Las Vegas, Nevada

July 4, 2008

We leisurely got up this morning, walked Pooh Bear and began our preparations to depart. Sue did a load of laundry and while I was doing other things, she washed the windshield and front of the Silver Lady. A female camper came over to her and asked if she had lost a bet as she had never seen a female washing the outside of a motor home. I’m a blessed man as we share in our tasks.

About 11:00 am we again headed west on I-40. We drove about 100 miles of both flat and mountainous territory and stopped in Kingman, Arizona to purchase fuel. While there, I spoke with a police office about taking the motor home across Hoover Dam. He said that there would be no problem with going across the dam, but that his office was hearing that there was a four to five hour backup at the dam because of 4th of July traffic. We asked about alternative routes and he suggested a route that was about 40 miles longer, but with no traffic. No problem making a decision about that one. Hoover Dam will wait for another trip.

We arrived in Las Vegas and with Sue’s able navigation found the campgrounds with no difficulty. Once we were checked in and set up, we took Pooh Bear for a quick walk and retreated inside the motor home for an icy banana daiquiri. It was about 117 degrees outside…the hottest place in the US for the 4th of July. I unhitched the car and we went looking for a FedEx drop site and the airport in anticipation of an early start on the white water rafting trip in the morning.

We headed for the swimming pool a little after 8:00 pm. We were able to watch a magnificent pink sunset through palm trees. Later we saw the Las Vegas fireworks while floating in the pool. While in the pool, we started talking with another couple who were just starting full-time RVing. He had just recently retired from Westinghouse in Pittsburgh. They are a few days ahead of us in terms of what they have seen and done. They shared some good insights and told us that at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, temperatures would be lower. In the process, we discovered that he has a brother in Spotsylvania, Virginia and her mother and brothers reside in Brooksville and Spring Hill, Florida where Lisa and Geoff and the granddaughters reside. We also discovered that they were Christians and we shared some stories with them as well. It was a wonderful July 4th.

The rest of the evenings activities will stay in Las Vegas :)