLY pass....  :-)  This seems to be a place with many families and kids.  The games are everywhere, but there is a nice translucent covered atrium with attractive (though obviously artificial) waterfall that is most pleasant TODAY; the feel of the outdoors without the rain!  :-)  

We explore; Claire thinks this has the feel of Walmart about it, as in lots of value for working folks.  The restaurants seem more reasonably priced than the strip.  She asks, there is no Walmart affiliation.  We cruise through the shops, then continue on our way to Lake Mead.  Claire drives down Boulder highway instead of I-515; we can see more of the area that way.  We drive through Henderson and into Boulder.  Claire stops in an Indian Jewelry shop; nice stuff but VERY high $... High even compared to Albuquerque and Santa Fe. There is an interesting view of the Mountain with antennas on top and Boulder City's signature BC on the hillside...

Of course, Boston College may have mounted a recent westward expedition too... :-))    A couple says their RV was THOROUGHLY searched crossing Boulder dam; every drawer opened.  We stop in a Nevada info station; they tell us we can SURELY take the RV across Boulder Dam.  Oh yes, a search will be done.  You don't want to go?  Why not?  Oh, you do not want to unload everything and spend an hour repacking? ...OK, don't go!  We do find that the Lake Mead recreation area has RV campgrounds that are operated by the National Park Service.  This is an option we had not considered; stay here a few days, then back to Vegas for the weekend.  Claire favored this approach, as I could do the Internet stuff there on the weekend while she shopped. Walking Vegas was not going to be much fun in the rain either;  it should be finished by Friday.  Change plans!  There is a seafood buffet at the Stratosphere on Friday night.  We will be better prepared to overeat again by then too!  :-)  We are directed to the Adam Bible information center at the entrance to the park for detailed info.  The volunteer staffing the desk there suggested we try Las Vegas Bay campground; it is only $5 a day with the golden age passport, and they have dump and water.  We stopped in the various scenic overlooks, but could not get one peek at the dam;  it was behind a high ridge. The lake backdropped by mountains is beautiful even on this cloudy day.

Lake Mead is low, but prominently displayed posters in the park PROMISE that it is NOT drying up...just going through a period of lower than normal precipitation.  :-))  The campground is pretty, but the sites are a bit small for us.  We find one with a small newly transplanted tree that we can place the rear overhang over, and are home.  The site is a bit off level, so two blocks under the three driver's side wheels make it perfect.  :-)  We sign up for two days;  we'll leave by noon Friday, perfect for a 4:30 PM seafood buffet in Vegas.  :-)  It is raining steadily all evening as Claire prepares spaghetti sauce.  I'm glad we have NO NEED to go outside.  We run the generator again before bed while Claire finds the hidden energy to do Pilates exercises to our videotape.  This will leave plenty of battery for TV later, and furnace & computer in the early AM too.  I'm off to bed, lulled quickly to sleep by the steady patter of raindrops on the roof.

Thursday February 13:

The furnace did not come on all night that I heard;  It rained most of the night, but was stopped at 6:30AM when I awoke.  Quiet hours here at Las Vegas Bay campground are 10PM to 6AM.  A generator started just after I awoke.  Someone ran their furnace or TV a lot last night I guess...  :-)  The generators do not bother us, but SOME campers are absolutely RABID in their hate for them....different strokes I guess.  We always try to wait until at least 8AM to start ours, so we disturb nobody who should not otherwise be awake, but then the machine is music to our ears; TV, furnace, computer, microwave, filtered coffee, all possible in these remote areas because of our GENERATOR!!  :-))  The rain stops by daybreak, so we decide it is time for a hike.  A trail runs along the stream north of the campground, and it is running FAST;  we are not certain whether it is normally dry or not, but it is quite clear it does not usually run this hard; the banks are collapsing into the stream in large chunks, accompanied by a dust cloud!

 Large masses of brush matted together are washing down toward Lake Mead. The white egrets seem to be enjoying the extra water.

We proceed along the trail, but are cautious in places where the trail nears the edge of the drop off; this wet weather can make the normally dry ground out here unstable.  In one place we go further away from the edge than the trail.  Out here it is expected that you take responsibility for your own safety, and the hillside under the trail is undercut.

Since other sections of the hillside have already collapsed down the hill, we choose the path of caution.

 The trail leads to a high spot on the western edge of the park, from which the eastern edge of Las Vegas is visible looking west, as well as Lake Mead to the east.

Our campground is in the distant wooded area at the left on the ridge, a result of Park Service irrigation.  This is an overcast day, but still beautiful; we have not experienced today's 90% humidity in the last month since we left home. The folks living here are EXTREMELY grateful for the rain. Even though it is the third highest day's rainfall on record in Las Vegas (0.74"), it does not bring the last years rainfall up to normal... :-(  We return home by the same path, and are a bit surprised that the GPS does not exactly double the mileage on the same trail outbound....oh well, 2.4 or 2.6 miles, it matters little.  We DID take a detour to read a sign near the trail head; it cautions that the water in the stream contains runoff from urban streets and sewage treatment plant effluent, and that contact with the water should be avoided.  Oh, we had heard that Las Vegas discharged it's treated sewage into Lake Mead......and we had seen the city's large water treatment plant about seven miles down the lake. I guess they believe in recycling scarce resources here.  :-) Oh well, every drop we drink anywhere has been recycled in the same way, only maybe not quite so quickly.  I will not complain about any chlorine taste in the water here though....  I decided to check the batteries as the weather was fairly warm. The RV door must be open for convenient access to the battery compartment.  The water was OK, and I neutralized the acid on the batteries with baking soda and tightened all the connections. I noticed the batteries had a date code of A-9 stamped in the terminals; if I understand Trojan's date code properly, that means they were made in October of 98 (three months before the date code stamped, first month of 99).  If so, I'm happy with their performance. Over four years old and still capable of 90% of full charge is not bad for batteries used in deep cycle daily the way we do.  I'll buy the same brand again if I can!   While Claire prepared dinner, I took an added walk to the bluff overlooking the lake at the end of our campground.  A boat was fishing as close as it could get to where the outflow stream entered the lake......  

A large boat launching ramp was in use, and a boat dry storage yard was present.  We had passed a sign to Las Vegas Bay Marina near the park entrance in Hemenway Bay.  I saw reference in the literature to their moving there from Las Vegas Bay...... :-))  All kidding aside, we noticed no effects from the drainage stream in terms of odors or obvious water pollution.  The campground is pretty and well kept, with irrigated trees and bushes separating each site.  Would I swim here?  Probably not, but that is NOT a choice we have to make in this cool weather, with water temperatures near 50 degrees.  :-)   We will exercise our "option of the round rubber tire" and be somewhere else in summer when temperatures here exceed 100 degrees.  :-))  Claire made a DELICIOUS chicken soup using up the leftovers that have been accumulating in the refrigerator.  After a bit of TV, and some generator time, it was quiet night's sleep time.

Friday February 14:

Another mild night, no furnace needed.  It was pleasant to turn it on at 5:30 AM when I awoke, though.  We might as well have a nice warm Valentine's Day. I must do some more trip planning.  We are not sure of the elevation our trip to Death Valley will take us over; I must find out!  Today we will return to the bright lights of the strip, and the Stratosphere's seafood buffet.  We will also stop on the way at Walmart and Sam's Club for increasingly necessary resupply.  On the way we stop for a diamond show advertised at the Regency in Lake Las Vegas.  The first road we tried  led to a gated community with a gate that looked like the entrance to Ft Knox.  They turned us around and sent us to the right road a mile or so further on.  This Lake Las Vegas community is manicured, watered, with streams, waterfalls, and fountains.  Lots of construction is still going on, and the green trees and grass contrast starkly with the pastel browns of the desert not far distant.  

We finally find the Regency, but they have ONLY a parking garage, no place for us.  We skip that show, moving back the way we'd come.  Somehow, the lavish use of water to decorate in this water scarce environment seems....out of place?  The communities are screaming to cut off the farmers' water so they can do THIS with it??  DUHHHHH..........   We saw the effluent stream from Las Vegas emerge from the pipe carrying it UNDER lake Las Vegas.  If water gets ever scarcer, will this community's use get curtailed, returning the landscape to brown?  Or will they irrigate with effluent (recycled) water as they do already in places in Florida (a condo we USED to own is one of those places; well water got too expensive to use for irrigation). We move to Sam's Club and Walmart, and busily resupply.  We split up the list between us to speed the process, thus we end up with a double ration of bananas which are not on the list, but we need.  :-)  I looked for a low end power jig saw to cut the fiberglass fender away from the rear tire, but was not satisfied with Sam's or Walmart's choices.  Home Depot was in the same shopping center, and I bought one for $5 less than Walmart's price for the same item; they also had other brands to compare.  We fueled in Sam's before proceeding through rush hour traffic to the Stratosphere Casino for the seafood buffet.  On the way up I-15, we passed the Mandalay Bay with the pyramid top of the Luxor peeking over it.

We did find a place to park in the Stratosphere lot across the strip from the hotel, but as the adjoining neighborhood did not look exactly like "strip", asked security if it would be OK; they said sure, but were emphatic that we could not stay overnight. The signs had already warned us of that.  The buffet was at the other end of the casino, as usual.  We navigated past the brightly lit slot machines and gaming tables and quickly paid our $17 admission fee.  There was no line.  The buffet looked good, smelled good, and tasted good..  King Crab legs, oysters on the half shell shrimp steamed & fried, even boiled crawfish.  Of course the usual salads and rich desserts were displayed too.  It was again impossible to even SAMPLE everything.  It became apparent the fried stuff was highly salted, so we avoided seconds on much of that.  After Claire taught me how to peel the crab legs, I enjoyed them a lot.  The oysters were VERY clean tasting, from where they came we do not know.  Perhaps Pacific ocean oysters taste a bit different?  Perhaps these are held in cleansing areas to purify before coming to market?  They were DELICIOUS!  We promised ourselves NOT to overdo as badly as we had at the Circus Circus buffet, but in the end the non fat frozen yogurt with chocolate chips tempted me to exceed my comfort zone by a LOT.  We slowly walked out, tried to visit a few shops, then realized we both wanted to be back in the RV lying on our backs looking at the ceiling.  :-)  We rested almost an hour before deciding we were able to drive to the Frontier for the night.  The spot we had vacated two days ago was open, so we pulled in and quickly retired for the night.  We blew our resolve, but DID enjoy the dinner.....I do think we are "buffeted out" for a while though.  It's time for some clean country living.  Death Valley here we come!!!  :-)

PLANS:  Next stop is Death Valley, and we'll go there Monday or Tuesday.  The weather looks GREAT there in the low valley, and the park is large with several campgrounds, dumps and water, so we may stay a while.  We are going supplied to stay, and will do laundry somewhere on the way.  After Death Valley?  We still want to do the Pacific Coast, but it has seen a lot of rain and there were mud slides in Los Angeles.  We have time to decide.....so for now,

That's All Folks!   ENJOY!!!