Zipping off to Zion

A Classic Car show at the Valley Of Fire entertained us on Saturday, and it was great fun.  The show was organized by the Nevada State Park rangers and was held at their main information/Park Interpretative centre.  A Boy Scouts troup from Las Vegas organized the parking and shuttle vans as well as a BBQ and drink concession.  The troup also stayed around the corner from us in the campground and by their echos in the hills, it sounded like a great weekend out of the city!

The general public was asked for vote for their favorite, and so were the Scouts and the car show exhibitors, for a total of three "categories" of prizes.  It turned out both of us voted for #8, which was this Chev Truck, with a 402. Pretty nice. 

Just as we were leaving the show, we struck up a conversation with some campers who we noticed were in our small campground.  Turns out they are from Ta'lana Bay, just down the road from our Shuswap lot.  Small world, and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks!

Today we left Nevada, drove a short distance through Arizona again, and then on into Utah.  We are now in Zion National Park, and only with a stroke of luck.  We didn't know it was school spring break, and that it was National Park Week, and that entrance fees were free, and that you MUST make a reservation for the campground in the Park. Yikes! Everything was full of course, but we didn't know that till we got to the Park main gate.  Turns out they had one cancellation - hooray!  But only for the one night.  We quickly hopped on the shuttle to see as much as we could in case we have to go in the morning.  The campground attendant advised us to check first thing in the morning for cancellations.  It is a busy place!  We'll post pictures tomorrow......

Into the Valley of Fire

We will be out of touch for the next few days - in the Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, there is no cell or mifi reception.  On the plus side, this is one AWESOME state park.  Words cannot describe, and again our pictures cannot convey the beauty and wonder of these rock formations.

Valley of Fire SP Nevada, campsite, 50 Amp,water

It was an easy drive from Lake Mead, on the Northshore road through the National Park, and then turning into the State Park.  There are not many campsites availavle - 21 with power and about 50 or so total.  We we lucky, as we arrived at about 11:00 am on a Thursday and managed to get one of the last ones.  It was pretty funny watching the 'dance' of RV units coming in very early this morning trying to get a site for the weekend.  There is a big Classic Car show here on Saturday. 

So yesterday we drove around the main road of the park and this morning drove up to Mouse's Tank and hiked off the road to the area in the rocks where at times of the year there can be water.  A native fellow hid up there many decades ago, and his name was Mouse, hence the name of the small place.  The red sand was so fine and deep and it was actually a bit of work to hike the 1 mile distance.

View from the door of our RV

The desert flowers are blooming, and that makes our viewing all the more spectacular. All around the camping area, Desert Primrose is in full bloom, and abundant.  These are large white flowers, much like petunias. The other shrubs and cactus are also blooming and really stand out against the red sandstone. 

A short drive today into the nearest town of Overton allowed us to realize that there is a few BLM boondocking areas just outside of the park, towards Overton.  Good to find.

Well catch up when we get to our next destination - we haven't decided the way home as yet, but we are headed to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park.  Hope the warm weather comes with us, as it is snowing at home!!!!

Lake Mead and Grand Canyon West

We just realized that we haven't blogged since arriving at Lake Mead National Park, just outside of Boulder City, Nevada.  Not even that busy till today. Kim of course had to check out the Quilt Store in Boulder City, where she bought some fabric and spent half of Tuesday sewing.  Now, why is this important? Well, it was the first time sewing on solar power. No Problem!!!!!!

grading the beaches at Lk Mead in anticipation of the 20 foot increase by September

For those who have been watching the falling levels of Lake Mead, there is going to be a release of 11.56 million acre feet of water from Lake Powell to Lake Mead, and this will result in the level to go up about 20 feet.  The beach 'outhouse moving' and beach grading were taking place this week.

Railway Museum, Boulder City

We thought we would drive up from Tucson to Flagstaff and Williams to see the Grand Canyon, but it was so cold up there! Well, not real cold, but who wants 50F when you don't have to? So, we made a day trip to Grand Canyon West, and area owned by the Hualapai Nation, rather than a National Park.  It is also the home of the www.grandcanyonwest.com " Skywalk".  This is a glass floor viewpoint that hovers over the edge of the canyon.  Nope, no way Kim would do it.  It was an awesome day, all except the 11 miles of twisty rough dirt road.  Why? That part of the road has been privately owned and the Hualapai Nation has just bought the land from the rancher in order to widen, straighten and pave it. Once that is done, they will get more drive in traffic for sure.  We took lots of pictures, but none of them could match the grandeur and awe inspiring views. There are three areas there: The ranch ( home of Norman the cow ), the Eagle Point viewing area and Guano Point Viewing area.  Each area is very different and each has a restaurant, eating area and shop.  All were excellent.

Donald, get away from that edge - did you not see the sign and those cones?

Guano Point, with tram tower owned by a Canadian company who mined bat guano - it stretched 8,800 feet across the canyon in the 1930's

A great shuttle system takes you from one area to the next as much as you want, and is included in your package pass.  There were only about 60 vehicles in the parking lot there, but there were at least 20 tour buses and various other tour operators, and the helicopters and small planes were incredibly busy, even with the winds!  We thought it was well worth the trip, and the Hualapai people have done a very professional project, with more building taking place.  They were also extremely welcoming. So, in the language " Gamyu!" ( welcome ). 

wild wickenburg to mild lake mead

From the Tucson area, we travelled up to spend a few days at North Ranch, near Congress, Arizona.  We were pleasantly surprised by the Wickenburg Museum, as it was very professionally done.  The cactus around the park were also in bloom and the rain we had on Friday and Saturday probably helped!

beavertail cactus - favorite food for desert tortoises

The town of Wickenburg has been fortunate to have bridge and roadwork done, with lovely statues added on the traffic circles and at other places.  We also enjoyed the life sized character statues around the town, depicting early life of the wild west.

The Jail Tree, Wickenburg

We are now in Lake Mead National Park, enjoying some day trips to Valley of Fire, maybe Grand Canyon West and whatever else trouble we can get into. Oh yea, we went over the new Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge near Hoover Dam. Can't see a thing, and that's a good thing. Kim would have freaked. We saw the bridge from the old Hoover Dam when we took the tour in February. It was interesting that RV's and trucks have to drive on the left lane, near the middle of the bridge.

North to alaska...but stopped at North Ranch

We are slowly making our way back to the north land, and now due to high winds coming here and even higher winds and cold temperatures in Utah, we will stay for a week here at Escapees Park, North Ranch near Congress, Arizona.  The skies have clouded over this morning, so we know the weather is changing.  The smart move might have been to brave the LA traffic and do the coast, like Rick and Paulette. 

Some of the desert flowers are blooming here in the park, and it is lovely to see.  The other lovely item we have seen is an ultrasound picture of our first grandchild, due in September.  Whoo hoo!