Boulder City, NV to Hurricane, UT

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blog 10-15-16 Boulder City, NV to Hurricane, UT

Today was another beautiful day in Boulder City with the sun rising and lighting our mountain to a brilliant red. The road was calling and with the chores done we took the dogs on one last walk around the campground. Our nieghbor moved his truck so we could easily pull out of our space, he was actually on our site, making the swing easy especially since we had already hooked up the car. It was only 9:15, boy are we getting good.

The challenge was to get around Las Vegas without going into the city or being confused on the roads. It turned out to be a piece of cake and we even found a Pilot/Flying J gas station where Ginnie gets a 5 cent a gallon discount, and with the motorhome that makes a big difference.

We took 93 north to 515 N to 15 N and were past Vegas and on our way to Utah. We climbed a little, maybe 1000 ft and the road leveled off to a high desert flat area. There were mountains all around us and low growing shrubs but nothing more. There were 2 or 3 solar farms but just solar panals collecting energy nothing like we saw before. Rt 15 is a 4 lane interstate and there was traffic on it but not heavy at all.

Ginnie drove until we got to the AZ border where we found a Walmart to get some special items. The dogs got a walk and I took over driving going out of the parking lot and around 2 circles before we got on the interstate.

I thought I'd have an easy turn at the wheel like Ginnie did but NO, not to happen. The road started up almost immediately and let's not forget the turns when there is an uphill. We rode around a corner looking at the face of a mountain thinking there must be a tunnel ahead, NO. It was the gorge the Virgin River cut through the rocks and the road followed that gorge. The sign read, " curvy road next 9 miles, expect strong winds." Thank you very much! Indeed we went into the mountain with sheer cliffs on both sides and the road wound around like a snake. Up and up we went but not as steep a grade as we have had. Ginnie got the camera and wore out her fingers snapping pictures, but around every corner there was another "Oh WoW". The scenery was beautiful, rugged, harsh and breathtaking. Pictures

The 9 miles went by quickly and the wind wasn't terrible. The road leveled out again to more gorgeous scenery. At one point we were in a huge bowl with mountains on 3 sides of us with the valley lasting for over 30 miles. It was a great ride. We had traveled from NV to AZ to UT all in 4 hours.

Rt 9 was our turn off from 15 and we followed that for a short time til we came into the town of Hurricane. Just a couple of blocks into town was the turnoff for our campground. We couldn't believe out eyes. After traveling through the desert for 4 hrs we landed in an oasis. There were trees and GRASS in every site and it felt like a neighborhood not a campground. An employee helped Ginnie back into our site while I drove the car to the site. We had already unhooked the car at the registration office. We were thrilled with our site and set up camp quickly so the boys could see their new neighborhood. We sat for a few minutes and discovered that the laundry was very close and right next to the laundry was a dog washing station. We wanted to wash them to get the sand and dust out of their fur, especially Watson, his hair was so dirty it stood out by itself.

The clothes washing got started then we headed back to get the dogs. We walked them over loaded with towels and shampoo, and the camera, and proceeded to wash away. Alfy was first and Linus stood there and watched. Watson ran around the corner to avoid the hose but after no fuss was made came back over to watch. Linus was next and both dogs were so good, just stood there and even enjoyed getting the dirt out of their fur.

Watson walked up to the bathtub, there were stairs, and was really good just standing there and getting wet and seemed to like the shampoo. He got a little restless but made it through like a trooper. Ginnie took all 3 home and brought back the car to bring the laundry home which was now done. So just like that we had the kids washed, the clothes washed and we were ready for happy hour.

While we were sitting in our yard the dogs suddenly alerted to a movement behind the motorhome next to a wall. We watched for a minute then saw a cat, or was it, creeping along the wall. It was bigger than a house cat, with a bobbed tail and haunches that looked like a bob cat. It's ears were more pointy than a house cat but it's coloring was more like a domestic cat. We are hoping it returns tomorrow evening and we can get a picture of it.

The clocks went ahead an hour on this leg of the trip so we now have to adjust ourselves to the new time. Wonder what time we'll get up tomorrow. We're going to visit Zion Nat'l Park.

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