Las Vegas without Busting - Wed., Feb. 26

Wednesday morning we walked Roadrunner Trail at Lake Pleasant Regional Park from Roadrunner Campground to the Visitor Center. Sunshine and clear air combined with sparkling deep blue water and more burro sightings made for a pleasant commune with nature.

Bob "working."

Lake Pleasant

 

Curious burros

Dam at Lake Pleasant

Too cute

The wild burros were once pack animals for the miners. Some escaped or were let go; they have survived and multiplied over the years.

Elephant saguaro

One last photo before we hitch up and hit the road.

Today, I drove most of the way including over some mountains with 6% grade. I was doing fine until I HAD to use the restroom. However after driving for miles and miles with no place to turn out and no rest areas or gas stations the situation was getting dire.

Finally we came to a passing zone with a wide enough shoulder to pull over. However, we  were coming off one of the 6% downgrades. I was braking to slow us down and Bob was telling me, "Leave enough room so we have  space to get back on the highway." I stomped on the brake to get us stopped. When I exited the truck I smelled burning brakes. Sure enough, smoke was pouring out of the two back truck tires. Yikes! I was freaking out. The saying, "Where there's smoke there's fire" kept running through my head.

We went to open the door of the 5er so I could use the potty and the door wouldn't open. I started doing "the potty dance." Just before we left on the trip we had a new door lock put on and ever since then it has been nearly impossible to open the door. Bob finally got the door unlocked and I took care of business.

After the brakes had cooled considerably, we headed back on the road. I kept driving but was uber cautious about putting the truck in a lower gear to go down the 6% grades.

When we reached I-40, it was time for lunch. There was a gas station/truck stop with a Subway where we decided to eat. The place was a zoo with trucks coming and going, but we saw a place with truck parking so I headed back there. Thankfully there were some spots where Bob could back us in. (I've never backed the 5er before.) Bob got out of the truck to come around to take over the wheel. I put on the parking brake because we were on an incline.

While I was sitting there I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. OMG, the truck and trailer were going backward! Holy smokes, Batman! That would not end well. I punched my foot on the brake at the same time Bob started banging on the driver-side window telling me I was rolling backward. Just in the nick of time, too, because a truck was backing out a short way behind us!

I said, "Why won't the truck stop? I even put on the parking brake?!" He replied, "Did you put it in park?" Whoa, Nelly, I forgot to shift into park. Don't know if he's going to let me drive again after today's follies.

Next stop, Lake Mead RV Village for five nights. Bob drove the rest of the way to Lake Mead. When we got to the RV park, our site was assigned to us, but the lady who checked us in seemed a little unsure if our 33' 5th wheel would fit into the back-in site. After we had our directions in hand, we headed to our site. First we had to navigate through a small entrance in a rock wall. Our site looked like a major challenge to get into. Bob gave it the old college try and pulled The Beast back through the rock wall to give enough room to back the 5th wheel into the site.

After two tries, it seemed pretty obvious to us (and the crowd who had gathered to watch) that it wasn't going to be easy to back our 5th wheel and Ford F350 crew cab into that little space without doing a  set of 10-point turns. Lucky for us, one of the park workers was out walking his dog. He called the office and asked if one of the pull throughs in the immediate vicinity was open. It was. Yay! So Bob whipped the 5er around the circle and the park worker directed him into the site. What a relief to be parked.

After all that, we took a breather, then headed into Henderson, Nevada to have dinner with Bob's mom and sister. First we said our hellos and met their four dogs: Jetta, Arie, Mr. Sunshine and Mollie.

Bob's mom, Louise, with Mollie

5-month-old Arie, a Canaan dog.

Arie

Choices for dinner included: Red Lobster, Marie Callender's Restaurant, Olive Garden, Mimi's Cafe, Tony Roma's, a Mexican restaurant and a couple more places. We chose Marie Callender's, but the Mongolian Grill next door almost won us over.

A wonderful evening of conversation and catching up with each other ensued. We discussed which days would be best to get together. Friday will be the day to see "The Lego Movie" and we will be joined by Bob's great-nephew, Jayce. Friday night, a huge family dinner is planned at Kris's house. (She's the family's "adopted" sister.)  Very much looking forward to seeing everyone again! We will get to meet Bob's new great-niece, Jovie, as well.

Thursday we left our scheudle uncluttered to relax and meet blogging friends Steve and Joan of FOSJ (Friends of Steve and Joan). They started full-time RVing around the same time we did and we've followed their blog for over two years.

So ended Wednesday. Lots of excitement all day. We were happy when we finally settled in for the night.

Travel Bug out.