Category Archives: Elks Lodge

Valley of Fire State Park, NV APR 15, 2019

Four years ago we visited Valley of Fire State Park and it is one of many places we have always wanted to revisit. We had a choice of two routes from where we were staying. One took us through the crazy Las Vegas traffic and the other route took us through the peaceful Lake Mead National Recreation Area. I think you can guess which route we took. IMG_20190416_105637IMG_20190416_105731

Valley of Fire is Nevada’s first and largest state park and gets its name from the red sandstone formations. These formations were formed by great shifting sand dunes during the dinosaur age 150 million years ago.  When the sun hits the rock formations they appear to be on fire. There are also rock formations of limestone, shale and conglomerates. IMG_20190416_112914IMG_20190416_112927IMG_20190416_113737IMG_20190416_115948

Many movies have been filmed in Valley of Fire including “Viva Las Vegas”, “Total Recall” and “Transformers” as well as tv shows and commercials. On this formation “Star Trek:Generations” filmed the death of Captain Kirk.IMG_20190416_145636IMG_20190416_145645

It was a less than perfect day to visit the park but we were on a tight schedule. It was cloudy which made for less than ideal picture taking to showcase the beautiful colors, but also extremely windy and downright cold. I am usually not one to bundle up much when hiking, but even I put on a jacket. IMG_20190416_123109IMG_20190416_134105

We had read about a hike called “Fire Wave” and was said to be the most popular hike in the park. We had missed it on our last visit and wanted to do it this time. The hike wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. IMG_20190416_123518It seems during the entire time we were either trudging uphill or downhill through sand or walking across rocks. I really don’t do well with rocks. You can see in the pictures people on the rocks we had to walk across on the trail. IMG_20190416_125438IMG_20190416_125445IMG_20190416_130543IMG_20190416_131429IMG_20190416_131432

We reached the destination which was supposed to be rock formations that looked like waves. I guess I built up an image of something spectacular because the real thing was a bit of a letdown. IMG_20190416_131405IMG_20190416_131413Maybe it was the cloudy skies, the cold and the wind. By the time we trudged back across the rocks and sand, the wind had picked up even more and it was cold. We had planned on doing three hikes but by the time we got back to the car we pretty much looked at each other and said one hike is enough today. Let’s save something for next time. The thought of getting back out of the car into the wind and cold just wasn’t appealing. IMG_20190416_144013

Despite the clouds we did enjoy driving around the park looking at the beautiful red formations. Not even clouds, wind and cold could change that amazing experience. IMG_20190416_144242IMG_20190416_144222

As we made our way home through the Lake Mead National Recreation Area we drove through some pretty heavy rain showers. We were very thankful the rain held off until we were on the way home. IMG_20190416_144255

Next up: A busy few days in Las Vegas

 

Boulder City, NV APR 12, 2019

Leaving Lake Havasu City we drove to Boulder City, Utah for a six night stay. Boulder City (pop 15,600) is a lovely city which was built in 1931 to house workers contracted to build Hoover Dam, formerly called Boulder Dam. 20190413_150655Previously, men who hoped to work on the Dam were living with their families in tents and shacks on land chosen as the site of the Dam. The town was built by the Bureau of Reclamation as the “Boulder Canyon Project Federal Reservation”.  Federal rangers maintained law and order on the “reservation”. Boulder City is very rare in that it was fully planned under government supervision. The town was designed to house around 5,000 workers and the status of the workers was reflected by the size and location of their house. Commercial development was restricted and severely limited by a stern, iron fisted city manager. There was no provision for schools at first because it was assumed only single men would be working on the Dam. No hospital was built for years with injured workers taken to nearby Las Vegas. When a hospital was eventually built, it was a number of years before females were allowed to be admitted.  Visitors to Boulder City had to go through a gatehouse, and gambling was prohibited. Today, Boulder City is one of only two Nevada cities which prohibit gambling. Alcohol was prohibited until 1969. Las Vegas had campaigned to have the workers housed in Las Vegas but because of its rowdy, risqué reputation, it was passed over in favor of Boulder City. Today Boulder City is very proud of its nickname “Home of Hoover Dam”. The federal government gave up control of Boulder City in 1959 when it was incorporated.

We visited the Boulder City-Hoover Dam Museum located inside the historic Boulder Dam Hotel. The hotel, built in 1933, is on the National Register of Historic Places. 20190413_150536

In the 1930’s and 1940’s the hotel was the accommodation for Shirley Temple, Betts Davis, Howard Hughes, Will Rogers, Boris Karloff and other celebrities who came to see the Dam being built. The museum had an excellent movie and exhibits on life in Boulder City in the 1930’s as well as the construction of the Dam.  Working conditions were hard and treacherous to say the least. Because of a fine of $3,000 for every day the construction ran over deadline, the men were pushed to the limit and often competitions were used to push the men even harder. 20190413_13514720190413_135544Occurring in the days immediately after the Great Depression, men were afraid to complain of unbearable heat and working conditions for fear of being fired. Only American citizens could work on the Dam which essentially meant whites only. In 1932 only a few African Americans were hired but were not allowed to live in Boulder City. This changed after Franklin Roosevelt was elected.20190413_13512820190413_13502320190413_135556IMG_20190413_14030020190413_134902

We enjoyed walking around the town doing some geocaching. Evidence of the town’s history was everywhere. 20190413_150356

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34 Ton Water Runner Converts Water Power To One Generator

One day we drove to the nearby Lake Mead National Recreation Area. This is the nation’s first national recreation area and the largest reservoir in the country. It was formed by the Hoover Dam in 1935 and provides water to twenty million people and farmland in Arizona, California and Nevada as well as some to Mexico. The Lake has not reached full capacity since 1983 due to water demands and drought. In August, 2017 it was only at 40%.

Our main reason for going there was to hike the Historic Railroad Trail. IMG_20190415_122735This trail is a portion of the former railroad route that carried supplies from Boulder City to Hoover Dam during construction of the Dam. The trail is no longer a railroad but has been replaced with crushed rock. Along the trail are panoramic views of Lake Mead. 20190415_123839Hikers pass through five tunnels approximately 300 feet in length and 25 feet in diameter. The trail can take you all the way to Hoover Dam but on this day we had to stop at tunnel three because the tunnel was closed due to unstable conditions. Since it was a hot sunny day with no shade on the trail, we were okay with turning around at that point. We had walked 10,000 steps by the time we returned to the car. 20190415_12590020190415_123435IMG_20190415_123702

We then drove to Hoover Dam. Back in Jan, 2015 we visited Hoover Dam and took a tour of the facility. This time we wanted to stop at the visitor area at the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge which is the first concrete-steel composite bridge in the United States and the widest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. IMG_20190415_141507At 880 feet above the Colorado River it is the second highest bridge in the United States and the world’s highest concrete arch bridge. IMG_20190415_142635IMG_20190415_143317IMG_20190415_143255The bridge connects Arizona and Nevada.  The visitor’s area, in Nevada was super busy with limited parking. I did the musical chairs game with all the other cars trying to find a parking spot. In the meantime Bill walked up the steep trail to the top of the Bridge. It was a very windy day and when he walked out onto the bridge he took his sunglasses off because he was afraid they would blow off his face! IMG_20190415_142510IMG_20190415_142145He took some great shots of Hoover Dam from the top of the bridge. IMG_20190415_142156

We then drove from Nevada over the dam to the Arizona side to have another look at this marvelous structure.

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Hoover Dam from the Arizona Side With Memorial Bridge in the Distance

Another day we hiked around the Nature Discovery Trail and Rock Garden. We loved the beautiful rocks, desert flora and giant statues of desert animals. Plaques gave interesting facts about the animals and flora. Did you know jackrabbits can run up to forty miles an hour or that the roadrunner can survive its entire life without drinking water but receives moisture from its prey? 20190413_15225920190413_15273720190413_15262620190413_153051

We finished the day by finding a geocache at the Nevada State Railroad Museum. We not only found a geocache but some great old trains too. IMG_20190413_155028

Railway Post Offices (RPO) were used to transport and sort mail using the hanging mail bag system. RPO were started in the 1830’s and ended in 1950’s. IMG_20190413_160306IMG_20190413_160526IMG_20190413_160534

We had a wonderful time in Boulder City.

Here is the link to our previous visit to Hoover Dam where we took the inside tour January 27, 2015 Boulder City, Nevada

Next up : Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Catching Up & Lake Havasu, AZ Apr 8, 2019

Yes, it has been a long time since our last blog posting. We spent the winter in Yuma, AZ, one of our favorite winter destinations. It was cooler with more rain than past winters there, but still better than cold and snow.

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A Saturday Sunrise In Yuma AZ

In February we took a two week break from Yuma and attended the amateur radio Quartzsfest in Quartzsite, AZ. This year the amateur radio gathering broke a record with over one thousand people attending. Bill spent the time at seminars on all things related to amateur radio and we both attended the daily happy hour gathering where hundreds of prizes were given away. We didn’t win anything but the daily anticipation of possibly winning was fun. 20190120_135137IMG_20190126_140210

March found us back in Yuma and Bill helped out with the three day Yuma Amateur Radio Hamfest. One day was cool and rainy and unfortunately that was the day Bill had to be outside all day helping park RVs attending the event.

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Waiting To Win A Super Radio At Yuma Hamfest

By the end of March there was a mass exodus of snowbirds since Yuma was getting way too hot. It was time to move on with our spring travels.

First stop was Lake Havasu City, best known for their London Bridge and water sports. Lake Havasu is a large reservoir formed by Parker Dam and provides lots of opportunities for boating and fishing. The city website advertises 400 miles of coastline, 300 days of sunshine and 60 miles of navigable waterways.IMG_20190410_160048

In 1968 Businessman Robert McCulloch bought the London Bridge from England for $2.5 million. The bridge was being replaced in England and McCulloch hoped bringing the London Bridge to Lake Havasu City would attract tourists and encourage people to select the city as their home. The Bridge was disassembled and shipped stone by stone for another $7 million and it took three years to complete putting it back together. The Lake Havasu City website says it is the second largest tourist attraction in Arizona after the Grand Canyon. I question whether that is really true. IMG_20190410_155700IMG_20190410_155721

One day we rode over to see Parker Dam located on the Colorado River, 155 miles downstream from Hoover Dam. Parker Dam is known as the deepest dam in the world. Engineers digging for bedrock to build the dam upon had to excavate very deep beneath the Colorado River. 73% of Parker Dam’s 320 foot structural height is not visible. IMG_20190408_113606IMG_20190408_114125IMG_20190408_114135IMG_20190408_114717(1)IMG_20190408_114717

Construction began in 1934 and was completed in 1938.  Located on the border of Arizona and California, arguments over water rights began almost immediately with the Arizona Governor calling out the National Guard in 1934 to take possession of the land around the dam site. He was angry that water stored behind the Dam was going to be pumped to California. Continuing arguments and litigation stopped construction at times and contributed to the long completion time.

We drove across the Dam into California and looked for the burros that were supposed to roam freely along the roadway. We saw many signs cautioning us to watch for them but had a very difficult time finding any. IMG_20190408_114554IMG_20190408_130432IMG_20190408_125244

We saw evidence of them by the burro poop on and alongside the road. It was a very hot day and we decided they were resting in the shady trees out of sight. Someone decorated this large rock to appear like a alien head. IMG_20190408_121827

We turned around and headed home and suddenly Bill spotted several burros yards from the roadway. Seeing the Dam and the burros made for a fun day. IMG_20190408_123002

The Colorado River is enjoyed by all. IMG_20190408_131921

Next stop: Boulder City, home of Hoover Dam

UPDATED: Petaluma, CA OCT 6, 2018

In the last blog post we left off with the dilemma of a screw in one of our four back tires. Since it was inadvisable to continue down the coastal road, we were headed from California SR 1 to US 101 in the hope of making it to a tire repair center before the tire went flat. We sure didn’t want a blow out on one of the narrow curvy and coastal steep roads.

I drove the car and we started out slowly with Bill listening for any beeps on the tire monitor system signaling a problem. We backtracked on SR 1 to SR 128. So far, so good. Then came SR 253 which was recommended for us to take to US 101. The southern end of SR 128 is also not advised for large vehicles.  Highway SR 253 was the scariest drive of the day with descents of 8% and 10% grades. Really steep, but at least they were not uphill. Not good on the best of days and downright nerve wracking with a potential tire problem. Reaching US 101 never felt so good.

When we had a good phone signal Bill was on the phone with several tire companies. Of course none of them had the RV tire in stock and certainly would not recommend removing the screw without a tire to replace it. We continued on, and after almost six hours of driving with rest stops and lunch we arrived at the Petaluma Elks Lodge, a wonderful lodge with full hookups. Jeff, the friendly camp host, was extremely helpful in getting us set up there. Amazingly the tire had not lost air even though Bill noticed a disturbing crack in the tire in addition to the screw.  We were definitely blessed to have made it safely. We knew we would have to wait it out until at least Monday.

On Sunday Bill went to sit in on a taping of TWIT (This Week In Tech), one of his favorite tech podcasts which is taped right in a studio in Petaluma. We were last in Petaluma in 2014 and he also sat in on a taping then. After a stressful day on Saturday, he certainly enjoyed the diversion and had lots of fun. IMG_20181007_142830aIMG_20181007_153507IMG_20181007_140107IMG_20181007_172924

Back on the phone Monday morning Bill found a tire company who could order us the tire. And since the tires were over five years old with almost 44,000 miles on them, we decided to replace all four back tires. We had replaced the two front tires last year. A definite bright spot was the screw was not in one of our new tires.

The tires came in on Wednesday and that day was spent getting the new tires installed and then settling back in at the Elks Lodge.

Before the tire drama our original plan was to stay at a RV park in Pacifica outside of San Francisco for four days. With the delay for the tires to be ordered and installed, we had to cancel our Pacifica plans. I explained the tire situation to the lady at Pacifica and she graciously refunded all our money since we had prepaid the full amount. We were disappointed but we had visited San Francisco in 2014 and done all the touristy things including riding the cable cars, visiting Pier 39 and Alcatraz and driving on Lombard Street, aka “The Crookedest Street in the World”. Over the past couple weeks we have been watching the San Francisco local news. While it is without a doubt located in a beautiful area, it definitely appears to be a city in crisis. With garbage in the streets, rising crime rate (especially car break-ins) , homeless population as well as drug use, it is a city in deep trouble.

One thing we had looked forward to doing again was walking on the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. Since Petaluma was a 35 minute drive to the north end of the 1.7 mile long Bridge, we decided to drive there on Thursday. We drove to the north vista point and parked the car in a free visitor parking area. We were nervous about leaving the car because of all the news reports of recent break-ins in broad daylight throughout the San Francisco area.  Signs in the parking lot warned of break-ins. From there it was a quick walk to the Bridge. IMG_20181011_135628IMG_4307IMG_431520181011_142525

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Alcatraz Island

We walked to the halfway point, enjoying the spectacular views of San Francisco, Alcatraz and the San Francisco Bay.  There were lots of tourists walking and bike riding on the Bridge. IMG_4330IMG_4342IMG_4339IMG_20181011_150326IMG_4334 In the water we saw sea lions, including this one with a big fish in his mouth. Several sea gulls were diving down fighting him for the fish. IMG_4357IMG_4393IMG_4395 On the other side of the Bridge we could see the Pacific Ocean and a viewpoint which we later drove to with the most magnificent views of the Bridge and city. 

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Looking toward the bridge viewpoint

IMG_4396IMG_20181011_155935 As World War II approached, the Army made further improvements to the Harbor Defenses of San Francisco. They had plans to install a 16-inch gun high on the hill but when the gun arrived the decision was made to abandon the plan. Thus leaving this concrete mount and tunnels. IMG_4404 It had been an easy quick 35 minute drive to the Bridge that morning but later that afternoon it was a slow stop and go, hour and fifteen minute drive back home.

After getting new tires we were ready to get back on the road and continue our travels. While heavy traffic doesn’t bother Bill, I wasn’t looking forward to the drive around San Francisco and through San Jose. We had three route options and after asking for advice from locals we chose the route which took us furthest around San Francisco rather than over the Golden Gate Bridge or through the bay area. Leaving the Elks Lodge we meandered through some vineyards and eventually on the interstate. 20181012_095229 The worst traffic was around Walnut Creek. We continued around the bay to San Jose, the center of the Silicon Valley. All in all the traffic wasn’t nearly as bad as I had feared. 20181012_113350 We reached Morgan Hill and were almost at our campground destination when we were stopped by a sign saying the road had a bridge ahead which was restricted to traffic under seven tons. Oops! I called the campground to get their advice only to have no one answer at either number. Not willing to take a chance, we had to find an alternate route nineteen miles out of our way and many narrow passages. When we arrived at the campground and asked about the bridge restriction they told us that was just something the locals put up to keep big trucks off the road. Grrrrr…..

We are now safely at Morgan Hill, California for four days.

Next up:  Back to the coast

Petaluma, CA OCT 6, 2018

In the last blog post we left off with the dilemma of a screw in one of our four back tires. Since it was inadvisable to continue down the coastal road, we were headed from California SR 1 to US 101 in the hope of making it to a tire repair center before the tire went flat. We sure didn’t want a blow out on one of the narrow curvy and coastal steep roads. I drove the car and we started out slowly with Bill listening for any beeps on the tire monitor system signaling a problem. We backtracked on SR 1 to SR 128. So far, so good. Then came SR 253 which was recommended for us to take to US 101. The southern end of SR 128 is also inadvised for large vehicles.  Highway SR 253 was the scariest drive of the day with descents of 8% and 10% grades. Really steep, but at least they were not uphill. Not good on the best of days and downright nerve wracking with a potential tire problem. Reaching US 101 never felt so good. When we had a good phone signal Bill was on the phone with several tire companies. Of course none of them had the RV tire in stock and certainly would not recommend removing the screw without a tire to replace it. We continued on, and after almost six hours of driving with rest stops and lunch we arrived at the Petaluma Elks Lodge, a wonderful lodge with full hookups. Jeff, the friendly camp host, was extremely helpful in getting us set up there. Amazingly the tire had not lost air even though Bill noticed a disturbing crack in the tire in addition to the screw.  We were definitely blessed to have made it safely. We knew we would have to wait it out until at least Monday.

On Sunday Bill went to sit in on a taping of TWIT (This Week In Tech), one of his favorite tech podcasts which is taped right in a studio in Petaluma. We were last in Petaluma in 2014 and he also sat in on a taping then. After a stressful day on Saturday, he certainly enjoyed the diversion and had lots of fun.

Back on the phone Monday morning Bill found a tire company who could order us the tire. And since the tires were over five years old with almost 44,000 miles on them, we decided to replace all four back tires. We had replaced the two front tires last year. A definite bright spot was the screw was not in one of our new tires.

The tires came in on Wednesday and that day was spent getting the new tires installed and then settling back in at the Elks Lodge.

Before the tire drama our original plan was to stay at a RV park in Pacifica outside of San Francisco for four days. With the delay for the tires to be ordered and installed, we had to cancel our Pacifica plans. I explained the tire situation to the lady at Pacifica and she graciously refunded all our money since we had prepaid the full amount. We were disappointed but we had visited San Francisco in 2014 and done all the touristy things including riding the cable cars, visiting Pier 39 and Alcatraz and driving on Lombard Street, aka “The Crookedest Street in the World”. Over the past couple weeks we have been watching the San Francisco local news. While it is without a doubt located in a beautiful area, it definitely appears to be a city in crisis. With garbage in the streets, rising crime rate (especially car break-ins) , homeless population as well as drug use, it is a city in deep trouble.

One thing we had looked forward to doing again was walking on the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. Since Petaluma was a 35 minute drive to the north end of the 1.7 mile long Bridge, we decided to drive there on Thursday. We drove to the north vista point and parked the car in a free visitor parking area. We were nervous about leaving the car because of all the news reports of recent break-ins in broad daylight throughout the San Francisco area.  Signs in the parking lot warned of break-ins. From there it was a quick walk to the Bridge. IMG_20181011_135628IMG_4307IMG_431520181011_142525

IMG_4345

Alcatraz Island

We walked to the halfway point, enjoying the spectacular views of San Francisco, Alcatraz and the San Francisco Bay.  There were lots of tourists walking and bike riding on the Bridge. IMG_4330IMG_4342IMG_4339IMG_20181011_150326IMG_4334

In the water we saw sea lions, including this one with a big fish in his mouth. Several sea gulls were diving down fighting him for the fish. IMG_4357IMG_4393IMG_4395

On the other side of the Bridge we could see the Pacific Ocean and a viewpoint which we later drove to with the most magnificent views of the Bridge and city. 

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Looking toward the bridge viewpoint

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As World War II approached, the Army made further improvements to the Harbor Defenses of San Francisco. They had plans to install a 16-inch gun high on the hill but when the gun arrived the decision was made to abandon the plan. Thus leaving this concrete mount and tunnels.
IMG_4404

It had been an easy quick 35 minute drive to the Bridge that morning but later that afternoon it was a slow stop and go, hour and fifteen minute drive back home.

After getting new tires we were ready to get back on the road and continue our travels. While heavy traffic doesn’t bother Bill, I wasn’t looking forward to the drive around San Francisco and through San Jose. We had three route options and after asking for advice from locals we chose the route which took us furthest around San Francisco rather than over the Golden Gate Bridge or through the bay area. Leaving the Elks Lodge we meandered through some vineyards and eventually on the interstate. 20181012_095229

The worst traffic was around Walnut Creek. We continued around the bay to San Jose, the center of the Silicon Valley. All in all the traffic wasn’t nearly as bad as I had feared. 20181012_113350

We reached Morgan Hill and were almost at our campground destination when we were stopped by a sign saying the road had a bridge ahead which was restricted to traffic under seven tons. Oops! I called the campground to get their advice only to have no one answer at either number. Not willing to take a chance, we had to find an alternate route nineteen miles out of our way and many narrow passages. When we arrived at the campground and asked about the bridge restriction they told us that was just something the locals put up to keep big trucks off the road. Grrrrr…..

We are now safely at Morgan Hill, California for four days.

Next up:  Back to the coast

UPDATED: Eureka, CA SEPT 21, 2018

California here we come!  We left Brookings, Oregon and crossed over into California.  Once we entered the state we had to stop at a California Agricultural Checkpoint.  We expected this and had not stocked up on fruits and vegetables ahead of time. They only asked if we had citrus fruits or mangos, which we didn’t so they waved us on. 20180921_084154

Our first stop was a six night stay in Eureka.  We were last here in May, 2014. Eureka has a population of around 27,000.  It has a rich history mainly based on the California Gold Rush in the mid to late 1800’s.  As thousands of people poured into the area in search of gold, their need for housing and the numerous redwood forests in the area provided a prosperous economy for northern California.  Lumber was manufactured and shipped from the region so the area became rich through lumber and shipping. Many people in Eureka became wealthy which can be seen in the many large Victorian style homes. As you may have guessed, Eureka received its name from the Greek word “Eureka” which means “I have found it” and was first used by the Greek mathematician Archimedes.  The gold rushers would say “Eureka!” when they discovered gold and the name stuck for the town.

One day we decided to drive along the California area known as the Lost Coast.  It was a bright sunny day when we left home. We stopped for lunch and by the time we reached the coast and stopped at Centerville Beach a short time later, this is what we found.  Plagued by the sea mist yet again! IMG_4207IMG_4212

The Lost Coast was given this name because of depopulation in the 1930’s.  Because of the steepness and geographical challenges of the coastal mountains, this stretch of the coastline was too costly for the state to build highways or county roads through the area.  Therefore it is the most undeveloped and remote portion of the California coast. Just the kind of area we enjoy visiting! Without any major highways the small communities in this area are isolated from the rest of California. IMG_4172

In Eureka we were reminded once again how expensive food and fuel (thirty cents a gallon) is in California!  Ouch! We still pay deposits on cans and bottles but it is only five cents compared to ten cents in Oregon.  California has a plastic bag ban so we must remember to take our own bags in all the stores.

Next stop:  Redcrest to see the redwoods