We Are Home!

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Well, folks, we made it on our over 10,000 mile and almost 100 day trip! In Las Vegas, Rich got his oxygen bottles exchanged and got the propane filled so the heater would work while we were in Dyer. Nancy did a load of laundry while he was gone so we would have underwear! The jets going in and out of the airport went right over us in the morning. They must have been on the storm track. It was cloudy and breezy and a storm was supposed to be brewing. There was nice artwork again on the bridges, bridge supports, and soundwalls. There were two desert tortoise statues under one interchange. The tortoises were as big as a car! In this dry, southern desert, there were stretches of sand between the low, dry, brittle brush. In places there were Jooshua trees and yucca plants. It was 51 degrees and the air was crystal clear. The mountains showed the bare rock layers of the earth. We passed the roads to Death Valley. We had lunch in Beatty in a nice, fairly new casino. The only animals we saw were hawks, range cattle, and a few wild horses outside Tonopah. By the time we got to Tonopah, there was no more mesquite, just sagebrush and a few other low bushes. We almost ran out of fuel getting to Tonopah. The truck's computer reduced the engine's power until we filled up at the service station. After consulting OnStar and a local mechanic, it was decided that if we let it sit for a few minutes and then let it run, the problem would go away. It did, but Onstar wanted us to take the truck to the nearest Chevy dealer (in Bishop) to make sure, and to turn off the idiot light. We arrived in Dyer, NV on Monday the 22nd in time for dinner. We were received with open arms and welcoming smiles by Rich's mom and dad. They missed us! We spent the night back in a place where the owls hoot and the stars are so close you can almost touch them. Our camper stayed warm in the cold, single digit temperatures and no pipes froze. We took his parents to Bishop on Tuesday, to go grocery shopping. Rich drove them in their car and Nancy drove the pickup (for the first time). By the time we got to Bishop, the check engine light had gone off by itself. The mechanic at the dealership said the truck was fine, but he did air up the tires for us! Whew! We had brought a little fiber optic tree for them and had wrapped our gifties from the trip, so it looked festive on Christmas Eve. The wind blew like crazy, and when we went to bed in our camper, the wind buffeted us and woke us up about every hour. But, the best part was that by morning, there was enough snow to call it a white Christmas! It snowed on and off all day and there was probably 1/2 inch! We helped make Christmas dinner on Christmas Day, turkey and all the trimmings. We enjoyed a long visit with Rich's mom and dad and helped with chores. We relaxed by watching news, weather, and the Game Show Network on TV. One night we played Scrabble with Rich's mom. Rich always wins. That reminds me, the tally for the backgammon games at the end of the trip was Rich 11, Nancy 6. We headed for home on Saturday, the 27th. We didn't see any bighorn sheep by Walker Lake this time. The roads were fine and it wasn't too windy to drive. Oh, how wonderful to be home! Daisy was so excited! Our shower is great. We built a fire in the fireplace. Jodie is here with her two cats. The goats and the ducks are fine and happy to see us. Ahhh. Thanks for coming along with us on our adventures! There will be one more blog and then we'll be done.

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Photos

Joshua Tree
It's a little blurry because we were driving.

Comments

[anonymous]

that is so sweet you got to spend the holiday with rich's folks . I really have enjoyed your travels right along with youns do take care and i will be back for the last entry as you call it. love youns B