Friends in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada…

We certainly enjoyed our short stay in Mesquite Nevada but we had a plan to meet up with some ladies who we “talked into” full timing during one of our visits to Montana. What was a chance encounter at a brewery in Kalispell Montana turned out to be a life changing event for these two lovely people that by happenstance we met and apparently inspired to become travelers…

After leaving Mesquite we headed out for the  Atlatl Rock Campground in the  Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. It was here we had a happy reunion with some awesome people Linda and Renee. We would only there for two nights but we will do our best to cram in as much fun as we can.

We arrived around 11 but found our site was still occupied.  Amazingly Linda and Renee’s site was so large we actually had room to park our motorhome and car beside them!  We sat and enjoyed the afternoon talking with them as well as new friends Ginger and Mike from Yuma. This campground offered amazing views and the afternoon flew by.  We finally settled into our site then returned to converse and enjoy the views until the full moon finally peeked out from behind the mountains.

The next day we did a great 6 plus mile hike amongst the red rocks on the Prospect trail experiencing all the sights of the desert. Linda hiked along with us as Renee offered to shuttle to the beginning of the hike and pick us up at the end so we ere able to hike the 6 miles of trail without having to return back to our starting point.

After enjoying this great hike we spent the evening with everyone enjoying a campfire and the company of our our friends, old and new. One of the things that made this stop so special is that every morning and evening we were treated to sightings of some magnificent Big Horn Sheep as we were apparently on the path of their normal morning and evening routine.

The two days passed by quickly but Sharon and I crammed in one more short hike to see the petroglyphs within walking distance of the campground. Afterward we bid our “See ya’ laters” and hit the road to our next destination…

If you ever see an RV with an ad for a great 4 handed massage take advantage of the opportunity and you will meet up with some special people in Renee and Linda and their rig, Joyist…

NOTE: We are leaving El Centro CA today and moving over to San Diego CA for a two months…

Why is that Policeman pulling us over???

Our stay in Utah ended and this morning we began our journey over to the CasaBlanca Resort & Casino in Mesquite Nevada. The trip started out grand as we made our way through a very beautiful canyon but we hit some construction and the traffic came to a halt.

 

We continued to crawl out of the construction and were about 20 miles from our destination in Mesquite Nevada when I noticed a police officer with his lights on right behind me. I couldn’t figure out what we had done but pulled over anyhow just before getting to a gas station where I was going to stop at to check on tire on the CRV I was a bit worried about.

 

The officer explained that he was driving behind me when my rear tire on our SUV blew out so he pulled us over. I apparently had good reason to worry about that tire and we had planned to have it checked out while in Mesquite Nevada.

 

We drove very slowly over to the same gas station I had intended to stop at  less than 1/4 mile down the road to change out the blown tire. As I was using our dinky tire jack and tools a fellow named Dale pulled up beside us saying he had a hydraulic jack and better tools than I was using. He then proceeded to take over my tire changing task.

With the doughnut tire in place and the blown tire tossed in the back of the CRV we thanked Dale for his help and drove on to Mesquite. Once set up at the Casablanca Resort we drove back over to Washington Utah to the nearest Costco since the tire was still under warranty.

 

Of course our warrantied tire was discontinued but with Costco generous warranty program we were able to replace all four tires for under $400 so we now have four new tires!

Not the best start to our stay in Mesquite Nevada but it is part of this lifestyle! It didn’t stop us from enjoying our stay in Mesquite …

NOTE: We are leaving Yuma AZ this morning and moving over to El Centro CA for a few nights… DONE

A Scenic Loop Drive and Hike at China Date Ranch….

Before leaving Pahrump Nevada we decided to take a scenic drive to see a few sights in the area and hopefully do a little hiking along the way. The total distance of the loop I planned was about 105 miles so we got an early start and hit the road…

The drive west on the Bob Ruud Memorial Highway once again took us past the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. The drive through the basin and desert ranges was pleasant as the vegetation (typical of high deserts) ranged from fairly abundant to extremely sparse as we near the boundary of Death Valley National Park in California.

Once we made it to Death Valley Junction in California we took 127 south. We made an interesting stop at the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel  which was right smack dab in the middle of nowhere! A New York City girl moved to Death Valley Junction in 1967 and converted an old social hall into her own theater. This place was rocking for some time but crowds have steadily diminished even though there are still weekly shows occurring.

While we did walk around the hotel and the opera house we didn’t take the tour inside the opera house. After reading more about her story I am thinking maybe we should have. Oh well, there is always next time, right? Anyhow we continued our loop drive along the border of Death Valley until we reached the town of Shoshone California.

We stopped in Shoshone to check out the Shosone museum near the Crowbar Café. The museum is free (donations accepted) and is small but has some very interesting exhibits. Outside of the museum is an old car near some antique gas pumps and other interesting artifacts of antiquity. There are also a series of loop hikes behind the museum.

One is marked by blue poles is is less than a mile loop hike. It began right behind the museum and took us through what looked to have been a dump area for locals as there were shards of glass and pieces of metal strewn about. Then we entered a carved path of sagebrush and walked around through the Amargosa river bottom (it was mostly dry). There were interesting birds about but the hike is not one I would highly recommend even though it was nice to stretch our legs.

Leaving Shosone we drove though Tecopa California and even though we noticed several RV parks there was absolutely no Verizon cell or WIFI signal. We drove a bit out of town looking for the China Ranch Date Farm. This turned out to be the highlight of the trip. The ranch is a real oasis in the desert with palm trees and lush vegetation as there are active springs in the area.

Even better is there were some fantastic hiking trails which made us wish we hadn't wasted our time hiking in Shoshone. We took a short hike down to the spring and alongside a skinny trail along a mountainside trying to get to a canyon. The ground was very loose and with a precipitous drop of 20 or more feet so we elected to turn back. There were calcite crystals everywhere along this trail.

We stopped and chatted with a couple of hikers and one of them taught math at Texas A&M University when I was there… small world! We finished the hike and returned home making note of what cool hiking opportunities exist at China Date Ranch.This was a road treat we hope to spend more time exploring once we return to this area. Our stay in Pahrump was enjoyable but it is time to move southward to our reserved time in San Diego.

NOTE: We are now in Hemet California until the 30th and then will move to Temecula California for a few days.

Red Rocks and a visit to a Nevada Winery…

Knowing we weren't far from Las Vegas almost enticed us to go there for a visit but we really weren't in the mood for the throngs of people we would undoubtedly encounter. The next best day trip would be a hike in the Red Rocks area just west of Vegas.

The last time we visited Las Vegas and the Red Rocks area we drove the loop and did a lot of small hikes along the way. We vowed if we ever came back we would need to do something longer so when we approached the entrance to Red Rocks we noticed a few cars alongside the road and pulled over to see what hike they were doing. This is how we found the First Creek Canyon hike.

This 1.5 mile hike in and 1.5 mile hike out was just what we were looking for. We put our boots on along with our sun protection and started the slow but gently climbing trail toward the canyon.There were a few Joshua Trees along with vegetation typical of both the Great Basin and Mojave deserts. We also noticed a short side trail which led to a piece of “hiker art”,  a spiral made out of rocks. Of course we had to contribute a few small rocks to the art…

As we made our way closer to the canyon the vegetation got thicker and some of the trees were changing colors to the fall yellow hues. This hike climbs at the end through some thick scrub with a bit of rock hopping but the view into the foreboding canyon was worth the hike. We did see a few other people on the trail but not too many to ruin the solitude we sought. The return hike offered different views of the layered colored rocks the Red Rock area is known for.

Once we finished there was still time to drive the loop through the park so we did. Wow was this park crowded even on a weekday. As such we were so glad we decided to hike the canyon before entering the park instead of choosing to hike within the park. As we headed home we were happy with the drive and the hike.

Back in Pahrump we decided to visit the Pahrump Valley Winery for our happy hour. We arrived just before their last tour and were given an interesting tour of this small winery. It is one of only a few wineries in Nevada but they have won many awards. They gave a complimentary tasting of seven wines (our choice) after the tour and we chose a nice Syrah to take home with us for a another day.

Yet another great day on the road of retirement…

NOTE: We are now in Hemet California until the 30th…