Friday was hiking day. We packed a lunch and headed out to enjoy the beauty
of this red rock area. Our first stop was Atalatl rock and Arch rock. A short
walk viewing Petroglyphs as well as arches, smaller but similar to those we have
seen in Arches National Park in Utah.
We then did a mile and 1/4 hike through White
Domes. A fantastic hike with some of the best views we have seen in a long time. Many movies have been filmed in this area.
It took us a long time to complete this hike because it was exceptionally
picturesque.
After lunch we stopped at Fire Canyon and Silica dome viewpoint. We did a short hike to the Waves.
Our next hike was Petroglyph Canyon and Mouse's Tank Trail, 1 1/3 miles. We have
never been in an area with so many petroglyphs being so obvious. By the time we
had completed all these hikes we had absorbed all the information we could for one
day.
Saturday was moving day. We couldn't decide whether we would go to Mesquite
NV or St. George Utah. We stopped at the McDonalds in Overton to check RV park
reviews, mileages and other pertinent information. We decided that Mesquite was
the best destination. As we headed down I-15 we saw huge billows of black smoke
rising and emergency vehicles going down the interstate. Within a few miles
traffic ground to a halt and stayed that way for over an hour. It turn out that
someone had rear-ended a semi, causing both vehicles to burn. There was nothing
left but charred frames. We finally were able to carry on to Mesquite and were
able to get a site for a week.
Sunday morning we watched the men's world curling from China. Due to the
time change it started at 4:00 A.M. After breakfast we started laundry. Today
was really warm, but very windy. Our satellite dish fell over a couple of time
and finally we moved it to the north east side of the trailer to protect it from
the wind. We finally found a location that worked, so were able to be able to
watch the Nascar race. Late afternoon a couple from California moved in next
door. We had set up our satellite dish on the edge of their sight, but they were not
bothered about our encroachment on their site. We found out they were headed to
Alaska, so we gave them our Alaska Highway Milepost book, as we really don't have a use for it
anymore.
Monday morning we were off to St. George, after watching the men's world
curling, to get an oil change done on the truck at Newby GMC. While the truck
was being serviced we walked over to Camping World to get some information and
see if they had a map we wanted. No map and only time will tell if the
information was useful. We then headed to the outlet malls. Joan has had good
luck at a kitchen store there and today we were able to get a couple of items we
wanted, but not everything. I guess we need something to look for in other
places. We had lunch at Paradise Bakery and Deli. Great food, nice serving
sizes, not the Texas sizes with enough food left over for the next 2 meals we had come to expect. We drove back to the trailer via Littlefield, a nice scenic
highway.
Tuesday morning we went grocery shopping, picked up some bits at the
hardware store and generally did housework. We needed to print off our pink
slips. There are a couple of print shops advertised on the internet here in
Mesquite. The one was too busy to even acknowledge that we had walked in, so we then went to look for UPS at the address
advertised. After some hunting we stopped at a real estate office to ask for
directions. UPS had closed a few months ago. We explained what we needed and asked
where we could get an email printed. The receptionist at the realtors helped us
out by printing our pink slips. Thanks to Premiere Real-estate in Mesquite
we can now drive back to Canada with legal pink slips.
After watching men's world curling on Wednesday morning, we spent the day cleaning.
It had been some time since we had taken everything out of the cab of the truck
and done a really good cleaning. We found all sorts of things, the cell phone
case, many pens, sweaters etc. Later afternoon we headed over to the rec centre
for hamburgers complements of the park owners. We chatted with numerous other
Albertans on their way back to Alberta, after spending the winter in the sun.
Most of them have to be back in the next day or two, so were just stopping overnight. We checked the weather and
consequently will continue to wait for more spring like weather to reach
Calgary.
Thursday we headed to Virgin River Recreation Area, planning to complete a
2 mile (one way) hike. We wanted to check out the campsite there, as it is
located in a very pretty area in the canyon between Mesquite and St. George. The campground is very cheap, because it has no
services. We have to think about that. Driving through the campground we saw a
trailer with a satellite dish set on a broad base similar to some we have been thinking of replacing the tripod. We stopped and had a chat
with the people, from Alberta. He had built the base himself, using a section of an old RV ladder, various metal bits, and wooden ends sitting on 4 hockey pucks. After the visit we headed to the trailhead. Our hike was a
interesting, but the brief description we had seen on the BLM website didn't mention that after about a kilometer, the trail fords the Virgin River, which might be ok, but it had rained last night
and the river was quite high.
We then headed up stream and enjoyed a walk along
the edge of the river. After our hike we sat by the truck and had lunch, looking
out at the Virgin River Canyon. We asked one couple if they had tried to ford the river, and they said that their dog wouldn't even give it a try. It is a pretty area with spectacular red rocks.
After a while a US government worker came by with a questionnaire. What an
opportunity for us. We answered his questionnaire and when he came by to pick it
up we asked him many questions we had about BLM areas, regarding camping and
hiking in all BLM areas in the western states. We then did a short interpretive
trail that explained the history of the area, some of the wildlife and the geology of the canyon. There were a few of the Joshua trees that are common in this area of the Mohave Desert.
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