Viva Las Vegas!

Fifteen years ago we stayed at the beautiful new Las Vegas Oasis RV Resort and have come back for another short visit. We've found everything to be just as we remember.

Yesterday we proved we're part of the 21st century. I downloaded the app and we are now Uber users. I am completely sold on Uber. There isn't a shuttle that runs from the resort to the strip, we knew if we drove we would have to find a place to park, tip the valet, then get back to where we parked and tip the valet again. Uber pulls up, calls you by name, already knows where you want to go, there is a bit of friendly conversation during the drive, then you arrive. The fare has been even less than we expected. I even told Ray I want to be an Uber driver when we get home, he frowned at me...

We have walked countless miles from Fremont Street, along the Strip and through the casinos and took a spin on the High Roller. We even saw the amazing $60 million Swarovski crystal chandelier at the Cosmopolitan Casino. I didn't get a picture of  that, maybe tomorrow. You just can't imagine how it spills out everywhere and 3 bars are encompassed within the strands of beads.

Pre-Evacuation Notice

Yesterday the fire department called the rv park to notify everyone of a pre-evacuation announcement. We were to get prepared to leave within minutes should the evacuation notice be announced. There was a fire just a few miles away. The fire fighters were able to extinguish the flames by the afternoon.

They closed the busy road to Yosemite. There were many guests from the rv park who had gone to Yosemite for the day and would have been blocked by that road closure, not permitted to return to the rv park.

That wasn't our only excitement for the 4th of July.  Patsy and I played a close game of Hand & Foot against George and Ray. The girls were able to pull off the win!

You can see from these pictures why the fires spread so quickly.

Vacation from the Vacation

Since our day trip to Santa Cruz we have been on vacation from our vacation. Ray called and changed our reservation at the next stop on this summer adventure so we could stay here in Coarsegold, California, where our friends, George and Patsy are until Tuesday. When he heard how many people would be traveling the highways during the Independence Day weekend, he decided we could just stay here a few days longer.  We've cleaned, done a little preventative maintenance on the motorhome, had the oil changed and tires rotated on the Suburban, and played cards. We are planning to be on the road again after the holiday. 

Santa Cruz

We arrived at Yosemite South RVC Outdoor Destinations Monday, where we met our friends, George and Patsy. They will be here during the remodeling of this park. We had planned to stay four nights, but the manager said we could stay as long as we like, so we decided to stay until July 5, after the holiday traffic.

Tuesday, Ray and I went to Yosemite National Park and I posted the pictures of that trip.  Wednesday, the four of us went to the coast for the day. We chose Santa Cruz since Patsy wanted to see surfers and I had seen lots of surfers there when we were there several years ago. The drive was interesting, we watched the parched land as it transformed into green fields of vegetables and fruit. As we got closer and closer to the coast, Ray would announce the change in temperature as it dropped. We have been experiencing temps over 100 degrees F and the temp on the coast was only 58 when we arrived.
We walked the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, the beach and wharf.  The harbor seals played in the bay, sailboats sailed by, and there were surfers off in the distance while we had lunch. Following our meal, we drove out to the lighthouse where we could watch the surfers in action. There were younger surfers not too far out, while the experienced went  further. At times we could hear them call out that a good wave was coming. They would line up and get ready for the ride.

After watching the surfing, we had a little more time before we needed to start the drive back to the RV park, so we drove south a few miles to Carmel. When we arrived at Carmel-by-the-Sea the temperature there was a cold 55. Everyone on the beach was bundled up in warm jackets and wrapped in blankets. We took a short walk on the beach, took a couple of pictures and got back in the warm car.

Yosemite National Park

Our day in Yosemite began early. We wanted to get into the park and see as much as possible in one day. We had 36 miles to travel a long and winding road to arrive at Yosemite. There were several others making the early trek and they were in a big hurry. Although we were driving at the posted speed limit, we pulled into the pullouts a couple of times to allow the motorists following us to get around. Drivers here are in a rush and don't mind letting other drivers know when they are annoyed. No, it wasn't all directed at us!

3 Days of Travel

We drove from Daniel, Wyoming to Beaver, Utah, to Barstow, Californina, to Bakersfield, California over the past 3 days. The first day was a long trip, we drove past the Young Family Farms - Lavender Farm. I tried to catch a picture of the beautiful lavender as we whizzed by. Later in the evening I saw on Facebook that Barb had been there that day!

 

In the little town of Beaver we stayed at the KOA Campground, where Ingrid checked us in and told us if we wanted a real treat for dinner to go to Timberline Restaurant. She was not exaggerating at all. The food from freshly shredded hash browns, to made from scratch sweet rolls and fruit pies was home cooked and delicious. It is easy to find and right at exit 109 on I-15.


The next stop on this leg of the journey to Yosemite was smack dab in the middle of the Mojave Desert near Barstow, California.  After passing Las Vegas and crossing the California border we saw three very bright lights. At first they looked like lighthouses, but that wouldn't be the case in the desert. It was just early afternoon and the lights were the brightest we've ever seen. I pulled out the handy, dandy iPad to Google "three bright lights in the desert". Google didn't let me down. In February 2014, Ivanpah Solar Power Facility opened the concentrated solar thermal power plant. I learned the plant produces 392 megawatts of electricity, enough to serve 140,000 homes in northern and southern California.

As we were preparing to get on the road this morning, Ray didn't want a bowl of cereal for breakfast and since our internal clocks have us up on the eastern time zone, at least three hours earlier than the others at KOA, we decided to find Peggy Sue's 50's Diner. We had seen the billboard advertisement yesterday when we arrived at the Barstow KOA. Peggy Sue's was very easy to find and another good place to stop on I-15. True to the name, it is a 50's diner with seats at a counter, booths near the window as well as a larger dining room you find at the end of the yellow brick road, yellow tiles on the floor. The menu was full of food choices such as the John Wayne Omelet, which Ray chose and I had the Travelers Breakfast. Waitresses wore uniform dresses with matching aprons and headbands.  By this time it won't be too early to start the engine of the RV. Thoughtful traveler, Ray, didn't want to wake everyone parked near us, too early.

The trip today wasn't as long as the past two days. We could have gone all the way to Yosemite, but we couldn't get on our reserved site until Sunday. We decided to stop at Bakersfield and found a real gem, Country RV Park. We could see it is a beautiful, well-cared for place. It is a joy to be here after traveling the past two days in the desert.

Painted Canyon

Susan asked if we stopped at the rest area just before the Medora exit while in N.D. The answer is yes, we did. I have a couple of pics of the beautiful Painted Canyon.

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