The Long Road Home

Sunday: (08/25) Up early and prepared to roll away by 0800. We headed South on I87 to Albany then West on 17, I81 then I86. We stopped about every 2 hours for a walk. About 1400 Lou was driving and hit a swarm of bees. What a mess. Almost couldn’t see out the windshield. We pulled into a rest stop and cleaned the bees and their honey off the windshield, somewhat. Some honey remained. We continued on and stopped for the night at another rest area near Owego, NY, about 1630. We completed 310 miles today. Leftovers for lunch. Toast and soup for dinner. (GPS: 42.0914202,-76.2718318)

 

Monday: (08/26) We got onto the road at 0430 this morning. W had to pull to the side of the road almost immediately because the heavy fog was frosting the windshield. I ran the windshield wipers which immediately made a minor visibility problem a major problem. Not all the honey was off the windshield or wipers. I wiped the windshield again as well as the wiper blades. I was afraid to run the wipers all day so we were lucky we didn’t have rain until later in the day. When we had a good shower later, I pulled off the freeway and ran the wipers which worked well and the windshield was clean. We stopped a couple of times for breaks and even a two hour break for lunch while I took a nap. 427 miles completed today. We stopped at a Walmart in Fremont, OH, for the night. Our microwave died before lunch today so we bought a cheap one at this Walmart. My 10# lifting limit delays and or changes lots of our activities. We had salads for lunch and some shrimp fettuccine for dinner. (GPS: 41.373863, -83.117782)

Tuesday: (08/27) Granola and banana for breakfast. I tried some almond milk with mine. We waited to leave until after 0800 so we could mail some things at the Post Office. We continued through Ohio on non toll roads. Highway 6, 24, 30, 49, I94, and I80. We stopped in Warsaw for lunch (German potato salad and chicken) and a nap in Plymouth. 356 miles today. We stopped for the night at Starved Rock State Park, North Utica, Il. Lou made some salmon rice for dinner.
(GPS: 41.306650, -88.976047)

 

Wednesday: (08/28) Two more states behind us. We were up at 0650 and rolling a little after 0800. Granola and banana for breakfast. We were back on I80 all day. We stopped for lunch and for me to attend my webinar. Leftover salmon and rice for lunch. Dinner at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Omaha, Ne. We continued on a few miles more to the Melia Hill Rest Stop West of Omaha in Gretna, NE where we stopped for the night. (GPS: 41.084003, -96.275537)

 

Thursday: (08/29) Fish with yellow squash and Brussels sprouts for breakfast. Lou and Dawn made chicken and vegetable stew which we dad over rice for dinner. We drove across Nebraska today. We stopped at Cabela's store #1 in Sydney, Nebraska for a stretch. We got to see the 2019 MVPA Transcontinental Motor Convoy, the 100th anniversary of the first motor Convoy across the US. Washington DC to San Francisco. In Cheyenne, we stopped to see my nephew and his wife and son. We then drove up the mountain on Hwy 80 and spent the night at the Lincoln Memorial rest stop. (GPS: 41.237640,-105.434919)

 

 

Friday: (08/30) We were up early before six and on the road shortly thereafter. About 0800 we stopped and had leftovers for breakfast and took showers at a reststop. In Evanston, Wy we had Chopped chicken salads for lunch. I took a nap at another rest stop. When i woke up, Lou sent me over to a couple with a dead battery on their 4Runner. i got out my little lithium battery jump starter and it started them up nicely. This was the second time I've used it  and neither was for our car, but it has tested out well and should be ready when/if needed. We made 521 miles today and stopped for the night at a KOA in Wendover, Nevada. Baked beans and bread for dinner. (GPS; 40.736380,-114.067450)

Saturday: (08/31) We enjoyed the showers in the KOA RV Park, had granola for breakfast then pulled out and headed back onto Hwy I80. We stopped in Elko to get some gas. I made a wrong turn heading to the station but saw a Burger King. Since I’ve had to modify my diet eliminating beef, I’ve been craving a hamburger. I got one of BQ’s Impossible Burgers, an all plant substitute for beef. I had it dry with a touch of sriracha sauce and it was excellent. We browsed the C.A.L Ranch Store next door. I found some of my western shirts there. Lou did most of the driving today. We stopped for lunch at The Pig BBQ in Winnemucca. We made it to Reno by 1600 and while Lou and Dawn browsed a thrift store, I got the RV filled with gas. Since it was over 90 degrees and a holiday weekend with all the RV parks filled, we headed for the cooler mountain elevations. We stopped for the night at the Donner Pass Rest Stop. Salads for dinner. (GPS: 39.342355, -120.3400319)

 

Sunday: (09/01) Up at 0600. Apple and peanut butter for breakfast. We showered and then continued on Highway 80 to Sacramento. We stopped at a Lowe’s store there to get cooler pads, which are difficult to find in our usually cool area. We arrived home just before noon and went to the Corner Bakery for chopped salads for lunch. I set up the RV and drained the tanks. Lou prepared our cooler for use. I relaxed in the afternoon looking over my mail.

Our trip since 1/19/19 was 10,031 miles in length, shorter than it would have been if we had stayed out through October.

Yuma Or Bust

Tuesday: (03/29) We started with a visit to Walmart to fill our drinking water bottles. Then we had breakfast at Arizona Charlie’s Buffet. Fortunately the Jeeps supplemental brake system seemed to be good today. We were finally on the road at 1030. We headed down Highway 95 and stopped in Quartzsite at the Grub Steak Bar for a fish and chips lunch. After a stop at the market to see if they had the smoked pork chops Lou loves we were off to Yuma. We spent about 45 minutes poking along the last two miles due to some construction. We got some $2.09 Chevron gas and then headed out to the Q Casino by Los Algodones’s border crossing. Tomorrow we go to get some glasses and have lunch. Our dinner was guacamole and chips with cheese and crackers.

(GPS: 32.7394, -114.7218)

On The Road To Yuma

Monday: (03/28) Last night we heard there might be 60 mile per hour gusts. When we got up this morning it was calm but we did have a good breeze this morning about 0400. We prepared to leave after granola for breakfast. As we were dumping the breeze camp up and on our way East on Highway 190 we head really heavy wing and gusts. his turned into blowing sand on the valley bottom. We headed on to Las Vegas via Highway 95. We stopped for lunch at the Fiesta Casino. Very good. The wind getting here was serious enough but it seemed to be getting worst. I checked online and found a high wind advisory for Las Vegas and the Mojave Desert including Lake Havasu, the direction we are going. We decided to stay in town and checked in at Arizona Charlies RV Park for the night.  The winds should disappear tonight after 0200. Just before we got to the RV Park the alarm on the Jeeps supplemental brake system went off. I had to disconnect the power to it to continue. Something to fix tomorrow when the wind and rain are gone and we are settled in in Yuma. Fortunately the hills aren’t too bad to get there. All the dust on the Jeep is now speckled tiny mud balls due to the rain sprinkles.

Gone To Reno

  
Tuesday: (03/01) Granola for breakfast. We finished our packing and hit the road about 0930. We enjoyed  stop at the rest stop near Donner lake where there was still some snow. It was way past lunch time when we stopped at Louis’s Basque restaurant in Reno. Unfortunately they weren’t serving until 5pm so we checked in at the Silver Legacy. Lou and Dawn had some time in the casino and I looked around as we waited for dinner. Our dinner was excellent but after dinner we were worn out so just went to our room.

 
Wednesday: (03/02) Lou and Dawn started the morning with a soak in the hot tub. I checked online for the best breakfast places in Reno and came up with two interesting ones. Both were within a mile of our hotel. The menu at Peg’s Glorified Ham And Eggs restaurant looked very interesting so I convinced Lou and Dawn to walk the .7 miles down Sierra Street to the restaurant. We were not disappointed. Lou and I shared a Chili Relleno Breakfast and Dawn had Biscuits And Gravy. We were all stuffed after our late breakfast. They were then off to visit all the thrift stores in town. Lou prepared a map a home to speed  their travels about town. I walked a couple of blocks to the main bus transfer station and bought a 24 hour pass for $1.75 and picked up a route map. I caught the rapid bus South on Virginia Street to the Atlantis Casino. I checked the casino and, unlike the downtown casinos, it was busy. They even had $3 blackjack which almost enticed me to play. I again boarded the rapid bus on to the Meadowwood Mall. After a check around the mall, I caught the 56 bus which wanders through the neighborhoods South of the mall and used Google Maps to see when I was near my lunch destination, Murieta’s  Restaurant and Cantina. The magic of GPS in an unfamiliar town. Continuing on my quest, I enjoyed a shrimp chili relleno for dinner. I then walked back up Virginia street about 2 miles to the Atlantis Casino then caught the rapid bus back downtown. Lou and Dawn had their favorite prime rib dinner at the Cal-Neva Casino. And the day was gone.

Thursday: (03/03) Lou and Dawn did their soak in the hot tub to start their day as I packed most of our stuff back to the car. I also cashed in a ticket that Lou still had and then played a couple of games of keno before we were all off to breakfast. While I wanted to return to Peg’s, Dawn wanted a buffet. Since she’s gone off her gluten free diet, she want’s to enjoy all the stuff she’s been avoiding. She won so we had breakfast at the Silver legacy Buffet. I managed to control myself, a little. We ten visited a couple of thrift stores I had been by on my travels yesterday that they didn’t get to. We hit the road back toward home about 1430. Traffic wasn’t bad all the way home and we only had a few sprinkles up on the mountain. We stopped in Grass Valley for lunch at a Raley’s market. Dawn and I shared a roast beef panini and Lou had soup. Since they were in the mood, we stopped at a final thrift store in Milpitas on the way home. When we got home we found a UPS envelope on the from porch with the check paying for the old Jeep. Now the only thing keeping us from some time aways from home in the RV is my setting up the Jeep for towing over the next few days.

Bakersfield Smog

Friday: (11/07) We started the morning with desert at Jerry's Nugget Casino in North Las Vegas after an early departure from our camp at Lake Mead. After breakfast, I headed over to Napa Pottery shop to get some planters we had seen earlier. Lo an Dawn were off to get a book Dawn had seen at a thrift shop. We met at the Wild Wild West casino parking lot and hooked up the Jeep to travel. On the road to Bakersfield by 1130. Coming down from Tehachapi we could see the dirty air below over Bakersfield, pur destination. We were at Aunt Helen's by 1830. While set  the Rv, Lou was off to Subway for some dinner sandwiches.

Saturday: (11/08) We did some tasks around Helen's place and some shopping (looking).  Lou made breakfast. Lunch at the the Ranch Mexican Market. Lou's French onion soup and toast for dinner.

Sunday: (11/09) Dawn's birthday is tomorrow. She wanted breakfast at Noriega's Basque Restaurant. We'd never done that before. Excellent! After breakfast we were off toward Pismo Beach. We thought we'd spend the night before heading home. No smog at the beach. No campsites either, a three day weekend. We arrived about 1330 disconnected the Jeep and Lou and Dawn were off thrifting. I visited an RV Parts store and got a replacement lens for our outside light which had a hole and a new clearance light fixture. All installed. Then we were off to our late lunch at Pismo Fish and Chips. We headed off to El Churro County Park for the night and were settled in a little after 1700.

Las Vegas

Monday: (11/03) Sausage eggs and hash browns for breakfast. We went to the scooter repair shop and the mechanic confirmed my opinion that the scooter would be difficult to repair and my fix will probably work for a while so no repairs made. We then shifted into thrift store mode visiting several around town. We also visited the Bass Pro Store and the Pet Kingdom store. The pet store has lots of exotic pets so we try to visit when we are in town. Lunch at Jetty's Casino Cafe in North Las Vegas. Chili sizes for dinner at camp.

Tuesday: (11/04) Getting up early just after first light gives us a chance for a walk while the wind isn't blowing.


We started the day with a walk around camp then I took a short walk down the hill to the river. When back at camp it was nice just enjoying the view from our chairs until the wind arrived.


Then it was time for breakfast of biscuits and gravy. Ernie called to say he arrived here in Las Vegas as well. We agreed to meet for lunch. We did some thrift shopping and I visited Dick's Sporting goods for a look before meeting Ernie at the Sunset Casino for lunch at their buffet. After lunch we returned the camp to relax and enjoy a campfire with our neighbor. No dinner needed due to the late lunch.

Wednesday: (11/05) Lou made eggs, potatoes and bacon for breakfast. I got to work on the water leak at the drivers window. i located my black caulk and recaulked the top of the window and along a portion of the rubber roof above that. Hopefully good enough for a while. After a green salad lunch, Lou and Dawn were off to the thrift and book stores. I relaxed at camp and tinkered at the computer. They returned about 1930 and we had a ham sandwich for dinner.

Thursday: (11/06) Another eggs, potatoes and bacon breakfast. We were all off to the thrift, book and pet stores again today. A Chinese buffet for lunch and dinner at the Palace Station buffet. I stumbled onto a wonderful nursery called Plant World. All sorts of plants but the real wonderful thing is that there are a dozen or more parrots scattered around the place and a bunch of house cats. My kind of place.

 

Bakersfield

Saturday: (11/01) We got up early a little after 0400 and hit the road. The rain had mostly stopped. We beat the sun low in our eyes both because we were so early and because it was cloudy. We arrived at Aunt Helen's about 0630. We all went to Milt's restaurant for breakfast. While the girls were all out thrift shopping, I  was busy napping. We had a very late lunch at Bill Lee's Chinese restaurant. Late enough that dinner wasn't needed.

Sunday: (11/02) We got up an hour early because we hadn't reset the clocks for DLST. Leftovers for breakfast. All hooked up and ready to leave at 0900. The RV had a new sound when i started up so I checked the power steering fluid and it was low. We got gas and they didn't have the fluid so a stop at an AutoZone Store provided the power steering fluid and quieted the noise. The rain was mostly gone just clouds and the occasional sprinkles. Cold cuts on the road for lunch. We arrived at Lake Mead's Las Vegas Wash Campground by 1530 and settled in. Dinner was open face pepper steak sandwiches followed with fresh strawberries. It was dark by 1730 but we should enjoy a nice early morning now.

Ely to Home

Thursday: (05/23) Cereal for breakfast. We left Ely just before 11am heading West on Highway 50. We stopped for gas in Austin and Fallon, had dinner at the Nugget in Sparks enjoying their buffet and made it to Fairfield by 1030. There, a semi truck tried to occupy our lane while we were already in it causing us to take evasive action to no avail and the rear of the trailer removed our right side mirror. The truck continued on down the road and we had to pull over due to the mirror banging our side window. We called the Highway Patrol and were advised to make a report tomorrow. We continued the rest of the way home with Lou acting as the right side mirror. Not a fun way to drive a motorhome. It really is like driving blindfolded when changing lanes to the right. We arrived home at 1230am and tucked the motorhome into the driveway. We just settled in and spent the night, as we have for the past few months, in the motorhome. Time enough tomorrow to move back in at home.

Highway 50 to Ely

Wednesday: (05/22) Steel Cut Oatmeal for breakfast. We decided to cut our Great Basin visit short and prepared to roll. We took Highway 50 West to Ely where we spent the day. Ely seems to be a really nice town. We had lunch at the local Ridley Market. I had a nice pastrami Pannini sandwich, Dawn had a Greek salad. Lou had a chicken salad. We visited three of the four thrift stores in town and their wonderful General Store like True Value Hardware store.
(GPS: 39.25440, -114.86223)

Great Basin NP

Monday: (05/20) We were up early to be ready for the mechanics whenever our parts arrive. Lou made scones with bacon for breakfast. Dawn and I visited the Thrift store and I got quite a few travel picture books and guides. Lou made Chinese chicken salad for lunch. Last time we were here when I was moving the RV onto the lift I hit the sewer drain pipe and broke a filling near the gray water tank. Fortunately the break is after the valve. It was a bit messy for the last two tank duties. Today I finally got out my rescue fusing tape and taped up the break until I get a chance to replace the piping. I have to replace several fittings and the valve to make the final repair. That can wait until we get home and I can fully drain and wash out the tanks. Our part arrived just after lunch so I prepared the RV to roll and moved it closer to the shop. The new dipstick and tube were installed and we were rolling out of town just after 2pm. We took Highway 89 North to Highway 20 the West on 20 to I15. Then North on I15 to Beaver. We filled up with gas there and also stopped at a local cheese factory, Cache Valley Creamery. We bought some cheese and some curds. We headed West from Beaver on Highway 21 to Baker, Nevada, then headed into Great Basin NP on Highway 488. We arrived after 5:30 and were lucky to find a site big enough for us.


Our site (#11) is nice and sunny and right between two streams. We may be staying here for a few days, possibly the week. Fish with rice for dinner.
(GPS:  39.0131, -114.2515)

Tuesday: (05/21) We toured the Visitor Center in the morning.


After that, I drove up the mountain and attempted a hike out to The Alpine Lakes and Bristle cone grove. There is a lot of snow remaining and the trail is mostly covered with snow. I made it up to Teresa Lake with a lot of post-holing through the snow.


I decided to return the way I came rather than make the entire loop by Stella Lake as well because the snow looked worst beyond Teresa Lake. The trail to the Bristlecone Grove was blocked by snow as well so I cancelled that. Speaking with a couple of other hikers I learned that most of the trail to the other lake was clear. I might have been able to do the whole hike but I really don't like snow. Just a little beyond the Bristlecone Grove is the only glacier in Nevada. In a couple of weeks, all these trails will be nice hikes.Right now there is too much snow for me.


On the way down the hill I stopped and took a short hike on the Osceola Ditch Trail. During their gold mining boom the water was diverted from the creek we are camped by to a mine about 18 miles away. This trail is down the mountain about 2500 feet at 8000 feet and was a nice hike. Oatmeal for breakfast. I had a Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch on the trail. Lou and Dawn had leftovers. Sausage salsa cornbread for dinner.

Boulder Beach, Lake Mead, Nv

Sunday: (02/10) Baked ham, pepper, and onion omelet for breakfast. We buttoned up the RV and cruised on down the Northshore Highway down to Boulder Beach near Hoover Dam.


We had lunch at the hacienda Casino and then stopped at Hoover Dam for a look. Dinner was a Greek salad, lettuce, olives, artichokes, and feta cheese.
(GPS: 36.03823267, -114.80255787)

Monday: (02/11) We broke camp and drove over separately to the Hacienda Casino for breakfast. Lou had their giant ham steak breakfast and I had their giant chicken fried steak breakfasts. We both halved our breakfasts for later use and placed them in togo boxes before we started eating. Probably could have made three breakfasts out of it. In addition to big the breakfasts were very good and cheap. We then hooked up the jeep and headed out past the Hoover Dam on the nice new bridge then on through Kingman to Lake Havasu.

White Dome To Adlatl CG Via Rainbow Vista

Saturday: (02/09) The wind was gone but it was cloudy and we had a few sprinkles this morning. I planned to take my hike from White Dome back to camp with Lou dropping me off there but we had to wait for the clouds to clear a little. I worked on adding photos to several recent posts.

White Dome To Atlatl CG

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Las Vegas, Nevada

About 10:30 Lou dropped me off at White Dome. I wanted to hike from White Dome back to camp so I took the Prospector Trail from the bottom of the White Dome Trail just North of the slot. Unfortunately I followed the trail ducks rather than where I knew I should go and ended up on the wrong side of the rocks going to Rainbow Vista instead of by the Pinnacles. Next time I'll stay right of the cliffs. I decided to continue on because it's still areas I haven't seem before. Judging by the footprints on most of the trail (none) I assume not too many hikers go on this trail. I lost the trail markers before arriving at the Rainbow Vista parking area. I then walked on the road down toward the Visitor Center but cut across the valley floor once I emerged from the rocks. I then followed the path they made when they buried the utilities most of the way back to camp.Nice hike. My lunch was an English muffin with cheese and a beef stick. Lou had beef log, cheese and crackers. After dropping me off Lou stopped at the Visitor Center and listened to a couple of ranger talks. Lou made hamburger steaks with grilled onions, baked potatoes and spinach for dinner. While we had broken clouds all day and they were dark gray, we never had any more rain. In the evening we listened to the A Prairie Home Companion radio show with Garrison Keillor via the Internet..

Valley of Fire, Windy Day

Friday: (02/08) Winds still gusting this morning. Lou made pancakes and ham for breakfast. Seemed like a day for tinkering inside the RV and for a drive in the Jeep with these winds, which we did. I updated the blog adding track with photos for some recent hikes. Lou was busy reading. Lunch was leftover spaghetti and salad. After lunch we took a drive around the park. Lou hadn't been out yet. We also stopped by the Visitor Center for a good look around. With that done it was time for dinner of, of course, leftover spaghetti. I had broccoli and lou had squash. Our wind seemed to die off at sunset. it's still cold though. We been watching a movie marathon of William Powel and Myrna Loy movies the last couple of nights. I picked up a cheap set of five of their movies, all of them were really good.

Valley Of Fire, Pinnacles Trail

Thursday:(02/07) Peach blintzes and sausage for breakfast. My hike today was on the Pinnacles Trail.

Valley Of Fire, Pinnacles Trail

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Henderson, Nevada

It's an unimproved poorly marked trail across the valley floor and into and through the rocks and washes. The first part looks like it follows an old roadbed. Later it meanders guided by the occasional "duck" rock piles. I had planned to go out and find a geocache that is planted along the trail but my phone had other plans. I had downloaded and tested a geocache list for this area last night but It didn't work today so no geocaching. I don't think I ever found the trail the cache is on because I expected a loop but never found one. My trail went out and I returned on the same path. My trail was also much longer. I was planning a 4.5 mile trek but took a 7.6 mile trek. While the valley floor is flat and not colorful, up in the rocks there is vivid color and interesting shapes. There are lots of holes in the red rocks and even some arches. After about two miles out I saw only one other set of footprints since it last rained here other than the burro, coyote, fox, rabbit and mouse tracks. I could have gone further out, because it looks like the trail continues on toward the White Dome road I traveled yesterday,but I decided to turn around at noon because I had told Lou I'd only be gone about three hours. I had my cheese sandwich for lunch at the far end of my hike. I made spaghetti with rice noodles for dinner. It was a nice sunny day today. The wind started gusting hard occasionally in the evening.

Photos:

Adlatl Rock where there are some petroglyphs is right by our campground and the start of today's hike. On the right is a photo of the trail path across the valley taken from the platform at Adlatl Rock..


Going up the Pinnacles Trail (left) you come upon a nice arch (right).


Above left looking down where the Pinnacles Trail came up/ Our campground is on the far side of the valley on the left side. The trails are marked with rock ducks like the one shown above right.


The last part of my hike was through a big dry wash where i stopped and enjoyed my lunch. i then turned around and returned via my same path.


Not many flowers out now. The barrel cactus above did have some though.

Valley Of Fire, Mouse's Tank, Fire Wave, and White Dome Trails

Wednesday: (02/06) I left Lou at home and drove out for a few short hikes.

I hiked out to Mouse's Tank, a couple of huge holes in solid rock where a wash drops down 50-60 feet. The water has washed big holes that hold quite a lot of water. The tanks were known to people of the old west and likely to the Indians as well because there are petroglyphs on the rocks on along the trail to the tanks. I was running my GPS tracker but after the hike I managed to delete the track.

Valley Of Fire, Fire Wave and White Dome Trails

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Henderson, Nevada

I then continued out toward White Dome stopping to hike the Fire Wave Trail along the way. it was a nice hike but was unnecessarily am in/out trail not a loop. The end of the trail disappears without any other indications so I returned via my own chosen route emerging back to the road by a sign that said area closed. There didn't seem to be a reason other than an excess of signs that needed to be erected.

I then continued on to White Dome and hiked the  trail there. This trail was only a 1.4 mile loop but I extended it but doing some rock climbing and wash hike to double the length seeing some very interesting areas. I enjoyed a lunch of beef log and cheese along the trail. I then returned home a bit after noon. Lou had enjoyed a nice shower in the park showers, done some reading and had her lunch while I was gone. I tinkered with the computer, enjoyed my own shower, and took a good nap while Lou was reading. Dinner was roast chicken with rice and a green salad.

Photos:

Above left is Mouse's Tank, a big hole in the rocks that retains plenty of water. That may be a water source used by the early peoples that left there marks on the rocks as petroglyphs above right.


Some rocks along the Fire Wave Trail above.


Above left is the start of the White Dome Trail. The trail goes down from there along the right slot above right. That starting section is the only real steep part of the White Dome Trail.


At the botto, i extended my hike by walking out over the rocks another half mile.


This slot is at the bottom of the White Dome Trail.