Desert Paradise!

From the Yosemite area, we headed directly south & east (with a stop in Bakersfield at the Sam's Club) to Barstow, CA & Laughlin, NV. This is DEFINITELY the desert! Sure glad we are doing these desert parks now - and not later this summer!

Roger broke out the shorts again - and our A/C really struggled to keep up - even though it was just in the high 80's/low 90's. When that sun starts beating down it is HOT! We made the mistake of trying to 'geby' with keeping the windows open & with the breeze (really it was wind) - but the high 80's/low 90's - dry heat or not, IT IS HOT!

Nice parks, considering what they have to work with - at least they don't have to mow!

From Laughlin we made our way north west to Pahrump/Desert Retreat. Aptly named, for sure! Literally out in the middle of nowhere . . . it is truly an oasis! We found luxury here that far exceeds what we are used to finding.

As you can tell, this is not your 'normal' KOA A-frame building! Everything is first-class, all facilities open 24-hours - complete with an on-duty uniformed security staff; this place even has a 6-lane bowling alley!









A full-fledged fitness/spa area, where you can even schedule a massage! Indoor and outdoor spa, two pools, waterfalls everywhere, roses in bloom . . . incredible!

This 'patio' area is actually at one of the sites, and it comes complete with an 'overhead mister' & a state-of-the-art BQ!







The waterfall & pool is just one of the pools. It looked mighty tempting, and we regretted not scheduling a couple of days 'off' here!





But the most 'over-the-top' area - for me, anyway - was the "Pet Area"! Yes, this is it! It is furnished with multiple dog washing facilities, fire hydrant - complete with a flushing mechanism to 'clean' the area after Fido makes use of the hydrant!



Out of this world!









But with only one night to enjoy, we headed north to Cedar City, UT. A travel day - that was going relatively well, until we were in the middle of 'nowhere Nevada' - on a long bridge over a gorge - when 'blam' - we blew a tire on the fifth wheel! With no where to pull over, we limped off the bridge and got off the side of the road. Not the best place to have to change a tire! But first Roger had to 'unwrap' it from the axle. When it blew, it also took a chunk out of the fifth wheel siding, but thankfully, the slide-out still works. We're just not as 'pretty' as we were!

Took about an hour out of our day - and then we discovered we 'lost' an hour when we crossed into Utah, for now we are in Mountain Time.

But all is not lost, for we spotted a billboard for a Cracker Barrel in St. George, UT! We felt like we had found a treasure! We don't normally stop for a lunch break, but as it was approaching 4:00 p.m. (and a scheduled conference call with the Home Office) - we decided to take advantage of this 'find'!

My chef salad arrived just in time for me to get 'on line' with the call - and I quietly 'munched' my lettuce & tomatoes while 'listening'. I purposely ordered a salad, so it wouldn't matter if I got 'delayed' - no problem with my food getting 'cold'. My mama didn't raise no dummy!

Finally pulled in to the campground at about 5:00 p.m., which was really 6:00 p.m. At least I didn't have to fix supper!

This morning Roger has already been & back from getting a new tire, so it's time to grab the clipboard and go to work.