Burley to Boise to Emmett, ID
Spent 12 days in Burley, Idaho at our BFF’s house.  Thanks Marsha and Keith, Max, Little One and Little Boy for putting up with us.  Dinky moped all day Wednesday because we left his friend Max behind.  Never thought a 62 pound dog and a 12 pound dog could have such fun together!  Dinky was in 7th heaven being able to run around on grass without a leash.
We got 4 new tires and wheels on the trailer, had the bearings packed and tried to get the brakes fixed, but the part IN the box was not the part listed ON the box, so we still need to get it fixed.  Fought a strong head wind all the way to Boise, so we decided enough traveling for one day and camped out in front of Uncle Jerry’s house.  We are so long that we took up about 7/8 of his property.  Couldn’t put out the slides.  Boy was it cramped in here.
Headed out to Emmett today.  Boy were both Bristol and Dinky Dawg mad.  They were in the truck for over 7 hours yesterday and had had enough with traveling.  Found our RV park okay, but had a little trouble getting into the space.  Talked to 2 of the neighbors to ask if they could move their vehicles so we could get parked.  The place is all asphalt, a nice change from the usual dirt.  We put out our rug, first time since Laughlin, so it won’t be so hot.  Looking forward to spending an entire month in one spot, with FULL HOOKUPS!  Haven’t had that luxury since Apache Junction in December.  We are here until the end of July, so stop by if you are in the area.

Jackpot, NV To Burley, ID
What a great week we had in Jackpot. Stayed for 7 days and all but one of them comped. Sweet. 7 days in the RV park for $26. Did a little gambling each morning after breakfast and came home with a little money. Cooked dinner on the BBQ a couple of nights, even used my Crockpot Express Cooker to slow cook a roast and pressure cook some ribs that we finished off on the BBQ. Yummy! Thanks Uncle Jerry for showing me how to cook those. Even used my oven for the first time, and in the process I found some stuff that I had put in there for safe keeping and forgot about.
Dinky Dawg and I did a lot of walking. One lap around the casino’s from one end of the town to the other was a mile and a half. We averaged a little over 3 1/2 miles every day. We’ve done a lot of walking, but I feel like I am terribly out of shape since we usually take more time to stop and smell the ‘roses’.
Met a nice gal named Theresa from Mesquite, NV, and had a great time getting to know her. She had come to Jackpot for the summer to get away from the heat of Mesquite. Luckily the Magic Valley has a lot of sight seeing opportunities or I am sure she would die of boredom.
We also ran into a Hawaiian gentleman that was into Indian culture and different kinds of rocks. He told us that he would teach locals how to make authentic indian artifacts like bows and arrows. He showed us a large arrowhead that he had carved out of obsidian. It’s nice to know that he is keeping the knowledge going for the younger generation.
Finally made it back to Idaho, and it was so cool when the Google Maps lady welcomed us back.
Found out that we broke the brake lines on the trailer when we blew the tire on the way in to Jackpot, so we decided to take the back roads to Burley, where we will get it fixed when we buy the new tires for the trailer. Not sure whether it took longer or not, but it was only about an hour and a half drive. It would have been a pretty drive if not for the near blinding rain and wind.
Pulled into Marsha and Keith’s driveway and got all set up just in time for the Arca race. Had some pizza and then it was time for the Truck race…

Ely, NV to Jackpot, NV
Spent 3 days in Ely. We found an RV Park, The Valley View RV Park, that was pretty cheap, compared to the KOA across town. It wasn’t as fancy, but had full hookups, showers and a laundromat. Just $28 per night. Our site was along the fence by the highway, but it really wasn’t that noisy. After living in State and National Parks for the past 6 weeks it was kind of a nice change.
Can’t even begin to tell you what it was like to be in a “big city”. A little over 4,000 people in town. The last 3 state parks that we stayed in were in Lincoln County and we were told that there were only 7,000 people in the entire county!
I dropped Lee off at the Oupost Saloon since he had friends in town, and I spent the afternoon exploring the town. Went to a thrift store, a sporting goods store, the car wash, the Family Dollar, Ridley’s grocery store, the gas station and the Foodtown grocery store (I worked at the one in Meridian years ago, so I had to check it out. It was about the same as the one that I remember from 1986). I have to tell you that I was like a kid in a candy store at Ridley’s. (The last “real” grocery store that we were in was in Laughlin in April.) I actually got to stock up on some staples.
Lee and I both had a really great afternoon. It really does help to get out away from each other and have some ‘me’ time. And Lee found out about the trains that we could ride on.
We went for the train ride on Thursday and had an awesome day. We rode inside for the first half of the trip and listened to the conductor and then went out to the open air car for the return trip. So exhilarating. Will definitely do this again.
We got up early today to get a head start on the day. It’s a good thing because we had a major blowout on the trailer with no safe place to pull over. We finally found a road to pull off on and were able to get the tire changed. Of course we had problems getting one of the lug nuts off. The rubber was shredded and fell off somewhere before we could stop. We were driving on the rim, so now we will have to get a new tire and rim.
A mom and daughter stopped to help us, which was really cool. It’s nice to know that there are still good people out there. There was thunder and lightening right above us, but I am proud to say that I did not have a panic attack. Of course, then it started to rain, so we got soaked. Glad we only had about 5 miles to travel before we got to the RV park, because we were exhausted.
Even though we had problems today, we had to realize that we have been pretty lucky. 199 days and this is our first real problem. Pretty good odds if you ask me.

Echo Canyon State Park to Ely, NV
We spent 13 days at Echo Canyon State Park and I swear it rained every day.  It even snowed one day.  We were sure that we were done with the bad weather when May hit, but it seemed to get worse as the month went on.  Echo Canyon has a reservoir  and I watched it rise and fall depending on the amount of rain.  There was a garbage can at the edge of the lake about 2/3 of the way under water when we first arrived.  I looked at it this morning and you couldn’t even tell it was there because the water was so high. 
There was major flooding in the area and the Spring Valley State Park, about 10 miles up the road from us, had to be evacuated on Friday night the beginning of the holiday weekend.  Needless to say our campground was packed.  There were 2 trailers in the space where one was supposed to be in some sites.  Looking across the lake showed that the trailers were parked side by side in the day use lot at the boat ramp.  Looked like one of those RV shows.
Lee laughed at me because I felt guilty about taking a spot from the weekend campers.  He had to explain to me that this was our house and we paid for the spot, just the same as them.  (Helped a little, but I still felt guilty.)
Bristol, the cat, is getting a lot more energetic about exploring outside.  She explored around further and further until we couldn’t see her.  I would call her and she would mosey on back to me.  But when Lee would call her she came running to him.  It was really funny because he just calls out ‘come here kitty cat’ and here she comes a running.
The towns got smaller and smaller as we traveled down US93.  Caliente, where we stayed at Kershaw-Ryan State Park had a grocery store, a couple of restaurants, a Family Dollar,  an auto parts store and a bunch of other businesses.  Panaca, where we stayed at the Cathedral Gorge State Park had a grocery store and a convenience store, a thrift store (that was not open on the day we went to town) and a car lot with 3 cars for sale.  Pioche seemed to have more residents, but their grocery store was in an old filling station (much smaller than a convenience store). They had a good selection of items, but nothing was priced.  Sure we spent more on groceries, but it was kind of quaint.  This town even had a Sheriff’s Detention Center.  Lots of new houses going up in town, so it must be a good place to live.
The next town down the road from Pioche was Ely.  About 120 miles away.  1 rest stop and 1 bar/RV park between Pioche and Ely.  But a really pretty drive.
Stopped at McDonald’s to have some ‘real food’.  Lobby was under construction so only the drive through was open.  Can’t take a dually truck and 29′ trailer through the drive through, so we had to go to the Love’s truck stop and eat at Carl’s Junior.  Pretty good, but kind of a let down after getting myself set for a quarter pounder with cheese.  Haven’t eaten fast food since Bullhead City, about 42 days ago.  Yes, I’ve been cooking, when Lee won’t.  Used my Crockpot Express Cooker to make a roast a couple of times (it’s like an Instant Pot, but a lot cheaper) Need to get in the habit of using it more, since the leftovers are so good.
Found an RV Park (Valley View) in Ely, only $28 a night.  Not the best place we’ve been, but half the cost of the KOA. Our camp is right next to the highway.  It’s been so long since we have been in a big town it’s kind of a novelty to watch the cars go by.  Might not feel that way after a couple of days, LOL.
Really muddy here, so we didn’t set up the satellite dish.  Scanned in the digital channels.  54 channels, wow.  And we have 3 episodes of Chips in a row.  Who doesn’t like the old 70’s cop shows.
I saw a YouTube video of a review of a manual washing machine agitator that was for sale on Amazon.  After watching the video, I figured out that I could make my own with a bucket and a toilet plunger and save $27.95.  Can’t wait to try it out.
Hard to believe that it’s been 186 days since we were in Ely last.  Doesn’t seem like its been more than a couple of weeks.  Time sure does have a way of racing by…

Cathedral Gorge State Park  to Echo Canyon State Park.   Spent 2 weeks at Cathedral Gorge because of the weather.  Our original plan was just for 1 week, but a huge storm rolled through and we decided to stay the extra week.  We were going to head to Ely, but it’s supposed to snow there tonight and the State parks are about 1200 feet higher in altitude.  Decided that we could hold off for another few days.
Had a great time there and we saw a lot of wildlife.  Jack rabbits, lizards, whistle pigs, hawks and SNAKES!  Not to mention all of the different kinds of birds. 
The first weekend we were there the park hosted an astronomy watch party.  I have never seen such large telescopes.  Really high tech.
Our new generator quit working when we were at Kershaw-Ryan state park, so we had to go back to Harbor Freight and exchange it.  Did I mention that the closest Harbor Freight was in Cedar City, Utah? 90 miles one way? So we planned out our trip.  Smith’s (a Kroger store) for prescription refills, Harbor Freight, the liquor store (because there is only a handful of places that sell liquor where we are and the prices are a lot higher), car wash and Walmart.  The bonus was finding a Deseret Industries Thrift Store in the same area that we were in.  Found some lamps and stuff that would work better for our trailer.  Picked up a new ice maker at Walmart because the old one was possessed.  It would only make ice at night, nothing during the day.
This of course led us to have a bunch of stuff that we no longer needed, so I asked the park rangers if it was ok to set it out for free.  No problem with that, as long as we weren’t selling it.  Asked them if they needed anything like lamps or maybe a possessed ice maker.  He’s like “does it work?”  I’m like, ‘yeah, but only at night.”  Told him it was dirty from sitting and I was running some lime juice through it to clean it.  He looked at it and it was making ice, right there in the middle of the day.  He was so happy to have it.
Had a pretty good No Pay Yard Sale.  Got rid of a bunch of stuff.  Happy customers, happy me.  One lady came by on Mother’s day and I gave her 2 camp chairs, a picnic plate condiment holder and a garbage bag holder.  She couldn’t believe that I was just giving them to her.  She called her 2 teenage boys over to carry the chairs.  They were so polite and happy.  They kept thanking me and asking if I was sure I didn’t want any money. 
Funny story about waving to people.  My dad taught me to wave at people when driving down a country road, because who knew, you might have trouble and they will remember the wave and will stop to help you.  So I wave at everyone that goes by.  Some wave (one lady even held up her dog to wave at Dinky), some smile, some ignore and some even stop to see if I am having trouble.  This happened on Mothers day.  An older couple stopped to check on me.  I said that I just wanted to say hi, have a good day and to have a safe trip.  The lady was so happy.  It made my day. 
Dinky Dawg has discovered a new delicacy.  Grass Hoppers.  He caught one and carried it for quite a while.  I asked him if he was taking it back to camp for sister and he looked at me then proceeded to eat it.  My warm fuzzy feeling that Dinky was thinking of Bristol flew right out the window….
Bristol spent a lot of time outside.  Exploring and rolling in the dirt.  We just let her be, that is until she started stalking the Jack Rabbit.  Really!?! That rabbit was almost twice as big as her.  I scared the rabbit away and made her go inside the trailer (I know, I am a mean mom).
We must have looked like we were someone important because we spent this last weekend answering questions and giving directions to people.  I guess that they thought we were camp hosts.  I think I might like having a job like that.
In case you are wondering, I am still as sweet as I have always been.  Have about 20 mosquito bites on my legs.  Bit by 3 in a row last night, standing next to Lee Todd and he didn’t get bit at all.  (I am wondering, can you get West Nile Virus more than once?!?) Yep, I am still sweet…

Kershaw-Ryan State Park to Caliente, NV
Spent 6 days at the state park campground then headed out to the next park on the map, but we needed a spark plug for the generator and couldn’t get one until tomorrow, so we stopped at the Young’s RV park in Caliente for the night. Glad we did since there was a huge thunderstorm that rolled through the area. Glad we have full hookups and not at the mercy of the generator. Much nicer to be inside instead of out putting gas in the generator in the rain.
Kershaw-Ryan state park was really nice. The campground was undergoing a major overhaul as they were putting water and electrical hookups at each site. Lee hated it because the heavy equipment was kicking up dust and getting it all over the truck and trailer. I loved it because there is nothing better than spending your days watching the boys play with their Tonka Trucks.
The park did not have any cell phone service, which meant no internet for me, but it did offer internet access for a fee, so I purchased a plan for Lee. (I enjoyed reading about 4 books, so I didn’t really miss not having on-line access). We were able to listen to the Nascar scanner during the races, which made the race that much better. We were able to watch the race because we have satellite service.
Dinky rediscovered his love of lizards. And boy were there a ton of them. I am surprised that my arms are still attached to my shoulders, since he was constantly trying to get them. And Frogs. They came out at night and were hopping everywhere. I was a little slow and he actually caught one of them. I got it away from him before he hurt it, but not before it peed in his mouth. His reaction was priceless. Funny, he didn’t want anything to do with the frogs after that.
We finally were in a place where we could ride our electric bikes. They have been riding around on the back of the trailer since we were at the Nascar race in Vegas in March. They are beach Cruisers, so no shocks. Not a smooth ride unless you are on a smooth road. We rode up to the park and spent some time enjoying the beauty of it. We also rode them into town to get some groceries. Food in the front baskets and bags of ice in our backpacks. It was only about 2 1/2 miles, so we didn’t have to worry too much about the ice melting. Electric bikes are definitely the way to go.
The weather was really weird all week. It was so warm that we were still sitting outside at 10 pm before the weekend, and yesterday we were running the heater in the trailer. It rained so hard last night that it kept waking us up, and then the huge thunderstorm today.
We found out today that the county that we are in has only about 7,000 residents in the entire county. Can’t imagine so few people in an entire county.

Lake Mead to Ash Springs, Nevada
Spent 5 days boondocking at Lake Mead. It was really nice to be able to see the lake, even though it was too low to spend much time down there. We went down one day and took a quick dip. Dinky was not impressed until he realized how cool it made him feel. Met a couple from Turkey and another from London. Took pictures for them with their phones so they could share the memories together. (We do a lot of this, and we always get a great reaction.)
Dinky Dawg celebrated his 4th birthday with a two mile hike. (Did I mention that this was about 5 minutes after I got out of bed and about an hour before my first cup of coffee) Seriously this is a daily occurrence, except we usually don’t go more that a mile or mile and a half, so who am I trying to kid about doing something special with him.
Took him for a walk this morning and was getting some pictures of the ducks in the lake when I looked up and saw a hawk circling around and getting closer to us. Hurried to Dinky and started waving my arms to scare him away. Bet I looked awful funny to the other campers.
Bristol had a great time rolling in the dirt. She spent time each night just having the time of her life in the dirt. Weird Cat. Of course we had to do some major cleaning before we left this morning because she tracked dirt everywhere.
We learned a new meaning to the idea of roughing it. Spaced buying ice and only had 2-6 gallon jugs of water, and only about a quarter tank of fresh water in our rig. But we survived. Even got to shower this morning. Ran out of water just as we started getting ready to go. Thank goodness that we have a portable ice maker, so we had enough ice for beverages.
Finally got to use Lee’s new generator. And yes, it is big enough to run the air conditioner, which is good since we both got sunburned when we went down to the water.
Stopped in Logandale, NV and washed the dust off the truck and trailer. They have a do it yourself bay big enough for RV’S. Gotta remember that.

Laughlin, NV to Stewart’s Point, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada.  Spent a week in Laughlin so that we could take care of some business.
Went to Harbor Freight and picked up another solar panel to replace the one that got broken, and found some great solar rope lights that fit along the bottom of Dinky Dawg’s fence so we don’t trip over it in the dark.  Gotta love solar lights when boondocking.
Got the oil changed and found a drive through car wash big enough to fit Lee Todd big dually truck in.  (Big carwash =1 happy husband).  But of course it started to rain while he was in the carwash. (No worries since we had washed off all the dirt from camping in the desert so now we wouldn’t have a big mud ball).  Torrential rains.  Still had to go to the grocery store.  Got drenched walking to the store from the truck.  It was raining so hard you couldn’t see the river that was less than a block away.
We went to a couple of thrift stores and found a small upright vacuum for 5 bucks!  We have a small rechargeable one, but the cat and dog are shedding and it can’t keep up.  Had to overhaul it and get all of the crap out of it, but the price made it worth my time.
Got to hear Brad Paisley’s outdoor concert sitting in lawn chairs at the RV Park on Saturday night.  He does a really nice concert.  Interacted with a couple that was there for their 2nd anniversary.  It was fun to listen to.  Got to enjoy a couple of other bands on the Riverwalk on Sunday.
Had some funny coincidences when we went to the Casino to take advantage of our free buffet coupons.  Got on the shuttle bus and of course Lee was wearing his ‘Trailer Trash’ tee shirt.  This started up a conversation on the bus that led to the standard question of “Where y’all from?”. Turns out that one couple, Bill & Sharon were from Boise and David and Linda were from Cascade.  Small world.  They were going to see one of the antique car displays so we decided to tag along.  We went our separate ways and Lee and I went to look at the other antique car display.  We decided to have dinner, and guess what?  The other couples were in line just ahead of us.  So we got a table for 6.  It was nice to have some different conversation for a change.  After dinner we again went our separate way.  Decided to head back home and who should come out to catch our shuttle?  Yep, you guessed it, the same group.  Who’d a thought of that many coincidences.
The drive from Laughlin to Lake Mead wasn’t too bad.  A little windy, but not enough that we felt the need to get off the highway.  Can’t believe how big Lake Mead is.  Drove over 40 miles once we entered the Park, and are not even out of it yet.  Found a great spot to camp.  Beautiful views, enough Lizards to keep Dinky from being bored, enough dirt for Bristol to roll in, and even the Easter Bunny.

Day 145: Quartzsite, AZ to Laughlin, NV. Drove through 3 states today. Arizona, California and Nevada. Gotta tell you the truth, the roads in California suck (sorry all of you Californians). Lazy workers at CalTrans. Seriously, they couldn’t level the road? 49 miles of “dips in the road”, no services, no passing lanes, no marked pull-outs, no nothing! And then we finally get to Needles, CA. Gas $4.79 per gallon. Didn’t want to fill up, but Lee Todd said “better safe than sorry”. Headed out of Needles and the speed limit was 55. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?! I have been on better un-maintained dirt roads. We drove a safe 35 mph. People behind us sure didn’t like us very much.
Went through the agricultural check point in California. I kept telling Lee that it was the border patrol and that they weren’t going to let me into the state. (Wonder why he thinks that I am a freak?)
We had a great time in Quartzsite. Got there too late to see all of the crowds. Most of the snowbirds left the middle of March. But the good part of going after the crowds is that we got to actually check out the BLM campgrounds and park where we wanted. The BLM long term site charges you $180 from September 16 to April 15, and $75 from April 16 to September 15. Yep, that’s for the entire season. No wonder it’s such a popular place. No hookups, but unlimited water and RV dumps.
The weather during week 1 was awesome. We sat outside until 8 or 9 pm most nights. Millions of stars. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
Week 2 weather was not as great. Two days of 97 degrees, then 2 days of 45 mph wind gusts. Blew over one of our solar panels and shattered it. It still worked, but we trashed it since we did not want broken glass in the truck.
Sold our big generator on consignment in town. Learned a valuable lesson. Don’t set the “lowest we’ll take price too low”, cause that’s all you are going to get for it. Oh, well, it’s gone and we have all that extra room.
Saw lots of lizards and birds, but thankfully only saw 1 snake that someone had run over. Note to self, dont have a dog that was bred to go into badger holes (Dinky Dawg is 1/4 Dachshund) if you don’t want your arm dislocated by the leash every time a lizard runs by.
Found the PERFECT laundromat in Quartzsite. Lots of washers and dryers, Showers (remember we were dry camping, so water conservation is a must), and a full service restaurant. We did not utilize the showers, but we did have an awesome lunch while the clothes were washing and drying. Best Blue Cheese burger that I have ever eaten.
Went to 3 thrift stores in town. The first one was obviously the local meeting place and they weren’t really interested in moving so you could actually shop. The other 2 were great though. Got me a new pair of Crocks for only 3 bucks! Sweet!
Had a great day trip to Brenda, Arizona. Bought a tee shirt, cause I had to have something to let people know that there was a town named after me. LOL.
Came back to the RV park in Laughlin to spend the next week so we can take care of truck maintenance and stuff. We have actually moved up in the world. We were in ‘Poverty Flat’ last time. Pull-through sites (except you can’t because there is a trailer right behind you). We are now on the ‘central bench’. We can actually setup Dinky’s fence, and then park next to that. This spot is as wide as 3 sites in the other spot. And it’s the same price. Gotta like that. Lots of stuff going on this weekend. Stay tuned…

Day 132: Laughlin, NV to Quartzsite, AZ. We stayed in Laughlin for 3 weeks, and I’ll admit that even though conditions were not ideal, we were spoiled by having unlimited running water and electricity. But we finally had enough of being packed in like sardines.
We saw some great things during our stay in Laughlin. We went to the Bullhead City, AZ Community Park and saw a huge Turtle, went to the Big Bend of the Colorado, NV State Park and got our second passport stamp. Only 13 more and we get a free annual pass to the Nevada State Parks. They had a great sandy beach and we spent some time lazing around.
We also drove down a 20 mile dirt road (never believe that the shortest route is the best, and never totally rely on the darn GPS) to Oatman, AZ and spent time with the burros. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard spent their honeymoon in the motel, and you could go up and look at it. It was really fun seeing a part of history.
We were headed for Lake Havasu to check it out and because Lee Todd wanted to take my picture at the Londen Bridge (he is so sweet). We stopped at a park and got out to play tourist then headed out to find an RV spot. Only one we could find was $87 a night (Seriously!?!). We paid $120 for 7 days and got $30 worth of buffets in Laughlin. We decided to just head on down the road to Quartzsite.
It was getting to be late afternoon so we decided to pull in to the Cattail Cove State Park campground. It was so beautiful! We stayed outside until almost 8 pm! Lee even got all of the other campers to get out and watch the sunset. And believe it or not, we never fired up the generator or turned on the TV!
We got up this morning and continued on our way. Finally arrived (132 days late in Lee’s opinion, since this was his initial destination). Next to boondocking this is the best deal so far. $40 for 2 weeks, $80 for 4 weeks or $180 for SEVEN MONTHS (now that’s a deal!) It’s dry camping but there is free water, sewer and garbage at the main park. But if nothing else, we have learned to be frugal with water.
We drove around a while until we came to a spot that had a Cactus formation made out of rocks. Looking around the campsite and I found a butterfly, dragonfly and a moth also done out of rocks. It was a sign that we should stay here for sure. Can’t wait to explore the area…