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A very windy day, difficult driving. Tom drove about 50 miles for the first time today since we started the trip. This is a pretty campground in the middle of a bunch of sand dunes. We stayed here back in 1990. The wind was stiff with gusts up to 30 or 40 miles per hour. Sand was blowing across the parking lots. Later in the day the clouds came in and we had some rain, but not a lot. It was just windy and the trailer shook. It is now about 10PM in the evening and most of the rain has passed and the wind has died down. I think this will be another peaceful night. We drove into Monahans, about 8 miles away to get fuel. The only station open had some problems with the pump and the diesel fuel was filling at the rate of about 2 gallons a minute. Took almost 20 minutes to fill the tank. This region is called the Permian Basin, W one of the most productive oil fields in the US, and is full of active oil wells and refineries. There's even a functioning oil rig right inside the park next to one of the picnic areas. |
Today started out sunny, cool and windy. As we headed north toward Albuquerque, it got colder, cloudier and the wind picked up. The elevation increased as we traveled which added to the cold front which was coming through. We passed through several snow squalls and it was even snowing in Albuquerque. Tonight the temperature is supposed to reach 19 degrees. We are in our first military campground for this trip. We got the truck washed and went grocery shopping. We will stay here at least two days while we rest and get the oil changed in our truck.
Wednesday, February 11 |
A pleasant drive today, but later on the wind picked up again. This campground has full hookups, cable TV and free Internet, but it is basically a parking lot. We went to the El Rancho restaurant for dinner, our first restaurant this trip. Food was good, but not anything special. This hotel and restaurant was built by the brother of D.W. Griffith, W one of the early silent movie directors and one of the most famous. |
Today's drive was lovely with lots of high desert. Most of the trip was through arid lands before entering snow around Flagstaff. We began to see the mountains around Flagstaff more than 100 miles before reaching the town. Here are a few webcam images of today's trip. We were planning on staying in Flagstaff, but the only campgrounds that were open were several feet deep in snow, and they were expecting another foot or two tonight. So we just stopped long enough to pick up some meds for Frank who had called them into a pharmacy a few days ago, then continued on another 60 miles to this very tiny town. Campground is nice, but they have had just enough snow in the last few days to make things muddy. We have decided to move on to Las Vegas tomorrow and stay in Sam's Town casino RV park. |
We started out today with about an inch of snow everywhere. Rather than getting back on Interstate 40, we decided to drive a section of historic US 66 which we were camped beside last night. At about 85 miles, this is the longest portion of old US 66 that is still intact with no breaks. As we headed west, the snow got deeper as can be seen on these webcam captures . After crossing a set of mountains we moved out of the snow and on toward Laughlin, NV where the temperature was quite a bit warmer. Today being Valentines Day, it was appropriate that we found ourselves going through the two building hamlet of Valentine, Arizona. After setting up camp, we drove into town and had the truck washed again, to get rid of the road salt accumulated from the snow areas we passed through.
Sunday, February 15 |
We started the day by getting the trailer washed at a independent washing contractor next to the casino in Laughlin, NV. For $80 they did a great job which took about an hour. We then headed north toward Las Vegas. The sky was cloudy all day and we had some scattered light rain. Figures, we had the trailer washed this morning, and it rained. That must have caused the desert rain storm. We passed a solar array called the Nevada Solar One, the third largest concentrated solar power plant in the world. W We stopped for lunch at the only spot that had any buildings for the last 50 miles. I love visiting the desert, but I don't think I would want to live here, especially in the summer. The temperature frequently reaches 110 degrees and has been as high as 120 degrees. This evening we ate at a buffet in the casino which was quite good, but of course we over ate. This is a nice casino campground.
Tuesday, February 17 Wednesday, February 18 |
For the next four days we will be staying at this hotel while Frank attends meetings and teaches web design classes for IGRA University. Friday Frank will be webcasting the IGRA board meeting. Tune in if you are interested. The trailer is parked in the hotel's back lot so it will be close by. Tom will be taking various classes just for fun. While in the hotel's parking lot, the hotel's Security Staff will keep an eye on the trailer. Our travel log will continue on Monday, February 23. |
We moved back to Sam's Town Cassino today instead of tomorrow as originally planned. The weekend at IGRA University was a tremendous success with 120 students and 25 instructors. Frank had some of the best classes he ever had. Tom won his associate degree in rodeo arts, meaning he acquired at least 16 total points over the last 2 years. Frank also got the same degree, but it took him 4 years because since he is teaching most of the weekend, he can only take one other class in a year. Later in the evening we went to see "Mystere" a Cirque Du Soleil production at Treasure Island casino. Fantastic show with a huge cast of talented acrobats and clowns. At one point there were 14 handsome muscle-bound studs swinging on a huge bar structure 50 feet above the stage. Two brothers went through a stunning display of strength as they did a slow motion act holding each other up by their legs and arms. Check the Cirque Du Soleil website for a short video of the show.
Monday, February 23 Time was spent today doing laundry and cleaning the trailer. We went back to Fry's to get some relays and a visit to Whole Foods. In the evening we went to the Rio Hotel and Casino to see Penn and Teller and had a ball. |
We had breakfast at Sam's Town, then tried to go to Shepler's, but they were closed. So we hooked up and headed west. We are now in Pahrump, NV the middle of the desert, but around a man made lake and loads of green grass and trees, all kept alive by irrigation. Makes me think of Dave Stamey's song, Somebody needs to go back home. Just look at the arial view of the campground on Google Earth above. The area though is beautiful. As the sun set, Frank got some photos of the mountains and the fantastic colors. We filled our propane tanks also. |
This morning we awoke to a strong wind coming from the south. Before leaving Tom and Frank took a little walk to view the campground lake in the middle of the desert. We then packed up and headed west into Death Valley. The scenery is spectacular. The high today was 81 and the weather was beautiful. We were lucky in getting one of the two last full hookup sites at Stovepipe Wells where they only have 14 sites with hookups. There is no cell phone service in the valley so these updates may have to wait a few days. There is limited internet in the lodge, but it is slow. Will update these pages as I can.
Thursday, February 26 Friday, February 27 Saturday, February 28 This morning we struck out on an all day journey. First stop was the actual location of Stovepipe Wells. Next we traveled north to Ubehebe Crater which was created by a volcanic steam eruption about 2,000 years ago. Molten magma had welled up into the water table, which fills the valley as far down as 8,000 feet, at which point the super heated steam exploded spraying rock and debris as far as 6 miles away and as deep as several hundred feet. Next we visited Scottie's Castle, W a grand home built by a wealthy Chicagoan in the late 1920s. We took two tours, the first of the cellars and walkways of the lower mansion, where we were guided by a Ranger dressed in period costume. We saw plumbing and electrical equipment that ran the castle. We even got a demonstration of the original electrical generator which is still in working order. Next we got a tour of the home, a grand weekend getaway for the owners. The Park Service has done a tremendous job of restoring the home and the pipe organ where we were treated to a short concert. If you ever get to Death Valley, both these tours are "must see adventures". Finally we drove to Beatty for fuel and reentering the Park, took the Titus Canyon dirt road which had just been reopened after flooding earlier this month. This is a true back road and not passable without 4 wheel drive. Fantastic scenery and a 4x4 owners fun road. Redneck Frank had a ball, but Tom was constantly on edge fearing damage to our truck. The trip was 30 miles of bumpy, rock strewn, dirt, with hair pin turns and sometimes hundreds of feet of drop off, all without guard rails. Plus at times, even our 4x4 truck was fishtailing in the soft sand. Getting stuck here, after dark, 45 miles from civilization would not be fun. We should have gotten an earlier start because it was dark before we exited the canyon. |