Hot, Hot, Hot

Monday, July 23, 2007

Before we left the Campground in Cedar Rapids, Utah, we had to go get a picture of Brad’s new business! (Ha,ha) Murtle and Taco like the idea of a business, but not in Cedar Rapids! It is a growing area! Lots of opportunities, a university is right there, but no, not the spot for us.

On our trip today, we drove south on Route 15. We went through Arizona, (for about 31 miles) it was the very northwest tip of Arizona. We crossed right into Nevada. What people say about the differing terrain is so true. Nevada was different. Lots of Red rocks, hills, mountains (out of nowhere) and dessert. I just can’t believe how dry it is here. I have been drinking gallons of water. My skin is so dry. No oils stay in/on me at all.

Once we were in Nevada, we veered off Route 15 onto Route 169 and took the back way into Boulder City, Nevada. We went right by Mead Lake (the lake that Hoover Dam holds back). (We had stopped just as we crossed into Nevada at a visitor center and asked if that route would be advisable for a camper.) They told us, “ Yes, it was. And, oh by the way…the speed limit through Overton is 25, this is your last warning.” Needless to say, we paid attention and watched our speed through Overton. Most of the roads here have a speed limit of 75! (I am still amazed at that.) But the roads are straight and you can see forever. The only thing would be the wildlife, that might get in the way.

At the beginning of the trip, we were doing a deer count. Then we started seeing too many to keep count, then we saw, buffalo, then prairie dogs, now we have only seen dead animals. I think it is just to HOT for any wildlife to exist.

Again, we saw lots of land formations. BEAUTIFUL, AWSOME, and so unique! We took lots more pictures and will try to post some more with this writing. BUT…the internet connection is very slow here at the campground.

Murtle and Taco decided that it is too hot here. They didn’t even want to get out of the truck for pictures. I think the hottest that it got today was 101. I don’t care what anyone says about the air is low humidity so 101 doesn’t feel as hot as it does at 80 in New England. Don’t believe them! 101 is extremely HOT! The air conditioned truck is a good place to be, an air conditioned store is a good place to be, and the air conditioned camper is a good place to be. Anywhere else is just too HOT.

Oh, when we stopped at the visitor center, we were also told that this area is in a 7 year drought. The water level at the Hoover Dam is dropping 1 foot a day right now. Hard to believe that the monsoon season has just started. We were also warned about the rain (if it does happen to rain). If and when it does it will dump inches of rain at a time. When that happens, GO TO HIGHER GROUND! The water does not get absorbed into the ground, it just runs off. (Las Vegas just had a storm and water was running through the streets.)

We were also warned about the snakes, and spiders. Told us not to put our feet anyplace that we can’t see the ground. I guess that means that we watch every step that we take. I thought that the rattle snake was the big one to be aware of, but there is another snake that is worse in this area.

We started seeing cacti today for the first time. They were all out away from the road so 1) I didn’t want to get off the beaten path to take a picture, and 2) it was just too hot to be that far away from the truck. I noticed that there are some cactus just at the entrance to the campground. Early in the morning Murtle wants to have her picture taken with one. I told her that she can’t pose on one, because they are picky, but she is determined that she wants to climb right up there. (Taco knows about cactus, maybe he can talk some sense into Murtle.)
We decided that we would eat out tonight. Again, just too hot to cook outside. Taco Bell tonight! (Taco talked us into it.) Not too many large restaurants here in Boulder City, but 12 miles away in Las Vegas there are plenty.

We heard on the news that on Route 15 (just after we arrived here) there was a large traffic jam. Yippee, we made the right choice to take the back road here. We would not have seen the sights that we did. Oh, did I mention that we got a picture of the lake (or what is left of it). You can actually see the water level marks on the shore. I looks like it is down about 50 to 100 feet! No kidding! When we visit the Hoover Dam tomorrow, we will get a better idea exactly how much it is down.

We were told that the marina was closed. When we drove by, we could see where the boats were “docked” and where the water level was, and it was a long, long way away. Some of the picnic areas (along the water) were so funny. The Picnic tables were WAY up on shore and the beach was about a quarter of a mile beyond. So far away that people were taking their cars down to the beach.