NV -- Boulder City, 15-29 Dec 2019

Two weeks in Boulder City, Nevada…

Why we came…

To have a few adventures with our good friends.

The campground... 

Canyon Trail RV Park is on the north side of Boulder City in the industrial park.  So its location was convenient to town.  Though there was traffic noise during the day, it was quiet at night.

Canyon Trail is a large park with 156 sites, 70 of which are back-ins.  The other 86 sites are long pull throughs.  They keep one row of pull throughs set aside for transients.  That’s where we had a site.  The rest of the park is filled primarily with full-time residents.  Some of those folks were up and out by 5am waking us up early almost every morning.

It is a full service RV Park with full hookups and a dump station. They have bathhouses with bathrooms and showers.  They also have a large laundry room but it is pieced together with old machines and varied wildly in price and was often packed with park residents.

They offer Cable TV but we were able to get a satellite signal without a problem. 

In addition, they have free Wi-Fi that worked well.  Since we were so close to town we had a strong 4G signal.

 
Finally, they have a clean pool, spa, and BBQ area.

Nearby towns

Boulder City: Boulder city has a population of about15,000 and sits at an elevation of 2,510 feet.  It is only 25 miles from the Las Vegas strip but it is almost the anti-Vegas.  

“Boulder City was originally built in 1931 by the Bureau of Reclamation and Six Companies Inc. as housing for workers who were building the Hoover Dam.”  It is one of only two cities in Nevada where gambling is prohibited.  Alcohol sales were prohibited till 1969. 

It is a clean, quaint city that embraces its history.   “Boulder City maintains strict controls on growth, limited to 120 single- or multi-family residential building permits for new construction per year. Hotels are also restricted to no more than 35 rooms.”

Las Vegas: Las Vegas is an easy 25 mile drive to the northeast.  That huge congested city has all services and shopping.

Adventures

We were excited to see our good friends, Tony, Stef, and Glenn, so we rushed over to their house.  We all took Stef and Glenn’s three dogs for a walk in the desert right behind their house.  It was so fun to see them all again and to catch up on each other’s lives.

Bootleg Canyon

Unfortunately, Shawn’s back was still bothering him.  Fortunately, Bootleg Canyon was only a quick mile walk up the road from Canyon Trail RV Park.  So, I walked up the hill to the trailhead a few times a day to get some exercise.

“Bootleg Canyon is known for its outstanding hiking trails, beautiful lake views, and some of the best mountain biking in the country. With over 36 miles of trails, the lower trails are for beginners while upper trails will challenge biking skills.”

 

Stef met me at Bootleg Canyon twice.  The first day she met me with affable Louie! After we followed some of the hiking trails, we wandered through the half mile Nature Discovery Trail and Rock Garden.  The paved trail features “walled in areas and goliath statues of animals, including a jackrabbit, a scorpion, a horned reptile, a roadrunner, a tortoise, a Mojave snake, and a Gila. The winding trail incorporates information plaques along the course about the close-by fauna and vegetation, like the cholla, the prickly pear, and the Joshua tree, and viewpoints of the city.”

 

The second time she met me with the shaggy Wilson.  Wilson is one of Stef’s rescue dogs.  The Old English Sheepdog’s background is sketchy.  Stef refers to him as her “ghetto dog”.  His guard is normally up but once he gets to know and trust you, he is very lovable…  and soft.   We wandered around a few trails and then climbed up to the Las Vegas Flightlinez staging area where we had a great view of the valley.

Each time Stef and I walked, we picked up on previous conversations, caught up on each other’s lives, and philosophized about our futures.

Hoover Dam

A visit to Boulder City is not complete without a visit to Hoover Dam.  “Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936.

First, we parked near the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge overlook.  We walked out on the bridge to get a good look at the dam.  Then we drove over the dam, parked and walked back and forth across the dam.  We’ve been there a number of times, but it always impresses us.

Visit with Marge and Tony

Marge and Tony have gone out of their way to join Shawn and me a number of times in locations throughout the Intermountain West so Tony could enjoy an adventure with us.  We cherish our escapades with Tony.  Tony has found the fountain of youth - He is our goal!

In true Tony fashion, he visited as soon as we arrived, bringing us the newspaper and area information to help us enjoy our stay.  Each day after that, he brought the paper over.

Conversation with Marge and Tony is always stimulating and we always learn something.  So we jumped at the chance to join them for an afternoon.  First, we went to lunch at the Pit Stop, a Boulder City institution that has been serving up hamburgers and sandwiches for over 30 years.

Next we went to their home. Tony showed us his new-to-him camper, a little Aliner.  He demonstrated for us how he can set it up within a few minutes.  Typical of Tony, with Glenn’s help, he’s already made a number of modifications and improvements.

Now that Tony has entered his 9^th decade, he’s done with tent camping.  He volunteers each summer at a National Park or monument.  The popup trailer will be a much more comfortable base camp for him.

 Tony & his family camping in Canada in the late '40s or early '50s

Christmas Eve

We went for Christmas Eve dinner with Marge, Tony, Stef, and Glenn to one of their favorite restaurants: Vege Nation. “Vege Nation cooks with 100% plant-based ingredients. Yes! Our meats, cheeses, and ice creams are made from plants!”   And the only coffee they serve is Glenn’s “Frankly Good Coffee”!

Shawn, a meat eater, was hesitant.  But Glenn assured him that the spaghetti and meatballs would not disappoint a carnivore.  Sure enough, Shawn thoroughly enjoyed the big ole plate of plant based “Mama Mia”!  I had delicious Tempura Avocado Tacos.

Throughout the meal we all told stories and shared many laughs.  Finally, we finished our Christmas celebration with chocolate molten lava cake!

Afterwards, Glenn drove us by a home in Boulder City that has been a Winner of the Great Christmas Light Fight on ABC!  It brought back vivid childhood memories of my Mom driving us around to look at the Christmas lights.

Christmas Day

Brandon and Nathalie had graciously invited us to their home to spend Christmas Day with them and their family.  Shawn was stationed with Brandon in Germany about fifteen years ago.

When we last saw them, their little girl was only a few months old.  Now she’s almost 6!  I had a lot of fun playing with her and her Christmas dolls!  She now has a little brother who had a fun time showing Shawn his toys and playing with Shawn’s beard.

Nathalie fixed us a delicious ham with sides prepared in her traditional Maine style.  It was all very good!

We enjoyed hours of conversation with them catching up on each other’s lives and dreams of the future.   We look forward to them visiting us at our home someday and taking the whole family on an adventure in our mountains.

Frankly Good Coffee

For our readers who are coffee lovers and appreciate a fresh roasted cup of coffee, we highly recommend Frankly Good Coffee.  Our friends Stef and Glenn roast amazing single origin and blended coffee beans right at their home!  It’s a treat for the nose to be at their home when Glenn is roasting!  They can send fresh roasted coffee straight to your door! 

We’ll be serving their coffee when you come to visit us at Spruce Roost. 

Next…

Since leaving Boulder City, we spent a few weeks at Camp Verde, Arizona and also a couple of weeks with family in Colorado.  We are now in Tucson, Arizona.

Next, we travel to Tombstone, Arizona, City of Rocks and Oliver Lee Memorial State Parks in New Mexico, and then a few days in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Finally, we will end up in Pagosa Springs, Colorado by the end of February where our nine year odyssey of RV traveling full time will end as we settle into a framed house.

Parting shots

 Horned Reptile at the

Nature Discovery Trail and Rock Garden

Sign at Hoover Dam outhouse.  Gave us a chuckle!

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