Goodbye, Great Basin National Park! What an adventure. I did not want to retrace my steps coming in, over the narrow passes, so I headed east, towards I-15. After a week of driving on back roads, I was attracted to a relatively quick passage down an Interstate. I never thought I would say that since I love wandering through the countryside, but I was ready for civilization, amenities, and easy driving.

I was headed towards Las Vegas but decided to stop in Cedar City, UT to do laundry. I found a modern laundromat with enough street parking for the RV/Van (41 feet, total). While there, I thought about how nice it would be to stay in a Motel for the night. I had been surviving on sponge baths and washing my hair in the sink using water warmed on the stove (life without hookups in a National Park). A hot shower would be amazing! Also, it was Sunday and I wanted to watch the Sunday Night NFL game. I drove a bit further, to St.George, UT and pulled over around 4. I picked the Motel Six there because had enough space to park the RV/Van.

The next morning I lingered but finally hit the road towards Las Vegas. My destination: Red Rocks Conservation area in the mountains west of Las Vegas. I had a 3-night reservation there and was pleasantly surprised. In my previous trips through the area on I-15, I characterized the surrounding hills as “cement mountains.” That is my term for bleached out mountains that appear to be lifeless, and this part of the country is full of them. I learned, though, that the angle of the sun on a baking hot day is what makes them appear desolate. The situation up in the mountains is quite different.

Red Rocks, for example, has lots of …wait for it… red formations. Furthermore, the desert is rich and teeming with life. It has pockets of water thanks to natural springs. Cool, dark, and narrow canyons protect little critters. The BLM visitor center was one of the best I have seen. It had great displays about desert life, most of them outdoors. I spent a great deal of time there during a cool morning when Tango was able to wait safely in the van. I also drove the scenic loop several times to access hiking trails, again in the early mornings when Tango could be out comfortably. Temps were in the high 80s, which was perfect for me but challenging for a furball.

The campground was luxurious compared to the Great Basin. The area was flat and the roads paved. In fact, they had a separate little area for RVs that was cozy and private. A few other RVers pulled in in the early evenings but left the next day. I was mostly by myself.

Tango and I just hung out in the hot afternoons, trying to stay cool. I had one project for the RV which I had not yet tackled. My large rear window has a lower section with long narrow windows that I can crank open. The screen on the windows was beaten up from travel vibration, and they no longer fit snuggly into the space. I had noticed large gaps open to the outside. In Washington, a large spider took up residence in the van. Being in a desert full of creepy crawlies made me decide to finally seal up space around the screen.

I had previously given some thought to this project. The metal window frame is black and I wondered if electrical tape around the edge of the screen would be invisible. I pulled out the tape I had bought for this project and YES! It was invisible. Now, I have to figure out how to close the gap in my screen door. It no longer rests snug against the door frame, leaving large gaps. Weatherstripping? I will ask some of my friends this winter what they suggest. In the meantime, I can pull it snug using a bungee cord stretched between the door handle and my stove!

I learned about the plight of wild horses and burros in the Mojave desert. I had read in the past that these guys are periodically rounded up and made available for adoption. I did not know why or any details about the issue and my uninformed reaction had been to let the animals roam. Now I know that the horses and burros tear up the desert and eat native vegetation. They are as damaging to the environment as invasive plants, and the BLM wants to get rid of them on public lands. Coincidentally, “High Country News”, a journal I read online, just ran an article about the issue and I can say my opinion has now changed. Wild horses and burros, who miraculously thrive and reproduce in the Mojave, need to be contained.

I still had not found my computer power cord, and I was really missing my time writing each day. I tried writing on paper but it only works for outlining a piece. Actual writing by hand is just too laborious and clumsy. Several times I fought the urge to run into town and just buy a new computer. I fought that impulse because I had already grossly under-budgeted for gas and was spending much more there. I also knew that for $20 bucks I could get a power cord sent to me. I could have had it sent to the General Delivery post office in Las Vegas but what a logistical nightmare that would be. General Delivery can only go to the main post office. I had no interest in navigating my way around downtown Las Vegas looking for that! I also knew that it would work out soon enough when I reached my layover point in Pahrump, NV, a nice-sized town with an easy-to-access main PO.

My next stop would be another canyon in the same mountains, not much further north. After the dicey roads leading to Great Basin, I decided to take a day trip to that next place to check out the access. I was pleased to find it was smooth sailing all the way up to Spring Mountains Recreation Area, which abutted Red Rocks. That area was much higher than Red Rocks and was actually quite cool. I had already bought a ticket for a bluegrass festival and RV dry camping right next to the outdoor amphitheater and was getting excited! “Time to move on Tango, how about some cooler weather for you?” He wagged his tail and I tossed him a small treat. We headed back to Red Rocks and hitched up the next morning.