Monday, April 17, 2006
We were rolling early this morning at about 7:45 headed north through Phoenix. We put in a call to my sister Marge this morning after having wanted to return her calls over the weekend and didn't. Sharon talked to her while I drove. She reported that we were fine after my ordeal with the stone. After the first hour we were through Phoenix and lost in Glendale. They set us up for a Detour and then apparently ran out of signs that told us where to go. We were so off the track we had to stop for directions. We got separated from Len and Rose and they had to stop for directions also. We got back together again near Sun City West and continued on our route.
We were both pleasantly surprised when we passed through Wickenburg on our way North. The town was a very busy touristy town that one would like to have known about so that we could have spent a day here on the way home. I m sure we could have found enough to do for at least one day. We stopped just outside of Wikieup for lunch and to stretch our legs. We were actually making very good time up until this point even after getting lost for about 30 minutes. Maybe it only seemed like 30 minutes.
After lunch Sharon drove as far as Kingman where we stopped to make a decision about crossing Hoover Dam. The Dam has had severe restrictions since 9/11 and there would be delays in crossing. We would have to submit to a full inspection of our vehicles and the traffic was very slow over the dam. We decided to go for the dam anyway.
About an hour later we stopped for the inspection and it was pretty simple even though it was quite thorough. We had been through these inspections before from the many times we had crossed into Mexico, and they are pretty routine, but you never know what to expect.
The traffic delay to cross the dam was more than we expected. It was a single lane of traffic and mostly all headed north toward Nevada. The speed is restricted to about 15 miles an hour and we remained at that speed for about 3-4 miles.
Once on the Nevada side we streaked to Las Vegas and arrived about an hour later at about 5PM. We found our campground, Oasis Las Vegas without trouble and 30 minutes later we were parked and drinking beer. Yeah!!!!
Len stopped over at 6 to watch "24" tonight. He was going to watch it on cable but Rose was watching something else so he came to our "house." As usual it ended in another cliffhanger. I've been on the edge of my seat for two years now since Phil Bach steered me onto the show. Now I've got Leonard hooked every Monday. Later on, I watched another regular, "Prison Break" and it too is heating up again. Man I don't know if I can deal with all this stress on the way home.
By 10 this had been a long day and we were ready for the "Linens" for the night. It didn't take long for the usual sleep sounds to start emanating from the chamber.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
I was up early this morning and working on my Journal when the Carbon Dioxide Detector went off in the bedroom waking Sharon up. We were headed out to explore "The Strip" this morning and find ourselves a Breakfast Buffet. Our campground is located about 2 miles South of the Luxor Casino and right on Las Vegas Boulevard.
As we left at 9 we drove all the way Downtown and never found a big sign with a cheap buffet. Damn! On the way back we settled on Circus, Circus and the buffet was very good albeit a little pricey. $9 was not a great price, but the food was excellent. After eating the "girls" wanted to gamble a little bit before we left. I wanted a T-Shirt and I found one for $6.99. We had stayed at the Circus, Circus campground 16 years ago when we were here last, and I never got a shirt.
After they had played their fill we moved on to Caesar's Palace and more gambling. Caesar's is a magnificent piece of construction and the area that Caesar's takes up geographically is absolutely huge. By the time the girls were tired of losing money I put a dollar in a nickel machine and promptly won $25 on the first quarter. I cashed out and had $25.75 in my pocket. I know how to gamble. Of course, tempted by the easy win, I put another dollar in the same machine and lost it without winning a nickel. Go figure.
Our next stop was the Luxor, which is the pyramid shaped black building. There were no wins to speak of at the Luxor, but by this time the hunger pains were hitting again. It was about 3:30 by this time and we needed to start thinking about our stomachs. We really couldn't find anything but fast food in the Luxor so we headed out again..............almost. We had a devil of a time trying to get back to our car and the parking lot. All the "you are here" maps didn't give any indication of where the garage was located, so we had to stop and ask for directions 3 or 4 times until we finally recognized a couple of areas and found our own way.
We drove toward the campground on The Strip and found an Outback Steakhouse that we stopped at. None of us was very hungry so we just ordered appetizers and a Bloomin' Onion that we all shared. We were full by the time we left and headed back to the campground.
We watched our regular TV tonight until 9 and then decided to take a ride on The Strip to see it all lit up. It was very beautiful but I expected it to be brighter and more lights even though it was like daylight down there. The streets were crowded with people much more so than this afternoon. Len and Rose stayed home and we stopped for film before we got back. It took us about a half hour to find somewhere to buy the film.
We were home by 10:30 and ready for bed. We had celebrated Las Vegas as much as possible. What a sorry excuse for revelers. We will be on the road toward "home" again early tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
We were off early again today headed North to the Great Basin National Park in Baker, Nevada. We had one short stop to make on the way and that was in Rachel, Nevada. Rachel is the purported location of Area 51 where they brought the space craft that crashed in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. We also wanted to stop and eat at the Little AleInn (alien) Restaurant, Motel and Bar while we were there.
We dropped the Motorhomes at an intersection on the highway that was about 40 miles from Rachel. At that intersection was an abandoned building with a billboard advertising Maps, Crash sites and other memorabilia of alien origin. The road that led into Rachel from there was also called the Extra-Terrestrial Highway. We were on it in a few minutes after disconnecting one car and piling in. There was nothing but suspicion on our part of the location of Area 51 since nothing looked obvious. We stopped at the Little AleInn (alien) Restaurant and took pictures outside until we went in to eat. The place was loaded with customers looking for the same thing we were. We were searching for the "Black Mailbox" which would indicate where Area 51 was located. After we finished eating and the place was empty we asked the waitress where it was. She was more than happy to explain where the mailbox and Area 51 's gates were located. We opted not to drive to them but instead drove to the location of the "Black Mailbox" which was now painted white. We took our pictures, exercised our imaginations and then left.
We drove back to the Motorhomes, hooked up the car and left again for the Great Basin. A couple of mountain passes later and about 4 hours and we arrived at the Visitor's Center in Baker. It had just closed but a Ranger came out to give us some information and we asked if we could stay in the parking lot overnight. She made a couple of calls and got permission for us to stay and we did.
We stopped over to Len and Rose's to have a few beers after a long day, and it turned into 8 o'clock before we knew it. We came home and heated up some leftovers and a pizza for Supper. Both of us were dead tired by the time we got done eating and Sharon headed toward bed and I "watched" a TV show before I went. I actually watched the back of my eyelids during the show and didn't get much out of it. I followed her shortly afterward and did not pass go, did not collect $200, and went directly to "Jail." We both had had it for this day
Thursday, April 20, 2006
The trip to the Visitor Center was a short one since we only had to walk about a hundred feet to the front door. At 9, we mosied in and watched the movie and then shortly afterward we were on our way through the park. We could only drive about halfway into the park because of the winter closures. Most of the drive was around 9,000 feet so when we got up there we encountered snow on the ground. We only spent about 2 hours in the park since none of us were interested in the Cave Tour.
By the time we got back to the motorhomes and got rolling it was about 10:30. Too early to eat the lunches we had packed for ourselves for the extended drive through the park. As we got on the road and drove into Utah we lost an hour crossing the border. So now it was closer to 12 but we drove on anyway. We would stop about an hour down the road for lunch.
The trip into Utah was pretty uneventful except for the map we bought at the Flying J in Payson that had a misprint right where we were extracting information. It showed an exit that wasn't there, but my Navigator got us on the right road after a fashion. In fact she did so well that it didn't even appear that we were on the wrong road making a come-back. Our trip wasn't delayed an iota.
We drove on until about 5:30 before we stopped at a roadside pull-off for the night. Len and Rose stopped over and we had our cocktail hour. Just a couple of nectars to wind down after another physically tiring day. After they left I tried to set up the dish for our TV viewing for tonight and was unsuccessful. When I got frustrated Sharon tried it and it came in just fine. I hate it when that happens, but at least we've got TV for the night. We hung in there until 10 and then headed for the feathery kingdom of sleepy people. The traffic was quite noisy but quieted down about 11 for the rest of the night.
Friday, April 21, 2006
I woke up this morning early, early. By 4:30 I was up and on the computer, and writing my Journal for yesterday. By 8 o'clock when we were supposed to get on the road I even had a couple of stories done for the Newsletter. I was quite productive for the early hour.
At 8 we were all ready to continue our journey so we did. We were on the road barely two hours when we found the Wal-Mart at Vernal, Utah where we would drop the motorhomes and drive by car to Dinosaur National Monument in Jensen , Utah. It was about a 15 mile trip that we would have to backtrack when we were done anyway, so it made no sense to take the motorhomes. As we entered the Wal-Mart it was posted by City ordinance that overnighters were prohibited.
We took off for Dinosaur and realized when we got there that dropping the motorhomes had been an excellent idea. The parking lot was tiny and under construction and we never would have found room to park 2 motorhomes. In any event we went into the Visitor's Center where the Dinosaur Quarry was located and stayed for about an hour or so. The site was the location of a huge "wall" that was once a riverbed, absolutely loaded with dinosaur bones. Probably one of the best preserved Fossil Quarries we have ever seen. The wall itself is about 40' high by 150' long and observing the different bones in the petrified wall was amazing. After we left the Visitor's Center we decided to take the auto tour through the park. At the end of the road was the Josie Morris Cabin. The location of a homestead built by Josie and her Grandson which has withstood the many years from the early 1800's. On the way back out the park we stopped to observe some petroglyphs which were carved into the sandstone on one prominent outcropping of stone. This had already been quite the day and it was barely after one o'clock in the afternoon.
On the way home (motor) we decided to lunch at the Golden Corral in Vernal before picking up our motorhomes and heading out. It was a magnificent feast and left us all wanting nothing more for the day. Across the road we located a campground that would charge us $3 to dump and fill with water and we took the offer. Since we couldn't stay at Wal-Mart tonight we would have to move on, but the prospects of finding a dump station were slim where we were going.
After dumping and picking up a few things at Wal-Mart, we headed out toward Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area about 45 miles to the North of Vernal, near Dutch John, Utah.
Up and down through the mountains and about an hour or so later we reached what would be dour destination for the night. It was near a bridge with a pull-out area on the water in Flaming Gorge.
We sat around talking for about a half hour but we were all tired tonight. We were supposed to have a campground near Dutch John that was no longer in our system. Sharon had called them yesterday just before we got into Vernal and found out we had no place to stay for the night. It didn't matter because the place we found was just fine. We put up the dish and w2atched TV until 10 and went tiredly to slumber after that. Our "campground" was relatively quiet after the traffic subsided around 11.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
We got a leisurely start this morning since we didn't really know what we would do today. We knew the Flaming Gorge Dam was just up the road but it was actually closer than we had thought. We left with the motorhomes and found a couple of spots to park in the empty lot. We had hoped the Visitor's Center at the dam would be open but it wasn't until 10 o'clock, so we just jumped in our car and headed for the road that travels up the Western side of the Gorge. It meant backtracking but at least we would be doing it with the car.
It wasn't long before we knew we had made the right choice about seeing the Gorge even though it wasn't our original one. We would have had a devil of a time getting into some of the turn-offs with our motorhomes. With the car it was a piece of cake and we were treated to some of the most spectacular views in the Gorge, including some Marmots which are the largest critter in the squirrel family. We drove around as far as Manila where we ate lunch and then headed back. We drove into the Sheep Creek Canyon Geological Loop to look for Bighorn Sheep and found the end of the road closed so we had to turn around to come back out. We got back to the motorhomes about 2 PM and headed North up the Eastern side of the Gorge. The views were nowhere near as spectacular on this side but the mountains we had to climb were more prevalent. By the time we reached Rock Springs, Wyoming we had gained a day on our trip since we hadn't stayed at a campground the second night. At this point our schedule seems to be getting a little tight in order to make it to my sister Marge's in Racine, Wisconsin by the weekend. We'll see over the next couple of days.
We pulled into another posted Wal-Mart, ignoring the signs, for the night since everybody wanted to go to church tonight. Sharon went in to the store and got the info for the masses and we settled into a spot for the night. When she came back out we had made it in time for the mass at 6 PM and they took off at 5:30 to hunt down the church. Just before 7 they were back with their haloes all polished up.
Sharon made Chili for supper tonight and it was very good. Len and Rose stopped over to talk about travel plans over the next couple of days because they had to make a couple of decisions on what National Parks they would stop at. By the time they left they had made their decisions and everything was worked out.
We watched TV until 10 and then dragged our weary bodies into bed. All this driving really gets to us even though were only making about 300 miles a day and maybe less. It just gets tiring being on the go all day to make sure we complete all our plans. Tomorrow..................more driving.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
At 3:30 in the morning we were awakened by some kids in the parking lot making a bunch of noise and actually pounding on the side of Len's motorhome. They didn't actually do any damage and were probably out making mischief after the bars closed. They were probably only there for 5 minutes but it seemed longer. In the morning Len and Rose said they didn't sleep the rest of the night. In all the years we've been staying at Wal-Marts this was the first incident we've ever had. I guess it was bound to happen sometime.
After Breakfast we continued our journey east on the Interstate today. We had a full day of traveling and one stop for gas for the day. While we were at the Flying J I refilled my water tank for the next week or so. We'll not be where we can refill or dump for a couple of days so we need to be prepared.
After the Flying J we continued east hoping to make it to Chimney Rock National Historic Site near Bayard, Nebraska. The later it got the less chance it seemed that we would make it to the site in time. Sharon checked our Trailer Life Campground Directory and found that the park closes at 5 PM. That was a break for us since we pulled into the parking lot at about 4:15. We had traveled about 400 miles today and did not expect to go that far. The rock as it turns out was a landmark for travelers on the Trails to the west, which we had assumed was the case.
After we left the park we drove a couple of miles to a "campground" that we thought had electricity. It didn't, and it didn't matter because at least we had a safe place to park for the night in Bayard.
We had Sharon's World Famous Parmesan Chicken for supper tonight along with a Salad, Broccoli and Garlic Bread. It was absolutely fabulous. After Dinner we settled in to watch the Tube for the night.
By 10 we were both bushed and ready for the horizontal hours. I had also promised Sharon that we would leave here tomorrow whenever she was ready to go so I'm sure she'll be sleeping later in the morning. We were expecting some snow to fall tonight according to the weather reports all day.
