Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas

Saturday we drove to Red Rock Canyon which is located about nineteen miles west of Las Vegas.  This area is definitely worth a visit and makes a nice change from viewing the neon lights and crowds along The Strip.  This part of the Mojave Desert is most interesting. 

First Dave had a cold, and now I have it, so I wasn't feeling too well when we were at Red Rocks, so we didn't go for any of the easy walks that are offered in the park.  Red Rock Canyon is a national conversancy so we were able to use Dave's senior pass and didn't have to pay the $7 per car entry fee.  We drove the one-way thirteen mile scenic drive in order to get a closer view of some of the rocks.  The visitor's center was well worth the time that we spent there, including watching the movie about the formation of the rocks. 

Our time in Las Vegas is drawing to a close, and we haven't had a chance to do many of the items that were originally on our list.  That just means that we'll have to plan another trip here! 

Christmas Eve Service

When Dave and I checked into Las Vegas Motorcoach Resort, we found a pile of cards on the counter advertising the "Light" Christmas service at The Crossing, an evangelical mega-church in Las Vegas.  They had two services yesterday, and four identical services today at 1, 3, 5, and 7.  This church was only about ten minutes from our park, and we chose to go to the 3 pm service.

It wasn't quite what we were used to, but there were many parts of the service that we enjoyed, including the telling of God's creation of the world, and why Jesus needed to come as our Savior.  The presentation was top-notch, and the dress was come-as-you-are.  My favorite part is always the candlelighting at the end of the service.  There's just something about all those thousands of people each holding a tiny little lit candle. 

Now we are back home in the RV again, and Dave and I are getting ready to enjoy our turkey dinner feast.  Rain was predicted for this morning, but it didn't materialize, and instead, we had the nicest day yet with temperatures in the low 60s and no wind. 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a blessed night! 

Ethel M's Chocolate Factory Cactus Garden Christmas Lights

Dave and visited the main location of the Ethel M's Chocolate Factory.  This is where they give factory tours.  They also feature a fabulous cactus garden, which at Christmastime is decorated with many, many lights.  It was one of the best light displays that we had ever seen, and yes, it was all free, except if you went into the store to buy some chocolate.  I must admit that after the tour I indulged in a sugar-free dark chocolate bar, but I had saved room in my calorie budget, so I don't think I did much damage!

We were expecting it to be cold outside, so Dave and I dressed for the cold, but we were pleasantly surprised that the temperature remained in the low fifties while we were there.

I highly recommend Ethel M's Christmas light display.  We'll have to come back another time to see the cactus garden without all the lights!  We didn't take the factory tour because it was crowded, but that would be fun, too. 

Bellagio Fountains, Las Vegas

Last night, Dave and I stood outside the Bellagio to watch the free water, music, and light show called Fountains of Bellagio.  When we were in Las Vegas 2 1/2 years ago, it was too windy for the fountains, so we had never seen the whole show.  It was fabulous, except that it was over in less than five minutes.

Our view was of Paris' Eiffel Tower while we stood outside the Bellagio:

The show begins:

The nights have been cold here in Las Vegas, so we dressed warmly.  We waited a half hour for the fountain show to start because there were a lot of people taking in this free show. 

We Finally Found the Sun!

If you have been reading Dave's blog as well as mine, you already know about the problems we have been having with our Norcold 4-door refrigerator.  The cooling unit stopped working (again).  This time it was only partially under warranty and would take about six weeks before the new part would arrive.  No way was that going to work for us unless we turned around and headed back north to home.

(All of these pictures were taken during our drive from Bakersfield to Las Vegas--CA state highway 58, then I-15)    *Note the SUNNY SKY! :)

Driving east through Tehachapi Pass

We read a bunch of reviews online about the Amish cooling unit that replaces the Norcold cooling unit.  But that also takes a while to get the unit and then find someone to install it.  A couple of service places we talked to had not even heard of it.  And after all that, we would still have a Norcold which is turning out to be synonymous with bad service and bad products.  Boo.  Hiss.

The other option was to install a residential refrigerator which more and more people are doing these days.  Yes, it only works with electricity, but it can be hooked up to an inverter or run off a generator.  And it's not prone to causing a fire like the Norcolds are known to do.

So we left Bakersfield on a SUNNY day and drove across the Tehachapi Pass, through the Mojave Desert, and into glittery Las Vegas--all with SUNNY skies.

Apache RV in Las Vegas, which I found through the RV Service Reviews website, has done several installations of residential refrigerators.  They seemed knowledgeable, so we headed on to Las Vegas, where we were planning to go anyway.  We pulled into the Apache's service area and three people came out to look at the Norcold spot and take measurements.  I was a little worried because in our Bounder 35E, the Norcold is located in our living room slide.  But they said "no problem" and said that we have more room to work with than a lot of coaches they've seen.

Hills in the desert

After that we checked into our intended destination, Las Vegas Motorcoach Resort (LVM).  And guess what, Apache RV is only a block away from LVM.  Is that good fortune or what?  Since the failure of the cooling unit, we've been on quite a roller coaster the last few days, so this was good news.

Interesting name!

LVM is quite a place and without a doubt is the nicest RV park we've ever stayed in.  I'll write about that in another blog.

Snow!

Last night (Wednesday), after stopping by Apache RV and then checking into LVM, we went out shopping for a new refrigerator.  We couldn't find the one that had been recommended, a small Samsung, but after going to Lowe's, Home Depot, and Fry's Electronics, we found a couple of options.  We thought that a small and inexpensive Maytag would work, but during the night, both Dave and I realized that the doors on it would be too big to open when the slideout was closed.

Entering Nevada and the casinos at Primm 

This morning we headed to Sears to check out their selection.  We found one similar to the Whirpool that we had seen at Lowe's.  The good thing about Sears is that they can deliver it next Wednesday, which is the earliest that Apache RV could give us an appointment, due to the weekend and the Christmas holiday.

Our first sight of Las Vegas 

Soooo, we bought the Whirlpool refrigerator which is a huge 21.7 cubic feet and is a side-by-side unit with a water and ice dispenser in the door.  Yes--just what I wanted.  We verified with Apache that this one will fit.  It will take at least a full day to switch out the Norcold and install the Whirlpool.  We won't be able to totally relax until that work is done, but we feel like we've accomplished a major hurdle without having to limp back home with our "tail between our legs".   ;-)

Not Much of a Change in Scenery

Christmas wreath at Seven Feathers RV Park

We stayed in Corning, California for three nights and this morning we moved south on I-5 and are staying in Patterson, CA for one night.  It was cold and rainy the whole time we were in Corning, and guess what, it's raining here in Patterson.  The weather is slightly foggy and not quite as cold as in Corning.  This area is known to get tule fog in December and January, but this is not a ground fog, just a low-overcast fog.  This whole area, even down through Bakersfield is being hit with cold, rainy weather.  But it's even colder and wetter at home, so we don't mind being here.  This front can't last for the next three months, can it?  ;-)

We paid $25/night in Corning which we thought was a pretty good price for full hookups.  We didn't visit the casino at all, not even to eat at their fine buffet.  That was partly because we weren't there on a Tuesday or a Thursday when the buffet lets seniors (ages 55 and over) eat for half price.  That's a good deal!

Tonight we are staying at Kit Fox RV Park in Patterson.  We were able to use a Passport America discount here, so we paid $20.52 for the night.  Again, we have full hookups with 50 amp power, free fast internet, and a good satellite signal.  What more could we wish for other than a warm temperature and no rain?

I'll leave you with a picture of our live motorhome Christmas tree, given to me by my friend, Sandy.  The tiny tree is placed on a potholder that I made last Christmas.  We also have Christmas lights inside along our front window.  And yes, that's rain on the front window!

Snow? What Snow?

I am very happy to report that I-5 south over the Siskiyou Mountains was dry.  We saw some snow on the trees, but the roads were clear.  I think snow is pretty, but I don't want to drive in it.

At the California agricultural inspection stop, we reported the oranges and apples that we had brought along, and we were waved through the stop.

After a day with no problems, we arrived in Corning, California at the Rolling Hills Casino RV Park.  This is a favorite stop of ours.  The price is $25, but we were told that it will go up to $28 in January.  The RV self-registration has now been changed to registering inside the Travel Center.  The RV sites are not assigned, so we picked a nice site and settled in for the next few days.

Goodbye, Oregon--Hello California!

Shasta Lake is still pretty low. 

A sign that we like to see:

Swimming!

We didn't have any rain during our drive to Canyonville today.  We experienced fog, clouds, and quite a few sun breaks. 

We enjoyed the greenery at this park (and the sunshine)!

Site #76

After we got set up at Seven Feathers RV Park, Dave and I went for a swim in the warm water of the indoor resort pool.  To my delight, I fit into my swimsuit!  It felt great to be in the water again.  I'm not much of a swimmer because I like to keep my head out of the water, but I try to keep my legs and arms moving when I'm in the water, so at least I get a little exercise.  The jacuzzi felt great afterwards and helped warm us up before we had to go back out into the cold air.  We had the pool all to ourselves and shared the jacuzzi with a friendly older woman from Olympia, WA. 

The empty pool

The spacious jacuzzi

Then we got some more exercise by walking down to the casino.  We made up for the exercise by eating dinner at one of the casino restaurants, Cow Creek.  By the time we finished dinner, the outside temperature had dropped to 32 degrees, so we opted to ride the shuttle bus back up the hill to our site.

As Dave mentioned in his blog, there's a chance of snow tonight, so we'll see if we wake up to some white stuff.  We'll relax when we get to Corning tomorrow after passing over the Siskiyous and through the Mount Shasta area.  And we'll see if we can make it through the California border agricultural inspection station without getting stopped this year!

Lots of Visiting Before We Leave

We've been busy the last few days.  We had several dinners out with friends and on Saturday we celebrated an early Christmas with our son Tim, his wife Kiersten, and our granddaughter, Sophie, who is almost 20 months old.  Our younger son, Jonathan, had to work that day, so he wasn't able to drive down from the Seattle area to join us.

Sophie was cute when she opened one of the presents that we gave her.  It was a simple doll swaddled in a doll quilt that I made.  Sophie cooed  over the doll and it warmed my heart!  

 

Then on Sunday we had dinner with our friends, Warren and Sandy, on Monday we ate with our friends, Tom and Cindi, and on Tuesday we went out for dinner with our friends, John and Verleen, in honor of his birthday next week.  Tonight we stayed home and ate leftovers!

John and Verleen

John took a picture of us.

Tomorrow we leave for points south.  We plan to make stops at Seven Feathers in Canyonville, OR, then Rolling Hills Casino and RV Park in Corning, CA, then a night or two in Patterson or Bakersfield, CA.  We reserved two nights at Calico Ghost Town, then we'll head on to Las Vegas.   After that it's Death Valley National Park, Lancaster, Ventura, and on to Pismo Beach.