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Saturday, September 14, 2019

Traveling the West, Part Two: Nevada

It takes a long time to drive across Nevada, and we did it twice on this trip -- endless stretches of highway through huge valleys surrounded by mountains you never quite seem to reach.  Rich took full advantage of that 70 mph speed limit.  I've always thought of motorhomes as large lumbering, slow-moving beasts, holding up traffic and annoying other motorists.  Not necessarily so!




Miles and miles of sagebrush and sand... there are virtually no developed rest stops, but that's what you get on the road less traveled.  We avoid crowds and highly regulated areas, anyway, so it's no matter to us.  A gravel pile is one of the best places to stop with a motorhome and two big dogs who need to run.  We spent quite a little while here.




Lots of open space to explore.  You really have to get out there and walk through it, sit a spell, look around.






Back on the road again... after driving a good deal more, we finally reached those elusive mountains and the little town of Austin.  Interesting.  Mining was its bread and butter, but it appears times have changed.  We gassed up the RV here and wandered around.  I took quite a few pictures of different areas, but have chosen only a few to share here.






The view is amazing!




There were lots of stone walls like this... perhaps retaining walls or old mines closed up.  I'm just guessing.




Desert wildflowers in August.  You know I had to photograph them.





It was a short trip through the mountains, then back to the valley.




We drove the Extraterrestrial Highway (near Area 51).  You'd think there would be more roadside attractions and businesses capitalizing on the theme, but this is the only thing we came across.




There were Joshua Trees at this elevation.




You can see quite a few of them in the background.




A little further down the road we found our rest stop for the night.  I took a photo and documented each place we stayed and it became a quest to try to get the one photo that made the place look good no matter what the real story was.  The photo below doesn't look too bad for the middle of the desert.  In fact it was just a big gravel lot behind a combo store/grill/gas station, but we felt lucky to find it.  We were the only ones there, so Wally and LuLu had the run of the place.  Full hook ups.  The owners were very friendly and we got a darn good hamburger for dinner that night.




One of the last places we stopped before we left Nevada was the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge.  There were actually quite a few of these managed marshes in the Nevada desert.  Who knew?  They're a sight for sore eyes, especially if you're a thirsty antelope or migrating bird.




I'm going to stop here because after this we headed into Arizona down Route 66 and then into Grand Canyon National Park.  That's a whole other bunch of pictures and quite a change of scenery.  Some of the most awesome stuff is ahead.  Thanks for coming along so far!


19 comments:

  1. Wow, very different scenery then we have here in Michigan. It all looks amazing and kind of hot too, was it? I love that you travel with the fur babies and love seeing their reactions and poses...now I can't wait until the next group of photos...this is so fun...thanks for sharing places that I would never to get to see otherwise!! Have a great day!!

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  2. Love the little town, Austin! May have to find that myself some day. Enjoy your adventures!

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  3. Greg has been in Nevada but I have never been, I think you would feel very lucky to come across a town or somewhere to stop for the night, I love those old towns, so much character, and so nice that there are places that Wally and Lulu can just run! Love the flowers you found and the cool Joshua tree :)

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  4. My traveling days are likely over, except for the trips I get to take with Rich, you, and your beautiful furbabies. Please don't stop posting...I can't tell you how much I am enjoying our trips. Every photo gets studied, even if they don't have a dog in them!!

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  5. Can't begin to tell you the memories surfacing through your photos, Leslie. We traveled roads like this often, driving from the California Valley into Las Vegas and beyond to visit relatives. In fact, we left Southern Cal wearing short-shorts and sleeveless crop tops, to stop in the mountains to play in the snow (dressed that very way) and then on to Grandma's for Thanksgiving LOL I love the wide open expanses (something we do not have in lush, green Florida) and the amazing color contrasts of sky, sand and "vegetation". We visited many a defunct mining town and investigated the "old west" in a number of ways. My favorite was always camping in the open desert with my grandma and grandpa in Red Rock Canyon area, where my grandfather and I would "climb" some of the canyon walls, probably not very high, but high to a 10 year old. At night the stars were amazing and the jogging tumble weeds were fun. That was back in the 50s and early 60s - so before the days of restrictions. In fact, parts of the "highway" in Nevada were barely two-lanes and many were covered with sand from the constantly blowing winds. I always enjoyed seeing the snow capped purple mountains from my grandparent's back yard. I was so fortunate to be there "in the olden days" before the strip was more than 2 lanes total. LOL Thanks for sharing the glorious photos! hugs, de

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  6. Your photos are wonderful and I do love seeing your dogs! tfs

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  7. What great pictures and stories along the way. I hope you are scrapbooking your adventures! We were at the Grand Canyon years ago and we loved it along with the painted desert and the red rocks. Pretty barren but beautiful scenery. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. thanks for the trip. Love seeing your travels and commentary. Have a great day

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  9. Wow, Leslie! Gorgeous flowers and it looks like your scenery was fabulous!! Wish I could have gone with you!! Hugs, and thanks for sharing so we all get to go with you!!

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  10. Amazing photos Leslie! You know I just feel like I am traveling with you. You are so descriptive with your words describing each picture. Bill and I travel a fair amount with our birding ventures, and I must say we have traveled roads less traveled as well. Sometimes you see the most interesting things on that route. The Wildlife Refuge really intrigues me, this would be place I would go and spend hours. Love seeing the wildlflowers, so pretty, and the Joshua trees - which I never heard of before. I just love looking at these photos, I've scrolled through them 3x now, just fabulous! I so look forward to the next part of 'our' trip to the Grand Canyon National Park - a place Bill and I would love to visit some day! Thanks for sharing Leslie, this was so exciting to see part of N.A. that I've never seen before. Have a great day!

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  11. Fabulous post what a lovely trip...xx

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  12. Thanks so much for sharing...Nevada is quite interesting. The landscape is scrubby but quite beautiful. I guess you can find beauty anywhere is you just look! I'm so glad you are getting to experience these wonderful places.

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  13. ALWAYS such fun traveling with you through your photos! We've not traveled much of Nevada so this was quite insightful! Thanks so much for sharing your adventures! Like I said, ALWAYS a pleasure to ride along! GREAT job!

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  14. Wow you got some awesome shots! That town looks so interesting...so fun to explore. Great trip!

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  15. Wow..sure is pretty. You all look like you had a grand time. Except there's no pics of you. 😎 I wish I could have made arrangements to meet you in Arizona. That's where I live. Have fun and I'm looking forward to more photos

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  16. Fabulous photos and amazing scenery you are sooo lucky
    Carol x

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  17. So nice to find your blog again. Your puppy Wally is now a handsome senior! And sweet Lulu is so pretty! They both are among the luckiest, happiest dogs in the world! I just love your beautiful pics of your travels! Thanks for adding your sunshine to the world! Your posts always make me smile!

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