Wandering Around: Back in the US Southwest

January 30-February 21, 2016

Arrival in LA from Auckland

The flight back to LA from Auckland was much better than the flight to Auckland for four reasons:

1. Neither of us was sick. A biggie.

2. Leah's ears weren't bothered by the pressure change involved in ascent and descent

3. On this flight, there were quite a few more movies and TV series to watch, even for me, a non-watcher. I think I watched 6 or 9 one hour episodes of "Humans", and I have to say, I was enthralled. Sure made the time pass quickly.

4. We were both so glad to be heading back to our little trailer and the fabulous (and inexpensive) Southwest.

LAX was absolutely enormous, but our baggage pick-up and shuttle to the rental car location were both smooth and quick. We were about to drive out of the rental car parking lot when I noticed an odd billboard (not the Mixed Chicks one):

Who is the target here? And who paid for it? Wonder if a group of employers is trying to persuade their minimum wage employees that they are lucky?? And where do they get these stats?

Well, I was curious, so I did some research. And it turns out the conditions alluded to are accurate, though not sure about the stats. Read about it here. This same linked article explains where the stats come from in paragraphs 21-23.

Anyway, off we drove headed for Las Vegas. Got as far as Baker, CA, then searched for a motel--no luck. So we drove all the way to Las Vegas and checked into a Marriott Courtyard in Summerlin (we knew it was a good neighbourhood). Up the next day and had a wonderful heuvos rancheros breakfast at The Coffee Pub. It was raining when we dropped off the rental car and took a taxi to the storage lot. There it is was: our trailer...waiting patiently for us. Drove it out on the first try! Driving the truck again felt like a limousine compared to the Toyota Vitz we rented in NZ! So smooth, spacious, and quiet.

Of course, the essentials of RV living had to be taken care of before we set up at Boulder Beach Campground, on Lake Mead:

Filling the fresh water tank.

Possibly because of the wet and cold weather, the campground was not busy, and we scored site # 79, as close to the beach as you could get. Next few days were spent unpacking our 3 huge suitcases, de-winterizing the RV, and replacing all four house batteries (Sam's Club, $84 each!). Once those chores were out of the way, we just settled in, enjoying the weather, the view, the restaurants, the hikes, and bike rides--for three weeks! Initially, we thought we'd stay only a day or two, then leave for a new place, since we'd been in the Las Vegas area for a month already before we flew to NZ. But Boulder Beach was so lovely, and the amenities (like The Coffee Cup in Boulder City, thrift stores, bike paths) were so compelling, that we just stayed...and stayed, then stayed some more.

Medium telephoto shot of sunset on Lake Mead from our camp site

Long telephoto shot from the same vantage point as above

Soaking up the magic hour view from a few feet in front of our camp site, # 79.

We both did a lot of cycling here at Boulder Beach. The very lightly-used paved road behind Leah was perfect for quick rides. And there's a paved bike path that runs both ways in front of the campground entrance and parallels the road for, like 20 miles, all the way to Las Vegas.

Leah spotted this VW campervan, and grabbed my camera for a few shots. Reminded us both of Levi and Jess.

Leah spoke to the woman and asked if she could take some photos. Her husband was trying to fix the sink drain. You can see his boots as kneels on the floor. The dog even looked a little bit like Milo!

Closer look...though this dog looks less like Milo, here.

Lake Mead from the old railroad right of way, now a hiking path. This railway line was built specifically to move huge equipment to the Hoover Dam building site. It features lovely views of Lake Mead, like this one, as well as enormous tunnels that had to be carved out in order to transport the monster equipment to the Hoover Dam work site.

One of the 4 or 5 tunnels, 25 feet in diameter, used to transport the huge 'penstocks'--basically, pipes-- that direct the lake water to the turbines at Hoover Dam.