Day 205: At the gates of Zion

We left Hurricane a bit late this morning on account of moving from Pacific to Mountain Time. We headed West to the town of Virgin, then drove North for a mile or so into BLM land. On Sunday, we will head into Zion.

For the first time in months, we are in the rain! It’s gloomy and in the 50s here, which is quite the change from the weather we’ve been in for the last couple months.

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Good Shabbos from Virgin, UT!

Day 204: Approaching Zion

After a leisurely start to the day, we drove north from Las Vegas to St George, Utah, where we dumped, showered, and filled our tanks at the local Camping World. After that, we drove north and east to spend the night at the Walmart of hurricane, Utah:

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Tomorrow, we will find a dispersed camping location for Shabbos, then spend Sunday and Monday in Zion National Park.

Day 203: Repairs and Farewells

Because I added a lift to the RV suspension, the skid wheels I added to the RV’s rear triangles no longer hit the ground.  As a result, the triangles have been worn down to the point of breaking out at the bottom of the triangle.  I bought a pair of large L brackets, hammered them into shape, and bolted them on:

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We said goodbye to my parents this afternoon:

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We left Las Vegas after sunset, so we decided to stop for the night at the Walmart next to Nellis AFB, on the Northeastern edge of the Las Vegas metro area.  We hope to visit Zion National Park tomorrow.  See the trip map for details.

Day 202: Ride to Red Rock Canyon and Back

It’s been a little over a week since my last bike ride, so I decided to ride from my parents’ house to Red Rock Canyon, around the scenic loop, and back.  On the way there I rode for a few miles with Vince, who works at the Bellagio in the evenings.  Sounds like a great schedule for a cyclist!  His Sworks Tarmac was making me a little jealous, I admit.

The scenic loop through Red Rock was beautiful:

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On the way back, the sun highlighted the mountains when I looked back towards Red Rock:

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I passed the Blue Diamond gypsum plant:

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As well as a group of wild burros at roadside:

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It’s a good thing that it was downhill most of the way home, because I was suffering by mile 60.  In the end, it was a bit more than 70 miles with a good bit of climbing:

Day 201: Visiting Red Rock Canyon

This morning we drove up to Red Rock Canyon with my parents.  We spent a bit of time in the impressive visitor center, at which the turtle sculpture seemed to be the highlight:

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We then headed out on a loop hike North of the visitor center:

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M is almost as tall as Bubbie:

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Dead Yucca:

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We’ve been experiencing significantly reduced capacity from the RV batteries, so I took them to Walmart for exchange.  The exchange program lasts for two years from date of purchase for MAXX batteries like ours.  We chose Walmart as our battery vendor because of easy access to store locations and ease of exchange, I’m glad it’s working out.