Where Should We Go Next?

Dean  (the husband)
Shalane  (the wife  :O)

We drove to Echo Canyon State Park last Thursday for the last time this summer.  I have to admit I was a little saddened.  We have spent some great evenings there this summer, and yesterday did not disappoint.  On her first cast, Shalane reeled in the biggest bass we’ve caught since we came here in mid-June.  The average weight of the seven fish we caught was easily the best of the year.  It was such a great night of fishing. All the fish were fighters, which made reeling them in really fun, plus it meant that we were able to release all of them back into the lake.  Perhaps the highlight of the evening occurred after we decided to head back to the trailer.   Just after dusk, we walked back up to the truck at on top of the dam.   As we stood there, we looked across the valley and tried to take it all in.  The flashes of lightening, the cool breeze rolling across our faces, the smell of the rain with the approaching thunderstorm, and the sound of thunder made it all even more breathtaking.  Truly, a great way to end the day.

As we know, closing a door to one room means that we're opening a door to another.  So it is with us, as we are looking forward to our upcoming trip to the Midwest.  We have decided that we will make this trip from Nevada to Southeast Kansas without ever driving on the interstate.   It will take a little longer, but the scenery should more than make up for the extra time and gas.  We will not be taking the trailer, as we have decided that it will be much more of an adventure to Greendock the entire trip in the truck.  We hope to stay only in campgrounds that are ten dollars or less or tucked away in the woods.  I'm not worried about Utah and Colorado, but the heat in Kansas and Oklahoma might prove to be a challenge.  I suggested that we might need to stay a couple of nights in a motel.  Heck, we don't even have windows in the back of the truck!  Dean says no way!  He's hardcore, and wants to battle the elements no matter what!  Well, we'll see who wins that one.  You know I'm all about a good adventure, but I don't see myself sleeping in the back of a truck that's 100 degrees when I could be in a hotel with a pool and air conditioning. :O) We hope to be able to continue our blogs as often as we can while traveling.  My wife loves to take pictures, so hopefully you will get a feel of what we'll be experiencing.  For our friends and family in Kansas and Oklahoma, we look forward to visiting with you soon.  Until then, Happy Trails!

Young Man vs. Wild

Dean  (the husband)
Shalane  (the wife  :O)

A young man from Las Vegas finds himself in the mountains.  It is so remote that his cell phone and internet access is non-existent.  What does he do?  Well, if he is visiting us, he goes fishing.   We woke up early so that we could make it to the lake as the sun was coming up over the mountain.  I thought that we would stay for an hour but we were there for over three hours.  We each caught six trout, and the day had just begun.   Michael had actually been ice fishing up here before and was anxious to fish the lake and see the area in warmer weather.   Later in the evening, we went to the lake at Echo Canyon State Park.  This time it was bass, and lots of them.  It was a constant state of casting and reeling in the fish.  We won’t discuss the size of the bass that we were catching, but we did get a few trout that were keepers.

Now, I’m sure that this young man, born and raised in Vegas, has always thought of us as a little unconventional.  However, over the course of the day, I think that he is finally understanding why we do what we do.   No he’s not.  He still thinks we’re nuts.  He says that he understands why we would want to travel around for three months each summer, but he can’t imagine living in an RV year-round.  It’s really hard to convince a person that this is a good idea.  People either get it, or they don’t.  Some people envy us, and some think we’re crazy.  Only one of our three children “gets it."  Hannah understands that our lifestyle is adventurous and liberating.  She keeps talking about doing what we do and wonders how she can do it NOW!    Michael has to leave tomorrow, but we‘ll fish one more time tomorrow morning.  I don’t think he is ready to move into an RV, but I do think that he at least has a better appreciation of why we live in one. 

There are so many fascinating things to see in rural America.  So many TV shows make a big deal out of going to “Vegas.”  I’ve lived there for the past 5 years, and I say, give me Lincoln County, Nevada any day.  Honestly, when we didn’t live in Vegas, we watched every one of those shows.  We lived in small towns and LOVED going to visit the bright lights of the city.    Okay, Las Vegas really is a fun and interesting place to visit.  It’s just that everyone knows about it.  Thank goodness few people know about all those awesome places within 200 miles of that city.  If they did, there might be a big population shift.  We hope to share our love of these hard to find places.  If we have to, we  will do it one person at a time.  One young man from Vegas saw a little of it today.  One down, 1,250,000 to go.  Hey, you gotta start some where!  

There are MANY people that live in the city but love the outdoors and rural America.  Unfortunately, jobs often keep us in the city.  Obviously, just the fact that Dean and I have been in Vegas for the past few years proves that not all people that live in the city are “city people.”  Many of them are reading this blog.  The good news is, that if you decide to, you can always make your way out, even if it’s just for the weekend.  For example, Las Vegas has a lot a great places to go outside the city.  Red Rock Canyon offers great hiking, as does Mt. Charleston.  Cold Creek is within 30 minutes and offers fishing ponds and wild horses roaming freely around the community.  Boulder City is a nice area to visit with its fun little tourist shops,  helicopter rides, Lake Mead and Boulder Dam.  So, you see, we can ALL, city people, or small town folks, take a minute to get away from the daily grind and enjoy the outdoors.  For those of us that live in RVs, we just can’t get enough of it.  Thus, the reason we do what we do.  There is just too much to see and do to be stuffed into a house that doesn't even have wheels on it.  That's just craziness! lol  :O)  Happy Trails!