We're in Las Vegas, NV

 

As we left Costco's parking lot yesterday it started feeling late to me, so I decided to stay in Las Vegas for the night.  We came out of Mountain Time, which just changed back an hour to Standard Time from Daylight Savings, into Pacific time which is even an hour earlier and my body clock is confused.  That's a three hour difference, right?  Or maybe two.  I'm hungry at 4:00, tired at 8:00, and it's getting darker earlier.  I checked with another Walmart about overnighting, and it's not allowed in Las Vegas, but she recommended Sam's Club RV Park, which was close by, so we drove here and stayed for the night.

After I got us settled in and got Katie comfortable, I walked over to Sam's Club Casino and tried out their dinner buffet.  It was pretty good, not great, but good.  The steak and fish were overcooked, but the salad, potato and desserts were good.  I was really hungry and ate fast and walked back to The Palms where I flaked out in front of the TV.

I have a cousin, Grant, who lives in Las Vegas and I sent him an e-mail to see if he was around and able to meet me for lunch today.  I haven't seen him in years but we talk on the phone from time to time.  He is a Veteran of the Vietnam War - a helicopter pilot - and he's meeting me for lunch at Sam's Town.  Vets get a free lunch there today; that was good timing!   He's playing golf this morning, so we're meeting mid-afternoon.

A few more photos from my trip here from Valley of Fire:

 Cattle were along the side of the road, no fences. 

There were lots of "washes" like the photo above.  It was wide and deep, and the result of running water.  All the washes were dry, but I'm sure there are times they are all full of water running like rivers.

I extended our site here for another night.  It's pretty nice having good Verizon signals and lots of TV channels.  This RV park is right next to Sam's Town Hotel and Casino and a large movie theater complex, right on a main road, but it was quiet last night.

I hate to say this and jink myself, but I didn't hear the mouse last night.  I took the trap and put it away, if I see or hear any signs that it's still here, I'll take it out and put it in front of the couch overnight while Katie is up in bed with me.

From Me and My Dog, have a nice Veterans Day.  Thank you to all the men and women who are currently serving in the military and all the veterans who have served in the past.  Because of you, we are free.  : )

Goodby Zion... Hello mouse

TUESDAY,  11/8/11

We left beautiful Zion National Park in Utah this morning.  It was a stop I'm glad I didn't miss.  The campsites are clean and well taken care of.  The Rangers and Volunteers are friendly and helpful.  I'll definitely visit Zion again if I'm in the area.

I am writing this from a truck stop along highway 15 in Nevada on the way to Las Vegas.

When I dumped my grey water and added clean water yesterday afternoon, I met our Camp Host for the first time.  I've seen Mike driving by my campsite in his camp host vehicle, but we had never talked.  I asked him which mountain in front of us was "Watchman."  I had read conflicting information on line and wanted to make sure.  Turns out he has been doing a lot of volunteering, especially at Zion, for the last eight years.  He said he's volunteering at Zion until June this year, all through the snow and floods, and whatever else comes along.  Very interesting man - check out his blog, Light Curve on the Road, for some beautiful photos and clips of Zion.  He has a lot of other interesting posts, too, but last night I mostly read the Zion posts. Last winter they evacuated the park due to flooding, and Mike has a short video of the Virgin River taken from the bridge next to the pedestrian admission area, and it's high and roaring.  When Katie and I crossed it, many times during our stay, it looked like a wimpy little river, and although I heard on my tram tour about how the river carved out the canyons, it didn't seem possible.  After seeing Mike's video, I'm a believer.

One of the posts I read was about some mice getting into his rig and what he did about it.  So, a while later I hear a rustling noise by the couch, and Katie was sitting with me on the dinette.  Hummm.  I hear another sound, look up - and see a small furry head going under the driver's seat.  :(   I blame Mike.  You know how if you don't think about something, it won't happen.  Well, when I read about the mice, I think I made it happen.

Mike had given me his card and I e-mailed him about my critter and asked him what he put in his traps, because I was going to buy some on my way out of the park today.   This morning, there was a knock on my door, and there was Mike with a mouse trap for me.  He helped me load and lock it, and now it's sitting under my couch ready to take the little critter into mouse heaven.  I hope.

Thanks, Mike.  (He also lit my oven for me, which hasn't been working for me for a while.  Thanks again.)

And so we left Zion.  We drove to Saint George and stopped at the BLM office to get info, and then headed over to Snow Canyon.  As we were driving to it with all the gorgeous red mountains surrounding us again, I thought, "A week, or two?"  We got into the park, and headed to the campground with electricity and water hookups.  I had called from town, and was told only site 2 was available for the next 7 to 14 days.

When I saw the site, I was so disappointed.  It's in the most beautiful area, and from what I've heard about Snow Canyon, it has great hiking trails.  But this campsite couldn't have been wider than most parking spots in Walmart.  I got into the site, lined up the hookups and got out to see what we had.  Immediately next to me was a bigger Class A completely blocking any view, sun or privacy.  The windows of that rig were within two or three feet from my window.

I could almost reach out my window and touch the side of their rig.  Their shades were closed, and I can assure you, mine would have been, too.  I sat at my dinette and looked around - Nope - this wasn't going to work for me.  It was $20/night, and honestly I would rather be in a parking lot where I have something of a view and a little privacy.  I pulled out, and down the road to the ranger station and as I went out, I asked the ranger about the sites.  She said there was another campsite with no hookups and there was more privacy in that one - for $18/night.  I wanted electricity because of the cold nights, and since I was already on my way out of the park, I just kept going.

Along the road - there were some fantastic views and interesting roadways:

We'll find something.

THURSDAY, 11/10/11

I'm writing this two days later - I'm parked in a Costco parking lot in Henderson, NV.  Had to get my Almond Ice Cream Bars!

We ended up at the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.

We drove along the road to Valley of Fire just as the sun was going down on our right and the moon was coming up on our left.  When we got here, we checked out both campgrounds.   This Arch is between the two, and the moon was coming up as we drove by, so I stopped and got a lot of views of the Arch.  It was amazing.  I’m so happy I stopped here.  It’s worth a day trip even if you don’t camp.  I’m glad I didn’t miss it.

 Moon rising in the East

Different angle, from farther away.  The arch looks smaller here.

 Close-up of the Arch

Sun setting in the West

A few more photos from Tuesday evening:

The site fee is $20/night or $30 for electricity and water.  Since I was afraid it would be cold down here in this valley, I opted for two nights with hook-ups.   The Arch campground was more enclosed, and only one site was taken in the entire loop.  I decided to go back to the first campground where it was more open and there were more RVs.  There were a lot of open sites, so as the dusk turned to darkness, I tried a few different sites to see which one was best and most level and we chose one.  It's a drive through site and pretty level. 

On Wednesday morning, Katie and I got up early (the time change has us waking up an hour earlier, which is fine with me.  The whole world looks different at 7:30 as opposed to 8:30, our previous wake-up time.  At least mine – Katie is a lazybones.  We walked around the campground – there are 44 sites – and into the walk-in tent camping area where there are three sites.  Along the way we saw birds, a squirrel, and a rabbit.  (Anything resembling a squirrel, chipmunk or prairie dog I call a squirrel because I can’t tell the difference.)  It was a beautiful, cool morning, not a cloud in the sky.  Here are some photos I took on Wednesday as we were walking around:

Sunrise on Wednesday

 Can you see the bird?

 Here's another little critter

 I took this photo out the window - he was on the side of The Palms.  Isn't he beautiful?

 Moon rising last night (Wednesday)

Amazing rock formations.  The only drawback to this gorgeous area is there is no Verizon signal.  I’m fine with not receiving signals for TV, but I want to be able to use my phone and the Internet.  A day or two without them is fine, but today is my Dad’s birthday and I wanted to call him, and I've got an offer on my condo and I want to be available for any updates.   So two days it was and now we're on our way again.  

On the way out of the park I stopped to read this sign and snap a photo of Seven Sisters.  

 I'm not sure if the above is the Seven Sisters, or if the two below are included.

On the road again...

We drove through the Lake Mead National Recreation area into North Las Vegas.  I stopped at a Walmart in one of the cities.  I was thinking I might stay there until tomorrow, but it was a marginal area.  I drove by gang type people and homeless people sitting with shopping carts full of their belongings, a few of strange acting men, etc.  I parked in the lot looking around and didn't even want to leave The Palms to go inside to shop. So we moved along again, driving south toward Arizona when I saw this Costco and took the off-ramp.  One hot dog (eaten) and four ice cream bars (in the freezer) later, here we are.  Soon we'll be driving down the road again looking for a good place to stop.

BYW, this morning I found some mouse droppings on the carpet.  I'm checking every evening and morning, and the peanut butter is still in the trap.  When I get settled again, I'm going to take the trap out, put in fresh peanut butter and leave it on the carpet in front of the couch overnight and see what happens.  

From Me and My Dog, have a great Wednesday, everyone!  : )

Last day at Zion National Park

WELCOME to our newest Follower, Sassy!  Sassy has recently completed her first year on the road with her darling dog, Bennie.  She has a Class A Toy Hauler which holds her 2006 Harley Davidson, Heritage Softail Classic - so Sassy is doubly brave, a solo traveler AND a motorcycle rider.  Wow!  I've been enjoying her blog for quite a while, check it out if you haven't already.  We're really happy to have you along on our adventures, Sassy! 

Today is our last day at Zion National Park in Utah.  There is a 14 day limit, and today is our 13th.  I originally reserved this campsite at Watchman for 10 days, but then came early to see if we could get in and we were able to get a site in the South campground for three days, then moved over here.  I thought about extending at this campsite for another day, but it's really cold and tomorrow will be the same.  Wednesday the weather is going to warm up quite a lot, but we'll be gone by then.

I feel fortunate that in 13 short days I've been able to enjoy Zion in warm weather where I could wear shorts and tank top, sitting outside reading my Kindle, and also experience rain and wind and cold and a dusting of snow.  

I woke up this morning and there was snow on Watchman again.   It came down a little lower than last time.  There is still fog on the top.  Can you imagine sitting at your dinette having your coffee and cereal with strawberries in the morning, cozy and warm, and looking out the window at this?

 Closeup of Watchman with snow

I finally installed the discs that came with my camera - the Panorama program automatically  stitches photos together if you take them one next to the other and move to the right or left, up or down.  Pretty cool.

Playing with Panorama settings

- you'll have to click on the photo to see anything.

My front yard this morning in the moving fog.

Some of the lower peaks around Watchman have dustings of snow, too, so it must have been colder last night.  

One thing I can't figure out - I have a black laptop and black kitchen appliances.  You all know how the inside of our rigs get dusty, and need continuous cleaning.  What I can't figure out is:  for the last few days The Palms has been completely closed up except for ceiling vents, it's been calm during the day, it's been rainy so the ground isn't dusty, so why am I still getting so much dust???  Every night I turn off the laptop and close the cover.  This morning when I opened it, there was a fine film of dust covering the keyboard and surrounding area.  How in the world did that get in there?  :(   The table doesn't show the dirt, but I can feel a slight grittiness on it.  That's a real mystery to me. 

So, anyway, tomorrow we move.  I don't have hitch-itch, but I'll be happy to be moving south into some warmer weather.

 It was foggy last night

Sunday's moon peeking out of the clouds.

There were a lot of people here over the weekend - the campground was full except for 4 tent campsites when I came in from shopping at the end of last week even with the cold wintery weather.  I guess the weekends are filled with reservations, but during the week there are vacancies.  The Ranger said the weekends are always busy - the Park and Watchman Campground are open all year.   I'm surprised there are still some tent campers, they must be freezing.  

I was talking to a man in the laundromat in Springdale (he was using their elect for his laptop, not washing clothes) who is tent camping here.  He was a little worried about the forecast of snow, but said he's able to keep warm in his tent in pretty much any temps.  Hardy soul!

A neighbor up the loop came by the other day and was interested in The Palms.  He and his wife have a camper over their truck and a small toy hauler for his motorcycle, tools, etc.  When they are together, she rides behind him on his motorcycle.  He asked if he could bring her by in a few days when she gets here to see the inside.  

So yesterday they came by.  They are both retired, and he loves being outdoors but she doesn't.  She said a few days is all she can take; she has lots of things going on at home, it sounded like she is very social and would miss all her friends and activities at home.  I felt kind of sorry for the husband, but he gets out by himself and she joins him when she can for a few days.  I think he felt if they had a motor home about the size of mine, she would like it better - nice bathroom and shower, kitchen, just more room.  She liked it, but...  not impressed.  You can tell, and  I doubt his plan will work.  As I've read in lots of blogs, if you aren't both really with the RVing plan, it won't work.  You'll both be miserable.  

But it was fun to give the tour.  I always enjoy showing people the interior of The Palms.  

Not much going on today - I'm going to the dump station this afternoon to empty tanks and fill the fresh water so we'll be ready to leave tomorrow without having to stop on the way.  I have no idea where we're going - either Saint George, UT, or Las Vegas, NV, or maybe somewhere in Arizona.  Your guess is as good as mine.  :)

From Me and My Dog, have a great Monday, everyone!  :)

It's Snowing in Zion! :)

Yeaaa, it's snowing.  When I woke up I could see some wind, some rain and some snow.  I went out and took photos, but you can't see the snow.  If it starts snowing harder, I'll get some where you can see it coming down.

Mountains topped with fog.

You didn't know me when I lived in Camino or Pollock Pines right above Placerville.  I lived right on the snow line and we'd get snow every year. I was only snowed in once, but I worked at home so there was no problem.  Our roads were plowed, and I'd keep my car pointing to the street, right at the bottom of the driveway.  Both houses had long driveways and I never shoveled snow.

 This is my Pollock Pines house

When they were forecasting snow, I'd go to the grocery store and stock up on way more than I needed, I always had a big stock pile of wood because I used wood stoves for heat.  I was ready for the duration.  There was such excitement about the possibility of snow.  (Remember I was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.)  During one snow storm, the top of one of those trees came through my living room ceiling upstairs like a knife.   The weight of the snow broke the top of the tree right off. Took down some fencing and the deck railing on the left upstairs side of the house.  That was definitely exciting! 

When I woke up this morning and saw little flying snowflakes, it was like Christmas for me!  So far it's intermittent, and nothing is sticking, but I love watching it, hot cup of coffee nearby.

I'm so glad I have my new converter and a stocked larder.  We could stay here for days and never move - and we will. :)

More later...  time to make some soft boiled eggs with cut up buttered toast mixed in.  Just the kind of breakfast for a cold morning.  Just wanted to post about the snow while it was happening.

Update:

 Can you see the snow on the peaks?

Snow capped - just a light frosting

From Me and My Dog, have a great Saturday, everyone!  :)

Housecleaning today, going to town

WELCOME to our new Follower, Jenny!  I don't see a blog for Jenny, but her profile photo is a huge black dog, so Jenny and her Dog are following Me and MY Dog.  Thanks for signing on, Jenny, I hope you enjoy following along with us on our adventures.  Welcome aboard!  :)

Katie and  I walked over to the visitor's Center yesterday to see if they had outgoing mail service, my Dad's birthday is coming up,  and I had to leave Katie outside again.  This time I took her photo.   She's being such a good girl:

Katie waiting.

I was testing out the Panorama setting on my camera, and this is what I got - I think it was three clicks.  Really easy, and it turned out perfectly:

That's a bit of The Palms on the left

 The sunset was really pretty last night:

I love taking photos of little birds.  This guy and his friends were in our site this morning:

 

This morning I cleaned the house, stripped the bed and got all the laundry together including rugs and the things I don't launder every time.  We stopped at the dump station on the way out of the park and dumped the tanks and filled up with water.

As I was waiting for the fiver ahead of me (how much water do those things hold, anyway - it took forever to fill his water tank! ) I watched this little guy who was up the hill next to me:

Then we went into the town of Springfield to find a Post Office to mail my Dad's birthday card, do the laundry and top off the fridge and food cupboard.

As I was driving around the loop to my campsite, I saw this guy in the field:

 He was munching in the field, and there is a doe on the left

 I watched him for a while, then got back into The Palms and went on to our site.

I put Katie's leash on we headed out for our walk in the direction of the deer.  When we got there, they were done eating and were resting.  Each was on a different side of the field across from each other.   I went to the edge of the field and he casually watched me, but didn't move anything except his head.

 Resting after dinner.

As we continued walking around the loop, I saw these little birds chirping up in a tree - they were all sitting close together, and were just starting to fly away, and I got one in flight - right in the middle.  I liked this photo:

Then we went home - I got some photos of the clouds overhead.

 

Inside it was nice a warm.  Everything is clean and good smelling.  I got out fixings for dinner and pan fried a filet mignon, made some Spinach Surprise and toasted Italian bread with a nice cheap Cab.  Yum!

It just started raining, and there's a chance we might get some snow tonight. That would be pretty cool - pun intended. :)

From Me and My Dog, have a great Friday night, everyone!  :)