Meandering Homeward

South of Wickenberg, a BLM spot to overnight.

Since it is late April and warm enough to do so, we are heading homeward east of the Sierras. The two years before, it was cold enough in late March to be concerned about snow, so we stuck to I-5. This year we get to see some new scenery. But it also means we have to hunt out new places to stay.

Overlooking Kingman, AZ on BLM land again.

  Our first night after leaving Tucson was spent at a BLM spot outside of Wickenberg. What a beautiful view we had there! Then it was on to Kingman where we found another BLM spot up in the foothills that overlooked the valley. Another gorgeous view and for free.
  As we headed north and westward, we passed Las Vegas and I got some pictures of the high rises. We didn't stop, but went on to Pahrump where we stayed at the Escapees Pair-O-Dice Park to see what it was like. Pretty quiet, but we enjoyed our walks around the park. The scenery is beautiful, surrounded by mountains. It was nice to take a few days to rest, do laundry and stock up on groceries.

Flowers at the Kingman overlook.

Rock formation along the way.

Amazing rocks near the Hoover Dam; we didn't stop.

  We had one day where the wind was pretty intense, and looking at the forecast we debated where to land and when to drive there. Jerry woke up early with hitch-itch and I woke up to the sensation of the truck getting hooked up! So up I got and we got all travel ready and off down the road just after 7am. For us that's pretty early, but sometimes we like to do that on travel days. Especially when the wind picks up in the afternoon. Driving and dealing with the wind is not fun. Our first stop at a rest stop just west of Tonopah turned out to be a great place to park head into the wind and wait it out.

North towards Las Vegas, the road turns West to bypass it.

  We left early the next morning as well, getting on the road before anyone else (I think a first for us!) and getting on the road before 7am. When we leave early, I make Bullet Proof Coffee and my porridge and we take off. We eat breakfast somewhere along the way, although breakfast on Wednesday wasn't until we arrived at the rest area around noon! I'm glad I had my snacks because Jerry can go much longer than I can without food.
  Tonight we are staying in Fernley, and when we head out tomorrow we'll head for Tionesta an RV park there near the Lava Beds National Monument.

Bypassing Las Vegas, we headed through this beautiful pass to Pahrump.

At Pair-O-Dice park in Pahrump surrounded by mountains.