Week 2 Day 1 aka Day 8 aka Tuesday, March 22

 

This evening feels like we’re camping.  It’s an exit to nowhere off I15 just north of Las Vegas.  The sand is white and the surroundings are cluttered with garbage from other campers; we’re not the first to claim this spot.  There’s another hour before sunset and the thermometer registers 76˚, a far cry from the 28˚yesterday morning in the Salt Lake area.  Our appetite is light and there’s plenty of food in our galley.  It’s almost like being home on a quiet sunny evening.

 

Utah is a geological marvel.  Never is there a place where a horizon doesn’t have mountains.  Some are snow covered, others have some vegetation.  Some are twisted lava rock; some are mesas with a top crust of rock; some mesas are inclined and fractured; and some are eroded valleys and canyons.  I gasp at the differences and the beauty of each one.

 

Interstate 15 travels for some 30 miles through Arizona as it moves from Utah to Nevada.  That was awesome as it twisted and turned through huge rock canyons for about 5 miles.

 

Our covered wagon – a analogy to the trains of wagons with families of settlers of a century and a half ago - of this journey didn’t have a ripped canvas but did have a rock pit in the windshield.  Within blocks of our departure from cousin Cheryl this morning, we stopped at a windshield repair place along the road hoping to get some miracle chemistry to close the wound and prevent future aggravation.  They were so congenial slipping us in with an appointment in ten minutes and patching it within minutes.  The repairman found a second pit – a very very small pit – which he fixed at no charge.  We have been so blessed with the service on our covered wagon.  We still have some issues: we don’t fully understand why the refrigerator doesn’t always hold its temperature, and the fresh water tank still has a major leak.  Someone referred to us as “dry camping.”

 

Charlie – remember he’s the four-legged traveler – thoroughly enjoyed his visit with Murphy, the four-legged labradoodle who managed the house for Cheryl and Bob.  He had access to a full box of toys including his favorite which squeaked with each bite.  And there was a “doggie door” to the fenced back yard which he had to be taught how to use.  In the parking lot where we parked we could freely play fetch with the frisbee.  Now he’s laid out flat on his favorite bed between our seats after an evening meal with a touch of fresh milk.  He is a bit overwhelmed with all the new smells at each new stop.

 

Tomorrow morning we will continue toward Westminster, California, which is the home of Gail’s brother Kenny’s family where we will hang out for a couple days before heading east.  Westminister is south of LA and west of that Disney place.

 

Now the sun is setting and it’s time to dig out the peanut butter and jelly.