2002-03 . . . Episode 1 - On the Road Again

Getting ready is half the fun, eh?! This year, we actually had some ideas on what we wanted to see and how we were going to get there. We wanted to get up to the Indian Lands in Northern Arizona and New Mexico, go down through New Mexico, visit Biosphere 2. Our thoughts were to get a lot of travelling in early so when we were ready, we would come directly home.

We wanted to hold off leaving as long as we could to catch the spring blossoms but the weather was starting to turn so we left (October 23).

The goal for the first part of our journey was to get into non-freezing weather. Montana didn't do it and neither did Idaho or Utah. The first day, we drove right through Montana and spent the first night in Idaho Falls between half a house and a transport truck in the truck stop parking lot BUT (as has become a habit) met a couple from Calgary and spent most of the evening visiting with them in the coffee shop. In Utah, we found a rustic little RV park in a small town called Beaver. You know the old expression one person's junk is another person's treasure? Well the owner of this place seemed to be a rather eccentric soul with very eclectic taste who totally surrounded himself with his treasures. But it did have an incredible Mexican Restaurant.

We didn't drain the anti-freeze out of the system until Mesquite, Nevada (oh-h-h that heat felt good) and then onto Las Vegas. Las Vegas is Las Vegas is Las Vegas The weather warmed up nicely - not HOT, just nice and warm. Ann and Eldon (the folks we travelled with last year) had already arranged for a place for us in a nice RV park attached to Sam's Town Casino. Oh, yes, then we toured a few of the Casinos, stopped and watched an act at Circus, Circus, went to Arizona Charlie's    

and ended up doing a buffet and playing Black Jack at a funky little neighbourhood casino that had a $1 Black Jack table and very good (reasonable) food. (2 for one $6.00 US). They are great guides and we visited some great non-casino type places.

The Chocolate Factory was a fascinating place - partly the making and sampling of the chocolates but also the Cacti Garden and water recovery/recycle system. All the waste water used in the production is collected, run through a filtering system and utilized in the Garden. They've even managed to corral a couple of roadrunner to populate the Garden.

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Mountain Spring Ranch

The Mountain Spring Ranch is a unique environment off in the hills outside of Las Vegas. It was once owned by a Krupp woman prior to WWII and then by Howard Hughes. The State has since taken it over and run it as a working ranch. There are nine springs coming down from the mountain which turns the ranch area into a lush oasis in the middle of the desert.

The house is decorated in a 50's style to reflect the Hughes era - was that stuff ever familiar!!

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Bonnie Springs

Bonnie Springs is another Nevada mining ghost town (in the hills just outside of Las Vegas) that has devoted itself to catering to tourists.

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Leaving Las Vegas and Nevada

We got away from Las Vegas either 8, 9 or ten a.m. (depending whether we went by Nevada, Arizona, Mountain Standard or Daylight Saving time) heading east and south first along the Boulder Hwy, then Hwy 93, then Hwy 40.

Las Vegas is O.K. to visit but it sure was nice to get back on the road and get to places we haven't been. We got across the Hoover Dam but they did check every cupboard and drawer in the trailer. That Power Grid is still impressive.

It wasn't until we past Kingman that we started into new country (it still looked like every cowboy movie I ever saw as a kid) a little more brush but lots of hills and rocks. East of Seligman, there seems to be less exposed rock and more trees. We climbed up over 7000 feet and started coming down again. There is one big truck after another on the road from all over. It's hard to believe so much moves so far by truck. We stayed at a small RV Park at Williams, Arizona but it was not very warm (52F during the day, windy and freezing at night). Williams is on the old Route 66 and where the Grand Canyon Railroad tour starts - another western historic place. The fellow at Williams suggested that if we wanted to really see some of the Navajo Nation, we head up Hwy 89, stay at Cameron and tour from there.