SARA’s Crack

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

Don’t get excited, it’s not what I think you are thinking. SARA stands for Special Activities And Recreation Area. It’s a regional park a few miles out of Lake Havasu City that has many activities including baseball and softball fields, a BMX track, a raceway, a shooting range, a place to fly model airplanes, a 2-acre dog park, a Rodeo area, and lots of hiking trails. Lots of stuff…even hockey.

SARA Park

SARA Park

SARA’s Crack is more appropriately known as Crack-in-the Mountain. It’s a scenic hiking trail down a desert wash to a slot canyon. It’s cloudy today and there is some rain in the forecast, but don’t think it will be enough rain to worry us about being in a wash.

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The trail through the wash got narrower and narrower and leads to a series of dry falls through the crack. One of the falls is a 7-footer and there is a rope there to help you get down it. This is where we turned back.

SARA's Crack

SARA’s Crack

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It did not rain on us while we were hiking, but I could feel it in the air. And then it did sprinkle a little while after we returned to the motor home. It’s about 65-70F, and there is no wind.

  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:   free
Posted in Arizona, Daily Post, December | Tagged , | 1 Comment

It’s a Small World

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

The Disney World tune, “It’s a Small World After All,” is stuck in my head now. We were having lunch at an outdoor patio cafe overlooking the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City when we see at the table next to us our former next door neighbors from our old house in Minnesota where we lived when the kid were born. We chatted for a little while but they had to get going with the other people they were there with.

Then we walked the shoreline walk on both sides of the London Bridge. There were not a lot of people there today and hardly anyone in the water.

Lake Havasu

Lake Havasu

Do the young people even know what this is?

Telephone Booth

We drove around the city today just to see the architecture. There are lots of very nice homes here. Of course it is a young city, incorporated in 1978, which to me is only a few years ago. Now the population is more like 52,000.

It’s around 73F and the sky has been overcast all day. There is a 20-60% chance of rain Tomorrow depending on who you talk to. We’ll just wait and see. Some moisture would be nice.

A few more RVs have arrived here in Craggy Wash. Including this interesting one who arrived in his gypsy wagon and parked way back in the corner. I like seeing the unique rigs.

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  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:   free
Posted in Arizona, Daily Post, December | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Few More Lighthouses

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

It got to about 75F today, and another nice sunny one with a gentle breeze. What to do… we’re not boat people, or off-roaders, or golfers, or drinkers… boring, huh?  But we do like to explore. We found five more of the 1/3 scale replica lighthouses on the island across the London Bridge.

And one more lighthouse that we did not walk out to. The Lake Havasu Marina Lighthouse, not a copy of another lighthouse, but an original.

Lake Havasu Marina Lighthouse

Lake Havasu Marina Lighthouse

We had vacated our $30 campsite at Lake Havasu State Park and moved the RV over into the day use parking lot while we were out exploring. When we got back we found a tag on our window saying that we had to pay the $15 day use fee.

But tonight we have moved ourselves to Craggy Wash, a free dispersed camping area on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on the north side of Lake Havasu City. It is familiar to us, this is our third visit here. There are no roads, just pick a spot anywhere and set up camp. This makes it easier to orient our solar panel to the south for optimum power generation. There are a handful of others out here with us.

Craggy Wash

Craggy Wash

  • Gasoline:         $100 @ $2.86
  • Day Use Fee:  $15
  • Lodging:          free
Posted in Arizona, Daily Post, November | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Lighthouses and Lunch

Posted on November 29, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

Lake Havasu City Lighthouses – These are actual navigational aids around the lake, 1/3 scale replicas of famous lighthouses of the United States. There are 23 in all. We found six of them while we were out and about today.

Cape Hatteras
Currituck
East Quoddy
West Quoddy
Main Buffalo
Table Bluff

It was another beautiful day for a walk, around 76F, and sunny. We went back down by the London Bridge and walked for a while.

Lake Havasu

Lake Havasu

For a $2 round trip ticket a ferry takes us across to the California side of the lake to Havasu Landing Resort & Casino. It’s about a 17 minute ride. We went over around noon to check it out and have lunch there.

Casino Ferry

Casino Ferry

It’s a small casino and it has one restaurant inside.

Havasu Landing Casino

Havasu Landing Casino

The restaurant was having a bad day I guess. We waited in line for a very long time along with others from the ferry, nobody was getting seated. Then we learned the kitchen was just overwhelmed and was not taking new orders for a while. There really was no other choice and we were hungry. The vending machine snacks were starting to look pretty good. Eventually we did get seated and were able to order. Our waitress seemed to be pretty stressed out. We did enjoy a nice view of the lake while we waited for our food.

Trails End Restaurant

Trails End Restaurant

After our meal we walked around the casino, which took about three minutes. Then we walked around the marina and the resort a bit before taking the ferry back to the Arizona side.

Havasu Landing

Havasu Landing Marina

When we returned to the state park we moved our rig from the overflow lot into a new camping site in the campground that we had reserved for tonight.

Lake Havasu State Park

Lake Havasu State Park

When it got dark we went back down to London Bridge to see the lights without the crowds of people who were there like last night. Santa was there too.

Lake Havasu City

Lake Havasu City

  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:  $30
  • Tickets:   $4
Posted in Arizona, California, Daily Post, November | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Lake Havasu City

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

While we enjoyed our week in Laughlin, Nevada, it’s time to move on, the Nomads that we are. It was around noon when we hit the road south to Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

This is still desert, but we are seeing cotton and some wheat fields along the 70 miles we drove today.

Cotton Bale

Cotton Bale

Arizona

Arizona

Lake Havasu State Park campground was booked up for tonight, but they do have an overflow parking lot where we can dry camp for $20. It’s right on the shore of Lake Havasu. We have a great view.

Lake Havasu State Park

Lake Havasu State Park

A block of classic cars caught our attention as we drove by on our way to the campground so when we got situated at the park we went back with the Jeep to see what we thought was a classic car show. It’s not, it is a consignment dealer who has boats and RVs and classic cars for sale. The salesman was very nice and said I could take all the pictures I want.

Next is a visit to the Lake Havasu City Visitor Center where we enjoyed the exhibits and read about the history of how Lake Havasu City came to be and how the bridge got here. It was purchased in 1968 and taken apart in London, England, and shipped here and reconstructed in this spot.

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Lake Havasu City Visitor Center

The sun was getting low and we knew that tonight was the city’s Christmas Lighting Ceremony so we hung around for a few hours to see what they did. The first thing is a swimming race across the channel along side the London Bridge. There were 56 swimmers and whoever reached the other side first got the flip the big switch that turned on all the Christmas lights. Swimmers ranged in age from 7 years old to 60. There were a few who could not make the distance, they were given a ride on a foam mat. We watched from atop the bridge.

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Quite an impressive display of lights, and Santa was there too. Click the center to play the video.

London Bridge, Lake Havasu City, Arizona

London Bridge, Lake Havasu City, Arizona

  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:  $20
Posted in Arizona, Daily Post, November | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Grapevine Canyon

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

It’s Thanksgiving Day. We are not with family in Minnesota and we are not with our kids in the Northeast, but we are thankful that we do have them in our lives even tho we are so far away. Of course there are many other things we are thankful for including being able to live this lifestyle that we have chosen for ourselves.

Almost all the casinos here in Laughlin are having  buffet dinners with Turkey and dressing, and all the trimmings. Many of the other restaurants have traditional Turkey dinners on their menus too. We decided on the buffet at Riverside Casino. It was OK. Dinner with family would have been better, but I hear it’s zero degrees in Minnesota, freezing in the Northeast, and they all have snow…. um.. guess we’ll stay here.

After dinner we went for a drive and found Grapevine Canyon. THIS is where the petroglyphs are that we were looking for yesterday. An interpretive sign explains that this is sacred land to the Native American tribes and to treat it with respect.

Grapevine Canyon

Grapevine Canyon

It’s about a 1/4 mile easy walk to the entrance of the canyon. It’s not a groomed trail, just watch your step to avoid the cactus.

Grapevine Canyon

Grapevine Canyon

There are hundreds of petroglyphs in this canyon.

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A little further in there are wild grapevines, the namesake of this canyon. In the spring there is water here and wild grapes grow.

Grapevine Canyon

Grapevine Canyon

On the way out of the canyon we had a good view of the Colorado River Valley below.

Grapevine Canyon

Grapevine Canyon

Back at the RV park we get a colorful sunset to end our day. But that was about 4:30 or maybe 5:30 p.m.

Sunset in Laughlin

Sunset in Laughlin

We are right on the time zone line and my “smart”phone keeps switching back and forth between Pacific Time and Mountain Time so I can never really trust what time it is.

  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:   $25
Posted in Daily Post, December, Nevada | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Christmas Tree Pass

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

Another beautiful sunny day, around 75F with a little wind.

We have been dry-camping in Riverside Casino’s parking lot for the last several days but now our fresh water tank is empty and our other tanks are full. Don Laughlin’s Riverside Resort RV Park is right across the street so we have moved over there for tonight and tomorrow night so we could take care of our tanks and spoil ourselves with full hook-ups. It’s supposed to be 80F for the next couple of days so it will be nice to have the electricity in case we need to run the air conditioner. This is a very nice RV resort with almost 800 spaces. We can call for a free shuttle ride over to the casino any time we want.

Riverside Resort RV Park, Laughlin, NV #347

Riverside Resort RV Park, Laughlin, NV #347

Our exploration today brought us to Christmas Tree Pass, a scenic gravel road between Laughlin and Las Vegas. This afternoon we took the highway out to west entrance so we could drive it with the sun to our backs. The road started out smooth but eventually turned into a narrow rough road where a high clearance vehicle is really necessary because of the washouts and rocks. I’m so glad we have this Jeep.

When we got up into the hills we find all these trees and shrubs decorated up with Christmas decorations. Some look like they have been there a very long time, but others are fairly new. For the record we did not decorate any of the trees with strings of Mardi Gras beads that we have been hauling all around the country wondering what we should do with them. 😉 If anybody asks, just say no.

Christmas Tree Pass

Christmas Tree Pass

A small side road has lots more decorated shrubs. The decorations just aren’t showing up in the pictures, but there must have been up to 50 shrubs along the road and up into the hillsides with beads, ornaments, and garland.

Christmas Tree Pass

Christmas Tree Pass

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There are supposed to be lots of petroglyphs in the hills somewhere, but we did not find them.  There was no sign and I was not about to get out and walk through the cactus to go look.

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Oh, it was such a beautiful drive. The road got bad in some places and we had to go real slow. This pic shows some of it but this was not the worst of it. We met three other vehicles on the road, all were Jeeps. By the end of the drive we were “all shook up”.

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Christmas Tree Pass

  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:   $25
Posted in Daily Post, Nevada, November | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Davis Dam

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

And yet another beautiful day…

Davis Dam is about two miles up-stream from Laughlin and about 70 miles downstream from the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. Completed in 1953, this is an earth and rock-filled embankment with a power plant. Lake Mohave was created and provides recreation and habitat for fish and wildlife.

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The Davis Dam

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Davis Dam Power Plant

Lake Mohave

Lake Mohave

Just like the Hoover Dam the road across it is closed to vehicle traffic now.

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Davis Dam

Katherine’s Landing is a good-sized resort and marina. There are lots of house-boats docked there. It was very quiet, the campground was nearly empty, not many cars around, and nobody in the water.

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Katherine’s Landing

We saw a few burros grazing on the grass in a near-by campground.

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Lunch Time

 

Before we went home I snapped this picture of the Colorado Belle in Laughlin. I really like how that casino was built to look like a river boat.

Colorado Belle

Colorado Belle

  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:  free
Posted in Daily Post, Nevada, November | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Laughlin Labyrinths

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

We heard there were some labyrinths in the hills behind Laughlin so we went in search of them this morning. I was able to zoom in on a few of them using Google Maps Satellite View which made locating them fairly easy. They are not signed so unless you know they are there you will not see them.

We pulled off to the side of the road inside the curve on the east side of Thomas Edison Drive and walked a few hundred feet in the general direction of the Tropicana Hotel & Casino and saw two labyrinths right away.

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IMG_8844There was a foot trail the lead us a few hundred feet along a ridge where we found several more labyrinths! We found a total of seven of them today. There is no information about who put them here, or when, or why.

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Some of the casinos of Laughlin, Nevada, and the Colorado River, and Bullhead City, Arizona, can be seen from the hills where the labyrinths are.

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Laughlin and Bullhead City

  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:  free
  • Admission:  free
Posted in Arizona, Daily Post, Nevada, November | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Dinner and a Movie

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

Laughlin has some good walking trails. On the north end of town is a nice pedestrian bridge spanning the highway that leads to a paved trail that takes you out into the desert to the Davis Dam on the Colorado River. We set out to walk it this morning but the winds came up and we couldn’t handle it so we turned around. It remained windy all day until dark, then it just stopped.

Laughlin Pedestrian Bridge

Laughlin Pedestrian Bridge

Back at the riverwalk it was still windy, but much easier to take than out in the sandy desert, so we walked up and down the riverwalk again.

Laughlin Riverwalk

Laughlin Riverwalk

The rest of the day we spent walking through various casinos as well as a visit to the Laughlin Outlet Mall just a few blocks from us. And then dinner and a movie at Riverside. The movie we saw was Interstellar, good movie. And they sell beer and liquor drinks with the concessions, something we have never seen in a movie theater before.

Riverside Casino, Laughlin, NV

Riverside Casino, Laughlin, NV

It was dark when the movie got out and we went back to the riverwalk to see how it looked at night. The wind had stopped and it was still around 60 degrees and the air was so clear, a perfect night for a walk. The lights of Bullhead City, Arizona, reflected nicely on the Colorado River.

Bullhead City, AZ

Bullhead City, AZ

  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:   free
  • Movie:   $14
Posted in Arizona, Daily Post, Nevada, November | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Old Cars in Laughlin

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

Another beautiful day! A sunny 75F, great day for a walk.

There is a riverwalk between the casinos and the Colorado River. This connects you with seven of the nine casinos in Laughlin. The other casinos are across the street, but still within walking distance. A shuttle ferry runs up and down the length of the riverwalk if you don’t want to walk it. Another shuttle ferry will take you across the river to the Arizona side if you want.

Laughlin Riverwalk

Laughlin Riverwalk

Laughlin Riverwalk

Laughlin Riverwalk

Laughlin Riverwalk

Laughlin Riverwalk

Laughlin Riverwalk

Laughlin Riverwalk

An old car show was in the parking lot of the Golden Nugget Casino and we walked over there to see that. It was a small show, and free to attend. There were some nice cars there. Here are some of my favorites:

After the outdoor car show we walked back to Riverside Casino where on the second floor is a car museum filled with some bright and shiny special old cars. This is a free museum, our favorite kind.

1933 Buick 2 door Coupe
Delorian..the Back to the Future Car

The most special one is this Hand-Built One of Kind Custom Skylane made from 14 different cars from the ’40’s and ’50’s.

Skylane
Skylane
  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:   free
  • Admission:  free
Posted in California, Daily Post, November | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Watch Your Step

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

Oatman, Arizona, is a pretty cool place. It’s an historic authentic western ghost town and mining camp that began in 1906 but pooped out in 1942 when Congress declared that gold mining was no longer essential to the war effort.

Oatman, Arizona

Oatman, Arizona

It’s right on Historic Route 66 and suffered another setback when a new road was built elsewhere. Now tourists  are drawn here by its history and to see the friendly wild burros that come in to town and beg the tourists for food. The shop owners will sell you a bag of burro food for $1. The burros are descended from the pack animals that were turned loose by the early prospectors.

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Do not feed the babies.

 

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If you buy burrow chow, they know it!

 

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We cruised the shops and stopped at one restaurant for a mid-afternoon snack. The restaurant was wallpapered with $1 bills, they estimate about 100,000 of them.

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After our visit we continued driving up Rt 66 for a few miles which snakes through the mountains. Not far from town is a small unsigned parking area with a short trail leading to the top of a hill. Thinking it was a scenic overlook we stopped to see. Definitely, it was scenic, but also there were about 15 stacks of rocks with crosses and memorials to people who have died. I don’t think it’s burial ground because there were no signs, but only the memorials. It was very interesting.

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We’re still in Laughlin, Nevada, and plan to stay here a few more days.

  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:  free
Posted in Arizona, November | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Pahrump to Laughlin

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

The last six days we have been enjoying our stay at Wine Ridge RV Resort & Cottages in Pahrump, Nevada. After dry camping in Death Valley for the previous week we have appreciated having full hook-ups and amenities. And it’s nice to have a break from all the driving we have been doing. While the daytime temperatures were around 60-70 degrees there have been a few freezing overnights here. But we never saw any frost on the cars, probably because there is no humidity here.

Wine Ridge RV Resort in Pahrump, NV. #508

Wine Ridge RV Resort in Pahrump, NV. #508

There are several small casinos in Pahrump so we had to go check those out, other than that we’ve just been relaxing. I had asked our mail service to send us our mail and it arrived yesterday. So now we will continue our travels.

We have moved 150 miles south through the desert, by-passing Las Vegas and going directly to Laughlin.

Laughlin, NV

Laughlin, NV

We are in the parking lot at Riverside Casino with several other RVs.

Riverside Casino, Laughlin, NV

Riverside Casino, Laughlin, NV

Riverside is much much larger than all the casinos we have seen since we left Minnesota and has more restaurants, more shopping, an old car museum, theaters and more. We will explore more of the area tomorrow. The Colorado River runs along the Nevada/Arizona border in this part of the state. Bullhead City, Arizona is just across the river. It’s also the time zone line, so it’s one hour different over there.

Colorado River

Colorado River

It gets dark around 5:00 (or is it 6:00?) now so we will see more tomorrow in the daylight.

Nice Sunset

Nice Sunset

  • Gasoline:  $100 @ $2.99
  • Lodging for this week:  $112
  • Propane:  $24
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And More Death Valley

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

Badwater Basin is the lowest point in the western hemisphere. It is 282 feet below sea level. At the end of the boardwalk we continue walking out to the middle of the field where it is the most interesting.

Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin

We are walking out there on salt. It’s the same as your table salt and very white. The salt that looks brown is just covered in dirt and dust and if it would rain it would wash away the dirt and exposing its whiteness.

Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin

Salt crystals expand and that causes the crust to form these crazy shapes.

Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin

On the way back from Badwater Basin we drove through Artist’s Drive. This is a two-mile one-way loop through some very colorful formations.

Artist Drive

Artist Drive

IMG_8444 IMG_8459 IMG_8452 A stop by the visitor center tells us the temperature is 84.

It's 84 degrees today.

It’s 84 degrees today.

Our next stop is to visit the Harmony Borax Works. Borax was mined here and processed here (by Chinese laborers), put it wagons and hauled out of the valley. It was so heavy that it took 20 mules to pull the wagons.

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Borax Wagons

Harmony Borax Works

Harmony Borax Works

  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:   $6
Posted in California, Daily Post, November | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

More Death Valley

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

The clouds went away overnight and left today to be another blue sky sunshine day of 82 degrees. Our mission today was to visit Rhyolite, an historic townsite in Nevada, just outside the Death Valley boundary. Just prior to Rhyolite is Goldwell Open Air Museum. The office was closed but we were free to wander the grounds and take pictures.

The Last Supper

The Last Supper

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Then just up the hill from there is the old ghost town of Rhyolite. In 1904 some prospectors found gold here. A town quickly popped up and grew to about 8,000 people. Then around 1908 the mines began to fail and the people moved out. The population in 1920 was only 14.

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The Bank

Tom Kelly’s Bottle House, Erected in 1906. He built the three room bottle house to raffle it off. It served as a private residence for many years.

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Tom Kelly’s Bottle House

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Train Depot

After exploring the town we drove to nearby Beatty for lunch and filled up with gas at the low low price of $3.19, way better than the $4.35 at Furnace Creek!  We spotted three burros going into town.

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On the return trip we took the road to Titus Canyon.  Wow, what a trip! We were warned that we needed a 4×4 high clearance vehicle and they were so right. Parts of it were certainly a challenge for our little Jeep Cherokee, a bigger Jeep with heavy-duty tires would have been better, but we made it through! And so glad we did…it was a gorgeous drive! Here are just a few of the 200 pictures I took today:

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And finished up the day with another nice sunset.

Sunset at Furnace Creek

Sunset at Furnace Creek

  • Gasoline:  $30 @ $3.19
  • Lodging:  $6
Posted in California, Daily Post, November | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Death Valley

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

As we were leaving the RV park this morning we realized we were very close to the Mojave Air and Space Port so we drove over to have a look. The SpaceShipTwo that crashed in the desert last week took off from here and crashed about 30 miles from here. There are several buildings for experimental aircraft, but nothing that we could look at.

Mohave Air and Space Port

Mohave Air and Space Port

1/5 Replica of SpaceShipOne

1/5 Replica of SpaceShipOne

We had breakfast at the little restaurant by the control tower. It’s right by the runway so we watched some small private planes take off and land while we ate.

Mojave Air and Space Port

Mojave Air and Space Port

We had to get going if we were to get to Death Valley before dark. Our drive took us through some mountains, two lane road, it was an amazingly scenic drive, but with the motor home it was pretty intense.

Hwy 190 into Death Valley

Hwy 190 into Death Valley

Whew, we made it to the RV Park at Stovepipe Wells just before dark. 200 miles. There are very few other people here so we had our pick of where to park. This is at Sea Level. This is our third time visiting Death Valley so if you have read my blog in the past this will be familiar.

Stovepipe Wells

Stovepipe Wells

In the morning we went to nearby Mesquite Sand Dunes and walked around.

Mesquite Dunes

Mesquite Dunes

While we were walking I noticed fresh tracks from a Sidewinder Rattlesnake, but no sign of the snake.

Sidewinder Tracks

Sidewinder Tracks

Back to the RV for a rest after playing in all that sand. While we were sitting there we enjoyed the patterns a couple of jets were practicing in the sky.

Jet Trails

Jet Trails

Scotty’s Castle is a most unusual place out in the middle of Death Valley. Our tour guide told us the colorful story of how this private residence came to be. It is now owned by the National Park Service.

Scotty's Castle

Scotty’s Castle

Packard

1914 Packard

This coyote watched us as we went by.

Coyote

Coyote

This morning we went for a hike through Mosaic Canyon.

Mosaic Canyon

Mosaic Canyon

After the hike we moved the motor home about 25 miles to Sunset RV Park at Furnace Creek.  Here we are about 200 feet below sea level. And the clouds are rolling in. We didn’t have cell service or internet at Stovepipe Wells but we have it here. But no electricity, so I have work fast to get this blog in before my laptop poops out. The solar panel keeps our house batteries charged up so we have lights, radio, tv (if we had signal), and so we don’t have to run the generator as much.

Sunset RV Park at Furnace Creek

Sunset RV Park at Furnace Creek

Gas Price at Furnace Creek in Death Valley

Gas Price at Furnace Creek in Death Valley

Death Valley Statistics

Death Valley Statistics

Death Valley is the largest national park in the lower 48 states. Alaska has a few that are bigger. The highest temperature ever recorded on earth was right here at Furnace Creek in 1913 – 134F (57C).  Not that hot today, just 83F. And this is the lowest point in the United States.

And a great sunset tonight!

Death Valley

Death Valley

  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:  $6/night (price with Bernie’s National Senior Pass, Regular fee $12.)
  • Admission:  Death Valley Entrance Fee – Free with Bernie’s Pass
  • Tour:  Scotty’s Castle:  $20
Posted in California, Daily Post, November | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

On the Way to Death Valley

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

We left the fairgrounds RV park in Mariposa and began our trek to Death Valley National Park. Almost all of the 250 miles we drove today was in smog. Air quality alerts on TV said it would be that way for a few days in the valley where we are until rain or winds take it away. There are burning bans.

Smog

Smog

Our drive took us by many vineyards, lots and lots of grapes. We drove past the Sunmaid Raisins plant. And then there are fields of walnuts, pecans, and pistachios. A sign said this is where 100% of the nation’s almonds are grown.

Smog

Smog

The valley transitioned to hills as we headed west. Then suddenly when we got to the other side of the hills the smog was gone and we enjoyed a few miles with blue sky and sunshine.

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But the sun was going down…the days are so short! So we found an RV park along our route in Mojave, California, and will stay here for the night.

Sierra Trails RV Park

Sierra Trails RV Park

As soon as we got parked the sun went behind the hills and I noticed some color so I walked to the edge of the park and snapped this picture. Jet trails almost look like clouds.

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Tomorrow we will be in Death Valley National Park. It’s pretty remote and we may not have any electricity, TV, internet, or cell phone coverage. We haven’t decided how many days we will be there and we have no RV park reservations. Before we leave this park tomorrow we will be sure to have our black and gray tanks empty, our fresh water tank full, propane full, a full tank of gas, and all our battery-powered devices charged. We stocked up on groceries already. It should be fun.

  • Gasoline:  $115 @ $2.99
  • Lodging:   $13  (Passport America 50%)
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Yosemite National Park

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

We were only able to visit a small part of Yosemite National Park today.  It’s late in the season and some of the roads are closed for the winter. Mostly it’s because they have already had snow in the upper elevations so we did not get to drive up into the mountains for the spectacular panoramic views. But that’s ok. We drove Yosemite Valley and it was awesome.

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

This time of year it is normal for the waterfalls to be dry. Bridal Veil Falls had a small amount of water falling and it looked like Yosemite falls was dry. Upper Yosemite Falls in the upper right of the picture and Lower Falls in the lower center.

Bridal Veil Falls
Yosemite Falls

Just a few of the pictures from the valley:

Yosemite National Park
El Capitan, Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
North Dome, Yosemite National Park
The Ahwahnee

And my favorite picture of the day:

Valley View

Valley View, Yosemite National Park

Yosemite Forecast
Our Location Today
  • Gasoline:  $41 @ $3.45
  • Lodging:   $30
Posted in California, Daily Post, November | Tagged | 3 Comments

Mariposa, CA

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

78 miles driven today, to Mariposa, California. We will be staying in the Mariposa Fairgrounds RV Park for tonight and tomorrow night.

Mariposa Fairgrounds, California

Mariposa Fairgrounds, California

This is a small town, only about 2,000 people. There are several nice shops and restaurants here. We went for a walk around town, found the Visitor Information Center and picked up info about Yosemite National Park, which we will see tomorrow.

IMG_7851

Mariposa, CA

The days are getting so short! We did have a little colorful sunset tonight. It’s not over a nice lake with trees and all that, rather over the fence of the fairgrounds, but still enjoyable.

Sunset

Sunset

  • Gasoline:  none
  • Lodging:   $30
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What a Difference a Day Makes

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Marsha Brecht

This was another travel day, driving 205 miles down CA 20, then Interstate 5, and CA 99 landing in Modesto, California. There were significant changes in terrain along the way. We have to work our way around the mountains and we thought this was the best route for us. There were a lot of hills and some winding roads but nothing serious. The climate is changing too. The cold and the wet are behind us now and we are moving into the drought stricken part of the state. We are seeing where some of the big fires of the summer had been.

California Fires

California Fires

The hills begin to smooth out and the trees disappear.

California

California

The hills flatten out into crop land and groves of trees and the road straightens.

California

California

And then we see the first palm trees of this trip.

Palm Trees

Palm Trees

When we stopped for gas there was this roadside vendor selling fruit across the street from the gas station. He was selling strawberries, oranges, honey, avocados, pomegranates, and persimmons.

Roadside Produce

Roadside Produce

While Bernie was fueling up the RV I walked across the street and bought a bag of oranges for $5 and a box of strawberries for $5.  Great prices! And the strawberries were yummy and the oranges sweet and juicy.

Here's my ten bucks worth!

Here’s my ten bucks worth!

Driving through Sacramento.

Sacramento CA

Sacramento CA

Tonight will be staying in a parking lot in Modesto. Shopping! and Restaurants! But no seafood. More driving tomorrow.

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IMG_7827

  • Gasoline:  $200 @ $2.99 and $3.39
  • Lodging:  none
Posted in California, Daily Post, November | Tagged | 2 Comments