February 4  through February 10, 2005

Friday February 4:

It is 52 degrees at 6:30 AM when I awake.  I have not heard the heat come on, and it feels noticeably warmer. The rear air conditioner fan comes on when the generator starts; HUH? It is decidedly uncomfortable blowing on us, but no switch or breaker in the coach...not even the main breaker...will turn it off.  I remove the A/C filter and find a couple connectors, and pulling them out stops the fan...that's a temporary fix for now.  We finish making coffee, and I wonder if the cord that powers the rear A/C compressor will stop that fan....and find out it does not.  This is STRANGE....but we leave a cable disconnected in the A/C, and have no fan running.  I often do wonder HOW this coach is wired....  ?????  We have no wiring diagram....   I washed and re-oiled the FILTHY generator air cleaner prefilter, then washed the windshield.  I noticed the propane detector flashing a yellow "fault" light instead of green.  Something else to fix?

Saturday February 5:

We decided to hike Fisherman's Trail starting behind the Katherine Landing marina.  There is a fleet of rental houseboats operating from here and a number of them can be seen in the boatyard awaiting the summer active season on the lake.

They look like a pleasant way to tour the lake when the water is warm....  The trail led up hill rapidly, giving a nice overview of the marina.

 The surrounding mountains frame the calm lake waters beautifully!  This road runner was staying just out of desired camera range...

 I insist on capturing his soul anyway, and displaying it for all to see despite the somewhat poor quality!.  :-)  Flowers are a main feature of this hike, and we enjoy their beauty thoroughly.  They also do not run from the camera lens....  :-)

 The variety and number of the desert flowers continue to surprise and amaze us, as the unusual rain has brought SUCH a contrast to our last trip here.  Our trail takes us to a hidden cove, with boaters enjoying the ambiance of the sand bar.

 The water is so smooth it is like a mirror.....  The hike required backtracking on the same trail, but we enjoyed it just the same.  Dinner was a first ever try at tabbouleh made with quinoa....a high protein grain, pronounced "keenwa", that turned out DELICIOUS.

 The quinoa is fussy to cook however, requiring it be turned out on a surface to cool with frequent turning after cooking.  We shall not expect to enjoy this treat very often.  

Sunday February 6:

The engine would not start when we went to dump; the button to jump in the house batteries did not help either.   The engine starting battery is DEAD, with red color showing in the indicator window too.  (It had been green when I last looked at the Slabs when we got new coach batteries).  The voltage measured 10 volts no load, and dropped to 4 volts under starting load.  I assume the starting jump relay is pulled in by the starting battery, and since the starting battery is dead, the relay has no voltage to pull it in....another DUMB design!   DUHHH!  By the time I got ready with the meter to diagnose the thing, and Claire was seated to start it, it cranked right off.  Oh well, saves us getting out our jumper cables!   We dumped leaving the engine running, then came back and prepared for our planned hike.  We climbed to antennas visible on a nearby mountain top, 1206 ft elevation, 4.4 miles round trip.  Claire notices the propane detector is now flashing green, no fault.  I believe the propane detector might be wired to the starting battery too?  The low battery voltage might have caused the fault!  Since the voltage with the engine running is plenty high to charge the battery, we need a new battery.  We will put buying one off until we can get to Sam's in Las Vegas.  We decide to hike to the radio site we'd seen on the hilltop the day before.  The hike starts with flower attractions, as we've come to expect this year.

As we climb, the road steepens.....

 We can see our goal clearly....if not seeing an easy path to it.  :-)  We reach the top after quite a lot of winding around the hill, and find the antennas and shelter unmanned.

There were signs on the door warning of high level high level RF radiation, and not to go in the building without eye protection.  I bet that stops a LOT of would be criminals in their tracks...it would me anyway!  :-)  The views out over the lake are pretty awesome from here too.

The rugged terrain to the east is awesome too....

This becomes even more formidable when we think about traversing many miles of it on foot or horseback....WOW!    We returned to the RV slowly at the end of our hike, with dusk near......and before we got inside, coyotes started howling from the nearby hills.  We could not see them, so no picture.  We were tired at the end of this day......it was dinner and quick to bed tonight!

Monday February 7:

When we prepared to leave Katherine Landing in the morning, the engine again would not start, nor would the jump button help.  By the time I got jumper cables out again, and prepared to diagnose the problem, the engine cranked for Claire.....  We know the starting battery is VERY weak, as the charging voltage with the engine running comes right up to over 14v on the battery terminals, yet does not hold well overnight.  It's time for a new battery!  We decide to proceed directly to Sam's in Las Vegas and buy one;  it's not the time to get out in back country again with this one.  The most direct route to Vegas takes us back through Laughlin NV to cross the Colorado river. The casinos tower along the Nevada side of the river as we approach the right turn across the bridge.  

There are a pair of float planes visible on the river bank as we cross, with Davis Dam that holds back Lake Mojave visible upriver in the background.

 The chain link fence keeping us from jumping into the river blurs it a bit, but y'all get the picture I think.  :-)    The drive was uneventful, although east side traffic was congested due to construction.  We arrived at Sam's on Sareno Rd in Las Vegas in time to renew some supplies, and bought  a same rated 750 CCA battery for $46.95.  It is guaranteed 3 years for no cost replacement, and 8 years pro-rated.  If we get another 6 years out of it, we'll be quite happy.  We asked, and received permission to overnight in Sam's parking lot, and are told its also OK in the adjacent Walmart. We need to return the old battery after replacing it in the Sam's lot, and Claire noticed the pizza...we find we will pay $4 for two slices, and only $8 for a whole one.  Dinner tonight is decided!  We decide to go on to the visitors info center downtown.  The traffic is heavy, and we notice a LOT of VERY aggressive driving...passing on right, horn blowing.....   I almost take out one small van who passes in my right hand blind spot  as his lane disappears....YIKES!  We had not particularly noticed this on our last visit here, but we had remarked on the number of bicycles and pedestrians hit by cars on the strip.  We are back in Vegas, and must be careful;  some of these drivers appear to have a DEATH WISH!  We find the Chamber of Commerce, and pick up some pamphlets.  They could find no info on Mardi Gras celebrations in the city tonight or tomorrow. One person suggests the Orleans casino, but says they have a mini Mardi Gras every night.  Since that was one place we'd been told RVs can park overnight free, we decide to check it out. The Cof C folks sent us to the convention center for more info, where we had a hard time finding the visitors info center.  We even asked a security guard, who did not know, but gave us a convention center map which had the location on it.  The personnel in the info center were quite helpful, telling us which roads to Death Valley were closed from washouts, but could not find a CLUE about Las Vegas Mardi Gras celebrations.  We are starting to get a clue that religious based events are just not the thing here in Vegas... and we are repeatedly told that the folks who live and WORK here just work and go home, like working folks everywhere; they do not gamble or attend the Vegas tourist attractions either....hmmmmm.....   There MUST be a clue for life in here somewhere.    :-)   We proceed to the Frontier Casino on the strip, where we had parked two years ago, but find the construction of the New Frontier is complete, and the parking situation has changed with "No RV Parking" signs posted in the only available lot.  We decide to move to the Orleans, and Claire chose the back way.  It is a bit more difficult navigation, but avoids heavy traffic.  We are overjoyed at having picked it when we get into the traffic jam on Tropicana Boulevard, but only a block away from the Orleans.  The hotel has a LOT of parking, and we go to the back corner of the lot where it's signed "Oversized Vehicle Parking Only", and it's full of trucks and RVs!! We're HOME!  This is our kind of place!  :-))

 We finish the remaining pizza, then decide to look over the casino.  It is not unlike others we've been in; I do notice the heavy cigarette smoke, and some noise.  It is not as bad as Harrah's in New Orleans, but it is not possible to hear the TV news on wall mounted sets either. The slot machines are their usual; the unfathomable rules for winning, their not accepting anything but bills or tickets; no COINS.  :-(   We walk around, finding the seafood buffet here is Mondays, tonight, and costs $17.  We are hard pressed to eat $17 worth of food, ESPECIALLY after a pizza, so we pass on that.  I had noticed an ice cream shop as we entered, and when we both decided we did not feel like a drink here, we gave in to the ice cream.  It seemed the ice cream shop was a refuge for those trying to avoid the chaos and the other 'sins' of this place.....a young lady looked at her receipts, making entries in her date book....a few older couples....a calm looking slim middle aged man who smiled and nodded at us over his huge sundae...and us!  Oh well...maybe this is where we fit.  We return to the RV, and I speak briefly with the security guard parked next to our RV;  he says the security risk is not particularly bad here tonight, but his radio is broken.  Oh well....  We find the PBS news is just finishing, and the business report is starting.  I guess we were too early for the Vegas action in the casino, and our bedtime is too early for them too.  I am ready for bed as soon as the TV goes off, but decide to look for free WiFi.  There is a non encrypted network showing, but I cannot get into it, nor see the network quality..  Client for Microsoft networks is missing, and two tries fail to install it.    I give up...it's BEDTIME!  Claire tries a TV show, but elects bed too.  We have crossed into Pacific time; perhaps the that explains the extra hour of wakefulness tonight?  :-)

Tuesday February 8:

It is 43.6 degrees under the RV at 6:19AM PST  We left the Orleans to park behind the Excalibur on the strip. We walked through the Luxor to get to the strip.  The ancient Egyptian theme is obvious and impressive.

Outside, the Luxor building, a black gleaming pyramid structure is a strip landmark.

The white peak of the pyramid houses a bright searchlight that beams skyward  periodically at night, calling to something...lady luck?  :-)   We found some playful lion cubs on display at the MGM Grand.

Unfortunately they were so playful that any shots of the two together had too much motion blurring....  cats!  :-)  We crossed the Brooklyn Bridge in front of the New York NY casino.

After finding rest rooms inside, we returned to wander further north along the strip. These gondolas ferrying folks around the lagoon at the Venetian were eye catching.

Not even strong coffee at Caesar's Palace could keep us going longer, and we caught a #301 bus back to the Excalibur and home.  We'd walked 4.5 miles up along the strip, through shopping centers and casinos.   We rested in the RV until near 4, then drove to the Rio…where we found overnight parking as easy as at the Orleans.  We visited the casino in time to catch their free show, but .... I forgot my camera...DUHHHH!  :-(  We returned to turn in for a peaceful night.

Wednesday February 9:

We moved in the morning to park downtown behind the Excalibur again.  Claire did the strip again while I stayed home.  We returned to overnight at the Rio and did their seafood buffet ($75 for two, + tip).  It tasted VERY good, but we really OVERDID it.  The show was just ending when we waddled out of the restaurant.  This moving float suspended from the ceiling carried the dancing girls around the casino on a track

 They would throw beads to customers below.  Note that they are safety strapped so they cannot fall off.  :-)  Soon after returning to the RV I was sick, and immediately after that felt MUCH better; Claire was very uncomfortable all night, but OK in the morning.  I think I just plain OVER ATE.  Maybe we'd be better off with fixed portions?  :-))  Anyway, both of us are ready to leave the Las Vegas strip now.  

Thursday February 10:

We rethought our plans, and decided neither of us needed to redo Death Valley this trip.  I felt I did not want further COLD, would rather head back east along the southern I-10 route.  We decided to try to cross Boulder dam, even if it meant a search of the RV, then continue on US93 to Kingman, and on southeast through Phoenix to Tucson, then try to see Bisbee and Douglas before returning to the hot wells dunes for a few days, then continuing east through El Paso to Big Bend NP.  We shopped Sam's for enough gas to get us to Kingman AZ and cheaper gas, and also asked about laundromats in Sam's and at the commercial full service laundry they pointed out; none they mentioned were convenient to our route. We moved on to find Borders bookstore, where Claire was told the Audubon western wildflowers book she wanted is out of print. She bought a Japanese cooking book, seeking out how the Japanese get that flavor she likes in their sushi rice.  I found out that Borders offered a commercial pay WiFi account, not free access as I had hoped.  Oh well, I declined the offered complementary one day pass, as I might really NEED that someday. I accepted the info clerk's offer to peruse their phone book for laundromats.  I found two in Henderson!  :-)  We continued on to do laundry, then to Camping World. I asked there about rotating sewer vent covers, which were out of stock, possibly due in on the truck tomorrow noon, and was told that staying overnight was against local ordnances, but OK with the company.  We could get away with it if we did not put out a lot of stuff that made us look like we were camping.  Rain started about dark. It continued steadily all night.  We slept very well.  This was a quiet place.

Until next time.... ENJOY!