9-24-17 - (Day 55 - Moved to Echo Bay Campground, Lake Mead)

This morning, we were in a dilemma. Should we go to Alamo, NV.  a few miles away and camp for a night and clean up, should we stay another day at this fantastic free campsite on the lake, or should we head south to Lake Mead????

                                                          gonna miss this view

The decision was made during our walk, with the temperature in the 60's and a cold wind.  We headed South. It's amazing what a difference a hundred and two miles South makes.

We are at Echo Bay Campground in the lower section.  There are very few other campers here.  We are on the peninsula overlooking the lake with no other campers near us.  The campground has a tropical look to it, with all the pretty flowers and date trees.  The flower bushes are so large that they touch the sides of the camper when we rode through the campground.

                                                               the new view

We were greeted by the camp host, Jason.  A very nice guy with a lot of information.  While we were talking to him, a Road Runner strutted around our campsite.  Jason told us how aggressive a Road Runner could be, killing rattle snakes and tarantulas.  He also told us there are a lot of coyotes here.  I haven't been able to get the theme song of  Wile E Coyote and the Road Runner Cartoon out of my mind since then. LOL

We took a walk around the campground and saw the wild burrows in the valley.  Jason said sometimes they come in the park, turn on the water faucets, and make a lot of noise.   This may be our alarm clock in the morning.

We ate a late lunch/early dinner tonight then took a hike to the boat ramp.  A very pretty lake at sunset.  It must have been at least 2 miles each way. We have about 10 miles of hiking in today.

We came back and built a campfire.  It looked like one star at a time popped out in the dark sky. Then all the sudden there was a bunch of them.  Very pretty!

Ferny Kat gave another approval of the campground, as she sat on top of her rock by the campfire.

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9-23-17 - (Day 54 - Riding)

We got up this morning, ate breakfast, and got dressed to go riding.  We walked out and decided we better wait a little while.  Another cold front has found us.

                                                             even the geese were cold

We took a couple mile walk in the campground, ate lunch, and decided it was time to go, with plenty of layers on.

We rode 70 miles on Highway 93 until we reached I 15 where we found a very busy Love's Truck Stop.  The ride on Highway 93 was through the desert, with mountains in the horizon. It was pretty and a whole lot of nothing.  I believe this is a lot lonelier road than Highway 50.

We checked out a boon docking spot close to Valley of Fire State Park.  It looked pretty good.

We rode back on Highway 168 and connected back to 93.  The last few miles of 168 was another brutal cross wind.  We were glad to get back to 93 and head into the wind.

We were going to build a campfire tonight, but it was too cold.  Lauren grilled while Ferny Kat led me through the brush.  We had a pretty sunset while sitting inside typing tonight.

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9-22-17 (Day 53 - Enjoying the Lake Day)

Occasionally we need a do nothing day.  Today was the day.  We hiked over 7 miles in the campground.  The first hike was The Upper Lake Trail.  It was an easy 3 mile hike around the lake. We saw a bunch of blue herons, ducks, rabbits and a couple of road runners.  The second hike was to the garbage dumpster,  It was 1.6 miles one way, not so easy carrying a bag of garbage.

Of course, Ferny Kat came out, rolled around in the dust and lead me around.  She definitely loves this campsite.

It was a nice, cool, evening with very little wind, which was perfect for our campfire.

It was nice to stay at camp and enjoy the lake kind of day.

Here are the pictures:

9-21-17 - (Day 52 - Extraterrestrial Highway)

The morning started off  beautiful with a light wind.  We unloaded Amber and checked out the Parhranagat  National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center which was a few miles from the campground. The volunteer at the visitor center was very informative.  He came to meet us last night when we posted on RVillage that we were camped here.  A very nice guy.

                                                          View from Hwy 93

                                                                   Visitor Center

We took a 40 mile drive on the Extraterrestrial Highway to Rachel, Nevada. The  cross wind was brutal riding across the flat desert.  It was predicted to be 35 miles per hour.  I believe it was every bit of it.

We drove to Little A'Le'Inn Bar and Motel near Area 51.  They have spaceships and aliens on display. Earthlings Welcome signs are posted.  It is a neat little place in the middle of nowhere.

On the way back to camp, we stopped at the Area 51 Research Center which is at the beginning of the ET road.  The front of the building has a huge alien.  They had a great selection of alien souvenirs.

We didn't see any real spaceships or aliens, but we did see 2 combat fighters appear suddenly over the mountains, then they were gone.  It's hard to see much, when you are fighting to stay upright on a motorcycle.

When we got back to camp, we stayed inside, watching the water in the lake white capping. Ferny Kat didn't even have a desire to go outside.

At bedtime, the wind stopped, and the skies cleared revealing a beautiful star filled sky. The stars look like they are close enough to touch.  It is so peaceful here when the wind is not howling.

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9-20-17 - (Day 51 - Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge)

It was cold this morning!!  We had 2 blankets and my robe on the bed last night.  Ferny Kat got right between us trying to keep warm.  It is definitely time to head south.

                                                                   Good Morning

We watched the rabbits scurrying around while drinking our coffee, waiting for the beautiful sunshine to warm up the temperature.

After 192 miles south, looking at gorgeous scenery and a few herds of elk, we are at our little paradise on a lake with a warm, howling, southerly wind. We have on our shorts and flip flops.  It's so nice to be warm.

We are boon docking for a few days at Pahranagat  National Wildlife Refuge, about 5 miles south of Alamo, Nevada.  It is a really great place, with 15 campsites, that are totally free.  When we arrived today, we got to pick the cream of the crop since no one else was here.  We chose number 3.   A pretty site that Ferny Kat has approved.   Everybody is happy!!

The lake is low but still pretty. We hope to unload Amber tomorrow and take a ride.


More pictures, click right here:

9-19-17 - (Day 50 - Ely, Nevada)

We rocked and rolled all night in the howling wind.  Every time we got in a deep sleep, the wind would gust, rattling the outside stove vent, even though it was locked.  It sounded like jake brakes on an 18 wheeler.

We took a windy, 50 mile ride to the town of Ely, Nevada.  We saw a lot of pretty scenery.  The wind vanes are mesmerizing along the Loneliest Road.

We walked around downtown for a little bit, enjoyed the painted murals, then ate lunch at the Twin Wok.  It was a very good Chinese buffet.

We returned to camp and hiked 3 miles on the Sac Pass Loop.  A nice trail through the Juniper and Pinyon trees, with a lot of elevation and big rocks.  We saw lots of Jack Rabbits and Lizards.

We returned back to camp and watched an Osprey hunting at the pond.  He was fishing not catching.

Ferny Kat had her time outside.  The wind continued to blow, so we went in after a little while.

We watched a Roku movie and realized the wind had stopped.  We stepped outside and admired the thousands of stars in the sky.  It was too late and too cold to build a campfire.

With the snow predictions for Thursday, we will head south tomorrow.

More pics right here:

9-18-17 - (Day 49 - Great Basin National Park)

We got the big blanket out last night, and it felt so good!  Ferny Kat is still on Mountain Time and woke us up at 6 am this morning.  We need to figure out a way to reprogram her.

We watched numerous jack rabbits outside while we drank our coffee this morning.  There is a bumper crop of 'em here.

We spent the day at Great Basin National Park.  We just happen to arrive at Lehman Caves just in time for a guided tour, the only way you can go in the cave.

Ranger Diane, was our guide.  She was very enthusiastic about the cave.  She had plenty of information in the hour and half tour.  It was a very relaxing, pretty cave with the temperature 50 degrees.

After the cave tour, we stopped for our picnic lunch at the Upper Lehman Creek.  The bubbly sound of the creek was the ambiance of our lunch before motoring up the mountain.

We went from 7000 foot elevation to above 10,000 foot elevation with a 25 degree drop in temperature and the wind a howling.

We hiked 3 miles up the Bristlecone Pine Trail, with a 600 foot elevation.  It was a rocky, uphill climb.  We saw some beautiful bristlecone trees with a lot of history and we were able to see Wheeler Peak Glacier a little closer than on the road.

Wheeler Peak Glacier was a quite a surprise.  We weren't aware that Nevada had glaciers.  You never know what you will learn traveling around.

We took the short ride through Baker, went to the Utah state line to buy gas, and went back to our rocking camper.  Although, we have a little bit of wind break here.

Ferny Kat explored for a little bit outside.  It wasn't long, she was done with the wind.

We are in for the night, heating up some of our meal we prepped a couple of days ago.  We feel like we are a ship in the rough sea in Rap tonight.

The Pictures are here: