Arizona, New Mexico

 20 February     Las Vegas, NV - White Tank Mountain, AZ     279 miles    6 hours

We arrived at White Tank Mountain Regional Park around 3pm. I forgot there's a one hour time difference so we gained an hour. We're meeting our friends here. Goody used to work with Joe years ago when they were in SSD together. He retired and moved to Phoenix and recently bought a used Tiffin Phaeton. They are new to RVing and wanted to hang out with us a few days to pick up some tips. 

We're staying at White Tank Mountain  Regional Park for a couple of nights. Electric and water hook ups for $36 per night. There's also a dump station. When we arrived, Goody and Donna was already waiting for us. Turns out Goody is sick too. So we all tried to have a good time but we were not feeling well at all. On top of that, the weather wasn't cooperating, it was very cold and windy.

The plan was to spend 2 nights here and move on to Gilbert Ray Campground in Tucson for 2 nights but the winds picked up Tuesday evening and was going to continue through Wednesday. We decided its not safe to drive so we extended 1 more night at White Tank Mountain. We had to dry camp in their overflow lot, $15 for the extra night. 

Our dry camping spot, pretty nice    

Joe, Donna, Goody    

We had a nice time with Goody and Donna but like I keep saying, we were still sick and the wind was crazy and cold. Joe showed Goody how to do the basics with RV camping, we'll just have to plan another trip. Goody and Donna decided not to continue to Tucson.

23 February     White Tank Mountain - Tucson, AZ       166 miles      4 hours 15 minutes

The drive to Tucson was pretty hectic. Lots of traffic and road construction. Gilbert Ray Campground  is pretty nice. The sites are a little tight and there's only electric hookups for $22 per night. I wish I was feeling better, this is a good place to ride our bikes. We are next to Saguaro National Park. Went to the visitors center and took a ride around the park. The sunset tonight was absolutely amazing. Wish we had a couple more days here. 

24 February     Tucson, AZ - Anthony, NM      315 miles     5 hours  50 minutes

We had a long drive today, made a stop for gas. Tonight, we're staying at a Harvest Host location. Mesa Vista Winery is located in Anthony, NM but we're right on the border of Texas. Nice, cozy winery with lots of room to park overnight. We had some beer and bought a bottle of wine. 

Spring 2023 Family Ski Trip

 This Spring we have a lot planned. The first thing is skiing in Brian Head, Utah. We planned a family ski trip back in March 2020 but that's when Covid hit and we had to cancel one week prior to starting that trip. It's been about two years and we're finally doing it. The kids will meet us in Las Vegas and we'll make the  three hour drive to Brian Head. 

Once the kids leave, Joe and I will head to Arizona to meet up with some friends. Goody and Donna just bought their first RV and we're meeting them for a few days to show them the ropes. We're so excited for them to start. Then we continue to Texas. I've been wanting to go to Big Bend National Park and San Antonio for a while. Our destination is Vidalia, Louisiana where Joe will attend a Freightliner class and rally. We'll be meeting our friends Mark and Julia. Once the rally is done we need to high tail it back to Las Vegas because our grandson Blake turns 1 on April 8th. 

Let the adventure begin......

10 February   Las Vegas, Nevada

Our family arrived in Las Vegas this morning. Our son Josh with his wife Casey and 2 children JJ and Jade, and our daughter Miki with her husband Justin and baby Blake. First stop, breakfast at Blueberry Hill.

 We checked into Mandalay Bay and went to the Shark Reef Aquarium. Kind of small but a fun place to take the kids. They enjoyed the sharks, the baby stingrays in the touch tank, and watching the jellyfish. There's a lot of different fishes and sharks, was very relaxing to watch them in their environment.

Sharks swimming overhead    

Then for dinner we went to The Tournament of Kings at Excalibur. Everyone enjoyed themselves. The show was very entertaining with great pyrotechnics and special effects. There was audience participation with lots of cheering, pounding on tables, and shouting for your knight. The food was good, cornish hen, potatoes, corn, and an apple dessert which we ate with our hands.

Josh, Jade & Casey    

Justin, Miki & Blake    

11 February   Brian Head, Utah

We rented a four bedroom, 2 1/2 bath house through VRBO. The cost was $2500 for 5 nights. The house was beautiful, very roomy, and lots of room for all of us. A little disappointed that the walkway to the front door wasn't cleared of snow. There was a bank about 3 feet high that we had to clear out ourselves. Right away we noticed the bed frame in the front bedroom had a sign, "do not use, broken", one of the dining room chairs was cracked so unable to use, and the remote for the garage door was missing. We had to manually open and close the garage door every time we left. So inconvenient. There was a nice microwave and oven but on the third day the screen went blank. We contacted the property manager and they said they have it noted down but nobody ever came to check it. So needless to say, unable to use the micro and oven. We had a hot tub, but it wasn't very clean. Lots of small things that bothered us but we had to just let it go and make the best of it. I just need to remember NOT to use Family Time Vacation Rentals again. 

Jade eating snow

Laura made us beanies    

Blake eating snow

Jade & JJ    

We've been looking forward to this ski trip for a very long time. JJ and Jade was so excited to play in snow and try skiing for the first time. We were there for 4 days, and was planning to ski  for 3. We had one real good day of skiing, after that a storm came through. We tried to ski one more time but it was pretty miserable. 

It was 0 degrees with a wind chill of -20. It was just too cold.

 It was so cold the kids couldn't even go outside to play. Couldn't make a snowman because the snow was so dry, couldn't even form a snowball. Very, very unfortunate timing for us. 

We still tried our best to have fun.

Too cold, we outta here

And to top everything off, everyone got sick. At first we thought it was altitude sickness because the  base of Brian Head is 10,000'. Everyone experienced headaches, nausea, shortness of breath, diarrhea, and just not feeling right. After the kids left Las Vegas, Joe and I got very, very sick.

Josh & Family    

Miki & Family

16 February   Las Vegas

Then it was back to Las Vegas for a few days.  We stayed one night at New York, New York. That was a lot of fun. After that the kids checked in at Golden Nugget, Joe and I got the RV and camped out at Main Street Station. The RV park at Main Street Station is very expensive now. For 3 nights it was $148.00. It's still kind of a dump but we stay there when family is in town. 

We spent Friday evening having drinks and dinner at Triple 7 Brewery and then walked over to Fremont Street to show the kids the light show. We haven't been to Fremont Street at night for a few years, it's still pretty crazy! We had a lot of fun. 

Noah met us in Vegas

On Saturday we took the kids to the Childrens Discovery Museum. A little pricey $16 per person, children and adults. JJ and Jade had a lot of fun exploring in a playful learning environment. We made the mistake of going on a Saturday. It was pretty crowded. 

Jade lifting herself up

Jade loves to draw

19 February   Aloha

Blake fits in the sink    

Our family flew back to Hawaii today.  We had so much fun with them, even though everyone was still feeling a little sick. The ski trip could've been better but we can't help that a storm came through while we were there. Hopefully, we can plan another ski trip soon. 

We'll miss everyone, especially the grandbabies, JJ, Jade, and Blake. 

Our site at Main Street Station RV Park

Joe and I start our road trip tomorrow. We feel like we're getting worse with our colds but we got plans to meet some friends. So moving on...

WY, UT, NV

 08 July     Rapid City, SD - Gillette,  WY       144 miles     2 hours  25 minutes

We got out of Rapid City very late. By the time our RV was finished at Floyds Truck Center, it was about 630pm. We gassed up and picked up some dinner and finally got on the road at 740 pm. This is very, very late for us. The sun goes down around 9 pm, so we thought hey, why not! 

Made it to Wyoming

It was a nice drive but once the sun went down it was kind of weird to be driving at night. A little scary for us because we almost never drive at night. 

We pulled into Walmart in Gillette, Wyoming at 10 pm. Walked around the parking lot a little to make sure we were in the right parking area, and settled in for the night. This is a very nice, quiet parking lot. It was a long day and we were tired. 

09 July     Gillette - Thermopolis, WY      197 miles      4 hours

The drive today was beautiful. We went over a mountain pass that was almost at 10,000 feet elevation. Lots of curves in the road, and lots of climbing. Joe had to really concentrate on driving but I really enjoyed the scenery. 

We stayed two nights at Eagle RV Park in Thermopolis, Wyoming. They offer a Good Sam rate so we paid a total of $104.  Pretty nice park, very convenient to Hot Springs State Park which is the reason why we're here. 

On the first afternoon, we went for a drive to the Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway. It offers 34 miles of fascinating Wyoming geology, history, and recreation. Rugged Wind River Canyon offers plenty of scenery year round where 2,500-foot walls of rock swallows the rolling hills of the Big Horn Basin before releasing travelers into the expansive Indian reservation. 

Beautiful Views

Over a billion years of geology is exposed in the canyon between Thermopolis and Boysen Dam. There's whitewater rafting through this canyon but Joe didn't want to go. 

At Hot Springs State Park the main draw is the hot springs. They have a modern Wyoming State Bath House with 2 pools, one inside and one outside. The pools are filled with 100 percent mineral water; no chemicals or municipal water are used. The temperature is kept at 104 degrees and the pools are drained and cleaned every 48 hours. There is a 20 minute soaking limit and is free.

There are several great places around the park for walking and hiking. It was too hot to do any hikes but we managed to do some walking during our stay. The rainbow terraces are beautiful it reminds me of Mammoth in Yellowstone. There's also a suspension bridge that gives the best possible view of the Rainbow Terraces as you cross.  

So for the 2 mornings we were there, we would take a walk around the park, then go for a 20 minute soak. So relaxing, we really enjoyed ourselves. 

This state park has a herd of bison. We drove in the different loops around the pasture to find  them. 

We ate at two really good restaurants. The first evening we went to Los Cabos Mexican Restaurant. So much food and  it was excellent. The service was good and the prices were decent.

Then the next morning we had a late breakfast at Black Bear Cafe. Excellent food and the service was very good. A lot of their items are home made, even their hot sauce. The cinnamon buns were huge and very good. We overdid it! 

This was a good stop for us. We really enjoyed ourselves even though it was super hot. 

11 July     Thermopolis, WY - Heber City, UT     357 miles     7 hours  20 minutes

We left a little late this morning because we wanted a last soak in the hot springs. We stopped for an hour in Fort Bridger to gas up, rest, and have something to eat. We boondocked at Walmart in  Heber City, Utah. This wasn't a very good stop. It was pretty noisy with cars driving by late at night and some jerk was running their generator all night. 

12 July     Heber City, UT - Mesquite, NV       329 miles      5 hours

We stayed in  Mesquite for 1 night because we always drive by Mesquite but have never stopped. Casablanca Casino has an RV park in the back. Regular rates are $35 but I picked a corner site with some shade so that was $45. We needed shade because when we pulled in, our truck read 124 degrees! 

This park is like a parking lot, hardly any shade and very hot. We enjoyed the pool, we could use the hotel pool and it was a very nice one. 

We drove around town and checked out three different RV parks in the area. Glad we came to check everything out but probably won't be back. 

13 July     Mesquite - Las Vegas, NV        87 miles     2 hours

We made a stop to fill gas for the last time on this trip. We'll be staying 2 nights at Las Vegas RV Resort. We pulled in mid-day and it was very hot. The temperature in the truck read 126 degrees!

15 July      Las Vegas RV Resort - Henderson   6 miles   15minutes

We put the rv and truck in storage today and checked into Main Street Station for 2 nights. Then we'll stay at Orleans for 2 nights before heading back to Honolulu on July 19th. 

Another awesome rv trip has come to an end. We didn't make it to North Dakota because of the problem with our hitch but maybe next time. On this trip we travelled 2,879 miles in the rv and about 2,350 in the truck. This trip was a little over 8 weeks long.

We love our rv adventures but always miss our kids and grandbabies. JJ is almost 8 years old and starting 2nd grade soon. Jade is almost 6 and will be starting kindergarten. Then there's our newest addition to the family, Blake is only 3 1/2 months old. We love spending time with them but after a month of being home in Hawaii, we start to get the itch to hit the road again. 

Wonder what our next adventure will be...