Time, Weather and GO!

"Time waits for no one", said the Rolling Stones long, long ago.  

We had a week to wait for the water to quit flooding our route from AZ to CA for hugs and doctor's appointments.  Option one, stay at the park in AZ for another week when the COUGAR had been parked there for THREE MONTHS and we had explored Blythe CA,  Yuma AZ and points east and south.  Option two, check out the Valley of Fire State Park near Las Vegas and have a short, too short, visit with our granddaughter Cassidy.   I bet you can guess which option we chose.   We had stayed at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in 2021, catching a 3 day cancellation in the Boulder Basin RV Park, near Boulder City.  So Tom was anxious to see another PART of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and made reservations at Echo Bay RV Park.  The latest news said that the Lake had risen enough to make boating available there, and it was just outside the Valley of Fire State Park.  The iconic red and white polished rock formations are north and east of Las Vegas.  So in order to catch Cassidy on her days off we spent three nights at the Las Vegas KOA near one of the outlying Casinos.  We opted for the third row in from Boulder Highway since Tom hears EVERYTHING!!   We found it convenient, welcoming, and would return.  We enjoyed BREAKFAST with Cassidy and she even helped us get ready to check out!  She is a neat young lady and we are really proud of her cake artistry and her get up and go personality.  No grass grows under her feet!!  She was getting ready for a craft show, in addition to her 40 hour per week employment at Las Vegas Custom Cakes.

The drive out to the Echo Bay RV PARK was lovely and we did see one wild horse.  I learned from the maintenance man at the Park, that it is part of a six horse herd.  It had a distinctive white blaze.  

Echo Bay is on the Overton Arm of the Lake and the next day we drove to the town of Overton, (which is the shopping and business area for the Lake Mead community unless they choose the longer trip into Las Vegas) after we drove the roads of the State Park, and even checked out the campgrounds, which are first come first served - no reservations taken!  While the campgrounds are nestled amidst the awesome rocks,  the access road seemed a bit narrow for us, and all the sites were back in.  We were glad that we were just driving the pickup and NOT TOWING!!

The rocks are the result of the erosion of the Muddy Mountains.  The Muddy River and the Virgin River flow into Lake Mead.   We marveled at the obvious "feet on the ground" surveying that had to have been done when planning the construction of the Hoover Dam prior to 1935-36.  The eroded red sandstone and white limestone has been smoothed by wind, rain, and freezing temperatures.  It was nearly Spring when we were there. It is SPRING here in Tuolumne California NOW,  It took awhile for the warmth to arrive here, to catch up with us;  We were told by our sons to bring WARM with us, it has been a very cold and wet winter for California.  The WEST certainly needed a cold, wet winter.  It broke all kinds of records!  Including the record breaking endurance of the old timers on the mountain that we called home for 41 years.  We were thankfully following the daily snow levels at the nearest ski area - Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort - on the internet link!

If you ever travel the I-15 north of Las Vegas,  it will be a worthwhile side trip to drive through and into the Valley of Fire State Park,  be sure and stop at the visitor's center, it was very informative and I picked up a souvenir hat with a wide brim for walking in the sun!!  Of course I had to get rid of a straw hat that I had since the INN - it was a Lost and Found Item from the maids closet back in the cabin area out back!   That is one of the RULES when living in a 24 foot COUGAR, add something and you must get rid of something!!

The other rule due to Tom's back and my knees is - IF WE CAN DRIVE TO IT OR THROUGH IT, WE WILL SEE IT!!  I can still picture the most famous photo of this park,  but unfortunately,  it was on a hiking trail so we missed seeing it live and in person!