Our second stop was at the Sparks Marina RV Park in Sparks, Nevada. Our GPS took us right into a manufactured home park right outside the RV park but no entrance. Sooooo, around about three blocks and then into a very nice park. Great pull through and didn't have to unhook the jeep.
Third night is at Tonopah RV Park in the big town of Tonopah, Nevada. Don't blink. GPS didn't recognize the address which is right along Highway 95 which we have been on for over a hundred miles. No sign telling us it is the park nor address that we can see. Pulled in and it was exactly where we needed to be. Another nice pull through spot and a very small park.
Along the way, leaving Tonopah and until about ten miles from Las Vegas, we saw about 30 wild burros, in quite a few different groups. Amazing, they were all coal black except one which was normal burro colors. Such fun to see.
OMG, Las Vegas. Arrived on 9/22/18 and staying for two nights. It is sooooo HOT here, about 102. However, our thermometer went up to 117 so not sure. Just know that our air conditioner couldn't really keep up with the heat. Very hard to sleep even with opening the windows at about 11:00pm. Don't remember that since I was a kid and we all know how long ago that was ! ! LOL
Met Stacey at the Fantasy RV Tours office and picked up a lot of the stuff we need for the Rally's. This is real... gonna happen soon !! LOL After, we decided to have late lunch/early dinner at Lindo Michoacan, just 1.5 miles down Dessert Inn Dr. from Boulder Hwy. Real close to the Thousand Trails Park. The best food ! ! Enough left over for another night ~~ Love that !!
Next was Gallup, New Mexico at the USA RV Park. That means our very long day driving, 8.5 hours and a time change. The drive took us through Nevada, across Arizona and into New Mexico. WHEW ! ! Nice park with BBQ dinner for order, can either eat outside at picnic tables or take back to your rig.. During the night our first thunder storm. Woke up in the morning to clear, blue skies.
9/25/18, Tuesday.. All settled in Albuquerque at the American RV Park about 15 miles from the Balloon grounds. Came early because we had set up a meeting with the Balloon RV Park Manager, the Landfill Manager, and a rep from the tent company... Well, no one came to the meeting but us.. LOL. Didn't expect that, however, we were able to locate them individually, all working somewhere on that huge field. Got done what we needed and made arrangements for the tent to go up tomorrow instead of Monday... five days early. So happy.
Wednesday... tent day ! ! Was done in about six hours, amazing... They will be bringing all the tables, chairs, generator, etc on Monday and make final adjustments to the tent. So happy all that is done. Now, when the rest of the Ambassadors arrive on Monday, we can meet and then get to work. Got a lot to get done. We also went shopping.. That means price checking at Costco!! LOL
WOW, the 15 days at the Balloon Field RV Park went fast. Steep learning curve as a lot of the details we needed were not in the Wagon Master Guide but we got it done... We had thunderstorms at least four times, all at night, waking up to warm and blue skies, UNTIL the last couple days. Windy, cold and sometimes rainy is not the weather you want for balloons to fly. The special shapes day was spectacular but after that, not so good.
This balloon and another one set off from the middle of the Fantasy RV Parking area. Was really fun to watch the process up close and personal.
On the 15th, everything was packed up and we were able to leave the field about 10:30, even after going over most of the financials with Stacey. We only went about 3 hours to Gallup, NM. But, the next day was cold, then rain, then snow til past Flagstaff.
No ice or snow on the road which made driving much easier. The snow ended just past 7,000 feet elevation in Flagstaff. Then just cloudy and cold... Stopped in Needles, CA at the Desert Inn RV Park. Very nice park with oleander growing between each space. Lot's of privacy. Then on to an old favorite, Orange Grove in Bakersfield... Oranges are all green this time of year. Haven't been here this time before. Boring drive through the Mojave Desert today since everything is brown from the long summer. It is 91 degrees and clear blue skies here. Sure beats the 30's from Albuquerque... LOL
Well, this is the saddest story...dogs started barking in the afternoon and barked most of the night and then started up early again in the morning. Ken took Mandy out to investigate and it was so sad. We were only one row away from a main street at the edge of the park. Appears an Airedale dog had been hit and died right next to the fence, maybe a day or so ago. A German Shepherd was laying near the body of the Airedale, finally sleeping. Wasn't about to leave it's buddy. Stopped to tell the park people about it and all they did was say that everyone was reporting it. Really...? Wonder if they were neighbors?? A lot of farm land so they may have traveled a bit.
On the way to Corey's now ! He will be home late tonight so will stay tomorrow night too. Plan is to be home on Sunday ! YEAH, totally out of clothes. Haven't done laundry in two plus weeks.. LOL Was so great spending a full day with Corey. He and Ken worked on a couple projects and just hung out. Great times.
Stayed in Redding at the Elks, was disappointed to learn that they upped their rates from $20 to $30 a night. Without sewer at the sites, it is not the deal it was, however, they still do buy a drink and they give campers their second one free... No dinner on a Saturday night either... Darn it... We ordered pizza (again) and it wasn't as good as they said it would be.. LOL.. Gotta remember that !
Leaving Redding we witnessed the devastation from this summers fires. Went about 10 to 15 miles where you could see, right up to the road, the downed trees. Horrible, horrible... Does look like they are trying to clear the dead trees and maybe do something good with the timber. Shortly after the fire area we enter the Shasta Lake area. Boy, the lake is low again, however, it is the end of summer and rains haven't started yet. Hopefully, it will fill up again this winter.
Nice to get home for a while... Ken has a total knee replacement scheduled for October 29. Took pics of the unexpected bruising, about two weeks out.. So pretty ! ! LOL
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