2016 Trip -18) Las Vegas, NV

 

Wed. 7/27…  (Las Vegas, NV)  This morning (9:00am) we went over to the Oasis Grill (in the park’s clubhouse) for breakfast. They had 2 eggs, bacon or sausage, hash browns, & toast for $4.99. Plus we had a voucher from the desk for two free coffees/teas.  Really good for $10.78!  Afterward, (around 10:00am) we took off for the strip.  Now this was an adventure. 

 

 

Ok follow this – park at Mandalay Bay (they told us in the office which resorts are free parking – turns out this one is not), walk thru the casino to the tram, ride the tram to the Excalibur 1 (we thought that was the end), walk the bridges over to the MGM side, walk down the escalator to get to the M&M’s store, walk thru that (and buy some stuff), walk the shops and then head back across the street bridge, to the New York New York casino, and to the Hershey’s store (no sale there), walk back to the Excalibur 2 tram stop, express tram back to the Mandalay Bay, walk thru the casino and to the pay-for-parking kiosk ($7.), check out.  We think we could have parked for free as the register says scanning license plate and the arm opened without our ticket, drove to Target for a few makeup thingies, and then home!  We rested for a while and I let Bailey out for a few minutes to pee.  Too hot for her paws to walk anywhere until the sun goes down. We left again at 4:00pm to go to dinner and the show.  We drove to the Mirage and checked out our handicap privileges.  We have free access!  Yaay!  We made our way thru the casino

  and to the buffet (prepaid as part of our show package).  The food was really good and   we   stuffed ourselves!  Excellent clam chowder soup, Bill! That done, we made our way to the theater to see Terry Fator ($95.ea w/dinner).  If you don’t know who he is, he won the first America’s Got Talent and is a smash hit in Vegas!  He is a ventriloquist who sings through his puppets.  The guy puts on one hell of a show and has an amazing talent for different voices.  We had seats to the left of the stage 4 rows back.

The puppets he used on this show: Winston the Frog, Walter T. Airdale, Julius, Vikki the Cougar, Duggie Scott Walker, Emma Taylor, Hypen the 5th Beatle, Maynard Thompkins, Donald Trump, Rusty the Robot, & Fernando V. Francisco.  He also gets a person from the audience and dresses them as Lady Gaga and has fun with that! 

We got out around 9:00pm and walked back to our car and drove back down the strip to our rv park (we are a few miles south of the strip just north of South Point Casino) so the drive took some time as the strip was packed!  But it was nice and we got to see part of the water show at the Bellagio. We walked Bailey since it was cool enough for her now and then went back home to watch AGT results show.  

 

Thur. 7/28… (Las Vegas, NV)  This morning we went back to the Oasis Grill for breakfast again and again it was yummy.  We now know the cook who came out and spent some time with us.  We called Lee and Lyn and made arrangements for the day.  We went to their home (in Henderson about miles) and had a nice time visiting. 

 

 

They fed us a light snack which was nice as well.  We left to come home to rest before our outing tonight.  We left about 4:30 to head to The Luxor for their buffet, which was good but not impressive, and then to our seats for Blue Man Group ($99. ea).  We were out of the ‘splash zone’ for the show.  Those folks just past Rick & Janie got rain gear to cover up with! 

 

The show was really entertaining.  Nothing is said, just slapstick comedy skits, but everything is funny.  I always enjoy that type of humor.  We weren’t allowed pictures during the show but we took some before…

 

And after….

 

Afterward, we drove home (easier drive tonight) and again gave Bailey a good walk/run thru the park. The sprinklers were on but it is still super hot so that helped cool her a bit.  We hit the hay right after that.       

Fri. 7/29…  (Las Vegas, NV)
Lydia and Janie were going in to get their nails done but this time the guys passed. We hung around the coach and then I took Bailey out before it got too hot.  When I returned I got some stuff cleaned up and then relaxed for a while.  Lee and Lyn came by to see the rig and visit for a bit.  They took us out to the Cheesecake Factory for a nice dinner. Thanks, guys!  They returned home but we made plans to meet tomorrow at the new Cracker Barrel which is just across the freeway from our park. We went over to the pool for a few hours to relax.  I walked Bailey again and we settled in for the night.    
 

 

2016 Trip -17) Virgin, UT to Las Vegas, NV

 

Sun. 7/24…  (Virgin, UT)  Last day in Virgin.  Bryce Canyon is 95 miles from our park.  We know the road and that it’s at least a 2 hour drive one way.  Even if we spent two hours at the park we felt we would be gone too long for Bailey so we chose not to visit there this time.  We offered to take care of Daisy and Little Bit but R&J didn’t want to go either.  So this is just a hangout day.  I will catch up on my races and Lydia and I will watch the last day of the Tour de France together. Janie and Rick talked with some folks in the spa last night and they steered her from Sam’s Town RV to Oasis Resort.  So we looked it up online and decided to call there and see if we could get in.  We will actually save as Oasis is Passport America (for 3 nights).  Plus Oasis has grass and concrete whereas Sam’s Town is asphalt.  All they could promise us was afternoon shade and we’re not sure how if they have no trees!  So we will stay there one night and then move to Oasis.  More on this as we get there.   

We decided to eat in tonight.  We drove into Hurricane (about 8 miles) and went to a supermarket to pick up some cold cuts and buns for dinner.  We made deli sandwiches and had potato salad and pistachio salad. We had cantaloupe for dessert.  It was easy and very good!  We hit the pool and spa for a while.  Rick and Janie came over just as we were leaving.  I finished up my races and we went to bed early.  Bailey got a head start....

 

Mon. 7/25…  (Las Vegas, NV)  We know that Nevada is on PST so we will gain an hour when we get there.  So we left at 11:00am and drove the 166 miles to Sam’s Town KOA (tl$43.).  

Thank God it was downhill almost all the way from Virgin. Temps were 104°-110°.  I felt sorry for those climbing those long steady pulls!  We missed the turn to the registration but are good now.  The sites they gave us are ok – pretty much what we expected.  This park is 90% asphalt with very little shade.  We got satellite and good 50amp so we’re good.  Wifi is suspect – the one they give you at the office has poor signal but there is another one labeled Sam’s Town RV with a bad certificate.  So I’ll use my mobile hotspot if/when I need it.  Because we changed reservations yesterday, we are now going to stay here only one night.  After getting set up we finally got the coach cooled down a bit.  Bailey does not like the ride plus the heat so she got sick again. We have learned to put towels down so easy cleanup!  She’s ok now as long as we can keep the air going!  We called long time friends Lee and Lyn Hand and will be getting together with them in a few days.  Later, we drove around town to check things out.  We’ll eat leftovers tonight but we still needed Walmart for water and other things.  Both Lydia and I got haircuts while we were there.  Janie and Lydia stayed at Walmart while Rick & I found The Ram's Head Bar at Sam's Town.  They gave us 1/2 price happy hour tickets at check in so we went over and had a few beers each. Lydia and Janie found us and had drinks themselves!  We went back to the rig and fixed dinner and then headed out. We have two places to go for will call for our Terry Fator (The Mirage) and Blue Man Group (The Luxor) tickets so we stopped at both and went in a picked up both packets. We came home and walked the dogs and called it a night.

 

Tues. 7/26…  (Las Vegas, NV)  Today we had a 9 mile trip to the new park so we didn’t have to check out until 11:00am.  Lydia took some towels over to the laundry before we left so that’s done. We are now at Oasis RV Resort (pa$30x3 tl$50x2).

Now this park is nice!  They have a lobby like a five star hotel!  Plus a great pool. Actually, two pools – one just for adults! Plus an adult spa, not that we need the hot water with these temps but it’s in the shade!  R&J made dinner tonight.  Rick got his bbq out and cooked burgers.  Very good. We drove over to Petco for dog food and then back to the rig and then to the pool again.  We do want to go back to the strip for the evening (Lydia wants to hit the M&Ms store there) but we will wait till tomorrow.  
  

 

2016 Trip -16) Beaver, UT to Virgin, UT

Thur. 7/21… (Beaver, UT)    Not much going on today so we slept in, had breakfast, walked Bailey and then took off about 11:00am, and drove to Cache Valley Cheese,

 

located just up the street from our campground.  We were there looking forward to the tour.  Problem was they gave no tour! We walked around the store for a bit and sampled some of their cheeses and bought small chunks of baby swiss and gouda.  We took them back to the rig and then headed out to Shopko, again just up the street.  This is like a Kmart and was really clean.  We found some 40% off items and bought a few things we couldn’t pass up. We came back and went in the rig and when I went out to empty the trash, the motorhome door wouldn’t open!  I had to call Rick over to open it from the outside. I took the inside latch apart and found a broken link clip.  Good luck finding that!  Rick and I went to Napa Auto and guess what! I found some! I was able to get it all put back together and spray lubed so it actually works better now.  Plus I have extras just in case!  Lydia had fixed a pasta salad earlier this morning and I cooked cube steaks on the grill and we had steak sandwiches.  Very good and an easy meal.  Later, I walked Bailey, or actually she walked me, past the goat/chicken pen so she could visit her new little buddy!

  

 

We settled in and caught up on America’s Got Talent except that it started late due to the GOP convention running long.  So we didn’t see the results.  We’re hoping they will show it again on Friday. Tomorrow we leave for the next stop!       

 

Fri. 7/22…  (Virgin, UT)    This morning we had another really short drive so we decided to go to breakfast first.  The park owner recommended El Bambi’s as the best so we headed there around 8:30am.  The food was really good and we were glad we went.  After that we broke camp and drove the 109 miles to Zion River Resort RV Park (tl$60x3) in Virgin, UT. 

 

 

Now this park is nice!  Not worth the high rates they charge but close.  We are here for three days.  We had stayed in this area back in 2002 when we went to the St Paul national square dance convention. Our plans are to go out tomorrow to Bryce and then to Zion on Sunday. So today we gathered up info and planned for those day trips.  We have to be careful because we have the dogs to consider. Okay – revised plan – our park has a shuttle ($7ea) that will take us to Zion.  But they only drop you off.  We have to get info on the tram tour within the park.  We rested awhile and I walked Bailey and found the Zion River just a few yards from the campground (they even had a nice little path), and Bailey wasted no time.  Did I mention it was hot! 

 

 

Temps topped out today at 106°!  I know its hot today at home but we’re over 5,000 ft here so I expected it to be cooler!  Oh well, the water was comfortable and warmer than I expected.  Later, Janie had prepared beef stroganoff which was very tasty.  We talked a bit and then headed back to the river for Bailey and then came back and hit the pool and spa for us. 

We talked about tomorrow.  The shuttle leaves at 9:00am but the first one back doesn’t leave until 3:00pm. We decided to just drive there ourselves and leave around 8:30am.  We found out you park and then board the tram which takes you through the park.  You can get off at various stops for mini hikes or food and drink and whatever.  We don’t plan on many hikes so we will leave early and see what that does for our day.  We think we can get back before the shuttle so that way we won’t be leaving the dogs at home all day. 

 

Sat. 7/23…  (Virgin, UT)  We ate in and left for Zion about 8:30 as planned. We did the 20 mile drive and enjoyed the scenery very much.  Our national senior park passes got us in for free (yaay!). We drove in and thru the park, going through the tunnel, which was fun!  We continued all the way to the east entrance and through it!  We realized we missed the visitor center which was the first right after the west entrance!  But we got some great pictures…

 

and saw these bighorn sheep!

 

 

We stopped at the museum, which is the second stop on the tram and easily parked right across the street and caught one on the way back to stop #1.  Good thing.  It was just starting to warm up plus it was Saturday so there was a crowd there early.  The line at the visitor center was super long and we were already parked and on the tram!  We made our way all the way to stop #9 and got out there for a really short walk down the trail.  Most folks were headed back to the visitor center all the way on the trail. We took some pics

 

and then boarded the tram for the ride back to stop #2.  By then they were waiting for parking spots. So we lucked out.  We drove back to camp and kicked back for the afternoon. We decided to go out to dinner but couldn’t decide whether to stay in the park for their luau chicken or go back to The Fort for ribs. 

We chose the ribs. They were just ok. Not a place I’d go back to.  We watched tv and I walked Bailey one last time before we went to bed.