We stopped near Reno for a break and to get some shopping done. Surprisingly we managed to find everything on our list and had a day trip to Pyramid Lake, this is a natural lake. The color is so blue.

Pyramid Lake click here

 

2021 05 22 Lamoille Canyon-First and Second Try

Elko, NV

We have moved all of 50 miles. There is a canyon we would like to see near Elko.

On Saturday the weather was changing every 10 minutes, sunshine, cloudy, rain, sleet. We finally decided to go to the Lamoille Canyon. I am so happy we decided to go. Even though the weather wasn’t the greatest and we had to turn around due to sleet and snow. The drive was awesome.

If the weather is better tomorrow we will do the drive again. The canyon is only about 30 minutes from town so it is fairly close.

 

We elected to do the drive again the next day. This time we made it up the road an additional 1000'. We gave up when the road was down to 2 snow ruts and 4" of snow. If you are ever in this area this is well worth the stop.

 

We knew we had snow as we approched

Beautiful,  but cold

Time to turn around

 

Lamoille Canyon First Try  click here

Lamoille Canyon Second Try click here

 

Bonneville Salt Flats

Wells, NV

The campground is lovely, lush, green, lots of trees. Very unusual out here. When we arrived there was a wedding going on down by the creek. The flower girls were darling. White dresses and cowboy boots!!!! As the wedding progressed the clouds rolled in, thunder started and the rain came down. I assume they did get married as everyone scattered.

Wells is not a large time, Burger King, McDonald's, 1 pretty good local restaurant and an Iron Skillet at the truck stop. We remembered Iron Skillet with fondness and stopped there. Not the same restaurant we remember. The next day we tried the local restaurant. Only open for breakfast and lunch. We elected breakfast and is was good.

Our mail came in so we went to the Post Office to pick it up. It is safer to select a small town for mail, the larger towns seem to misplace the mail. Small towns don’t get that much General Delivery so it is easier to find in the office.

Our campground host likes to bake. For 2 of the 4 days she came around with breakfast muffins. Nice treat.

While here we took a drive to the Bonneville Salt Flats. Plenty of camping space with great views. We went to the Flats but didn’t go out on them. Your car gets full of salt mud, we don’t want that. The Flats are flat as far as you can see, no bushes or anything green.

Our last day in Wells we had snow. Didn’t stick to the road. The trees were beautiful.   

Bonneville Salt Flats click

 

 

 

 

Drive to Wells, NV

Today was a driving day. The plan was to drive to the Salt Flats, stay overnight and then on to the small town of Wells, NV to pick up mail. As usual, plans change. We ended up driving to Wells and will drive back to the Salt Flats. Wells is about 50 miles from the Salt Flats that are in Utah.

This was a beautiful drive. We had the snow capped Humbolt Range to our left and this just added interest to the drive. No towns, just road. Sign said next gas was 78 miles. 

 

Additional pictures: The Drive to Wells
 

 

Great Basin National Park

 Today we drove to Great Basin National Park. The drive toward the end was beautiful, snow capped mountains, just so surprising to see. This park is in the middle of nowhere, almost on the Utah border.

We went to visit Great Basin and drove up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. The road was an 8% grade for 12 miles, no flat spots. Wheeler Peak Scenic drive is closed due to snow but we made it to 9500 feet with no problems. The view just went on and on. 

We then drove down our 8% grade. We checked out the other roads, not many, in the park and were home by lunch. Tomorrow is housekeeping day. 

Great Basin National Park click

 

The View from our campground

A typical road, no cars

 

Cathedral Gorge State Park

 Today we visited Cathedral Gorge State Park. Though a small park, there were very unique rock formations. Kind of like a Slot Canyon.

Cathedral Gorge State Park click

One Side of the Valley

And the other, two worlds

Caliente - Echo Canyon and Spring Valley State Parks

 We took off early and headed out to visit 2 state parks. My navigator had me take a right out of the campground, after 25 miles I decided we were going the wrong way. He had the map and set up the GPS!!! We turned around and drove back.

Now that we were heading in the correct direction. Again very few cars on the roads. Once we were off the main road we rarely saw another car. 

As we visit each park we always drive thru the campgrounds. Most are only half full and some are empty except for the host. We really like the lesser known state parks, they generally aren't visited that much but each one is unique in their own way. 

What we find interesting is the flatness of the valleys, perfectly flat. Since Visitor Centers are not open I guess we will never know how they formed. Water appears to be plentiful, the valleys are lush.

Echo Canyon State Park click

We were amazed at the flatness and lushness

A display of old farm equipment

 

 Spring Valley State Park click

Las Vegas-Valley of Fire State Park

 Tom asked why we were going to this park an all I could answer is I found the name interesting. 

We came in the west entrance and immediately had Big Horn Sheep on the side of the road. This was our first wildlife sighting. The rock structure in the park is different, I understand why the name is Valley of Fire. I can easily imagine the rocks as being flames. The park has one main road with a few side roads and one scenic loop. We took every road we were allowed on that was open. 

I am fascinated by the colors of the rocks we are seeing, how one layer is cream and the next layer is dark. I find this fascinating. Took us several hours to get through this park and was well worth the drive. We left via the East entrance on a road that paralleled Lake Mead. Mostly a boring road but in good shape. Many pull-offs but there is no warning that one is coming. We were pretty much the only car on the road. Lake Mead is very low and has been low for years. There are now concerns that Hoover Dam will not be able to generate electricity in coming  years.  

Valley of Fire State Park  Click here

 

 

Las Vegas-Red Rock Canyon

We have now moved to Las Vegas, again an Elks Lodge in North Las Vegas. The constant wind we have had for a week continues. It is very tiring to have winds every day from10-30 mph. Driving, even in the car, is challenging. 

Our plans for this week is to visit Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire State Park. We generally do touring one day, stay home a day. We are in no rush and just want to take our time. 

Our Amazon order came in and is at an Amazon Locker waiting for us. We drove to the locker and the location was in an Amazon distribution center, huge, huge building. While there the daily trucks left, must have been over 100 of them The line just kept going. 

Red Rock National Conservation Area

This is a National Conservation Area park that you need a reservation to drive its Scenic Drive. We didn't know this the first time we showed up and you can't get in without a reservation. Instead we drove around the mountains in the area to fill in our day. I will make a reservation and we will come back another day.

When we came back to the motor home, logged onto recreation,gov and made a reservation. Being senior citizens our America the Beautiful pass gave us free entrance but we had to pay the $2 reservation fee. 

We generally like to do things early in the day and this is a good decision for this Scenic Drive. The most interesting part of the drive is in the first 5 miles and, even at 9AM, the parking lots were filling up with hikers. Earlier is better. 

This is an interesting park and an excellent scenic derive that is 13 miles long. The contrast between the red sandstone and white sandstone is spellbinding. 

I am taking a different approach to my pictures. I will post a few in the blog and the rest will be a link. This is much easier for me to create and maintain. Hopefully, everyone will be kept happy. Some pictures in the blog and additional pictures if you are so inclined.

 Here is the URL: Red Rock National Conservation Area  Click Here