Wordless Wednesday

 

I have arrived!

This post will be sweet and short, just like today's travel day. I left the hotel just around 7 a.m., picked up fuel and breakfast in Bullhead City. For some reason, I never realized it is literally across the river from Laughlin. I found it odd that gas was so much less expensive so close by.

Nothing exciting happened on the trip. I did stop at the Walmart in Parker to pick up a few essentials (peanut butter, bagels, deli meat and cheese - I can sustain myself on these until I have time to do a good shop. I did bring down some canned items, tuna and soup, so I won't starve for the next few days. To be honest, I can probably live on peanut butter and bagels.

S met me at the unit and we had a quick chat before I switched on the electricity. She wasn't able to locate the pole (not her issue, my description was based on a shaky memory). I also turned on the water. I currently don't have propane turned on, but can heat up water with my kettle.

The table, counters, and shelves were dusted and the items on top given a wipe down. It wasn't as bad as I though it might be, and all of the jugs of water I'd left in the unit were still, at least, partially full. S said none of the ones they left at their place were. Of course, their place is much bigger than mine - it's a park model.

I left messages for the adult children to let them know I was here safe and sound, and unpacked the clothing I'd brought with me. Those bags, and my groceries were the only items I brought in initially. The rest can be moved in over the next couple of days.

Currently, I'm listening to the radio for the CFL Western conference semi-final. Our Riders are leading at the half, but the BC Lions seems to be finding their groove. It will be a tense two quarters to the end. 

Happy Hour is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the gazebo. I can either celebrate or drown my sorrows. I'm looking forward to seeing all who have arrived thus far. It will be fun regardless of the score in the game. :)

I'll leave you with a couple of photos from this morning's drive.

Excuse the dash in the last photo....I was excited to see the palm trees.

Oh, and before I forget Happy Halloween!

Travel Day 3

 It's late, nearly 10 p.m. as I sit down to write this. No, my drive was not nearly that long. Rather I woke this morning at 3 a.m. and could not go back to sleep. On the road by 6:30 a.m., I arrived in Laughlin, Nevada about 4 p.m. After an early dinner, I lay down and fell asleep, waking after a nearly a 2.5 hour nap. Honestly, I feel as though I could crash again but am forcing myself to stay awake for a couple of hours.

If you are wondering why I was awake so early, I didn't take a nap after arriving in Wells, and was asleep by 8:30 p.m. As my daughter reminded me that's 7.5 hours of sleep. Anyway I'm not making that mistake twice.

Today's drive was mostly overcast with short bursts of heavy rain, leading to potential and actual flash flooding, a thunderstorm near Vegas, and a detour due to an accident on the secondary highway I was on.

Here are a few photos from the day:

I stopped in Ely for fuel ($4.299 per gallon) and breakfast as I'd left too early for the hotel's continental breakfast.

My plan was to avoid Vegas and travel through the Lake Mead recreation area. However my GPS had me accessing the park where I would not be able to purchase the necessary pass. My fault likely, as I wasn't specific enough. After it re-calculated, I turned and made my way to Longdale-Overton.

There were signs indicating water over the road but these were mere puddles when I went through. I continued happily travelling along and enjoying the views. And yes, I even stopped for these.

The last three were taken at Red Rock canyon. It was spectacular and if I hadn't been anxious to get to Laughlin, I likely would have stopped more frequently for photos.

I was a mere 20 miles from my next turn-off when a police car came towards me with lights flashing and siren sounding. As I slowed it did a u-turn and sped off. Down the road and through a downpour I spotted another police vehicle blocking the road ahead. I assumed, incorrectly, there may have been a bit of flooding on the road. However after a wait the fellow in front of me walked up to the officer. As he returned to his vehicle he signaled we all needed to turn around. There were a number of us lined up at this point. 

Fortunately we were at a junction and after the u-turn were able to head to Vegas(oh yippee). We met a emergency vehicle on this highway so I'm assuming there was an accident on the other road. The incident was down in a valley and far enough ahead I couldn't be certain. 

In any event, my desire to avoid Vegas traffic was thwarted by this detour. However the GPS came through. I asked for a route with no toll roads and no highways. It may have taken longer but it came through for me. All of my travel through the city was on streets with two lanes on either side, top speed of 35 mph (about 50 km). As I left Vegas I did have a short drive on the I-15 before accessing Highway 95. 

There were periods of heavy rain along the way and some thunder and lightning.  As I neared Laughlin, I got an advisory on my phone of flash flooding in the area.  Arriving in Laughlin it was evident it had happened earlier in the day as some streets had mud, rocks, and debris. My trip took nearly 9.5 hours, almost 90 minutes longer than originally planned. Oh well, it was certainly entertaining. 

I'm at the Golden Nugget Casino and hotel for the night. They have a great restaurant here, and the rate wasn't too bad. It definitely wins over the last two nights. Dinner was a half-order of Cobb salad...I was craving vegetables! It was delicious and filling.

At a reasonable time in the morning, I'll be on the road again for a short'ish drive to Yuma, about 4-5 hours. This is the route I took last year so will seem familiar, I'm sure. I am so ready to settle in for the winter!

Thanks for following along. Much of this info is meant for me to look back on for next season. I know I'll never remember all of it!

Friday Funny

 

Travel Day 2

It turned out the highway traffic noise was a bit more than I originally thought. After watching the final game of the World Series, I was kept awake for a few hours before I could tune out the noise...or maybe the traffic slowed down.

In any event I was up and down to breakfast just after 6 a.m. it certainly wasn't anything to write home about. After a chat with my daughter I was in the car and heading out of the parking lot by 7:30 a.m.

I had chosen the route through Ennis as it looked less "moutainy" but my GPS switched me to the 91 which had me driving through Yellowstone National Park. It definitely had some twists and turns but didn't make me feel we were constantly climbing or descending. I kept under the posted speed limit as did those in front and behind me and never felt concerned. It is a pretty drive, with the forest and mountains on either side, following the meandering Yellowstone River.

At one point the GPS announced "welcome to Wyoming ". I thought what??? That's not the direction I want to take. It only lasted about 10 or 15 minutes when I heard "welcome to Montana". I took exactly one photo as I was leaving West Yellowstone. 

From there I took highway 20 to Idaho Falls, the I-15 to Twin Falls. I know that Idaho has some lovely natural areas but the highways are pretty boring. I did see a sign for a potato museum but chose to drive on.

My next stop was Twin Falls where I found gas at $4.219 per gallon at the Fred Meyer Fuel Stop. Most other stations were $4.55. Any savings were likely erased when my GPS took me north and west and finally south of the city before connecting me with highway 93 to Wells.  

I'm spending the night at the Sure Stay by Best Western.  Ot won't win any rewards for beauty but seems clean. It too offers a continental breakfast...we'll see how it compares to the Microtel. 

P.S. a note for Kim and anyone else who may be curious.  Yes, Kota has taken over Sage's crate. Sage only stays in the crate when my son and his g/f are away for work or running errands. Otherwise she prefers to hang out on the couch. :)

Travel Day 1

I managed to get everything on my list for my time in the city completed by midday on Tuesday. And then it started to sleet/snow. While my original plan was to head out on Friday the weather was the proverbial straw. 

I was up and out the door shortly after 7 a.m. this morning. The border crossing is a little over a 2 hour drive and it went fine though I did have to deal with some slush on the first hour. Then it was light rain for a bit. Crossing the border was quick, a few questions and a glance at the containers in the back ( through the back  passenger's window) and I was waved on with a "have a good trip". And I was in Montana!

The clouds stayed with me for awhile but the highway was dry and clear. I stopped at Glendive Conoco for fuel ($3.859 per gallon), the best price I would see all day.

I had originally planned to stay in Billings for the night but arrived there about 2:30 p.m. It was too early to stop for the day so I carried on to Bozeman. Below was my first full view of the mountains ahead.

My first stop was to fill my tank  ($4.256 per gallon)and then i headed to the Microtel Hotel.  At about $115 Cdn for the night, they offer a continental breakfast. There is a highway just a short distance away but it doesn't seem too noisy. 

I arrived shortly before 5 p.m. and was very pleased with my room. Here's a photo.

I've enjoyed a soak in the tub, put on my nightgown and am watching the 5th game of the World Series. All in all a good day.

 



Wordless Wednesday