The first time I saw the southwest and red rock formations I drove a rental to Valley of Fire following a convention in Vegas. Quite a long time ago, so it was good to be here again. I was pleased that my cell phone worked, though the campground is built into a pile of rocks. I've been very happy with Nevada state parks, and this one is especially nice, perhaps the state's best. A great visitor center, excellent scenery, good roads, and low...
The weather forecast is excellent for the next 7 days, so tomorrow I go to Valley of Fire State Park, just north of Las Vegas. I doubt I will have cell phone service for a couple of days. As I plotted my route from Valley of Fire, I picked Lee's Ferry because I like it, the Page National Recreation Area because it's free, and Navajo National Monument because I haven't been there. All three are run by either the NPS or BLM, and are no doubt...
Death Valley is always nice to see, and I couldn't resist being so close and having a cool-down occur. It was very pretty, and very uncrowded this being early in the season for them. The weather forecast looks good to pull off my plan to head due east from here. That would be north over the Grand Canyon and stay north sight-seeing until I hit New Mexico. Sometime over the next 10-14 days bad weather might strike and will force me south, but I'll...
Of course, I'll check the forecast in the morning but it looks like a cold front going through right now will moderate the temperatures down quite a bit at Furnace Creek. When the pattern reverses, I'll come back to Pahrump, likely Saturday. DV really doesn't get going until mid-October, so I expect things will be very quiet there. Which is fine with me. I'm not clear on whether there is or is not cell phone service there, it sounds like it...
If Nevada were to have a most beautiful city contest....no, that couldn't happen. But if it were Least Beautiful, I'd nominate Pahrump. I'm here because it looks like Death Valley will cool down later this week, and I'll take advantage of it for 2 or 3 days. I'm parked at the Lakeside Casino and RV Park, which is extremely nice for a small amount of money.
The Sierras got a dusting of snow last night (beautiful!) which reminded me that I probably don't stand a chance of messing around in the mountains of New Mexico this season. Oh well. I'm heading towards Pahrump, and am currently at Miller's Rest Stop outside of Tonopah, NV. When I arrive, I'll spend a couple of days reworking my plans, with an eye towards Death Valley if weather permits.
This is a tiny non-village along US 395, one of my favorite drives, alongside the Eastern Sierras not far from Topaz Lake. I'm not real anxious to drop further south, or out of the high desert, but a weather change this weekend offers a possible opportunity: a quick dash into Death Valley if the temperatures are favorable, less than 100 degrees. Probably won't happen. I did figure out my travel plans for the next few weeks. Go down to Pahrump,...
Lake Washoe is between Reno and Carson City, and the state park was recommended to me by a couple of friends. It is perfectly quiet, has large sites, no close neighbors, and very few people. The scent of sage dominates, which beats kerosene. During bird migrations this is a good place, but I might be a tad early. Never mind, watching nothing take off or land will be a novel relief. The air races met my expectations, and satisfied a long-time bug...
Bright and sunny after last evening's storm, but the wind was up all day, keeping things much more comfortable. This was the days of the finals, naming the winners and such. The big deal is the winner of the unlimited prop-driven race, though jets are always faster. Still, the unlimiteds can almost reach the speed of the jets, which makes them quite fun to watch. Right now there's an exodus going on, my neighbor Scott's friends are packing up to...
Nice storm going on right now, but it feels good. I didn't go onto the tarmac today because the sun is really brutal, and shade is almost non-existent at the air races. I've seen up close all the races and shows, and can spend the hot afternoon under my neighbor's awning snoozing. We do have a view of the action, though. My neighbors. Scott and his buddies have been doing the races for 35 years. They're packed into 2 spaces next to me, are...
More people came in today, so it looks like this weekend will be quite crowded. My favorite class is the Jets. These are like a typical business jet, all roughly the same power, speeds around 500 mph. The races are a bit quicker, and I get a good view from the top of my house. I paid the $30 today for a stroll through the pit area. I'm glad I didn't buy the week-long pass. You get a chance to see the performers up close, then a large array of...
The two classes I watched were Sport, a modern kit-built prop plane capable of 350 mph, and the WWII T-6 which are big, old, noisy, and not particularly fast. While I'm at the RV I can kinda watch the other classes, and I'm thinking the jets will be a favorite simply because of the speeds involved (500+). Close finishes are rare as these are weeding-out races, the fastest advance to the next heat. But I did get a taste of the fun when the last...