Monday, July 8, 2019

Pennsylvania to Lake Mead early July Trip


After leaving Pennsylvania we landed in Las Vegas and rented a car to drive back to St. George, UT.  Our plane was all loaded and pushed away from the gate.  Then the captain comes on the speaker and says one of the engines won't start.  Why can't they know that before they back away from the gate?  After some time for the mechanics to look at it we had to de-plane.  Eventually they found another of the same type of plane but in a different terminal so off we all went to get on the new plane.  Luckily it was the same type of plane so all our seats were the same.  We eventually took off and landed about 3 hours late which made our arrival in Las Vegas late.  After picking up the rental car and driving to St. George we arrived back in Snow Canyon State Park after midnight.  Happily our truck and trailer were all okay and we went to sleep!



Our view of Snow Canyon State Park the next morning
from our parking spot next to the Maintenance Building
 We spent almost another full week at Snow Canyon State Park and worked in the visitor center (Nancy) and campground (Al) while we stayed there.  It was over the July 4th holiday and the visitor center was open.  That's something I took for granted working in the corporate world, having holidays off.  The visitor's center at SCSP is open every day except Christmas!  That means at least one of the three full-time employees has to work each holiday.

One evening our friend, Eduardo, took us on a hike to The Bowl or The Vortex in Gunlock, Utah, not far from Snow Canyon.  It was a pretty easy hike and we did it close to sunset to avoid the heat and catch some great photos.  Eduardo leads this hike often for a local resort.


Camelback







The Vortex





Nancy & Al and the Camel's Humps

Follow Eduardo on Instagram at Lalo3d.  He's got a great eye! 


Finally we left SCSP and drove through Las Vegas on our way to Boulder City, Nevada in preparation for our first trip of the season to Lake Mead.  Now that all of us are retired, we tried a Monday-Friday trip instead of our normal long weekends.

Lake Mead is formed by the Hoover Dam.  We go to the Temple Bar Marina section of the lake.  This area is very hot in the summer with temperatures often over 110 during the day.  We're crazy enough to tent camp in the campground and have learned some tricks to keeping cool so we can sleep in the heat.

We dropped off our trailer at a storage lot in Boulder City and picked up our camping and water-skiing gear from our storage garage and met Bill and Maureen for dinner before driving to the lake.  Bill and Maureen were driving in from Orange County, California.


For this trip Bill brought his boat.


Bill driving his boat
Here are some photos of Al water-skiing during the week.



Al skiing near Temple Bar


Here's our friend, Bill skiing.




One weekend years ago we met a couple, Bill & Phyllis out on the lake.  We exchanged email addresses and kept in touch.  They are from Tucson, Arizona.  Since then we tried to coordinate our trips to the lake and when our schedules allowed, we met up on the lake.  Bill & Phyllis launch their boat from a different ramp (South Cove) than we use so it's easier if we meet on the water.

So when we're all together, there are two Bill's on the trip and both their last names start with the letter 'S'.  So I'll refer to them as Bill Tustin and Bill Tucson.  Ugh, both from towns that start with the letter 'T'!

Here are Bill, Phyllis, and their friend Mickey on their boat.


Bill getting ready to ski behind Bill & Phyllis' boat


Through our relationship with Bill & Phyllis we've met some of their friends and they've met some of ours.  One weird small world story is Bill Tucson's friend Dan's brother used to date Bill Tustin's sister years ago.  So weird when we learned this!

After a day of skiing on the lake, it's back to the campground for dinner.  One of our favorite dinners is one prepared by Al, Salmon, cilantro rice, and veggies.  


Don't you love the tablecloth?  It was a donation from friends and I use it to try and psychologically cool us down since the temperature at the lake is often over 100 degrees!  Halloween should psych us in to thinking it's cooler right?  We're all wearing our water shirts trying to keep cool!

Finger lickin' good!


Now back to the lake for more skiing.  These photos are of our friend, Maureen.







And finally, here are a couple photos of me skiing.


Nice smooth water!
OMG, look at that water!  Who's up next?

Bill Tustin and Nancy
Sunset over Temple Bar Marina

We had a great time on the lake with friends all week and had many sore muscles to remind us after this first trip.  Next we're searching for cooler weather by heading to a new state for us in our full-time RV life, Colorado.  

3 comments:

  1. It was wonderful going back to the lake this year and actually spending a little more time on the lake now that we are retired. For the past few years it has only been Nancy, Bill and myself going on these three day weekends. That has been very nice when the water is glassy but we definitely are glad Maureen is able to join us so we can rest up between ski turns.
    I like doing a lot of activates but I can honestly say that waterskiing is my passion. I just can’t seem to get enough of it, I truly could do this all summer long giving the chance. It is so relaxing but very strenuous it can be one of the most intense workouts you will every get on the water or anywhere else. There is nothing like trying to get back on the boat after a good run and you are completely exhausted, spent and winded and just can’t pull yourself in the swim step; it’s an incredible feeling.
    Once again a big thank you to my buddy Joe for introducing me to this wonderful activity and to our friend Bill for giving me pointers and making me a better water-skier over the years.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like the shadow photo of everyone on the rock … that is cool!
    And the Vortex looks really cool!

    Yea … I love that rooster tail they are kicking up while skiing, how much fun that is!

    You guys sure do know how to eat right!
    All your food pics are wonderful … making me hungry!

    Wow that sunset over Temple Bar Marina is beautiful.
    So glad to see you are having such a wonderful time on the road!

    Thanks for letting me ride along!

    ReplyDelete

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