When Shelter-In-Place Becomes Shelter-In-Texas

Hey, all you cool cats and kittens out there!!  (Tiger King reference, because we just can't look away!)  Oh, what a difference a few weeks make!  When we left on our planned three-month “Southern Charm” RV trip with destinations in the Carolinas and Georgia, COVID-19 was a concern, but only a few states were sheltering-in-place, and President Trump was only beginning to communicate the severity and likely length of the situation.  Dr. Fauci wasn't even a superstar yet.

Fast forward, with travel restrictions and shelter-in-place orders expanding exponentially across the country by the minute, our preferred nomadic lifestyle had become stressful and hard-to-maintain.  So for now, we've decided to stay in Fredericksburg, Texas, as good a spot as any other for self-quarantining.  

Fredericksburg is quaint and small, but large enough to have all services and (God forbid) a hospital.   Its spring weather is fabulous ... sunny but cool.  And we've got a gorgeous spot in an RV campground that is only maybe 10% full, for as long as we choose to stay here. 

F'burg is relatively isolated, with only one confirmed case of Covid-19 so far.  All of the cute shops and wine tasting venues are closed, of course, and the streets are empty.  But there are lots of lonely country roads (actually, lots of lonely city roads too!) to walk Sprinkles and bike ride for exercise. 

Elsie the RV is fully self-contained, and we have full utility hookups so we don't need to use anyone's restrooms or showers other than our own.  Even in good times, we don't closely interact with others while on the road, so it's not a problem to stay isolated.  Heck, Philip and I even like spending time with each other!  And, we have the finest fitness equipment money can buy ... dumbbells and a picnic table!

It would have been difficult to shelter-in-place in our old RV, but upgrading last year gave us tons of storage and a full residential-size refrigerator (including an automatic ice maker for the cocktails it is now apparently OK to start drinking at 10 AM!) We have at least 3-4 weeks of food and supplies, and there’s lots to keep us busy.  

We’ve got Dish Network satellite TV activated, unlimited Internet data on Verizon, Kindles stuffed full of things we’ve been wanting to read, at least 100 new DVD movies thanks to friends who donated fresh material to our collection last year, plus campfires, stargazing and anxiously checking our 401K balances.  

HOME SWEET HOME!

When we left Phoenix, which seems like a lifetime ago, our initial stop was supposed to be at the 101^st Annual FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) Rally in Tucson, which of course was cancelled.  (Good call.  With 5,000+ attendees, the majority of whom are in the at-risk age and health categories, coming together in close quarters for a full week, then scattering like the wind to the four corners of the country … what could go wrong there??!)   

Instead, we snagged a last-minute cancellation at Picacho Peak State Park, halfway between Phoenix and Tucson.  The view out our bedroom window was a lot better than at home!

The campground was fully-booked, with every spot taken, but they were widely spaced and people were staying mostly to themselves.  The trails were busy, with everyone trying to stay active and healthy and not lose their minds at home.  People on the trail gave a cautious wave and a weak smile, but stepped widely off the trail when encountering others to let them pass safely.

The last ¼ mile of the trail we chose included the embedded cables which are plentiful on the peak trail, but we didn't know were part of this trail.  We had Sprinkles with us, and doubted she could scramble up the nearly-vertical rock face, but using a tag-team push-and-pull strategy, managed to haul her up and over the saddle with us.  She’s hiked many a mountain peak with us in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont … but this was her best performance yet!  Way to go, Sprinkles!

Of course, those gorgeous Arizona sunsets never fail to amaze!

Moving on, we left Picacho Peak for Las Cruces, traveling 321 miles and just barely staying within our long-standing, self-imposed “THREE-THIRTY” restriction … we don’t like to travel more than 330 miles in a day, and we like to arrive by 3:30 so as to be set up and ready when cocktail hour rolls around. Traffic on the roads, even for busy I-10, is now light and primarily made up of truckers … no doubt delivering loads of TP to a distribution warehouse near you.

Spring wildflowers are blooming roadside and the blue skies seem even bluer these days.

Another silver lining … gas prices!  Holy moly!  $1.49/gallon … very helpful when you get 8 miles to the gallon.  We can now fill the RV’s 80-gallon gas tank without borrowing from our home equity credit line! 

We continue to follow good practices, including gloved hands at gas stations (recently, we have also started wearing masks outside).  Most campgrounds have asked that we call 5 minutes before arrival, and they leave a packet with our site number and other information in front of the office, so we don’t need to interact with their staff or other campers at all. 

Philip’s development project in the City of North Las Vegas, like most things these days, has been put on ice for at least 30 days, but he still has lots of work to do, now via FaceTime and Zoom.  He is suddenly concerned with lighting angles and asking where I keep the face powder.  But so far anyway, he has yet to confuse his daytime fuzzy socks with his nighttime fuzzy socks.

Rest assured, all residents of this RV are using necessary PPE's and staying safe!

Although we are watching President Trump’s regular addresses to the nation, we much prefer the guidelines issued by the National Park Service.  Keep your social distance, everyone!

I cried real tears at having to let go of all those hard-won and meticulously-planned destinations through the end of April.  Our hope is that we will be geographically and logistically positioned to resume our usual style of exuberant travel by the time the U.S. starts to put COVID-19 in its rear-view mirror, hopefully in May.  If not, we'll just stay put. 

This is not to say that we are taking the COVID-19 situation lightly … in fact, far from it.  But it is our belief that being isolated inside the RV is, for us, the safest and most comfortable way for us to ride out the storm, and Fredericksburg is a fine place to do it.  Someday we'll be able to "live gathered" again but in the meantime we can still "love good."  Elbow hugs to everyone!

Valley of Fire, Nevada: Catchin' a Desert Wave

If Sedona, AZ and Moab, UT had a tiny little baby and plunked it in the middle of the Sahara Desert, that would be Valley of Fire State Park, in Southern Nevada!  The good news for readers of this blog, who are undoubtedly sick to death of seeing Philip's and my ugly mugs, is that we were joined by friends Nancy and Keith Keil.  Fresh modeling material!

Named for the red sandstone that formed from shifting sand dunes a mere 150 million years ago, the flame-red rock towers are especially eye-catching as the desert sun moves across the sky.

Just 50 or so miles (but a world apart) from Las Vegas, Valley of Fire is a popular day-tripper destination for its Insta-worthy rocks, spires, and gasp-worthy views.  It's not a very big park, so you could theoretically "do it" in a day.

But for the ultimate Valley of Fire experience, if you're very lucky (more about that later), camping inside the park is the ultimate best way to really enjoy its grandeur!

Valley of Fire has easy-to-moderate hiking trails to beautiful formations and breath-taking views.  Best of all:  Nevada State Parks' trails are all Fido-friendly!  Sprinkles approves!

Catch a wave on the Fire Wave Trail!

... or experience the limestone canyons and cliffs of The Narrows on the White Domes Loop Trail.

The little-traveled Prospect Trail is perfect for those who crave peace and solitude,

and the perfect picnic spot!

 The trail to Mouse's Tank (not an actual mouse, rather a renegade Paiute indian called "Little Mouse" who lived in these canyons in the late 1800's) takes you down Petroglyph Canyon, with walls covered in ancient petroglyphs.

Amazingly, these petroglyphs are up to 4,000 years old.  They have been etched into the shiny black "desert varnish," a natural patina that formed on the rocks eons ago and visible from the trail.

The Rainbow Vista area offers otherworldly colors that could only come from nature!
Wowza!!!!

Buzz on over to the Beehives for lots of cozy cuddle spots!

The Seven Sisters are a beautiful row of seven red sandstone monoliths, right along the road, and a popular spot for weddings.  But if this isn't dramatic enough for you, you can also get married atop the "Raven's Nest," where the mountaintop also has room for up to three helicopters.  They promise your wedding will be "very private" up there ... I can only imagine!

The Clark Memorial was erected in 1949 for John J. Clark, who came through this area in 1915.  He was driving a buckboard wagon through the desert when he stopped, presumably to find water.  He tied up his horse, laid down and died, probably of thirst.  The horse also died, probably of being tied up and unable to leave.  Indeed, this place gets VERY hot in summer, but winter in the perfect time to visit.

Herds of desert bighorn sheep, the official mammal of Nevada (and you thought it was the showgirl!), roam the park.  Their main predator is the mountain lion, but these guys didn't seem concerned whatsoever. We watched mamas and babies easily navigate the steep rocks ....

....and later watched the papa's as they strolled through our campground.  Desert bighorn sheep are just like humans --- the boys congregate over **here** to watch football, and the girls congregate over **there** to talk about the boys and how they are not pulling their fair share with the kids. Same!

As is always the case, the best way to experience Valley of Fire is on two wheels!

Now more about the luck required for camping.  Valley of Fire has two small campgrounds, with a "first-come, first-served" policy.  That's right: no reservations!  My heart seizes in my chest at those two words, but we decided to give it the ole college try.  The Keils arrived the day before us to this heart-wrenching sight.  FULL!  Oy vey! This hard-to-pronounce place (named for a primitive notched stick used to throw spears) is also hard-to-get-into!

They made the 25-mile journey to Lake Mead's Echo Bay Campground instead, and the staff there informed them that people line up for hours every day to get a campsite in Valley of Fire, even going so far as to accost campers in their sites, demanding to know when they are leaving and staking out the site.  And is it any wonder?  Look at this glorious setting!  That's Elsie's black windshield right in the middle.

We needed not one, but TWO campsites, for Elsie and RuBen.  That's right ... Elsie has a boyfriend and he's positively swoon-worthy!  RuBen is named in honor of Nancy's parents, Ruth and Ben.

Turns out, the campground fills every night so they never even bother to take down the "CAMPGROUND FULL" sign, no matter what time of day it is, or who has left.  We got lucky on our second try:  truly feeling like lottery winners, we snagged the only two sites that became available that day.  After 5 additional days of observations, we'd say arriving between 8:30-10:00 am seemed to be the sweet spot that gave the best potential for grabbing a site.

The rocks here are soft and crumbly, with a bed of debris at the base of every boulder.  This begs the question:  would YOU feel safe camping in sites like these?  Regardless, ya gotta go sometime, and better death by random act of nature, than death by clogged arteries, right?  Here are fellow bloggers "Travels With Ollie" -- we've followed their blog for years, and then there they were, at Valley of Fire the same time as us!

  Less than 15 miles from Valley of Fire is the St. Thomas Ghost Town.  This fascinating place is loosely maintained by the National Park Service and is a worthy stop!  A 2.5 mile trail down into a basin leads to the remains of St. Thomas, and a series of excellent sign boards tell the story of this sad remnant of another time.  That's it down there!

Basically, a group of Mormon settlers arrived here thinking they were in Utah.  At the time, it was a lush and gorgeous valley full of massive trees and shrubbery, and construction of an excellent irrigation system allowed residents to prosper as farmers.

HOUSE ... then and now

They also prospered in the hospitality industry, since the road through St. Thomas was a popular one between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles.  Stores like this one sold gasoline, ice cream, homemade root beer, snacks and more.


HANNIG GROCERY STORE & ICE CREAM PARLOR .... then and now

SCHOOL ... then and now

Things took a turn for the worse when Nevada arrived and demanded payment of taxes.  St. Thomas residents didn't use "regular money" around town, they would use endorsed checks and pass from person to person.  If you got a check, you'd endorse it and give it to somebody else to buy something, the very-VERY earliest version (kinda) of ApplePay.  Usually checks were for $0.10, occasionally up to (gasp) $5 whole dollars!  When the check ran out of room for endorsements, they started again with a new check.  These people were proud ... and resourceful!

COLLECTED RELICS LEFT BEHIND THE FORMER GENTRY HOTEL

Later, things got REALLY bad when the construction of the Hoover Dam created Lake Mead, and part of it (yup, you guessed it) just happened to be in the same area as St. Thomas.  They were flooded out of their homes, businesses and town.  The last man to leave put his possessions in a boat and lit his home on fire as he pulled away.

NAVIGATING PAST THE POST OFFICE

For many years, St. Thomas was completely underwater, but now with years of drought, the remnants have reappeared.  Visiting St. Thomas is sad in the same way as driving across much of West Texas ... so many small towns, so many plans squashed, so many abandoned buildings and hopes and dreams.   But a super-interesting place to visit if you enjoy ghost towns!  Just wear good shoes and sunscreen!

Before heading to Valley of Fire, we spent a few days in Las Vegas, where Philip is still working full-time on a development project.  We snuck away for a few hours one morning to visit the Lion Habitat Ranch, a wildlife sanctuary primarily known for their 31 lions, many the descendants of the original MGM lion that "rahhhrs" at the beginning of all MGM movies.  (BUT: fun fact.  The sound you hear is actually a tiger.  Lions don't roar like that.)

We had toured (and camped at!) an amazing tiger sanctuary in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and were similarly thrilled with the behind-the-scenes tour offered at Lion Habitat Ranch.  

There were only 4 of us on the 2+-hour tour, and the guide relayed so much fascinating information about the animals, that my brain promptly exploded when I sat down to write this blog, and therefore I remember none of it whatsoever.  But I CAN share a photographic journey of a few of these amazing residents!

Besides getting up close and personal with the lions, we also got to feed Ozzy, the painting giraffe!

Yes, he paints.  Canvas, t-shirts, tote bags, you name it.  Holding a brush with that long tongue!

Ozzy was very curious about the giraffe-like crane working nearby.

"I see your long neck ... perhaps you are a distant relative of mine?"

If you're ever in Vegas and can't take a minute more of the shenanigans on the Strip, visit Lion Habitat Ranch in nearby Henderson for a refreshing change!

We continue to be amused by the RV license plates we see along the way.

Though there is no worldly explanation for some of the things we see along the way. 

Anyone?  Anyone .....?  Why.  Just why.

It has been a wonderful week exploring this new (to us) area!  Hopefully your "long and winding road" will lead to you visit Valley of Fire and beautiful Southern Nevada one day!