Public Park Progression

November 15~ Now that we're back in the 'big city' we feel we have a lot more options open to us for parking during the day, instead of just chillin' in the parking lots all day. If you're wondering if that's fun...from our experience it's a have-to...not a want-to! haha We thought we would see what the town has to offer us, without having to drive too far...we want to try to keep our gas in the tank as much as we can. With this in mind, we thought we would get some "brekkie" at the gas station instead of driving the 8 miles to the grocery store. I'll tell you...we should have just driven to the grocery store. I bought 4 bananas. Do you know how much 4 bananas cost at this gas station? Three dollars and fifty seven cents!!! What? I could have bought like 6 bushels of bananas at the store for that. Ya win some and ya lose some...or pay more for some. Oh and the bananas didn't even taste like bananas, they were weird and sweet and ...weird. J' surprised me with a pumpkin donut, he wanted an eclair really bad...another weird concoction of what looked like donuts but definitely did not taste like them. We learned our lesson of shopping at the gas station for food! haha

[caption id="attachment_2566" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Surprise![/caption]

November 16~ Didn't really have much to offer after our brekkie yesterday...sorry for not writing. Today was a whole different day though! We started our day at the grocery store...we learned our lesson yesterday. We went to Wal-mart, looked around at different cooking options (we have been tossing ideas around about another piece of cookware to make it easier to cook in the van) and then finally did our shopping. We were in the store for about an hour and a half. When we got through the line with all of our food bagged up in our cart...our card wouldn't go through. We knew we had money on our card and I had a statement to prove it but still even after holding up the line for 15 minutes and management trying to help us in another line for another 10 minutes we had to walk out with nothing. I was actually surprised I held it together as well as I did...didn't even cry! haha We walked out, drove down the road and as we were passing a Safeway decided to give it another go at a different store...we knew we had money on our card. We stood in line with a loaf of bread...it went through! Hooray! We grabbed a cart and went through that store like we were on Super Market Sweep...haha not really but we already knew what we were going to get so it was pretty easy. The only thing that bummed us out a bit was we got about half the food for the same exact amount of money....Booo for higher prices BUT we have food again and that's what matters. We found a public park and pulled in, straight down to the water. There are only two spots that you can pull your vehicle down to and at this point in the day we were all alone!! A rarity for us! We pulled all of the groceries out of the bags and started putting everything away. J' started cooking us up some brunch...now he's the grill master!

[caption id="attachment_2568" align="aligncenter" width="300"] We have yum yums again[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2569" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Grillin' on the river[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2570" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Eating good today![/caption]

The park has these big wooden posts in front of this retaining wall, probably so you don't drive all the way down to the water (and get stuck...very soft sand). They were perfect to be able to tether Savannah...she 'played' with the birds chasing them in circles. We let her off the leash (to chase the birds) for what ended up to be a brief moment, before she ran into the parking lot and about gave me a heart attack.

[caption id="attachment_2571" align="aligncenter" width="300"] They've got her surrounded![/caption]

We had a great spot. We were right on the river. We were all alone. It was awesome.

[caption id="attachment_2572" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Colorado River[/caption]

Since we weren't surrounded by people I decided to give J' a hairscut...and shape myself up a bit. Wouldn't ya know about three minutes into the cut, there were cars pulling in, people coming up to fish and walking through where our picnic table was (mind you the entire place is empty) and a couple of older men even wedged themselves in between our van and a bank on the other side of the van to fish...within about 10 yards from us. I'm sorry but what is it with fishermen? No 'private space respect'. It's just weird.

[caption id="attachment_2574" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Just too funny[/caption]

When we were done with the cuts and cleaning up in the solar shower, we figured we would give the men their space and would find another place for us to be for the rest of the day. We went and freshened up our water and ice. The ice at this little kiosk in town is much cheaper than Wal-mart or any other place we've seen in this town. It's only $1.75 for 20 lbs. of ice and it's about .25 cents a gallon, .5 cents more than other places for water but still a good deal!

[caption id="attachment_2575" align="aligncenter" width="300"] One stop shop[/caption]

While we were driving back down to the casinos we saw what looked like another park. After doing about three U-turns we finally found the right road to turn on and found a parking lot for some really nice walking trails.

[caption id="attachment_2576" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Walking trail right on the Colorado River[/caption]

We walked down the trail a little bit and found out this was The Colorado River Heritage Greenway Park and Trails. It's pretty much a brand new area of Laughlin. It has four trailhead connections to the Lake Mead Recreation Area, the trails go all the way to the Davis Dam... a good two mile walk along the Colorado River. It's beautiful and since it's brand new it's an easy walk and very clean. They are still doing some work on the trail, trying to push the brush back for a prettier view of the River. It was a great find!

[caption id="attachment_2577" align="aligncenter" width="300"] First flower in a cactus I've seen[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2578" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Lots to offer[/caption]

We thought we would drive over and check out the other side of the Recreation Area by the Dam.

As we drove, we saw on this side of the mountain, they have a whole parking lot just for horse trailers, even with horse rings and posts. There are a bunch of horse trails that go up into the mountains from that lot...man this place has everything! We drove into the park, whoa...what a sight! It's beautiful here.

[caption id="attachment_2580" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Sportsman's Park by Davis Dam[/caption]

We all got out of the car and as we got closer to the water, we saw there is a huge field of grass... no one was around so we let Nana loose and she ripped it up on her 'jet ski'! She LOVES to run and she went crazy...it was great seeing her go like that. It always makes me so happy to see her run freely!

[caption id="attachment_2584" align="aligncenter" width="300"] She's so fast![/caption]

It was cool to be able to walk down and stand pretty much right on top of the water, super close to the Dam. The water was so clear, it was amazing!

[caption id="attachment_2581" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Now that's some clear water![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2583" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Dames @ Davis Dam[/caption]

We went and ran Nana some more...can't ever get this dog enough exercise! As we walked back to the van, we noticed these huge parking spots with roofs...kind of strange. As we put two and two together, we figured that they were for tour buses or RV's that come through that do shows at the Amphitheater there (the huge field of grass). The spots have power, water, a trash can, a table and even a dumping hole...pretty cool. Wonder if we could spend the day here? We saw they have locks on the water but still, we could come spend the day, have some privacy, a table and a trash can all right here...we would think about it.

[caption id="attachment_2585" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Potentially a great spot[/caption]

The lights were starting to come on in the park so we left...don't think we can overnight it here. As we drove back to town to park for the night, we saw the town in a whole different light...literally, many of them! It was beautiful. It almost felt like we were driving into town for the first time.

 We parked over in the Colorado Belle parking lot tonight. We like to switch it up and not stay in the same lot every night...stay under the radar even if it is allowed. We still think stealthy is good. We took Nana for another potty walk and we like to walk over to the Pioneer and see what new rigs have come in during the day. Tonight we saw an RV that actually made us stop, stare and talk about the maybe's and possibilities. Not sure who makes it but it's a Storm, perfect size and just so darn cute!

[caption id="attachment_2588" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The one with the truck[/caption]

It's always nice to see what's out there for when we do decide to retire Joon Van...that won't be for a minute but it's nice to look. After our walk, Savannah decided she wanted to go to bed early. I don't know what it is with her but this dog LOVES bedtime...I mean she goes nuts when it's bedtime. You can ask Bob, he's heard her before...he had to ask if she was okay...it's pretty funny actually! Anyway, she found a spot that suited her needs for the night until we were ready to pull the bed down...

[caption id="attachment_2589" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Smarty Pants[/caption]

Sometimes I think she's a little too smart for her own good and she's just so darn cute! Yep, we're in trouble for the next ten years or so! haha It was a really great day, I think we might go back to that RV spot tomorrow and try it out. I don't see why we can't sit there tomorrow, it is a public park. We get full bars on our internet so it will be a great spot to spread out and also for J' to be able to work on his stuff in peace and privacy!

Have fun over the weekend and stay safe in your travels...even if it's from your living room to the bedroom!

PEACE