Death Valley National park

Took my bride out for lunch today and ended up in Death Valley. No not from the food, the National Park, and it is unbelievable! Turns out it is only about an hour away from our camp site without any big mountains you need to cross to get there. Actually it is probably only a 30 min. drive but the road you take to get there winds around a lot to miss the mountains as it crested at 3000 ft before dropping down to 282 ft at Badwater Basin. The view was breathtaking and the road being one less traveled was a ball to drive.

We also stopped at the Furnace Inn which also was way cool even though it was way out of our price range. As we came up the wrong way we got a chance to talk to a gentleman that greets the guests when they arrive and sees to it someone parks their car and brings in the luggage. He told us some very interesting history about the area and the inn itself.

We went inside to check it out and each had a beer. I would have had another but they were so expensive I needed to wait for my next government check to arrive before I would be able to afford it. Not really but if what they charge for a beer is any indication I sure will not be reserving a room there any time soon. Can you say Sticker Shock! But still the guy was cool, the beer cold and the view out the window overlooking the valley as well as looking at my lovely bride was fantastic. I really am getting into this being a tourist.

It’s always an Adventure

Mark 

An Oasis in Pahrump, Nevada

Here we are in Pahrump, Nevada for a month, at the most beautiful RV resort we could imagine. When we found this place on the internet we weren’t quite sure if it was real or not, because it was also so affordable. But by the grace of God, it was everything that they said it was a much more.

The drive here took about 5 plus hours. There was another time change to our travel so not sure on the exact time. Just when I think we are used to one time, we move and the time changes. The scenery was grand going through the mountains again, but then the road was as flat as South Dakota. The only difference was the actual topography of mountains to the side of us and tumble weeds. What a long and boring drive. Mark set the GPS so  it didn’t take us through Las Vegas again, Praise the Lord. Poor Mark was getting so sleepy. So we made one stop at a Target for Pepsi and popcorn. A stretching of our legs and some caffeine to wake us up and we were on the road again. 

The road that led us to the campgrounds was under construction which turned the road into one lane. Thankfully we didn’t have to wait too long for the escort down the road. What we saw at the next turn was beyond our expectations. The sight of the RV resort was like an oasis in the desert. And that is where we are, in the desert, but the resort was real and beyond our dreams of perfect.

Check in went smoothly and we were met with warm welcomes. Being lead to our site had us overwhelmed by all the beautiful landscaping and waterfalls in the resort. Once we were in our site and waved good bye to our site guide, we surveyed our site. What we found was a bit of an issue so we walked to the office. We explained that because of a dead tree that hung too far over our site, we couldn’t open one of our slides without getting it scratched up, and the other side we couldn’t open or we would hang 3 feet over onto the neighbors site. Now don’t get me wrong the sites are a very nice size. Anyway, some men came and took down the branches that were in our way and Mark moved the 5er over three feet. They even cut off three branches or prongs off of a palm so it wasn’t in our way to get to the back of our rig. My goodness what service. All of this was done with a smile and happy you are here attitude. That is what I call service for royalty. That is just what we felt like too. Never had we thought that we would ever stay in a place as nice as this. But is so very affordable.

After several hours of setup we washed up and walked down to the restaurant for some supper. Oh did I forget to mention, the main building also has a restaurant? Well not only that but a 5 lane bowling alley, full gym, jacuzzi, two pools, hot tub, laundromat, convenience store and sauna. This place has it all. And happily we will be here for a month. The weather here, for now, is an added bonus of being in the mid 70’s during the day and 40’s and 50’s at night.

Today we plan on laying low for a bit, it was a long tiring drive to get here. A walk around our grand resort today will give my camera a good work out again. So I'll be adding more pictures.

Here are just a few pictures of the gym that is located in the main building at our resort. Amazing to say the least, as if everything else here.

Heading for Pahrump Nevada

 I feel it's my place to inform our loyal friends and family of the latest development in our travels. Now before I go any further let me say that neither Cindy nor I had any real info about our next stop. And are a bit under the gun to find a place that isn't full for the next 8 weeks.

So we are headed to Pahrump Nevada to stay at a rather high end RV Resort for the next month or so.

After looking a little closer into attractions in Pahrump we have found a bar that sounds interesting. The bar called the Leghorn has a very long and interesting history which we plan to explore.

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions for other interesting sights in the area?

This is going to be another Adventure!

Red Hills Desert Garden

After a filling breakfast at our favorite food place, we headed to Red Hills Desert Garden. Talk about another mind blowing adventure of mind spinning beauty.

Overlooking St George Utah

Quail Lake Reservoir

From our campgrounds we followed a winding road heading into Hurricane Utah, and came across some beautiful areas. Ha ha, not area's but the whole area of beauty. I would like to add some pictures that have just overwhelmed us rural Minnesota natives.

Zion National Park

Monday we headed into town for a nice meal at our favorite spot, JB’s Restaurant, and then headed to Zion National Park to see what all the excitement is all about.

The drive the ZNP was beyond our dreams and once arriving to the entrance the site blew our socks off.

 Upon finding the gate of entrance, we realized that our Senior Pass was in the truck. But the man at the gate believed that us two ole geezers had one and let us in. With a Senior Pass, seniors don’t have to pay to get into National Parks. So inside we went. We looked around at the gift shops until the shuttle pulled up. No, we did not walk that long and winding trail. hehe  One could drive through as well, but our one ton dually never would have made the narrow tunnel and Mark would have missed out on so much that there was to see. The shuttle was the best way to go.

The seating for the Shuttle ride didn’t take long and it didn’t take long to figure out we may have wanted the other car. There were children on the car we were in that made enough noise that hearing what the driver had to say difficult. He explained  the different sites we were about to see. We were literally in between the red cliffs. Everything went straight up! The Indians called that area the land that went up. How imaginative. LOL One point was so high they called it Angels landing because it was so high that only angels could land on it. That was of course the highest point. Another area was called Natures Amphitheater. And indeed is looked like one too. 

There was so much beauty to see all around that my neck was getting sore from trying to turn and look straight up all the time. Wow what a ride.  Not only my neck was tired, but my jaw was sore from dropping!! ;) We could not of imagined anything like what we saw today.

The whole ride was a couple hours. But you could get off at any one of the 8 stops along the route to explore as the next Shuttle came in less than 15n minutes. People were walking the steep trails and along the river to get a closer look. I’m too out of shape now to do any of that.  Plus I am a klutz and may have landed in the racing river. 

The day was filled with awe and wonder. We will be going back again some day too. There is so much to see that it all can’t be taken in in just one day.

The included photos only make a representation of what is actually there. One must see it with your own eyes to truly comprehend the wonder of it all.

Utah here we are.....

A long winding, and rolling road as we roll on down Hwy 95 heading to Utah. The gentle rolls in the road tickled my tummy like on the swings did as a child. The curves had me holding my breath as I have always done. Wow what a ride that was.

We took a break for the night in a small but very friendly campsite. A lot of the people there were from MN, heading back home.The whole day was terribly hot which made us even more anxious to get to Utah out of the Arizona heat.

The worst road was when the GPS had us go into or rather on the edge of Las Vegas Nevada. OMG, the traffic there was wild. How Mark held it together had to be from the skill that God gave him. He was amazing, while I on the other hand was a nervous wreck. Thank God I wasn’t driving. The wayside rests in Nevada are quite impressive and Lola liked the large doggie area they have as well.

A few miles outside of the previous mess, the scenery began to change. And Oh my gracious it changed into such beauty that I can not find the words to describe it. The hand of God really did some mighty exceptional work here. My finger started to cramp up from trying to capture everything on camera. Even the camera got mighty warm from it’s heavy work out. But no matter how hard I tried, no camera can capture the real thing.

The closer we got to Utah the more we ooed and aahed. As hard as it is to believe, at times we were speechless. For the first time I got to see the Rocky Mountains, and about jumped out of my seat when I got to see actual snow on the mountains. The topography just kept getting more beautiful  for us new travelers. Mark had to work hard to stay on the right side of road and still see some of the beauty. But it was all around us, front, back and all around. 

After many calls we managed to find one spot to camp for the night. A very friendly little guy held the site until we got there and guided us into the narrow site.  Getting into the site we got for the night was a bit of a challenge since they were small sites and the road was narrow. But Mark got it in in spite of being dog tired from another long drive.

The following morning we called around for another spot. Only to find all were full except a KOA campgrounds. It just happened to be just down the road from where we were too. I think the reason they have openings is because they cost more than most other places. But the price can not compare to the site that we face each and every morning. We had a two hour wait before we could check in to the KOA. So we drove down the road to a spot where we could pull over and have a lunch while we waited. Wow another great view of awesomeness.

Once checked in we were guided up to our campsite. Yes, I said UP to. We had to drive up the cliff to park. When we got out of the truck we noticed the breathtaking sight we would see every day for the next 5 days.

Being tired beyond words and in need of gas for the truck we headed into town for some sustenance. The JB Restaurant was open and are we glad that they were. The food and service was wonderful. If anyone is ever in Hurricane Utah, you have got to give them a try.

Until next time………