Friday, March 6
“Goodbye, Rusty! Goodbye, Timber!”
Bridget and I pull away from Rusty’s camp in the Perfect Tow Vehicle and rumble down the sandy lane that weaves its way to Route 95.
The Best Little Trailer quietly tags along behind us. We head north to Lake Havasu City and stay on 95 until we reach Interstate 40. Before boarding the interstate, I pull into Love’s Travel Center to top off the gas tank @ $2.49 a gallon.
Bridget has a walk-around and we’re off again.
We go east on I-40, about forty miles to Kingman. Then we turn north on Route 93 to go about seventy-five miles to Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
After approximately one hundred and forty miles across drab desert scrub, followed by a climb over the treeless crags of the Black Mountains, the blue splash of Lake Mead is a delightful surprise spread out before us.
We pass the turn for Hoover Dam.
I can see lines of tourists going for the tour. I’m not interested in the dam. We need to find our camp!
I turn onto Lakeshore Drive which goes past the Recreation Area’s Visitor Center.
Shortly beyond the Visitor Center I stop the PTV at the entrance booth. My federal discount card (American the Beautiful pass, $10 one-time fee, for persons 62 and older) gives us entry for free. The woman in the booth checks my card and my ID and we continue on our way.
Two campgrounds are reached via Lakeshore Drive.
The first one we come to is Boulder Beach Campground.
This campground’s proximity to the visitor center and Hoover Dam, plus the view of the water from a few of its sites, makes it the more popular of the two campgrounds.
For that reason, I keep going.
I stop at a picnic area to take a few photos.
I put Bridget in her suit with leash and set her on the ground.
“You get another little adventure, Bridge!”
We walk over to a picnic table and shelter.
“Sit up here for me. Just one picture. I promise.” I lift Bridget onto the picnic table for a photo to record her visit to Lake Mead. I shoot over her head.
The water level of the lake is very low, of course, and the shoreline has receded miles.
I usually avoid moving to a campground on a Friday as there’s a strong likelihood that all the good campsites are occupied.
“Let’s go, Bridge. We need to move along.”
We’re on our way to Las Vegas Bay Campground.
Sounds great. My research, however, has informed me that there is no bay next to the campground. The shoreline is about nine miles away. I don’t care about that. I want a pleasant camp with good access to Las Vegas.
Why do I want to go to Las Vegas?
You know I’m not interested in “the strip.” I’ll use Las Vegas Bay Campground as a base for searching for a new crew member!
The road to the campground turns before reaching the mountain shown in the above photo. The fees at Las Vegas Bay Campground and Boulder Beach Campground are the same. With the senior discount pass, Bridget and I can camp for $5 a night, or $150 for a month, if we wanted to stay that long.
The PTV moseys through the campground, winding its way around the loops.
There’s a section where generators are not allowed and it’s filled mostly with tenters. Sites on the eastern perimeter have a dramatic view of canyons and gorges that once were the lake. I don’t like these sites because they have a severe drop that would make me nervous about Bridget. Also these sites have no windbreak.
We continue around until we return toward the entrance.
It’s not as crowded in this area. Given a choice of being near the entrance or being crowded in with generators, I’ll take the entrance. I pick a site next to a lovely shade tree and position the BLT and the PTV for the most privacy.
The PTV blocks the view into our campsite from the entrance road.
The solar panel is in light shade in the afternoon. I may park it differently tomorrow.
The BLT’s door opens to a private area that faces a rocky slope. Her back is to the other campers.
With our camp like this, I can step outside without seeing anyone and without anyone seeing me.
As I’m setting up, palm fronds rustle in the breeze. By the time I’m relaxing in a camp chair with Bridget in her bed at my feet, a covey of quail scurries by on the way through the campground.
Late in the afternoon I walk Bridget around the campground on her leash.
This is her reward after a long drive and she loves it!
Las Vegas Bay Campground has restrooms, water spigots, trash containers, and a dump station. It’s about 15-20 miles west to Las Vegas.
For campground living, this is fine with me!
rvsue
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