Week of 3/6
After visiting my friends, I headed east to Nevada without any solid plan. Most of the time I don’t mind but I was getting frustrated because I needed to think about where I was going to spend the night. Heading into Pahrump, a small town just over the California border, I checked out the different memberships I have, and lo and behold, there was an RV park right in town. This particular park is only open to members and I was able to get a couple of nights without any hookups. Since it’s a co-op and private, I won’t mention the name.
After getting settled in, the next day I drove to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area that requires entrance reservations for $2.00. No problem, made it online and was good to go. It’s a beautiful area and though it’s not a National Park, the guidelines are similar. There is no overnight parking or camping here, but it was worth the visit. There are a lot of activities and the 13 mile scenic drive through the canyon was amazing! I stayed until sunset and took a lot of pictures at one of the turnouts on the way back.
I had some time on my hands and the next afternoon, drove to Henderson to Cruise America, a RV rental company, to check out their used RV’s. The sales person was amazing and gave me a tour of a couple of RVs and a lot of information about how the buying process worked. I’m looking at buying a 25′ Class C that will give me some much needed room and a bathroom! Now all I have to do is sell my van.
A Knock on my Door!
Next on the list was to Henderson and Las Vegas! I visited my friends Sally and Michael from Yellowstone and we had a great time catching up and Sally made some great meals. After, I headed into Las Vegas to find a spot for the night and found a casino on the north side of town, where there was a Bass Pro Shop and a Cracker Barrel. I was sound asleep until around 1:15 am when I was awakened by someone pounding on my door! OMG, the first “knock on the door” happened by a Security Guard! He told me that I had to move and explained that the casino owner didn’t allow overnighters any more because of an incident that occurred last year. However, he was nice enough to show me a place to park across the street, and I drove there to finish off the night with no further incident. Note: this is probably the only Cracker Barrel that doesn’t allow overnight parking.
Las Vegas was a great revisit! It’s been over 20 years since I last visited and it brought back lots of memories. The women in my family celebrated one of my niece’s 21st birthday there and I stopped at the Flamingo Casino to pay homage to my mom, who loved the place. I wandered around all day long and play a little video poker (mom taught me after I got bored sitting in the van waiting for her). That evening, I found another off the beaten path casino and was able to spend the night without any knocks.
That weekend, I spent a couple of night at the Valley of Fire State Park and was lucky to find a spot to camp. I was right by the petroglyphs and at night I played with might light saber and had a lot a fun with that. I did some hiking and took plenty of photos!
My last stop was to the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, where my van got searched before they let me through. Really? Later, I heard that there was a bomb scare a few years ago and that security is very high now. The lake has evaporated to very low levels , but the dam still looks cool! And of course it was a hot day and crowded, and I parked on the Arizona side and walked in. How’s that for one week!?