Week 3

Oh my. So much in so little time! This week brought us farther south down the California coast, across the state of California into Nevada and Arizona. A lot of real estate and a lot of diversity in our wanderings this past week.

We started the week out by basing ourselves in Malibu ... parked right on the coast!  

From there, we toured around 

(Santa Monica)

and 

 (Beverly Hills)

and 

 (Hollywood)

 No ... we didn't see any stars. Didn't look too hard, though! Greater L.A. has sooooo many people and sooooo many cars and traffic jams for no apparent reason. After 3 days we were ready to leave the congestion of southern California and head inland. But before doing that we made sure we swam in the Pacific Ocean!   

Shortly after Harry took this picture ... mere seconds actually ... I went under! Even that small wave carried a lot of force. Harry was much better in the waves and managed to jump them and ride the top of them.

Our next destination was Las Vegas via a stop in Barstow, California. While in Barstow we toured a real mining ghost town. Mostly a tourist shopping trap, but we were able to glean some information about the mining that supported the area and some of the people who lived there. It was HOT and we were now fully in the desert. Thankfully the campground had a swimming pool where we could cool off at the end of the day.

Our journey from Malibu to Vegas took us from 

to 

 The pictures say it all!!

We rolled into Las Vegas where we stayed at a luxurious RV resort. Not because we were looking for the pampering but because it was on the right side of town for us! We took a car tour of Vegas in the afternoon, then went to the old downtown area for some supper. After a nice dinner we drove back to our RV via the "strip" which took FOREVER because of road construction. As I put on Facebook earlier in the week, Las Vegas really is "over-the-top". I couldn't help but wonder how much power and water that place uses in just one day. Maybe the U.S. could reach their greenhouse gas emission reductions just by shutting down Las Vegas! 


At any rate, one day and one night was enough for us so off we headed for the Hoover Dam. It was big.  

From Hoover Dam there's only one logical destination: the Grand Canyon (or "the big hole" as Renee called it).  We camped about an hour's drive from the canyon.  In the RV next to us was "Almost Willie", a Willie Nelson impersonator! Check him out:  http://www.almostwillie.com/  


We have spent the last 2 days hiking around various points of the south rim. There are not adequate words to describe what you see.

"O Lord my God, when I in awe-filled wonder 

consider all the works Thy hands have made ... 

How great Thou art."

A comical end to our day at the Grand Canyon included a raven who was a bit of a show off.  This raven spread it wings and glided over us, then with a loud squawk he tucked his wings in and rolled onto his back -- in mid flight -- then back to his front and the wings came out again.  The silly thing was doing aileron rolls!  And he did a lot of them as he swooped back and forth over us.  Amazing to watch!

Soon we'll turn north for the last leg of our journey. -K