Exploring in the Kayak

Well yesterday we had to take the motor home to Overton NV, about twenty miles north to get the propane tank filled. The refrigerator runs off of LP when we are dry camping and we were almost empty. While we were there we stopped at the grocery store again and pumped out the tanks.
Lynn has a few little friend here at the camp site, a chipmunk, birds and some wild burrows. If she keeps feeding them they will over run our campsite. Pictures are attached.

Chippy the chipmonk

These birds come by the dozens.

The wild Burrows that poop everywhere.

Red wasoo clay is hard to get off your shoes.

The Captain of the Kayak.

Two Happy Campers.

Today we did some maintenance work and Lynn washed the windows. It has been very warm here this week and Lynn said the thermometer yesterday read 113 outside and 94 inside. Today it was in the nineties so we went exploring in the kayak. It was much cooler on the lake and we did allot of swimming. There are a few islands just off shore so we went paddling around the islands and into the coves it was great. When we got back to the camp site Lynn cooked up a new dish called Possum Stew, it was very good. I think tomorrow will be another lake day and maybe a ride to see some local sites. We will be here on Lake Mead until next Saturday when we move into the Condo in Las Vegas. Wishing everyone a great weekend.

A visit to Henderson and another boat ride

Wednesday we drove to Henderson just out side Las Vegas and did some shopping. First we went to Costco and bought a few thing's. They had good prices on booze so we stocked up, we were getting low. We even found some adult chocolate milk, we have not tried it yet. We also stopped at The Arlene Ness motorcycle dealership and checked out the custom motorcycles. I tried to get Lynn to buy me one but she said $60,000 was too much. We then stopped at the Salvation Army store to buy a suit case for going to the Condo $2.50 Lynn was happy. Wednesday night we partied with our friends Dean and Judy at the campfire, it was a great night.
Today we went out in Deans boat again for seven hours skiing, swimming and a little drinking. They introduced me to Long Island Ice Tea ummm good. We took the boat up the Colorado River for about thirty miles and it was a gorgeous ride. Lots of sun and fresh air, it was about 90 degrees. Dean and Judy are leaving tomorrow and we will miss them, they are great folks. Wednesday when we were driving to Henderson their dog Muzbe got stung in the face by a big yellow wasp and her face swelled up so bad she could not open her eyes, she was OK today. I think we need a rest day tomorrow. This retirement stuff is tiring.

I don't know what this is but it is big and it scared all the other birds to death.

Our camp site at sunset.

Big red rocks everywhere.

The girls are holding their heads on because of all the Margaritas last night.

This is the entrance to the Colorado River.

OK I have to tell you this story. There were three motor homes here with folks from France who did not speak English. I seen one of the motor homes pull over by Deans campsite and stop, so I walked over to see what was going on. This guy was dumping his black tank down a pipe in front of their rig. I tried to explain that this was not a dump station but a service shut off valve for shutting the water off underground in case of freezing weather, no luck. I went up to see the campground host and told him he better get over there before the other two dumped their tanks. Dean and Judy were off walking the dogs and were not happy to here or smell the news when they returned. We like it here and are going to stay another week. The weather is suppose to be hot and sunny all week and I want to watch them move the entire floating Marina closer to shore. Stay tuned.

Day on the Lake

Intering the narrows.

The white line is the old water level. It has come up about nine feet since spring.

This is Musby

Dean, Judy, Lynn and Keeper enjoying the day.

This is Keeper.

The back of Hoover Dam

Judy doing her thing. Sure looks good.

Here is Lynn cooling off.

This is Dean's matching boat and truck.

We spent today on the lake with new friends. We met our neighbors walking their dogs the other day and they joined us at our fire last night. Judy and Dean are from Minnesota but live in Utah now, near Zion NP. They have two Shepard mix dog's Keeper and Musby. Dean and Judy have a bow rider ski boat and invited us to spend the day with them cruising up lake Mead to Hoover Dam, about eighty miles round trip. We left at eleven this morning and got back about six this evening. Wow what a great day. It was calm all day and 85 degrees with bright sun shine. Lake Mead is so beautiful it is hard to describe, the lake winds in and out of rock islands and narrow channels for miles on end. Judy went slalom skiing and she is very good, I don't know how she does it at 62. We all went swimming to cool off, the water is about 76 degrees, it felt great. Here are a few pictures of our day. I have to look for the aloe now and go to bed. I am sure we will have another tough day tomorrow.

Lake Mead Nevada

Our friendly Coyote.

The Roadrunner.

Sunset over the mountain.

Lake Mead.

Our campsite the first night.

We arrived at Lake Mead NP yesterday afternoon, Sunday. The cost is five bucks a night with the old geezer pass. It is nice to see palm trees again and the weather is perfect 85 and sunny. When we were setting up camp a friendly Coyote showed up looking for a handout and surprised Lynn. I said honey look behind you and she was surprised to see the coyote about 20 yards behind her just staring at her.  A roadrunner also came to visit and we were told a heard of wild Burros comes into the camp ground often. Lake mead is beautiful and we plan on swimming and Kayaking the next couple of weeks. Here are a few pictures of the camp ground.

Cold and snow then off to Zion

Wednesday and Thursday we had a cold front come through so we stayed inside and watched TV. It got down in the 20's at night and was in the 40's during the day, burrrr. They said on the news they got 18 inches of snow above 8,000 feet on the mountains. The campsite is at 6,500 feet and it snowed pretty hard but it did not stick. When we drove to town we could see the snow on the mountains and decided we would wait to go to Zion NP. We did get out for a little while on Thursday and went to town shopping.

The Virgin River in Zion Canyon

Lynn's little friend on the trail.

This is a beutiful place.

The falls at the end of our hike.

Here is a picture of Lynn just before she grabbed the guy on the trail.

This is a picture of a Condor, thay have like a 10 ft wing span.

Snow on the Mountain. Time to move south.

Yesterday we went to Zion NP and did a little hike. Zion was a little different from the other parks in that you stay on the canyon floor and ride a shuttle to see the sites. You can get on and off the shuttle anywhere you want, they come by every ten minuets. In order to see the interesting sites you have to hike quite a distance and it is always up because you start on the canyon floor. We hiked back to the Emerald Ponds, about a two hour hike. Along the way we seen a Tarantula Spider on the trail, Lynn gave it a wide berth, it was huge. When you reach the fall's the trail goes under the falls and it gets wet and slippery. The red clay mud was very slippery and Lynn slipped and grabbed some guy walking by. They both almost went down, he wasn't to happy. When we got back to the main road we ate our lunch and watched the people getting on and off the shuttles. I would say about eighty percent are foreigners we seen people from France, Germany, Israel, China and Japan. I think maybe Obama sold the parks and did not tell us. Today Saturday we may try another hike if Lynn's heel feels better. We found out their is a trail across the street that goes to some real pretty waterfalls up on the mountain. Only trouble is you have to walk in the stream to get to the waterfalls. It will have to warm up allot for that to happen. It is suppose to reach 70 today and then mid 80's for the next three weeks. We are headed for Lake Mead tomorrow for a couple of weeks on the lake to work on our tan. The last week of October we will be in a Condo on the strip in Las Vegas. Bring on the Buffets. We will head for the Grand Canyon when we leave Las Vegas. Talk to you later. Never live for tomorrow it may not come.

Cedar Breaks NP

The old gas station in town. Gas price on the pumps is 35 cents.

Cedar Breaks on the way up.

At the top looking out at over 10,000 ft.

This red rock is all around us.

At the top of Cadar Breaks.

OK here we are in Kanarraville Utah, a thriving metropolis of 300 people that has an all women fire department. This little town is just off Hwy 15 south of Cedar City about eight miles. It is also between Cedar Breaks and Zion NP. Yesterday we went to Cedar Breaks and did some grocery shopping in Cedar City at Walmarts. The Prius is still complaining every time we make her climb a mountain. The batteries run down going up the mountain and charge back up coming down. This is a Passport America camp ground so it is half price for us. We are planning to go to Zion sometime this week, but we are watching the weather. Tomorrow a cold front is coming in with high winds and cold temps, they are predicting a foot of snow in the mountains. On Sunday we will move closer to Las Vegas and hope for warmer weather. Trying to figure out if we should go to the Grand Canyon before or after Las Vegas. The canyon is at a high elevation and it may be better to go before and hope for warm weather in October instead of waiting until November. It's a hard life making all these decisions, but someone has to do it. We took a little ride to day but spent most of the day hanging out at the campsite eating all the food we bought yesterday. Rain days are coming so it may be the end of the week before I post again. Hope everyone is having great weather. Enjoy

Headed for Zion NP

Thursday we went up into the Canyon again and caught four more trout, the limit. Our friend Judy that told me where to fish came by about four in the afternoon for cocktail hour. We sat out side and talked for about three hours and half a bottle of Jim Beam, it was a great afternoon. Lynn played ball with Turbo while Judy and I drank. After Judy went home we cooked up the four Rainbows we caught that day, some fried potatoes and onions and cauliflower. We both waddled away from the table.
Friday we just hung out at the campsite and took a trip to town for ice cream and a stop at the post office.
Saturday I worked on the awning mount that pulled loose and had to be remounted. I went into town to the hardware store and bought some brackets and bolts to make the repair. I did not have the right size drill bit so I drove down the road to our neighbor Alvin's camp to borrow one, he has everything. He was doing some major work on his trunk. I used his hack saw and vise and borrowed the drill. While I was there his wife Jenny invited us down for dinner that night, barbecued chicken.
We managed to get the repairs made and went down for cocktails and horderves. We had a great dinner and a great time talking with them. They have been living full time in there RV since 1997. We returned home about nine and watched a little TV on the Satellite then went to bed.
Sunday morning we packed up and hitched up the car to head south. Alvin said when they where up on top of the mountain Saturday it was snowing. That's all I need to here.

Alvin and Jenny's campsite on the river.

Looking down at the road coming up the Canyon.

On the way to the top a beutiful drive.

The Aspens have turned WOW

Our friend Judy and Turbo.

We are in a Passport America camp ground" Red Ledge" down by Zion $12.00 a night for a week. Full hookups, Hot Tub, Hot Showers and a Laundry Mat. We will start visiting Zion and Ceder Breaks this week. So more pictures to come. The weather is just beutiful and we will keep following it as long as we can. Happy days to all.