October in Pahrump, Nevada

We have now been here in Pahrump for three weeks. Most of our "residency" work has been completed and we are just enjoying the peace and quiet of the desert. A couple weeks ago we took a day trip to Death Valley, which is less than 100 miles away in California. We went through the visitor's center then spent the afternoon driving around National Park. Very impressive - I certainly wouldn't want to break-down on some of the back roads we were on. Of course, we had to stop at the lowest spot in the continental United States and get the obligatory photo! We may come back here during the Death Valley Days Encampment for a day, but not to camp. The Death Valley desert makes the desert around Quartzite look like Manhattan.

The weekend of October 19th our good friends Barry and Colleen came up from Indio to visit. They drove their car rather than their motorhome since they were only going to be here two nights. They stayed with us and we had a great time. Went out to eat one night, had a BBQ the second night. Barry loves to do karaoke with Roy so they spent hours in the back of the coach singing.

That Sunday we had to move the coach from the Western Horizons park (Charleston Peak) to another park in Pahrump. We were only able to stay in Charleston Peak for two weeks, then we have to be out for one week. We moved over to an ownership Park called Seibt's Desert Retreat. It is located about six miles north of Pahrump on Highway 160. It was a fairly nice resort, but the spots were kind of small for individually owned sites. The resort has a spectacular clubhouse with a fully equipped spa, restaurant and bar. The restaurant and bar are not regularly open until after the first of the year when the real snowbird season starts. The rates for the resort are very reasonable so for that reason I would recommend it for a short stay, week or two perhaps, for anyone passing through the Pahrump Valley looking for place to stay.

On Wednesday, the 24th we took a drive into Vegas, about 60 miles one way. Jackie's brother Dennis was in town so we went in and had lunch with him at Caesar's Palace. Had a nice visit with him, then went downtown to say hi to my brother Russ who is a floor manager at the Golden Nugget. Did a little gaming then drove on back to Pahrump. We did see a glorious sunset as we came over the mountain into the Pahrump Valley. The smoke from the California fires was blowing into our area and it made for a golden sunset. The next couple days were really bad with the smoke. You couldn't see the mountains at all. It finally cleared up on the weekend.

We can certainly empathize with the people dealing with the wildfires because it was exactly one year ago Saturday that we were trapped at Silent Valley, near Banning, in the Esperanza fire. That was a very worrisome time, something I don't want to have to deal with again.

On Saturday, the 27th we went up to Beatty, Nevada for the Beatty Days celebration. Beatty is an old mining town located on Highway 95 about 60 miles north of Pahrump. The population is about 1,500 and the town is in the middle of nowhere. They had a great little celebration in the park with food booths, games, and crafts and other vendors. They also had bed races down the middle of the street. When given the signal to go, the team had to make the bed up with full linens, then one person would get on the bed as the "driver" (although most had no functional steering) and the other five would push and pull the bed down the street. When they got to the end of the block they had to change "drivers" and then race back to the starting line. The race course was two city blocks long, so they were racing a total of four blocks. Most of the teams were pretty whipped by the time they finished the run.

They also had mock gunfights in the street as well as a car show and motorcycle show. All in all it was a pretty good time for a small town in the desert. There were several hundred motorcycle folks there, mostly from the Vegas area who rode up for the day. Ran into a bunch called the Marine Riders who were all former Marines and members of the Vegas Marine Corps League.

On Sunday the 28th of October we moved back over to Charleston Peak RV Resort for another two week stay. We were going to leave Pahrump on the 11th of November, however, we found out that we need to be at the Pahrump Elks Lodge on the 13th for the meeting so we can be introduced to the Lodge as new members. We applied for a transfer from the Indio Lodge to the Pahrump Lodge so that we could keep all of our resident eggs in one basket. The dues for the Pahrump Lodge are also lower than those at Indio and since both Jackie and I are Elks, the level of the annual dues is an important issue. Anyway, when our two weeks at Charleston Peak are up we are going over to another Pahrump RV resort called Preferred. We will be there three nights. It is located right in the middle of town, behind one of the casinos, and is said to be a very nice resort.

We'll probably next update the blog when we move from Nevada down to Casa Grande, Arizona in mid-November. Unless something interesting happens before then, we'll talk to you in a couple weeks!

Free At Last!

As of Thursday, October 11, 2007, we have been freed from the clutches of the People's Republic of Kalifornia! We are now officially residents of the Great State of Nevada, Pahrump, Nevada to be exact. After getting a Pahrump mailing address we obtained our Nevada driver's licenses and registered to vote here in Nye County. We then spent most of Friday doing address changes from our old Indio address to the new one here in Pahrump. You don't realize how many places have your address until you start to make a change.

Once we pay our 10 months of California State income tax for 2007 we will have no more state income tax returns to file! YEA! Also, unlike gun-hating California, Nevada actually has a simple and quick procedure in place to qualify retired out of state law enforcement officers to carry concealed weapons under the 2005 Federal law. For two years I was unable to get any California law enforcement agency to allow me to qualify with my weapon at their range. Here, it took me ten minutes to set it up and I will be on the range next Tuesday.

We are enjoying our stay here at the Charleston Peak RV Resort. We have wandered around town, visited a few casinos, and had a good stay so far. Lots of activities here at the resort. We are doing karaoke in the clubhouse on Sunday. Will let you now how that went later.

Bye for now.

Migration Part 2 - Adventures In Nevada

On Sunday, September 30th we left the Carmichael Elks and headed east on I-80 towards the Silver State. Two days prior the Donner Summit had been closed for a while due to a snow storm, however, the skies were sunny and clear for our travels. I-80 between Sacramento and the Nevada State line is, by far, the worst stretch of roadway we have travelled in our two years on the road. From about 30 miles east of Sacramento all the way up the Sierras to the state line the road is concrete which has been broken down by traffic and weather. I have driven on gravel roads that were smoother than this highway. Once we crossed into Nevada the road was nice smooth asphalt that was being well maintained. The People's Republic of California should be ashamed of their roadways.

Sunday and Monday were spent in Fernley, Nevada at a very nice little RV park called the Desert Rose. The park is about 40 miles east of Reno and kind of out in the middle of nowhere, but it is a Passport America park with pull-throughs, full 50 amp hookups, and nice facilities for $14 a night. (Passport rate) During our stay we drove over to nearby Fallon, Nevada to visit the Elks Lodge. Small but friendly lodge located in downtown Fallon. They have very limited RV facilities not suited for large rigs like ours.

Tuesday morning we headed south on US-95, known as the loneliest road in the country. It is 400 miles from Fernley to Las Vegas and there are only a couple small towns along the way. Spectacular desert and mountain views, but you can't help but think about what would happen if you had vehicle problems along the way. Very Very Not Good! Fortunately, we had no problems and arrived in beautiful downtown Tonopah mid afternoon. We stayed the night at the Ramada Hotel and Casino which has a small RV park in the back. Tonopah is exactly half way between Fernley and Vegas, so it is the logical place to stop if you are not in a hurry and want to limit your travels to a couple hundred miles a day as we do.

The next morning we saddled up and headed for Las Vegas. We had scored a coupon at one of the rallies for five free nights at the Las Vegas Outdoor Resorts. We wanted to spend a few days in Vegas so we could visit with my brother Russ, who is a floor supervisor at the Golden Nugget. The Vegas Outdoor Resorts is a nice property, but the lots are much smaller than the lots at the Indio Outdoor Resorts. It also does not have the amenities that Indio has, no golf course and a much smaller clubhouse with no restaurant or bar. Nonetheless, the listed price for the lot we were parked on was $180,000. My brother and his daughter came over to visit while we were there. We went out to dinner and had a nice visit. Russ is also a former Marine.

On Saturday night we went to the clubhouse for an open house put on by the resort's homeowner's association and Monaco Corporation, which is the developer of the resort. They had light snacks and an open bar - yippee! They also had entertainment, a very nice band made up of homeowners and employees of the resort. They also had a couple of local professional session musicians sitting in with them for the evening. They were quite good, playing mostly contemporary soft rock in with a bluesy/jazzy style. Apparently this group formed a couple years ago and entertains regularly at the resort during the winter season.

Sunday morning found us making the gruelling 50 mile trek from Vegas to Pahrump, Nevada. Our intention is to relocate our official residency from California to Pahrump. We will be staying in Pahrump for five weeks during which time we will be trying to get a local mailing address, drivers licenses, and voter cards. We have never been to Pahrump, but most people we have talked to have told us it is a nice friendly little community with just about everything you would need.

We are staying the first two weeks at a Western Horizons Resort, the Charleston Peak RV Resort and Winery. Imagine our surprise to have our fellow 100%ers, Bob and Bette T pull into the parking lot right behind us. We knew that they were going to be here during the same time period, but were surprised to see them right behind us. They are now parked right next door. They are more familiar with Pahrump so they should be a nice resource for information while we are here.

Talk to you all again in about a week. Bye for now.

Southward Migration - Part 1

Not too much to report since we left Salem. We left the Monaco rally and went down to Canyonville, OR and the Seven Feathers Casino. We had won a night in the hotel there at a charity event back in May at the Grants Pass Elks Lodge. The local firefighters had a casino night. Roy managed to parley the initial $100 in play money into about $45,000 by the end of the night and was the biggest winner. Played wild and crazy on the craps table! Anyway, the prize was a night at the Seven Feathers along with dinner in their gourmet room. So that's where we spent last Friday night. Hotel and casino were nice (but no winning here!) and the dinner was excellent.

We left there on Saturday and traveled down to Phoenix, Oregon, just south of Medford, about 25 miles north of the California border. We spent a couple nights there catching up on laundry, shopping, and other chores. Monday we headed into California, stopping at the Red Bluff Elks Lodge for a couple nights. We have stayed here several times in the past. The Lodge is nice, although the freeway noise can get kind of loud at night.

On Wednesday we headed down to the Carmichael Elks Lodge, near Sacramento. Jackie has a girlfriend (Kathy) who lives here and she wanted to visit for a few days. We had dinner with Kathy and her husband Bill on Thursday night at the Lodge. On Friday night we met up again with Bob and Gloria, our friends from Indio with whom we had been on the cruise. They were down in Sacramento visiting their daughter. On Saturday we went to Kathy's house for a big cookout.

On Sunday we are leaving to head into Nevada. We will stay a couple nights near Reno, a night in Tonopah, and then down to Las Vegas for four days. After that we head for Pahrump where we will be for five weeks. More on that later. See Ya'll.

Monaco Come Home Rally, Salem, Oregon

On Monday the 17th we left Seattle early headed for Salem, Oregon. We arrived at the Salem Fairgrounds early afternoon and got parked quickly. Even though most people arrived at the rally on Sunday, we were still able to get a spot with electric service. This rally is sponsored by Monaco Coach Corporation and is for all of their motor home brands, Monaco, Beaver, Safari and Holiday Rambler. There are over 500 coaches in attendance. The usual rally activities, such as seminars and classes, vendors, and new coach displays are up and running.

This is a nice rally in that the rally fee includes breakfasts (which we don't do) and dinners, an open bar each evening, and entertainment each night. The first night's entertainment was a group called The Marlins. It was four brothers who had a Branson sort of show with a wide variety of music types, from country to rock. Very good show. The second night was a comedian who put on a very clean, but funny act. After that there was a session of karaoke which was a lot of fun. Of course, I got there early and sang last! There were only a half dozen singers so the rotation was fast and I got to do a number of songs. Thursday night's entertainment was Lee Greenwood, the country singer. He put on a very good show with a very patriotic theme.

Both Jackie and I went to several classes and seminars and we did a little shopping at the vendor barn. We were able to resist buying a new coach, but they did sell 25 new coaches at the rally. We met a lot of nice folks, including a number of other full-timers. We also saw a few old friends from the road and other rallies. We had a great time, learned a little, and even got a couple minor things fixed on the coach. This is our fourth rally in about two months, so we are pretty much rallied out for a while. We don't have anything planned rally-wise now until February.

On Friday we begin our trek south, working our way down through Northern California and then over into Nevada, headed for the little town of Pahrump. It has been a great summer in Oregon and Washington but it's time to head south for the winter. We'll write more on this fall's migration later on. Bye for now.

The Alaskan Cruise

On September 3rd (Labor Day) we moved from Moses Lake to Bothell, Washington. Bothell is a northern suburb of Seattle. Picking Labor Day to move was not the brightest decision since the traffic on I-90 over the Cascades was horrible. We finally settled into the Lake Pleasant RV Park in Bothell late in the afternoon and relaxed. The week before the cruise was spent doing some last minute shopping, packing meeting with the pet sitter who would be watching over Smokey the Cat while we are gone. As you can see, Smokey felt that he should be allowed to go on the cruise, even if it meant going as cargo.

On Sunday, September 9th we threw our somewhat over-packed bags into the car, kissed the cat goodbye and headed for the cruise terminal in downtown Seattle. Parking was a breeze and we were on the ship within an hour of arrival at the terminal. The ship departed at about 5 pm and we spent the afternoon getting to know the ship and the bartenders. We were on the MS Noordam, the newest of the Holland America Line's big ships. Had a very nice veranda cabin. Interesting how living in a motor home for two years makes a cruise ship cabin seem not as small as they did on past cruises.

Monday was a day at sea so we busied ourselves with the usual shipboard activities, eating, drinking, gambling, more eating, more drinking, a show, more eating, etc. etc. There are three other couples from the Indio Elks on the cruise with us, Bob and Gloria, Travis and Gail, and Roy and Mary.

Tuesday we arrived in Glacier Bay National Park and spent the entire day slowly cruising the narrow fiords of the park. The weather was cold and foggy in the morning but gloriously clear and sunny in the afternoon. The ship's crew commented several times that we were experiencing the best weather they had seen in months. The views were outstanding, snow topped peaks, ice filled valleys and several large glaciers. At the Pacific Glacier we watched a number of "calvings," chunks of the face falling off into the water. The chunks of ice in the water were a lot smaller than I expected, the largest no bigger than a Volkswagen, but the sights were breathtaking. Spotted one bear along the shore and a lot of sea lions.

Wednesday morning we woke up to a foggy morning docked in Juneau, Alaska. We went out for some shopping and had lunch at the Red Dog Saloon, which has been around since the 1800's. In the afternoon we took a three hour bus tour of the area, including the city, a salmon hatchery and the Mendenhal Glacier. While Juneau is the capital of Alaska, it has only a little over 200 miles of paved road and can only be accessed by air or sea.

Thursday morning brought us to Sitka, Alaska. Again, a foggy morning and a clear, comfortable afternoon. We took another city tour which took us to the Sitka National Historic Park and a Russian Dance show. Lots of totem poles at the park and a very entertaining show put on by the Russian dancers (who were not Russian, but pretty good anyway). The eight of us from Indio, who are all members of the Indio Elks Lodge, then visited the Sitka Elks Lodge which was within walking distance of the waterfront. Had a drink, visited with some local members and got our Lodge Pins. After lunch we did a little local shopping.

Friday morning we awoke in Ketchikan, Alaska. We were only docked there for the morning so we went out early for some shopping and walking around. All three of the Alaskan cities we visited were perched on very narrow pieces of land between the mountains and the sea. They all had a rugged, "frontier" look to them, although t-shirt shops seemed to be the most prevalent industry. The wilderness areas, mountains, forests, and fiords surrounding these cities were very dramatic and beautiful. It was easy to tell you were out in the middle of nowhere.

Saturday we were at sea until about 6 pm when we pulled into Victoria, B.C., Canada for the evening. Victoria was a fairly large, modern city with very clear British influence. We took a bus tour of the city that including a tour of an old 1800's mansion. Since we were only there for the evening we weren't able to do any shopping.

Sunday morning we awoke already docked back in Seattle. Disembarking was as easy as the embarkation process and we were off the ship and headed back to the RV park by 10 am. This was our first cruise on Holland America and I will say that we would cruise with them again. The staff on the ship was very attentive, the ship was beautiful and well maintained, the food was good, and the service was excellent. We had a busy but wonderful week and enjoyed every moment.

No time to relax though - we got off the ship on Sunday and Monday morning we left for Salem, OR and another rally. We are headed for the Monaco Corporation's "Come Home" rally. More on that later. See ya!

Moses Lake, Washington

We have been at the Suncrest Resort in Moses Lake, Washington since August 24th. This past Monday through Thursday we have been the Wagonmasters for a rally of the 100%ers Chapter of FMCA. It was a small turnout, only three other coaches besides ourselves, but we had a great time. Monday evening we got together for cocktails, hors devours and a brief business meeting. On Tuesday evening we had a pot luck dinner which was very enjoyable and topped off with ice cream topped with your choice of several different very nice liqueurs. Wednesday evening we all got together for a very nice dinner at one of the local restaurants which was located on the lake shore. The food and company were excellent.

On Thursday three of the couples drove to Leavenworth, Washington, a little community about 85 miles Northwest of Moses Lake. The town sits in the foothills of the Cascades and has reinvented itself as a Bavarian community. The downtown area looks like it should be in the Alps. We spent several hours shopping in the local shops and also had lunch in a very nice German restaurant. This is very cute little community and I would recommend that anyone who is in the Central Washington area should stop by for a visit.

On Friday the other three couples left on their continuing travels. Like us, all of the other couples are full-time motor home travelers. Most of them are wintering in the Southwest this year, so I would imagine we will cross paths later in the year. We are staying here until Labor Day (Monday) when we leave to head for Seattle. We leave on our Alaskan Cruise a week from tomorrow and are getting very excited!

The Suncrest Resort where we are staying is a very nice park. It is family owned and operated and very well maintained. The sites are large and well laid out. The pool and spa complex are the nicest I have seen at any RV resort. There is a kiddy pool with two water slides, a very nice large pool, and the biggest hot tub I have ever seen. All of them are well taken care of. The resort is a Good Sam park, as well as a Passport Park in the off season, and I would highly recommend it for a stay for our RV friends who are traveling through this part of Central Washington.

Moses Lake is a water sports oriented community set on the shores of a large, meandering lake. There are several nice restaurants in town. There is an Elks Lodge here, one of the few in Western Washington, but they don't have a lot of activities. No meals are served except for special events, but the bar is open every day.

Adios for now mi amigos.