Catching Up (Las Vega, NV)

We are in Las Vegas now, but it is time to do some catching up.  We have been doing some traveling and visiting to different sites before we came to Las Vegas so here's a quick summary...


Oatman, AZ
We had a nice afternoon walking around the streets while eating ice cream from the Oatman Hotel.  A former gold mining town with shops and a couple of restaurants on Route 66 in the Black Mountains of Arizona.

The burros are descendants of the miner's burros turned loose when the mines closed down and they spend their day roaming around town looking for handouts.  They are relatively tame, but there have been some incidents since signs are posted to be careful around the burros.

We watched a street show of the ol' West.....The afternoon got a little noisy at that time.

Old West Shoot Out Show

Sandy had a new friend...

Pssst! Yo, got any apples?  Carrots?

A bunch of burros showed up after the first gun shot.  The warning shot must be like a dinner bell to them.  They know there will be the largest gathering of humans and food for them during the gunfight.

If the gun doesn't convince them to give money,
I'll help by convincing them with a kick, okay?

The stage coach showed up right after the show and stopped right next to us.  The driver asked us if anyone was killed and Dan answered "only one!".   Yup, great day!

Stage coach has arrived

Death Valley National Park

Dan's standing in front of the Bad Water area.  Buses on the main road look like ants.  That's how far away we are in this photo.  It is so amazing how far we can see.  It just goes on for miles and miles and miles.

The following photos are of the Badwater area is five miles of salt flats with crusty ridges going every which away..  We were standing 282 feet below sea level.   

Bad Water

Turns out it is not as dry as it looks.  We were kneeling to get better close-ups of the salt and both of us ended up with a wet knee.  When the spot dried, we had a salty crusted knees.

Side view of the ridges

Close-up of the dry salt

Scotty's Castle

At the north end of Death Valley National Park we visited Scotty's Castle.  

Bridge over swimming pool

And the story....well, talk about a Wild West story perfect for a movie...go to this link  to read the story behind the castle.  It is an interesting story filled with intrigue, a gunfight, an unusual friendship with a happy ending! 

There are a couple of paid tours we could have taken, but we were happy to wander around outside.  Just touring the outside took awhile because we explored  every nook and cranny. 

Dragon or a snake ornate lantern holder

Their very own clock tower stood separate from the main buildings.  There is a clock face on all four sides.

They started construction in 1922 and because the castle is so remote, the Johnsons used very advanced technology to power their home.  They used water flow to turn a Pelton wheel which ran the generator for electricity. They even had a solar heating water system.  They had a water fountain in the main hall that dripped down a rock face giving the place an evaporated cooling system.  Amazing!

 

Next blogs from Las Vegas Nevada.

Pair-A-Dice Skp Co-op, Pahrump, NV

Our stay at Pair-a-Dice Skp Co-op in Pahrump NV was pleasant, but overall we did not find the area very appealing.  The people were friendly and helpful, however Pahrump doesn't have much to offer for our lifestyle except a super Walmart, and a few  grocery stores.   Gamblers might like the area more then we did as there are multiple casinos in town.  Costs of the co-op and real estate in the area are very reasonable and it is a good base for exploring Death Valley as well.

Permanents with building between them

The Co-op offers one cookie-cutter style building with two connected sheds.  They are all painted in similar colors.  No different designs or styles so there is no individual tastes except for what the owner does with the porch and the front yard.

view of shared building.  Front yard belongs to the other side.

The shared owners are parked on opposite sides with plenty of space for a large rig and their vehicle.  Hopefully, everyone likes their neighbor since they are sharing the building.  Each owner also gets a porch/patio and a front yard on the opposite sides facing the street.  There are quite a few permanents so less are available for travelers.

Patio and covered porch with front yard on our side.

Everyone looks for something different.  For us, our two favorites are Benson, AZ and The Ranch, NM.  We still have a few more to visit though so there's always a chance we will change our minds.

Lots of space per site

Here are some additional photos from around the park....

view of two different roads

Side road

Large Center

We have moved onward, and are now in Las Vegas at a Thousand Trails campground.  More to follow.

KOFA KO-OP (Yuma, AZ)

We stayed a week at the Escapees' KOFA KO-OP in Yuma AZ.  Our first impression upon driving into the park is that it looked more like an over 55 mobile home park instead of an Escapees co-op.  

The second thing that came to mind is the extra living space compared to the other parks.  There are still some sites with just  a storage shed and it doesn't look like anyone turns their shed into a Casita.

bare lot with shed

Permanent homes with nice porches

Since we plan to keep traveling after we lease a site, we will not want a permanent home.  This is perfect for a couple wanting a winter home in a warmer climate and not wanting to deal with a motorhome or a trailer.

Pool and Hot tub

Other extras are the swimming pool and hot tub.  They also have clothes lines near the Laundry room.  Sandy thinks that is a wonderful idea.  Clothes would not take long to dry during Yuma's warm winters.

There is a wide variety of stores for shopping, lots of restaurants, and a Marine base nearby for the retired military.  We also heard that Algodones, Mexico has great shopping as well.  We did not cross the border to check it out.  Maybe another time if we are ever back this way.

Common areas with small gardens on 4 corners

One of the plants in the common area.

Our decision:  Yuma isn't for us. We find that we like the high desert more than the low desert.  The idea of having more living space is appealing, but the sites are a little smaller and feel just little cramped. And while the winters are nice and warm, the summers are very hot.

2 permanent homes

The nicest site

On Thursday 29 March we will move to a Coast to Coast campground in Needles CA for 2 nights, then on to the Pahrump NV Escapees co-op Pair-A-Dice for one week. After that we have booked ourselves into the Thousand Trails Campground in Las Vegas NV for three weeks to use our membership. We may not stay the entire 3 weeks, as we watch the weather up north and decide when we want to head towards Spokane WA.

Desert Museum and National Park (Tucson, AZ)

We visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum near Tucson AZ 16 March before moving on to Yuma.  Big mistake on our timing for the museum!  Between Spring Break and warm weather, not to mention, a Friday, the place was very busy.  Even some of the employees commented this had been their busiest day in quite awhile.

We were already there, so we decided we might as well brave the crowds and enjoy ourselves.  The highlight of our visit was the Hummingbird Aviary.  Hummingbirds were buzzing all around us.  Adults and children were quietly walking around in awe of the little guys.

Costa's Hummingbird

There was another bird aviary with a few different birds, but it did not compare to the Hummingbird Aviary.

 We checked out the Cat Canyon with Bobcats, Mountain Lion, Ocelot, and a nearby Fox as well.  Of course, on a hot afternoon they were not moving around much.  The Mountain Lion was belly up in a deep sleep next to the window while the bobcats were bathing themselves in the shade. 

Grey Fox sleeping on fur.

We did not stick around for the Raptor Free Flight since we figured we would not get a good spot for viewing on such a busy day.

Kestral

After spending a winter with 320 acres filled with wildlife, the Desert Museum did not seem all that appealing to us.  Part of walking in the woods was the anticipation of meeting something along the way and if it was a bird or an animal we have not seen before....well, that was just an extra bonus for us.

Saguaro National Park

The Saguaro National Park is actually located in two areas.  One is on the west side of Tucson near the Desert Museum and the other is on the east side of Tucson near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.  We have visited both now and we agree the east side was a lot nicer, but the west side had wonderful vista views of the valley below with Saguaro cactus stretching out for miles in of us.

It's a good thing we visited both of these places on Friday because a cold front hit the area on Saturday night.  Sunday, we had sporadic rain and high winds.  By Monday, we were watching snow flurries.