I have another blog post in the queue from a side trip we took from Death Valley. But honestly, I’m not in the mood to post a “look at all the cool things we saw, life is wonderful” blog with all the craziness going on these days.
Where are we? We have been bouncing around Northern Arizona, trying to avoid the cold, rain and even snow. Our friends Dan and Amy are still with traveling with us.
After leaving Death Valley, we spent 2 nights parked on BLM land south of Las Vegas, specifically on the Jean-Roach Dry Lake.
That site was great until was great until we realized we were parked right in the middle the location of a dirt road race that was going to happen that weekend. Ever heard of The Mint 400? Neither had we.
To borrow from The Mint 400’s website….
The Mint 400 is the oldest and most prestigious off-road race in America. Held annually in March, over 550 race teams in 80+ classes compete for two days on a grueling 400 mile course in the desolate foothills of Las Vegas. The festival events draw 65,000 off-road enthusiasts from around the world, while the Livestream is beamed to hundreds of thousands of race fans. The Mint 400 is “The Great American Off-Road Race”!
550 race teams and 65,000 people right where we were parked? Nope, not going to happen. We changed our plans.
However, while parked on the dry lake bed, we took a morning to reprovision. Said reprovisioning occurred while Jim was at an emergency visit to a local dentist for a VERY loose crown. It turns out the part of the tooth that was holding the crown broke. Ouch. If you are ever in Las Vegas, we highly recommend Welch Dentistry. You too can have two new permanent crowns in 4 hours.
Leaving the dry lake bed, we decided to try staying at the Elks Club in Boulder City. That was Plan A. Alas, they were full. Plan B was a campground at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. They were also full. So was the Plan C campground. Plan D finally worked out. We ended up a more remote, no-hookups, campground still within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. It actually turned out to be a good option, even if it was a tight squeeze to get our rigs into the camping spots. While there, we visited Hoover Dam (again…first visit was blogged about here) and did some hiking. The weather also cooperated at first.
The weather forecast at this point started looking overcast. After 17 days of running off solar, we headed to full hookups at a KOA in Williams, Arizona (just west of Flagstaff). We sat through rain, cold, mud and more rain. Thus no pictures.
We had one more night before we were to leave the KOA when Jim checked the weather forecast. The National Weather Service was predicting snow and ice for our departure. After a quick meeting, we all decided to leave then and there. Big rigs and iffy roads do NOT mix.
And this is how we ended up where we currently are, in Winslow, Arizona at Homolovi State Park, a place we have stayed at before. We have 30 amp electric, so we are content. The plan is to lay low for this week and see what happens in the outside world.
We were supposed to be heading to Tucson for a huge RV Rally next week, but the FMCA cancelled the rally yesterday (huge sigh of relief on my part). I honestly can’t believe they waited this long to cancel an event that is attended mostly by retirees.
As a result, we aren’t sure what our next destination is. It is all totally weather dependent. This has been the weirdest weather we have ever seen in the 5 winters we have been in the Southwest. Combine the weather with the COVID-19 warnings, it is becoming a challenge to decide where to head next. On top of that, the state of New Mexico decided to close all their state parks to overnight camping. Why????? Considering Albuquerque is an eventual destination to see family, this life style is becoming a challenge.
For now, we have a well stocked pantry, lots of books and fabric, and are staying away from crowds. We are healthy and heeding the warnings. I hope everyone else is well too.
Stay safe and healthy!
Thanks. You guys too!
Thanks for your blog — a “breath of fresh air” — even if you are having your own kind of “crazinesss.” I was in Wegman’s in Bkpt. today and — they didn’t have any meat (I wasn’t looking for any) but good grief — these people are hoarding everything. Church cancelled tomorrow. Nice quilt — like the colors. Ditto what Brenda said.
I’ve been thinking of you. I’ll try to find time to give you a call tomorrow. We need to catch up!
It is quite a race. You must have been stunned to realize you were parked in a raceway-LOL! Especially at this time, in the words of Jackson and Glenn, “Take it Easy”