Hot August Nights 2012 - August 14-15

It is HOT in Arizona in the summer (at least is the Phoenix area) – and don’t let ANYONE tell you that “it’s not so bad, because it’s a dry heat.” It is hot (115°F) and that’s all there is to it!

My sister & her husband live in their 5th wheel full time at the Pleasant Harbor RV Resort. We camped in the empty space next to them the last two nights which made it very convenient to visit with them. We hung out in the morning since she had some work to finish, then my brother came over for a while. It was good to see him, too. After lunch, Bette and I went shopping for upholstery fabric. She is going to recover a chair for me and the quest was on. I found a couple fabrics I like so now I just need to watch for it to go on sale! She did the measurements and I will be all set.

We went out to the White Horse Bar & Grill for dinner. Awesome burgers and a reasonable price. It had cooled down enough after dinner that we borrowed a neighbors golf cart and went down to the lake to let Penny swim. She had a blast chasing after the tennis ball and it cooled her down. She did not want to quit!

We were treated to an incredible sunset before heading back to the RV.

This morning we visited for a while before heading out to a plumbing supply store to pick up an order for our son back in Colorado. It was only a block off our route, so that was easy.

We made our way through the Valley and up Hwy. 87 to Payson on our way to Pine Top. It was totally overcast when we got up and we had a few sprinkles of rain along the way. I love the stretch of highway from Fountain Hills to Payson. While it is curvy, it is 2-lane, and has lots of saguaro and prickly pear cactus which I enjoy seeing.

After a short lunch break in Payson, we continued on to Hwy. 260 toward Pine Top. There is road construction off and on which slowed our progress, but we finally pulled into Pine Top about 4 pm. Our moms live in Scottsdale, two houses apart, but have been spending July and August in the mountains – staying out of that “dry heat” of the Valley! We plan to spend about four days with them before we journey north.

We took Penny for a nice walk, had dinner, then played cards. We are looking forward to spending time with them!

Hot August Nights 2012 - August 10 - 13

It was hot camping near Bishop, CA on Thursday – we slept with all the windows open and the fan on. We could hear the river rushing by and the smell of sage was quite strong. Toward morning it finally cooled off and it felt nice. Tobey took Penny for a morning swim so she was a happy dog.

We continued south on Hwy. 395. Death Valley National Park is on the east side of the highway and Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks are on the west side. The mountains are jagged and steep. It is interesting that several of the peaks seem to be named after universities – Mount Stanford, Mount Barnard, University Peak, and even Caltech Peak! I haven’t been to those national parks since I was about 10 years old and Tobey has never been, so we will need to plan another, longer trip this direction in order to explore more – but not in August!

We had a nice lunch stop at a city park in Ridgecrest, CA. There was a nice grassy area where we could throw the ball for Penny and some shade for the RV. Good thing, too, because it was 107°F outside!

We arrived at our friends, Daniel and Susan’s, house around 4pm. They have two Australian Shepherds so we met at a park (neutral territory) to introduce them to Penny. Penny and Daisy got along pretty well, but Biscuit and Penny both seem to be alpha dogs so there was a little “doggy trash talk” going on.




We had a great time catching up and enjoying their hospitality. We shared in a birthday party for Daniel’s sister and met Daniel’s brother and his family. We took the dogs for walks and to an outdoor concert at Chapman University, watched some of the Olympics, shared good food and adult beverages, and enjoyed the easy company of good friends we have known for a long time.

About 8:30 this morning we said our goodbyes and were on our way to Arizona. I am always amazed when we drive by the Palm Springs/Thousand Palms area and see all of the wind turbines. Good use of the wind our here!

Arriving in Arizona to 115°F+ temperatures reminded us why we don’t usually come here in the summer! We carried Penny to a grassy area because the pavement was TOO HOT! She usually hates being carried, but did not argue with us on this occasion! We finally got to the Pleasant Harbor RV Resort where my sister & her husband live about 5 pm. It is STILL HOT, but we got the electric hooked up and the air conditioning going to cool things down. Jim made yummy BBQ ribs for dinner then when the sun went down, took the dogs to the dog park for a short run. We are looking forward to a good visit and seeing my brother tomorrow.

Hot August Nights 2012 - August 9

We left the Desert Rose RV park in Fernley, NV this morning on Alt. Hwy 50 south through Silver Springs then west to Carson City. At Carson City we picked up Hwy. 395 south to Pleasant Valley County Park, about 10 miles north of Bishop, California.

While there was some road construction, Hwy 395 is quite pretty; it is one of California’s scenic byways. We stopped at the Mono Lake Vista point and could see smoke in the distance. A stop at the Visitor Center confirmed there was a forest fire which started on Wednesday by lightening. We learned that it was already up to 5000 acres. After the High Park Fire just west of Fort Collins earlier this summer, we were not too anxious to see another forest fire!

There are two large islands in the 6390 foot deep lake which were formed by volcanoes. Paoha, the larger island is white and does not look volcanic. It was formed about 300 years ago when magma rose from under the surface and pushed up the sediment from the bottom of the lake. Negit, the black island, was formed by volcanic eruptions between 300 and 1700 years ago.

We continued south from the visitor’s center, then took Hwy 120 five miles to the South Tufa Loop at Mono Lake. It is well worth the drive and we had our national parks pass, so the admission was free. There is a nice trail down to the lake with informational signs explaining the history of the lake and current day usage of water by the city of Los Angeles. Mono Lake is on the western edge of the Great Basin, and like the Salt Lake on the eastern edge, it is a salt lake. It is 2.5 times saltier than the ocean and 100 times more alkaline!

Tufa is a type of limestone made when calcium rich springs from the bottom of the lake flow up and mix with carbonates in the water, forming calcium carbonate. When the lake water levels drop, the exposed tufa stops growing.

Penny took a little walk into the water, but did NOT like the salty feeling!

After our stop at Mono Lake, we continued south past Mammoth Lakes and found our campground next to Owens River. The water is moving pretty fast, but we put the harness on and let her go swimming. She is loving it – but the mosquitos are loving me! Tobey took her for another walk and they found another area on the river for her to swim and large blue heron took off not from from them and startled Penny – but only for a minute. She had a great time and is ready to settle in for the night.

Hot August Nights 2012 - August 7 and 8

We went with friends, Dean and Eva, into Reno yesterday and today to see some of the 6000 cars registered at Hot August Nights. It is amazing to see how much time, effort, and money has been put into these cars.

Hot August Nights started in 1986 by the Reno convention bureau to fill a void in tourism in Reno during the month of August and to raise money for local charities. They had concerts and a classic car show. It has grown every year since. It is hard to pick only a few pictures of the cars, but there was everything from the 1912 roadster to the “gangster” cars of the 1930s and up to cars from 1976. My favorites are probably the 1963 – 1967 Corvettes and Thunderbirds, but it was fun to see then all. 

We went to Downtown Reno, Victorian Square, the Atlantis, the Peppermill Resort, and Grand Sierra. Tobey and I even got to try the Racing Simulator Test Drive. It was pretty fun. We even tried a little gambling … and today Tobey’s winnings on a slot machine put us about $5.00 ahead. Big time gamblers …
We enjoyed our evenings back at the RV playing cards and taking Penny for walks. Tomorrow we say farewell to our friends and head out toward California.

Hot August Nights 2012 - August 6

What a way to start the day. As we pulled onto the street it sounded like we had a flat tire. Tobey hopped out with the pressure gauge and not one, but two tires were low. We quickly checked the internet and there was a Les Schwab Tire Shop about a mile down the road so we slowly crawled our way there.  We only had to wait a few minutes before they could look at the tires. They had to pull all four of the rear tires and took the valve extensions off the inside tires. We had just gotten them replaced, but they were causing the air to leak out. One and one half hours later; fixed, and NO CHARGE! Awesome. We are so thankful it happened where and when it did and not while we were driving.

We arrived at the Desert Rose RV Park in Fernley, NV about noon and met up with friends, Dean and Eva, from Fort Collins. After lunch we went to Reno to Junkees, a combination thrift/antique store. They certainly had a huge assortment of stuff – and nothing we needed. It was a fun place to browse around for a couple hours before heading back to Fernley.

Eva made a delicious dinner, then we took Penny for a long walk. We spent the evening playing board games and tomorrow head back to Reno for the start of Hot August Nights. 

Hot August Nights 2012 - August 5

This morning we took Penny for a long walk in the dunes before the ATVers arrived. She had so much fun racing up and down the hills. She spotted a rabbit and gave it a run for its money, but in the end, the rabbit got away. She raced back to us, ears flying. By 9:30 a few cars pulling trailers loaded with ATVs were headed into the area, so we decided it was time to get on the road.
Passing by the Bonneville Salt Flats in western Wyoming reminded us a of movie we saw years ago with Anthony Hopkins, called The Indian. It was a fun movie about an older guy from Australia who had an old Indian motorcycle. He had always dreamed of racing on the salt flats and he finally made the trek to race there. Good movie – we may have to rent it again!
We took a lunch break in Wells, Nevada next to the city park. Penny got a chance to chase tennis balls for a while so she was a happy, tired dog.

The further west we drove, the worse the weather got. Strong cross winds and rain were the order of the afternoon. I was driving so I slowed down to 55 mph after we saw one trailer flipped and smashed to pieces and the tow truck and emergency vehicles just arriving. Not too far down the road, another car had rolled and was flattened. Again, several highway patrol cars and emergency vehicles were cleaning up the mess. We aren’t in any hurry, so we plan to arrive safely!

We arrived in Winnemucca about 3:30 this afternoon and are camping in the Winners Casino parking lot. They were having their version of Reno’s “Hot August Nights” called “Fifties Fever”. It is a MUCH smaller version, but still fun to see the variety of cars.

Tobey wanted to play in a poker tournament this evening, but only two people (including him) signed up, so they cancelled it. Bummer, but he will get the chance to play poker once we get to Reno. Tonight, relaxing, reading, and maybe a movie.

Hot August Nights 2012 - August 4

We were up early and hiked back to take another look at the petroglyphs. They are really well preserved and quite amazing. By 8:30 we knew we needed to get started back to Hwy 191 on that 20-mile gravel road. UGH. We had originally planned to take another gravel loop off Hwy 191 to see the wild horses, but after being jostled for an hour we decided to wait for another time – like someday in the future when they pave the road! It was so rough that the bolts that hold our scooter ramp extension to the RV came off and it bounced off the RV! Fortunately, we heard it scraping and were able to retrieve it. We stopped at a hardware store in Rock Springs and got some bolts that will have to do as a temporary fix until we get home.


We stopped at Bear River State Park in western Wyoming for lunch. There is a really nice walk along the river and Penny was sure the water was fine for swimming.

We found a side channel that wasn’t too deep, but had enough current to warrant keeping her leash on “just in case.” She had a blast chasing sticks and swimming. After 30 minutes of swimming, she was one tuckered puppy this afternoon!

Just across the main channel of the river we spotted this moose. There were lots of willows all along the river on which they feed.
The state also keeps a small herd of bison in the park.
After a brief respite, we were back on the road. We are overnighting at a BLM off-road parking area near Knolls, Utah, about 90 miles west of Salt Lake City.