Mud-on-the-tires Full-time RV Adventure: NV – Lake Mead, 28 Jan

Arleen: Ten days before we left Lake Mead, I left Shawn on his own and flew off to Montana to be with my Mom during her gall bladder surgery. The surgery went well and she is now on her way to a full recovery.

Mom and Arleen

While in Montana I had a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends. I have known Sondi and her parents, Charlotte and Bob, most of my life. They are much more than friends...they are my extended family. Sondi has been challenged by cancer in the last few months and thankfully has the upper hand on the battle. It was great to see her, and husband Kurt, and their boys. Another dear friend, Anne and I go back over four decades. It was great to see her and her husband Ardie. I also went and got my hair cut by my new and wonderful friend Kathy, who is also an avid follower of our blog!

Arleen and Sondi Arleen, Ardie, Anne

Thankfully my Mom’s surgery went well and we were able to spend some quality time together. But I was very glad to get back to my man in sunny Nevada out on Lake Mead.

Shawn: Hmmm….Las Vegas Ski Resort got 9 inches of fresh snow the morning I had to take Arleen to the airport. I figured that if I was already half way to the ski resort, I might as well check it out! The resort is small with 2 lifts, a vertical drop less than a thousand feet, and a few fun trails, but the snow was great. I enjoyed it, but I really missed my girl! At no time this winter did I picture myself snowboarding near Vegas. We are very fortunate to have these opportunities.

I also did something else that has eluded me since we hit the road. I slipped into a routine. Most mornings, my 4-legged friend and I would go for a long walk, usually 6 miles. Then I’d hang out in the trailer for an hour or two and have lunch. Next, I paddled the kayak around Lake Mead and fished until roughly sunset. Finally, I’d eat dinner and settle in for a relaxing evening. It was very nice! I really enjoyed Lake Mead and hope to find many similar situations down the road.

Though I never caught a striped bass, I did catch a decent smallmouth bass…

Here are a couple of walking routes…

The Hund Report : Woof, woof… I have been thinking about this blog thing. My Mom and Dad say they are writing it for their family & friends. Well I got friends out there too, who may want to know what it is like to be living this nomadic life – hey Buddy & Jake! Life is good! Rather than just getting released into the backyard like back at the old house, Dad has to get up and walk with me. We usually take the long way around the campground. There are interesting smells everywhere! I know if I hold off on going “#2”, I can get a longer walk, hee, hee, hee. Then after Mom drinks her first cup of tea, she takes me for another walk. Mom and Dad hang out with me so much more than when they had those things they called “jobs”! When we do go for walks, they are usually a good 4 to 8 miles long. Too bad my nearly 11 year old body struggles on the long ones. But if I see a critter, a cat, or another dog, it doesn’t matter how tired I am! I loved the Oregon beaches. Especially the sand dunes. I felt like I was five years old again. I did not like staying at those National Parks. For some reason they do not like dogs on their trails. I see coyotes all over! What are they? Dogs! While Mom took off to Montana, Dad and I walked over 30 miles. I preferred to stay on the paved paths. The desert rocks are awful on my feet. Oh, it hurt. If I acted like I was tired, Dad would throw a stick in the lake and I gladly fetched it. Oh, what fun! Especially if I can run out and shake on some stranger, like that Japanese woman that was taking pictures of me. That was SO fun! Another day, we hiked up to an overlook. I took a nice nap while Dad ate some ham and meditated or whatever he does while staring into the water. I think he missed Mom a lot. Woof, woof and so did I!