Day 110: Las Vegas to Laughlin, NV. Can’t believe that it has taken us 59 days to get here. We left Mesquite on Jan 7th headed this way when we found Poverty Flat in Overton and decided to check it out. Wow.
We left the track on Monday and stayed at an RV Park in Vegas for 3 nights. We got all caught up on the laundry, even having a chance to wash all of the bedding and blankets. The Hitching Post RV Park in Vegas has those huge 40 pound washers. Nice to use the laundry and be able to sit around the pool while it gets done.
We FINALLY were able to purchase the America the Beautiful National Park pass. We’ve been trying to get one since January. They weren’t available because of the Government shutdown and when it started back up the park’s hadn’t gotten them yet. Can’t wait to see some of those Natural Wonders.
We, of course, did not make any reservations at the RV parks in town, but were able to find a spot at the Don Laughlin Riverside RV park. $120 for 7 days, full hookups. We are packed in like sardines, but the neighbors are really friendly.
We are going to spend this next week checking out the town of Laughlin, NV and Bullhead City, AZ right across the Colorado River. It’s really wierd. We are in the Pacific time zone, but Bullhead City is the same time as Mountain, although they will not change their clocks on Sunday morning. On Sunday we will spring ahead an hour and be the same time as Bullhead City. Who can keep up with this stuff?

Day 100. Wow. Can you believe that it has been 100 days since we began this journey. I didn’t believe that we would make it one month, let alone 100 days. Now I can’t imagine living any other way. I love almost everything about this life. (Well not taking the dog for a walk during 40 mph wind and rain).
We left Poverty Flat’s and headed for Las Vegas for the Nascar Race this coming weekend. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed our neighbors from eastern Idaho until we left and the reality of not walking with them every day set in. Almost as hard as leaving my friends in Boise. Shed a few tears as we pulled away.
Travelled through the Valley of Fire to empty our tanks and saw a herd of Bighorn Sheep on the side of the road. Stopped and took a few photos. Awesome. Lee Todd pointed them out to a couple of cars heading the other way and they stopped to take pictures as well.
Pulled into the Burnout RV lot at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and there was hardly anyone here. Weird. We don’t usually show up until Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. Can’t even begin to tell you how nice it was to drive for an hour instead of 12 (over the course of 2 days).
We have learned so much over the past 100 days. I have even started writing a list of things that we have learned. Helpful hints and such. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s coming along. I’ll be sharing it when I get it done.
The best part of this life is not having any specific plans. We have a general plan of what we want to do, but are going with the flow. We were on our way to Laughlin, NV when we found Poverty Flat. Spent the better part of 2 months there because it didn’t cost us anything to boondock. We saved a ton of money by being willing to be flexible.
I have joined Full-Time RVers on Facebook and have learned a lot from them. They have posts from people all over the country. If you have a question about your RV or maybe want input about a place to stay the answer is there.
I also joined RVillage.com and it’s really cool because you can meet up with other RVers that may be in your area. If you join we are listed as Lee & Brenda.

Day 78: Left Las Vegas and headed for the Valley of Fire State Park. Decided to stay at least 1 night. We drove through the dry camping areas and there were no spots that would accommodate the trailer without unhooking, and even then we wouldn’t have been able to put out the slides (can’t get into the refrigerator or watch tv without putting out the slides). So we decided to check out the hookup sites, but got stopped by a Nevada traffic jam (a big horn sheep walked across the right in front of our truck. So awesome!) Found a hookup spot, but realized we wouldn’t have phone or tv service (hello, it’s Superbowl Sunday).
So we headed on out to Poverty Flats again. (We did learn that the locals call it Snow Bird Mesa, sounds a little nicer. But I gotta go with Google Maps in case you want to find it someday). Got all set up, in the same spot as before, with minutes to spare. Invited our friends from Idaho Falls/Pocatello (who showed us the ropes the first visit) Ilean and Del over to watch the big game. Imagine a Superbowl party in the middle of nowhere. Sweet.
Wind started up about halfway through the game…gonna be a rock and roll night…

Day 74: Left Mesquite and headed towards Vegas. Beautiful day for a drive. Culture shock to have to pay to park, but we have a saltwater heated pool, showers, heated dog wash, laundromat, free wi-fi, golf practice area and a restaurant and bar. It’s going to be like living at a 4 star hotel after living with only a generator for power and having to conserve our water. Can’t wait until tomorrow morning… It’s Nascar testing at LVMS!

Day 67: Left Poverty Flats, near Overton NV to head back to Mesquite, NV for their annual Hot Air Balloon Festival. Went via the Valley of Fire state park and picked up an annual pass for the Nevada State Park system. A lot more money than Idaho, which only charges you $10 (for residents, not sure for non residents). $75 for annual pass, $200 for dry camping added on. We went for the more expensive one since it will pay for itself after 13 nights. For only $10 per night, we can upgrade to full hookups, in parks that offer it. And if we visit 15 state parks we will get a free pass for next year, so make sure you get a ‘passport’ and stamp it at every park you visit. The best thing about the park pass (besides the natural beauty) is free dump, water and trash any time we want. We didnt take a lot of photos, as we are planning on returning their soon to spend some actual time and explore.
We also checked in to National park pass. For $80 per year you can get an America the Beautiful pass that gives you unlimited National park entrance, plus access to camping on BLM land as well. We just need to wait for the government shutdown to end before we can get this pass.
Bristol, the cat, usually hides under the back seat, but comes out for a pet every hour or so. This trip, though, she became really brave and came up front and road on my lap for 20 miles or so. She has come a long way from being a wild homeless cat in my back yard to #1 navigator in the front seat of the truck as it is heading down the highway.
There were no laundromats anywhere near Overton, the closest is here in Mesquite (something like 50 miles away), so needless to say we are going to be busy today catching up on the laundry. We also bought some items that we needed at Walmart.com and had it shipped to the store. This is one of the things that I miss about not living in a house anymore. The ability to order things on line and have them sent to you. We did talk to one of the Poverty Flat locals and he told us that there is a place in Overton that will let you ship stuff to them for a slight fee. We will be checking into this if we go back there.

Day 51: Left Mesquite and headed South. Didn’t go to far today. Only about 48.6 miles. We were going to find an RV park in Overton, Nevada but they were full, so we headed down the road about 8 miles and came across an area where there were several trailers. Talked to some campers from Pocatello/Idaho Falls, Idaho and they told us that we could stay here for no charge for as long as we want to. SWEET! Lee is going to be able to live his dream of Boondocking and Living Off The Grid.

Day 44: starting to snow in Kingman, AZ so we got up early and left before it started to stick. Rain, snow and wind for the entire trip. Saw 2 really bad accidents that did not appear to be weather related, just inattentive driving. Both accidents involved Semi vs Car. Not a good way to end the New Year. Hope everyone was okay.
Made it through Vegas Ok. Hit it about 10 AM. Missed Morning and Noon rush hour. Stopped at our Nascar gas station for fuel. A lot less traffic when Nascar is not in town. Imagine that.
Landed in Mesquite, NV. Sunny, but windy and cold. (Boondocking. No charge, but also no hookups) Got Bristol and Dinky Dawg settled into the warm trailer and headed to the casino for lunch and a little gambling. Went back after a couple of hours (or maybe 4) and had a nap so we would be awake at Midnight.
Rang in the New Year with Champagne and some very nice Tiara’s.. See ya all in 2019. (Oh yeah, rooms are only $27 a night if you want to stay in a room and not the trailer.)

Day 43: Pulled out of Mesa, AZ at noon (really?!? What happened to leaving early?) Anyway. Saw our first Road Runner. Ran right in front of us. Wiley Coyote was nowhere to be found. Also saw a Hawk perched up in a tree. He didn’t have nothing to eat.
Speaking of Nothing, we stopped there and had a quick potty break. Wanted to get souvenirs, but as you can tell from the photos, there wern’t nothing there.
Decided to spend the night in Kingman, Arizona. Found a really nice RV park right off of US 93. Only $39 a night with full hookups, showers, laundry, a general store and a restaurant a short walk away. Sure beats $55 at the KOA.

Day 14: We have finally landed for a while. We are staying at an RV park called the Arizona Maverick RV Park. It’s not too bad, as we are back in a corner with a wall behind us so the dogs won’t get too stressed with the neighbors. They even have a laundromat on site, so we can relax while doing laundry.
We wern’t able to stop in the town of Nothing, as it was on the wrong side of the highway and we wern’t able to get to it. Dang nabbit! Well, maybe on the way out of Arizona.
Phoenix freeways are horrendous. 5 lanes, bumper to bumper 65 miles per hour. But Lee Todd did great. The only hiccup was when the stupid GPS lady didn’t tell us that we needed to get onto another freeway. She had us get off the freeway we were on and head back the way we came so we could get onto the correct freeway. Never even apologized. Seriously, GPS lady, take accountability for your actions. LOL
Finally made it to Peggy Sue Sparks house, only to find out that our rig is too big to fit into her yard. Headed out to the KOA campground and stayed for 2 nights until we could find a place to park our rig.
Made some calls and found this place. It’s less than a mile from Peggy’s house, so we will be able to spend a lot of time with her.
I would definately recommend signing up for a KOA membership if you are going to be doing this type of traveling. Cost us $30 for a year, but you save 10% per night. Plus we have already accumulated 2300 points that we can use to buy stuff. We have already saved $20, so it has almost paid for itself. And, so far the two that we have stayed in have had a pool, a hot tub, a small store for necessities and a laundromat. Pretty convenient.
We signed up for Dish network which has a great RV package, so we are able to get all the Westerns that Lee can handle. Plus we were able to watch the BSU game last night. Can’t believe that the Broncos didn’t see that pass coming. Oh well. And the snow. Wow! Thought they were going to start building snow men right there on the field. Not missing Boise at all today. 51 degrees and cloudy with a high of 59, once the clouds leave this afternoon here in Mesa.

Day 10: Crossed into Arizona and drove by Lake Mead and the Colorado river.
Got fuel in some little town paid $4.25 a gallon. Definately pays to do a little research. Another beautiful day for a drive. 68 degrees now, low of 45. Might not have to run the heater, haha.
Have both Cactus AND Palm Trees at the RV park, so I am content. Paid $20, full hookups. Can live here for $200 a month, plus electric. Gets cold here. Supposed to get down to 30 on Sunday…nope, not staying here.
Full service restaurant, a beer bar, a convenience store and a gift shop. Anyone in need of an arrowhead?
Only 25 miles from Nothing, Arizona. Can’t wait to see Nothing tomorrow. Will hopefully be posting pictures of Nothing in the morning. Stay tuned.