Leaving Nevada

Our stay in Nevada is almost at an end. We've been in the Silver State for almost 2 months. We've done a little site-seeing, a little hiking, and a lot of gambling. It's time to start heading home.

We've not had any Internet connectivity the last 2 weeks. We've been staying at the Laughlin KOA at the Avi Casino. Even though the RV park advertises that it provides WiFi, it doesn't work well. As the clerk said at the time we checked in, "We offer WiFi but we don't guarantee it." On our previous stay, we were closer to the office and were able to pick up a signal much of the time. On this visit, we are much farther from the office and have not enjoyed a signal at all.

Of course, I have my phone, but as I've stated before, I don't enjoy posting this way. So, until I have connectivity, I probably won't be posting much.

From here, we head about 200 miles south to Yuma, Arizona. We've been enjoying 70 plus degree weather the past 2 weeks, but Yuma will be warmer. We'll spend 4 nights seeing the sights in Yuma before heading east. Hopefully, I'll have a connection and some interesting pictures to post.

I hope to see you down the road.

Trapped Like a Rat

Recently we were spending 3 nights at the Aquarius Casino and Resort in Laughlin, Nevada. I had been in our room on the 5th floor and was on my back downstairs to find Donna on the casino floor. I went to the bank of 6 elevators, pressed the down button, then stepped on the elevator when the doors opened.

The elevator began its descent, then suddenly came to a jarring stop at the 3rd floor. When the elevator did not resume it's descent, I began to grow a bit concerned.

Have you ever been stuck on an elevator? It's funny what goes through your mind. The first thing I thought of was how glad I was that I had recently visited the restroom, for I might be stuck on this elevator for awhile.

Then my thoughts became more practical. Did anyone know the elevator had stopped? I began pushing buttons. First, I pushed the 1st floor button again, but that did no good. Then I pushed the button to open the doors, but that also did no good. Next I pushed the button next to a bell icon, and a bell rang. Right about then, the elevator came back to life and resumed it's descent. But just as quickly as it started, it came to another jarring halt, this time a little below the 1st floor.

I tried all the buttons again, but once again this produced no result. I was still concerned that no one knew about the elevator being stuck, so I pulled out my phone and called Donna and told her what was happening and the elevator number.

Then I spotted the emergency phone on the panel below the controls. I pushed the button and someone responded immediately. I was told that they were aware of the problem and that they were responding. They asked if I was alright.

In a few minutes, someone knocked on the elevator door to check on me. I could also hear Donna's voice outside the door. Every few minutes, someone would check on me. I'm not sure what was going on or what measures were being taken.

Then the lights went off for a few moments. I didn't like that. But they were out for only a brief time. I banged on the door and tried to tell them about the lights, but no one seemed to hear me. Then the lights came back on and the elevator began moving. It felt like the elevator was moving up quite a bit. Then it suddenly stopped, the doors slid opened, and I hurriedly stepped out.

Being stuck on an elevator is a bit unnerving. The scariest part was not knowing if my predicament was known. Once I made contact with hotel personnel, I felt much better. Now I pause anytime I have to get on an elevator. I've always had a standing rule to use the stairs for anything less than 3 flights, so I don't mind taking the stairs. But now when I step on an elevator, my insides jump just a bit. The biggest lesson I learned, though, is to always use the restroom before stepping on one of those cages; you never know how long you might be trapped like a rat.

Where Are Donna and Keith

We left Las Vegas almost a week ago. Our trailer is now parked at the KOA next to the Avi Casino about 10 miles south of Laughlin, but we've spent the last few days at the Aquarius Casino in Laughlin where we had free rooms. It's been nice to get out of the trailer for a few days.

The weather has been great since our arrival in the Laughlin area. Daily highs have been in the 70s and 80s. We've enjoyed getting outside.

We also continue to take care of business. Even though we are traveling about, we still have grocery shopping and laundry to do. Yesterday I got a haircut and took the truck in for its 3,000 mile service.

We have one more week in the Laughlin area before we start our long journey back to Texas. Hopefully, we'll do some interesting things on the way home and I can share those with you.

Leaving Las Vegas

Today is our last full day at Las Vegas KOA at Sam's Town. Tomorrow we pack up and head back to Laughlin. We are booked for the next 2 weeks at Avi KOA just south of Laughlin, which is where we stayed around Christmas. We also have 3 free nights at the Aquarius Casino and Hotel, so we will take advantage of that time to sleep in real beds and take real showers. Donna is looking forward to a hot bath.

After Laughlin, we start making our way back to Texas with numerous stops along the way. Right now the weather in Las Vegas is beautiful. The days are reaching the low to mid 70s while the nights are in the upper 40s. It should be a few degrees warmer in Laughlin with daily highs around 80 and lows in lower 50s. We welcome this warming trend. Winter in an RV can be uncomfortable. As soon as the furnace goes off, the cold begins creeping in as there is limited insulation. But we've survived the worst of winter and look forward to better weather ahead. We want to linger on our way home to ensure that Texas warms up as well before we get there. Sure, we may encounter a cold front or two, but those spells should be brief and few.

From Laughlin, we will go to Yuma, Arizona, and view the sites there for a few days. Our next stop after that is the Tombstone, Arizona, area. That place has been on my bucket list for a while. From there, we go to Alamogordo, New Mexico, where we will spend some time visiting White Sands National Monument. Next up is Carlsbad, New Mexico, where we will spend some time exploring the city and the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. We did Carlsbad Caverns years ago and have no plans to return there.

And we hope to get some hiking in at all these places. I'm especially excited about the prospect of hiking in the Guadalupe Mountains just south of Carlsbad. It will be early March when we are there and the wind may be a problem, but we'll at least check things out.

After Carlsbad, we'll drop in for a visit with daughter and her band of monsters. At last report, she said those precious little tykes were on their way to becoming hardened criminals. They seem to be giving her quite a bit of grief these days, and that makes them my heroes. I'll see if I can give them a couple of pointers while I'm there.

From there, we return to San Angelo for a week or so to take care of some business. We've not made any specific plans for anything beyond that time.

So, stick around for the trip. I hope we will see some great places and that we can take some good hikes. Of course, I'll try to share it all with you.

Until then, I'll see you down the road.

Hike Report: The Historic Railroad Trail

Yesterday Donna and I hiked some of the Historic Railroad Trail near the Hoover Dam. The one-way trail is about 3.5 miles long, making the total distance for the hike about 7 miles (3.5 miles out plus 3.5 miles in). The trail is actually an old 30 mile railroad grade that connected Boulder City to the Hoover Dam construction project. Construction of the grade began in 1931, and the railroad remained in use until 1961. In 1984, this section of the railroad was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2015, it was designated a National Historic Trail.

The most unique part of the trail is the first 2.25 miles or so, which passes through 5 tunnels. Each tunnel is about 25 feet in diameter and about 300 feet long. Views of Lake Mead and the surrounding area are also impressive, and wildlife such as bighorn sheep can also be seen at times.

We began our hike at the Alan Bible Visitor Center on Lakeshore Road just north of Highway 93 a few miles east of Boulder City. This visitor center also serves as a trailhead for the River Mountains Loop Trail, a 34 mile developed trail. We did not hike the entire trail, but below are some pictures of the section we did hike.

Parking lot at trail head. At left are 2 composting toilets. Just up the hill to the left is the Visitor Center, which has modern restrooms and various displays.

This gate is about a quarter mile into the hike. The sign says, "DANGER Extreme Conditions! STOP Do not hike Jun - Sep HEAT KILLS"

Since this is an old railroad grade, the trail is wide and pretty level. You can see the trail weaving along the base of the mountains to the left.

My intrepid bride on the trail with Lake Mead in the background.

You can clearly see the water line in this picture. Yeah, the lake could use some water.

The first of the 5 tunnels. You can see the second tunnel from this vantage point as well.

Donna snapped this shot of me just before entering the first tunnel, with the second tunnel visible in the distance.

I tried to show the ribbed look of the walls and ceiling of this tunnel in this photo.

I took this photo from the Visitor Center. In the center-left of the shot, you can see the parking lot of the trail head. The trail itself is also visible as it weaves along the base of the mountains in the center of the picture, just a little above and to the right of the parking lot/trail head.

A marina on Lake Mead. Again, notice the water lines indicating how low the lake is.

Las Vegas KOA at Sam's Town

After our stay at Riverside RV Park in Laughlin (see "Riverside RV Park"), it was great to arrive at Las Vegas KOA, formerly Sam's Town RV Park. We spent a week here in October 2012 (see "Sam's Town RV Park"). Since then, KOA has taken over the park, and that's probably a good thing.

The park appears pretty much as it did 3 years ago. One physical change is how the sewer is set up. Previously, you placed your hose in the utility box, then slid a panel down to hold it in place. Now traps are available next to the utility boxes, and this is much better. Another change for the better is WiFi is now provided free, and it is pretty reliable. It's not the fastest connection around, but we never lost a signal. Cable TV is pretty good, offering 4 HBO stations, but it does not offer some stations we really enjoy, such as PBS and the Food Network.

Other than that, things are pretty much as they were 3 years ago. The place is well maintained, and all the facilities (restrooms, showers, pool, laundry, etc.) are well cared for. I only saw 1 washing machine out of order in the laundry room. For dog owners, there are 2 grassy dog runs. The pool also has a hot tub. Employees are visible throughout the day in all areas of the park. Office staff are efficient and courteous. Overall, this is a good place to stay, and rates are reasonable, unlike many KOA parks.

Boulder Highway runs right next to the park, and you can hear traffic. However, it did not keep us awake at night, and we really didn't notice it very much. There are sirens at all hours of the day and night along the highway. A Walmart is located right across the Boulder Highway, and various other businesses are located nearby.

The only real negative for me is there is no propane available in the park. Office staff said a vendor made rounds through the park twice a week, but a Costco card was required. I've never been to a Costco, so that was not an option for us. We found a U-Haul outlet a few blocks south on Boulder Boulevard and filled our tanks there.

Below are some pictures of the park. I did not include any in my post 3 years ago.

This is the backside of the office. Our site was located directly across from it, and I took this picture from our site.

Restrooms/showers near our site. There is another restrooms/shower on the south side of the property, and the pool area also has restrooms/showers.

One of the two dog runs in the park. That is the Eastside Cannery Hotel in the background.

There are quite a few trees throughout the park.

Most spots are back-in sites, but there are quite a number of pull-thrus that will accommodate larger rigs.

This building is in the center of the park. The fenced in area is the pool area, complete with hot tub. Restrooms/showers are in the center. On the backside -- not visible in this picture -- is the laundry.

Our site

Hike Report: Willow Springs/White Rock Hills Loop, Red Rock Canyon Park

In October, 2014, Donna and I visited Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area just west of Las Vegas (see "Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area"). Unfortunately, I left the camera in the hotel room that day and did not get any pictures of this beautiful place. We decided at that time that we wanted to return to the park some day, and we really wanted to do some hiking out there. Yesterday, we did return, and we took one great hike.

It was a beautiful day for a hike. We arrived at the park just before 10. We stopped at the Visitor Center near the entrance first to get some information about the trail we planned to hike. The Visitor Center is a great source of information, with displays both inside and out. Take time to tour this facility; learning about this area only makes your visit that much more enjoyable. For more information about this park, visit these links:

• U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management
• Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association

 On the second site above, be sure to visit the hiking page.

The Visitor Center near the park's entrance

Donna at the Calico Hills

Our hike today would be in these mountains. We would enter through a canyon in the left of this picture, hike on the backside, then come back around on a trail in the foreground of this picture at the foot of the mountains.

Our target for the day was the Willow Springs parking lot. We would start there and hike the Willow Springs/White Rock Hills Loop. We were advised to walk the loop trail in a clockwise direction. We started off heading northwest following the Rocky Gap Road shortly after 10:00 AM. Beginning elevation was 4,545 feet. About a quarter mile into our trip, we realized we had left our hiking poles in the truck. We would miss those poles on today's hike.

Trailhead, with trail heading up the canyon.

About a half mile or so into the hike, we came to our first trail junction on the backside of the mountain where we had started. We followed the trail north away from Rocky Gap Road. For me, this next 2 to 3 miles of the hike would be the most beautiful and dramatic. We would gradually climb in elevation, eventually reaching a height of about 5,460 feet, a gain of roughly 900 feet from our starting point. We would pass through full-sized trees on the slopes, and patchy snow would be visible at the higher elevations, especially on the north slopes.

This is where we turned off Rocky Gap Road. We were on the back side of the mountains now, heading north.

The summit is beyond the colored spires in the center of the picture.

Keep your eyes open. About a mile or so into the hike, there is a trail junction. Our trail turned off at a right angle and headed down into a canyon. The other trail continues up a slope towards La Madre Spring. The junction is an easy one to miss, especially if you are looking up at the beautiful scenery.

Lots of trees on this section of the hike. Donna is barely visible ahead.

This picture was taken from near the summit. It looks back along the trail we have hiked. The small knoll in the center of the picture is where we split off from Rocky Gap Road. If you click on the picture and enlarge it, you can see portions of the trail.

Our target was the summit on a saddle near the high point of the mountains. As we wound our way through the trees, our target slowly but steadily grew closer. All the time, we were slowly climbing in elevation, and our aging legs were growing tired. Donna began questioning why she married me, which she often does on these hikes.

Looking east from the summit. In the center, you can see the tops of the White Rocks.

Eventually we reached the summit and were rewarded by views in both directions. The hardest part of the hike was now behind us, and we began the long descent down to the White Rocks parking area. On the previous 3 or so miles of the hike, we had seen only 2 couples. One couple was ahead of us and continued on the La Madre Spring trail; the other was a Japanese couple we met near the summit. On the slope from the summit to White Rocks parking lot, though, we encountered almost a dozen people.

On the hike from the summit to the White Rocks parking lot, you break out of the mountains with great views to the east.

At the parking lot, we found the trailhead for Willow Springs. The sign said it was 2.2 miles. This section of the trail skirts the base of a line of mountains. For the most part, it is a gentle downhill slope. At just over a mile, the trail dips into a draw, and there is a long climb up from there to a hill. Once atop the hill, though, the first parking area at Willow Springs is visible, so you know the trip is almost done. There are some trail junctions along this section of trail, so be alert. We were told the final stretch of the trail was a good place to spot mountain sheep, but we saw none on our hike.

Looking south. Our starting point was one of the canyons in these mountains. So now we walk along the base of these mountains to return to the truck.

Close up of one of the mountains.

Easy to see how the park gets its name.

At the very end of the hike, you'll probably encounter numerous people exploring the rocky area along the base of the mountains. Most are only walking out a short distance, so you'll encounter most very close to the parking area.

Finally, the mouth of our canyon. A parking lot is visible at bottom left. Our truck was parked farther up the canyon.

This is a great hike, but it did tax our abilities. Total distance was 6.34 miles, with the first 3 miles climbing steadily for 900 feet. Most of the trail is rocky. This has several affects. First, you have to watch every step, and this slows you down. It also leaves your feet quite sore after 6 plus miles. And it is a bit dangerous, with quite a bit of slipping and sliding. If you don't plant your feet firmly, you can sustain injuries.

The trail itself is very clear. There are places where the trail has been rerouted, so watch carefully to be sure you are on the right trail. There are also a couple of false trails. If you look ahead, though, these should not be a problem. Signs are not plentiful, but they are where they need to be.

Typical of the signs you can expect to find along the trail. Most are in better shape than this one. But they do a good job of indicating direction and distance.