Las Vegas and Home

One of our last stops is Las Vegas. We are here for 2 reasons - we love Las Vegas and I am flying to Saskatoon for work from here.

When we here in November we tried to see the new Sphere and get some great photos, but the great photo part never happened. This time we got some great shots!

We stayed at Government Wash which is a fantastic boondocking spot for its access to the city and the fact that you are still in the desert and can see the night sky and enjoy boondocking. We played a bit of tourist, I had a bit of a spa day, and we did some shopping from a few request lists we had.

The heat chased us away and while I was in Saskatoon Don moved north to St George. 

We used this opportunity to revisit Zion National Park and it did not disappoint, although it was so busy already that there weren't many opportunities to do things as parking was typically full.

This is the point where you won't hear from me for a while as we return home to the wonderful craziness our life is of family and friends and who knows what else!

The Sphere:)

Zion:)

Death Valley

This needs to also be about Starlink, solar and lithium batteries.

We found The Pads just outside of Death Valley on our last visit to the area. An amazing boondock find but not quite perfect as there was no cell service. But... welcome Starlink to our lives! We've appreciated Starlink on this trip, but have been in places where there was always at minimum weak service. But this was the ultimate test. We became 100% confident the purchases were worth it as we learned we could turn things on in the morning, run toasters and coffee pots, fireplace, TV and microwave, etc. Its important to know what your system can do and what the limits are, so an entire boondocking experience does that.

Back to Death Valley though.one main reason we wanted to return is we had read from other blogs that there was water. Badwater Basin in Death Valley sits 232 feet below sea level and typically only sees about two inches of rain in a season. Over the past months, the area has had almost 2 ½ times that from a series of storms. The storms this season have brought enough water to out-pace the evaporation, which usually keeps the basin dry. That's allowed the lake to form. It's called Lake Manly, and it was as awe inspiring to see as one can imagine. Having been here when it was in its' normal dry state and now seeing it with water as a lake should be was a once in a lifetime experience.

We love our "site" here at the Pads:)

Here are some photos of the Rhyolite Ghost Town.

This may be the most "real" ghost town we've seen, since it hasn't been turned into a tourist shop area.

Next I will deluge you with photos of Death Valley and the lake!

And the Lake:)

Lastly the magnificent night sky - no filters, no lights!

Joshua Tree Visit

Referring to my last post I did honestly disclose we were going to Joshua Tree but people identify with Palm Springs. But just like most of our other stops, don't vision us in a city when we are in are surrounded by wide open spaces and sunshine, because A - we don't prefer cities to camp in and B - the cities don't surround you with space. Although whether you're in Joshua Tree or Palm Springs you will see the smog from LA. 

Our locations are sometimes decided by selecting which airport I will fly from to Saskatoon for Co-op meetings, and this time it was Palm Springs so...

The Palm Springs Airport is the first airport I've ever thought of writing about. Most of it is outside shaded by Palm trees dancing in the breezes, and the most eclectic collection of shops. It's an experience in itself. Of course I forgot to take a photo so this is from their website.

Our time in the area is best shown in photos, but I should also mention Ivan joined us as well, and as always we had a few adventures that likely involved beer!

I have no idea why some photos are sideways - but the Heart Rock was very cool!

So Many Favorites

I seriously could start every blog with this. I guess why would we keep going to a place if we didn't like it?

I'm not sure Lake Havasu was on the original plan, but Don likes to note our plans are in jello. In fact, don't take this personally, but we don't always know where we're going but that unsettles people so we lie. Lol

Lake Havasu was a pretty chill stop for us. We took advantage of the boardwalk at London Bridge every day for a breezy cool break from the sun, enjoyed a few beverage stops, and also had a couple of visits with Ivan and Anders and Diane.

We stayed at Craggy Wash as always. There are many reasons to like Craggy Wash but for us it's location to town and the mountain ranges.