THE JOYS OF FLYING AND OTHER STUFF

April 29 – Marsha arrived home (Las Vegas) last night but not without experiencing the “joys of air travel.” The first leg of her flight was delayed in Akron/Canton, OH, by about 30 minutes, putting reaching her Denver connecting flight in jeopardy.

She flew Frontier. This was her pilot.

The site below.

Upon arriving in Denver she only had a few minutes to run the length of the terminal to the gate for her next flight. Upon arriving at the gate, she found this flight too was delayed. Well, at least she didn't miss the flight!

Her pilot for this trip.

Marsha was able to get some great mountain pictures out of the airplane windows. Look at all the snow in the mountains between Denver and Las Vegas.

Just gorgeous.

After finally arriving in Las Vegas, passengers were notified to remain in there seats due to a medical emergency. A passenger had passed out during the flight, and an EMS crew would have to help remove him from the plane before anyone could disembark. No word on how the passenger was medically. Eventually, we were united and made the short drive back to Boulder City and the motorhome at the Elks Lodge.

We had some excitement in the sky over the Elks Lodge this morning. First event was a flyover by six military helicopters. They were heading in the direction of the Hoover Dam. How neat would that be to see them flyover the dam.

The next surprise was skydivers parachuting just to the SE of the campground. This goes on several time a week. There must be a jump club at the nearby general aviation airport.

On Marsha's last day in Ohio, she spent a wonderful afternoon having lunch with her dad, his sister, Lois, cousin Phyllis and friend Dini. This picture is for Phyllis. She said she had never had her picture in a blog.

L-R: Dad, Marsha, Dini, Phyllis, Aunt Lois.

A couple of happy pictures from Marsha last night in Ohio. The family went to a local winery.

Dad

Kelly

Marsha brought back a souvenir from Ohio. Her brother, Rod and his wife, Katie, found this neat beer holder emblazoned with the Cleveland Indian Logo. Cool.

Update on the Tribe…They end April in FIRST place in the Central Division of the American League. GOOOOOO Tribe!

Our next blog will be about our visit to downtown Las Vegas and the Strip. Come on back and see if the slogan, “What goes to Vegas, stays in Vegas,” is true!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day.

ANOTHER GREAT RIDE…RIVER MOUNTAIN TRAIL

Saturday, April 21 – Paul has been riding many of the bike trails here in the Boulder City Area. One he has found exceptionally nice is the River Mountain Loop Trail. Planning for the River Mountains Trail began back in 1996.

It is a paved trail, 35 miles long, around the River Mountains. There are many trail heads where you can park the car and enter the trail. Remember, this trail system is in the mountains around the Boulder City, City of Henderson, Lake Mead, and Hoover Dam areas.

Formed by fiery lava erupting from small volcanoes nearly 5 million years ago, the River Mountains have been chiseled by water down cutting its way to the Colorado River.

Being a “flatlander,” Paul is not use to riding in the mountains, and it's taking some conditioning to get use to the many hills.

He goes out twice a day, for about an hour each time riding.....remember his Dear Marsha is in Ohio visiting family. Poor guy! He's getting use to some of the trails but there is one he will NEVER try. That's the 5-mile up the hill (7+percent grade) from the Hoover Dam to Boulder City. That would definitely be a killer!!!

Looking towards Railroad Pass.

He's also using the time, home alone, to get some maintenance chores done around the motor home. Of course, he's doing double duty, working outside and doing daily house work chores.....a man's work is never done!

A note from Marsha on Paul's above paragraph…BOOOOOO HOOOOOO!

Marsha took this picture of the Las Vegas Strip from her plane.

Looks like such a big area on the ground, but so small from the air.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

GREAT BIKING/HIKNG TRAILS IN BOULDER CITY

Thursday, April 18 - Paul rode his bike on the Historic Railroad Tunnel bike path this afternoon.

A look from above at one of the entrances to a tunnel.

You park near the Lake Mead Visitor's Center where the 35-mile River Mountain Loop Trail splits off toward the Hoover Dam. This is one of two most difficult sections of track to construct.

The gravel trail passes through five tunnels carved through the mountain. The first tunnel is about a mile down the trail and then passes through the other four within the next mile. All tunnels are approximately 300 ft. in length, and 25 ft. in diameter. The tunnels were oversized to fit penstock sections and large equipment being transported to Hoover Dam.

These are old railroad tunnels that were dug through the mountain prior to construction of the Hoover Dam so gravel, concrete, and parts for the electrical generators could be delivered to the construction site.

Being a former railroad bed, Paul assumed the trail would be fairly level. Like most of the roads and trails in the Boulder City area, this trail has some challenging hills. They get the lungs and heart working overtime.

This unique and historical trail is a must for hikers and bike riders while in the area. It takes about an hour to ride from the Lake Mead Visitor's Center to the Hoover Dam area. Don't miss it if you visit the area!

Paul dropped Marsha off at the airport at 8:30. She is taking the red eye to Canton, Ohio with a layover in Atlanta. She is going to be one tired girl. She will lose three hours once she reaches Ohio. Maybe a little nap is in her future.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

BOULDER CITY ELKS LODGE…NICE PLACE TO PARK

Friday, April 15 – With hugs and goodbyes to our friends, Louise & Duane, we pulled-out of Escapee's North Ranch bright and early and headed to Boulder City, NV.

We drove through Arizona State Joshua Tree Park.

A bit blurry, but Joshua Trees.

Crazy, beautiful.

Approaching Boulder City.

We had a great and uneventful trip arriving at the Elks Club campground around noon. They have fifteen full hook-up campsites to the rear of the Lodge. The Lodge is on a busy street, making getting in difficult, but with the campground around back you are very secluded and it's nice and quiet. We have learned a back way in and out of the campground, so we avoid the traffic on the road out front.

Site 12

Looking right.

Looking left.

Looking behind.

We came across the new Hoover Dam Bridge on our way here. We'll head back there in a few days for pictures and to see it from the old road across the bridge.  The new bridge is so wide with high guard rail walls that you hardly realize you are on a bridge. That “dam” bridge is amazing (sorry, I couldn't resist).

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!