Leaving Las Vegas

After living in Las Vegas for over a year, I have decided it is time to see something different, so I am moving to the Santa Fe RV Park in Apache Junction, AZ (east of Phoenix). I am looking forward to making new acquaintances and developing that "sense of community" that never materialized in Vegas. I have friends in the area with OHVs that, hopefully, will allow me to have a lot more off-road adventures.

In my opinion, Las Vegas is a great place to visit, particularly, if you like to gamble and watch world class entertainment. However, it is becoming increasing expensive to live here and the growing homeless population is leading to more crime and violence. The near constant sound of sirens, police helicopters and jet engines is something that I will not miss.

Merry Christmas

At the risk of not being "politically correct", I would like to wish everyone a very...

Impeachment

In my opinion, any rational individual who is not suffering from "Trump Derangement Syndrome" would see the highly partisan/political impeachment of the president as a complete and utter sham. The question I would like to ask those individuals who support impeachment is: "if President Trump is as bad as you believe, then why is the country doing so well".

We are currently experiencing one of the best economies in my lifetime and it will only get better once the recent trade deals are implemented. Why would anyone want to risk losing it by going back to bigger government, higher taxes and more regulations? The only answer that makes sense to me is to regain political power at the expense of the American public.

Brave Browser

I recently switched from the Chrome browser to the Brave browser for accessing the Internet. The initial reason for the switch was the ability to earn cryptocurrency (BAT coin) while browsing the web as I normally would with Chrome and viewing just the ads I choose to read (you can turn these ads off if you like). However, it turns out I am only making a few cents a day, so it is not worth it for just that purpose.

What has kept me using Brave is its speed and privacy. It is much faster than other browsers I have used in that it blocks all those annoying ads, pop-ups and autoplay videos I had been receiving. Perhaps more importantly, it blocks trackers that allow access to your web activity and data which is then sold to the highest bidder. Here's a snapshot showing that it has blocked 8,575 ads/trackers while saving me 8 minutes and earning 22 cents in BAT coin to date.

I did find that there are times when you do not want it to block certain parts of a web page. I use a script on this blog to show the the location of "Visitors" which Brave was blocking. Thankfully, you can turn off the "shield" for any site you choose and view it without any blocking at all. The browser is free, so give it a try and let me know what you think of it in the comment section below.

Back To Little Finland

In July, 2018 I visited Little Finland, an area of unusual rock formations in the middle of nowhere south of Mesquite, Nevada. At that time, it was too hot to explore, so I decided to return when the sandstone was not the temperature of the sun. Today, it was in the 50s which was ideal for some semi-strenuous hiking. 

Kingman Wash

I joined Larry, a fellow Jeep owner, to explore some spur trails off Kingman Wash south of the Hoover Dam. It felt good to be off-road again...

Mountainous terrain

Just enough difficulty to make it interesting

Old mine at the end of the trail

Here's a dash cam video showing the ridge trail, Lake Mead and in the distance, snow covered mountains...

New Tracking Drone

You have probably been worrying about what to get me for Christmas. Well, worry no more as I have found a solution to your quandary: the Skydio 2 Drone. Having crashed my first drone, I need something that can automatically avoid obstacles while tracking. Take a look at this video to see the amazing technology that is available today...

Tow Vehicle

I was thinking of replacing my Ford F-350 with this custom-built Peterbilt tractor with two V12 Detroit Diesel engines equipped with 12 superchargers that put out a combined 3,974 hp....

Unfortunately, I was outbid by unidentified buyer in Saudi Arabia

Ghost Towns

Nevada is home to hundreds of "ghost towns", once thriving mining communities that lasted a few years and then were abandoned when the mines closed. One of the largest was Blair where a 100-stamp mill was built in 1907. Today, only a few stone buildings and mill foundations are left...

Original mill in 1907

Another large ghost town is Rhyolite that by 1907 had electric lights, water mains, telephones, newspapers, a hospital, a school, an opera house, and a stock exchange...

Near Rhyolite is a site with some unique artwork...

Road Trip

After being cooped up in the RV for a couple of days due to a suspected norovirus, I elected to drive up to Tonopah, NV to get outside and away from all the craziness on TV. There have not been many times since I became a full-time RVer that I felt "cabin fever" was creeping up on me, but this was one of those times.

On the way up, I stopped at the Area 51 Alien Center for lunch...

I have a feeling I am not in Kansas anymore

Next, was Goldfield, an old mining town that has some interesting pieces of equipment and vehicles...

Click on photos to enlarge

Nevada is a large state with very few cities, so you see a lot of signs like this...

When I arrived in Tonopah, it was 53 degrees. They are forecasting a low tonight of 29. It has been a while since I have experienced those kind of temperatures!

Stomach Flu

Sunday morning about 4:30 a.m. I woke up feeling nauseous and having a severe headache at the base of my skull. It got worse throughout the day with vomiting and diarrhea piling on to the list of symptoms. At first, I thought it was just my body's reaction to the upcoming impeachment hearings in Washington but after talking to my neighbors, decided it was probably the stomach flu that appears to be going around town.

Today is the first day I felt like stepping outside the RV and now appear to be on the mend. It is a very nasty illness that does not allow you to get much rest so lack of sleep adds to the misery. The good news is I have lost weight as a result. However, I do not recommend it for dieting purposes.

PS - I made the unfortunate mistake of turning on the TV this afternoon during the impeachment hearings and the nausea has returned. It looks like I may be buying this stuff in bulk...

Tire Explosion

My neighbors, who were planning on heading to Palm Springs this morning, discovered one of their motorhome's inside rear tires was flat. They had a service man come out for the repair but as he was refilling the tire, it exploded which sounded very much like a bomb going off...

Fortunately, no one was hurt. However, I suspect the headline story on the six o'clock news tonight will be "RVer Soils Underwear at Las Vegas RV Resort".

Kartchner Caverns

Although I have enjoyed my stay in Las Vegas (except for the summer heat), I am thinking of moving back to southern Arizona for the winter. Yesterday, I looked at parks in Apache Junction and today, Benson. I have friends with Jeeps in both locations.

On the way to Benson, the service engine light came on so I stopped at a diesel repair shop where the mechanic did a quick diagnostic check and discovered a number of error codes, one of which could cause the truck to go into "limp mode".  Rather than taking a chance on having problems returning to Vegas, I scheduled an appointment for tomorrow morning for repairs. 

This gave me some unexpected time on my hands this afternoon, so I took the opportunity to visit the Kartchner Caverns southwest of town. The tour is about an hour long and is a very easy walk. The cave is only 70 degrees F, but the 98% humidity makes it feel much warmer. You will definitely not need a sweater or jacket. They do not allow cameras on their regular tours but one day a month, they have photo tours. However, at $125 per person I am hoping some of my high roller friends will take the tour and share their photos with me.

Photo taken from their website

Alien Invasion

This past weekend was the "Storm Area 51" event in Rachel, Nevada. In as much as they were expecting as many as two million visitors, I chose to stay in Las Vegas (it turned out that only a hundred or so actually showed up). However, there appears to have been some alien activity here in the park...

Cooler Weather

One of the more unique consequences of spending the summer in Las Vegas in a RV is having no cold water. Even after insulating the hose, the water is still too hot to take a comfortable shower. My solution was to turn off the water heater and use the "cold" spigot for hot water and the "hot" spigot for lukewarm water. It reminds me of Newspeak, the fictional language in George Orwell's 1984 where everything is the opposite of what was said. In any event, it's getting cool enough that I am turning the water heater back on.

The other problem you experience is not wanting to go outside when it is 110+ F and the heat radiating off the asphalt and sandstone makes heat stroke a very real possibility. Now that the daytime highs are beginning to dip below 100 F, I am looking forward to getting outside and perhaps, getting some much needed exercise.

Macular Degeneration Update

Last month, a leaking blood vessel in my right eye left me almost blind in that eye. I returned to the retina center today for another injection and am pleased to report that my vision has improved (20/60) but is not back to what it was (20/25). The doctor is hopeful that it will continue to get better with time. There is still a possibility that there may be some scarring but it is too early to tell. 

Fortunately, my left eye is 20/20 which allows me to do pretty much everything I want. I do find reading tiring which I suspect is due to my brain working overtime trying to reconcile the difference in vision between the two eyes. Other than taking Areds 2 vitamins and wearing sunglasses when outside, there is not much else I can do.

Surprise Visit

My favorite Alpine, Utah couple surprised me by slipping into town last night. If I ever go missing, do not waste time going to the FBI or putting my face on a milk carton, just contact Terry and Gail. They have an uncanny ability to find me no matter how far off the beaten path I venture...

A rose between two thorns

There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that this is where they found me

Lehman Caves

About an hour's drive east of Ely is the Great Basin National Park which features the Lehman Caves. I took the Grand Palace Tour that takes approximately 90 minutes and is 0.6 miles long. It is a constant 50 degrees F throughout the cave so you may want to take a jacket. It was too dark for me to get any good photos, so click here to see what it is like.

Afterwards, I drove up to Wheeler Peak where I would have liked to have hiked up to the Bristlecone Pine Grove to see some trees almost as old as my cousin, Chris, but ran out of time.

Beautiful drive up the mountain

Yes, that is snow

Back To Ely

Yesterday, the temperature in Las Vegas hit 114 which is nature's way of telling me to head north. At an elevation of ~6,400 feet Ely, Nevada is about 20 degrees cooler than Sin City. Add trees with lots of shade and you have a much more pleasant camping experience...

CNN's Decline

There are a number of things in life that I do not understand such as quantum entanglement, time dilation and women. However, what really mystifies me is why CNN, a former world-class news organization, would choose to alienate half of its audience by siding with the Democrats and their anti-Trump agenda instead of just reporting the news factually and not make it up.

CNN’s prime-time ratings plunged 26% in April - the cable news network’s worst month for total viewers since October 2015, according to Nielsen Media Research. The network suffered a 41% slide in viewers aged 25 to 54 - the demographic most coveted by advertisers. And not one of its prime-time shows finished in the top five for news.

CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” which airs during the network’s highest-rated hour, finished in 26th place. Their prime-time viewership fell to No. 15 - behind ESPN, Hallmark Channel, History, TBS and others (how embarrassing). I have to wonder how management is able to keep their jobs given these numbers.

Macular Degeneration Update

For several years now, I have had the wet form of macular degeneration in my right eye. The current treatment for this condition is an injection of medication directly into the eye. This procedure has allowed me to have 20/25 vision and continue to do pretty much everything I did before the disease.

That all changed this past Tuesday when my vision went from 20/25 to 20/80 due to a leaking blood vessel that distorts my vision. When I focus on an object with just my right eye, I cannot see it or it is so dark I cannot recognize it. It had been less than four weeks since the last injection so the doctor was at a loss as to what may have caused it.

Today, I had another injection with a different type of medication (Eylea) that they hope will stop the bleeding. When I asked about the long term prognosis, he could not give me a definitive answer. He did say that if scarring developed as a result of the leak, I would most likely never return to 20/25 vision again. Only time will tell.

Fortunately, as long as I continue to have good vision in my left eye, I should be able to continue my present lifestyle. Getting old is not for sissies.

The Boiling Crab

I had the peel-and-eat shrimp with the Whole Sha-Bang sauce along with buttered corn on the cob at The Boiling Crab this afternoon. Although they were excellent, they were served in plastic bags that made for some very messy eating... 

They will offer you a bib which I highly recommend you accept

Earthquake 2

Last night about 8:30 the RV began shaking again, but this time it was stronger and longer than Thursday's quake due to a 7.1 earthquake in California. I could not help but wonder if this was the "big one" and the west coast had slid into the ocean. 

They say the probability of a magnitude 6.0 or higher quake in the next week is at least 50 percent. Why go to the strip for excitement when I have jets, police helicopters, sirens, occasional gunshots and now, earthquake tremors right here in the RV park to keep me entertained.

Earthquake

This morning about 10:30 the RV began shaking as if there was a strong wind outside or the washer/dryer was on the spin cycle. However, it was neither. It was a 6.4 earthquake in Southern California about 145 miles from Las Vegas. It's bad enough that Californians are fleeing the state and moving to Vegas which in turn is driving up prices. Now, they are bringing their earthquakes with them. <grin>

Dave Barry On Aging

If you are a "senior citizen" and like Dave Barry's sense of humor, I think you will enjoy this video...

Staying Cool

Last summer when the temperature here in Las Vegas was topping out at 114 degrees F, it was a struggle to keep the interior of my RV under 90 degrees, even with two 15,000 BTU roof air conditioners and a 6,000 BTU window unit. By mid-afternoon, I wanted to go to the movies or casinos just to cool down.

This summer I have taken a couple of steps to keeping the interior cooler. First, I have covered most of my windows with reflective insulation which has reduced the amount of heat coming into the RV significantly...

Second, I purchased a personal evaporative cooler from Walmart that works surprisingly well by using the evaporation of water to produce cool air...

These small units will not cool an entire room - they need to be within a couple feet of you.

Although the temperature has only reached 106 degrees to date, the interior of the RV has been much more comfortable than last year. Hopefully, I will be able to say the same when it exceeds 110.

Update (7/28/2019): The temperature hit 112 F today and although the interior of the RV is warm, it is better than last summer. I did have to replace the living room air conditioner due to the compressor failing, so this may have been part of the problem.

Forestry Roads

I took a short drive on several forestry roads in the mountains northwest of town this morning. Looking at the map I picked up, it appears you could spend weeks driving these trails and not see them all. In the summer months, they are hard-packed dirt in good condition. However, I suspect they might be impassible when wet as that clay-like material plugs up your tire treads to the point it is like driving on ice.

Tomorrow, I head back to Las Vegas as I have an appointment for treating my macular degeneration next week. Not looking forward to the 100+ degree temperatures.

Down Day

I needed to take a day off from exploring to do laundry, run a few errands and give my old body a rest, so I have extended my stay in Escalante two more days. I have discovered there are a number of attractions in the area that require a fair amount of hiking and the ability to scramble up and down some intimidating obstacles, something that at my age I am no longer able or willing to do. Wish I had come out West 40 years ago.

This area is a postcard factory
(view from inside the Jeep)

Burr Trail & Wolverine Loop

I took the Burr Trail to the Wolverine Loop to see a petrified forest. To get to the Burr Trail from Escalante, you take Highway 12 which is one of the more scenic roads in Utah...

Then, you drive through a beautiful canyon on the Burr Trail...

At the Wolverine Petrified Wood Area trailhead, you hike about a half hour to the petrified trees...

If you were to continue east on the Burr Trail Road, you would come to the Notom-Bullfrog Road which if you head south, takes you to Lake Powell and if you head north takes you through the Capital Reef National Park to Highway 24. I did the northern route seven years ago and it was one of the most impressive drives I have experienced. Unfortunately, I did not have time today to run it again.

Hell's Backbone Road

I used a modified track from JeepTheUSA.com for today's drive. Steve and Jayne have been everywhere but the electric chair and seen everything but the wind so when they create a gpx track, you can take it to the bank.

"Hell's Backbone Road is a 38-mile gravel road that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and connects the towns of Boulder, Utah and Escalante, Utah. Halfway along the road is Hell's Backbone Bridge, which is 109 feet long, and 14 feet wide. A 1,500-foot drop is on either side."

Today's photos...

Ancient cliff dwelling
(rumor is my older cousin, Chris, built this as a summer home)

Road hazard

Posey Lake

Hell's Backbone Bridge

View from the bridge
(photos do not do this justice - it is simply breathtaking)

It doesn't get much better than this