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Laura-n-Sasha 3.2

A descriptive look at traveling and full-timing with our second RV, a fifth wheel toyhauler.
  Laura and Sasha started this adventure in April of 2005
 for a two week vacation in a truck camper.
 

February 2011: At Lake Mead National Recreation Area

So as you can tell, this month's page has changed quite a bit. I am using the Facebook information to figure out what we were doing this month. I will have to also check what Sasha had written as well to fill in the blanks. We might even get some pictures in here soon.

February 1st: We went on a 5.36 mile hike close to Horsethief Canyon. The wind was blowing and gusting at ~45-60 mph. Sun was shining, grit was blowing and we bagged the hike just before the road gave out. All uphill going in, and all downhill going out. But while our faces look red, we at least got some good exercise. Now to do it without the wind. Horsethief Canyon is accessed from the newly finished White Rock Canyon TH parking lot roughly 3 miles east of the bypass bridge in AZ. From the parking lot, go downhill for White Rock Canyon/AZ Hot Springs/Liberty Bell Arch. From the parking lot, go uphill for Horsethief Canyon.

February 3rd: Considering we are going to Death Valley in two weeks, this is a timely article. It truly is amazing how many people still die out here in the desert because they were not prepared. While Canyonlands NP does not get that hot, we still warn people about hiking in the summertime. And Lake Mead NRA does the same, strongly suggesting to people to not hike from May to September!

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February 5th: Sasha went to Pinto Valley with a group for hiking, while I was working on programs and my Sky Rangers studies. So here are some pictures of the hike:

Pictures of the Pinto Valley Hike
Picture Explanation Options
Map

Beautiful colors and Blue Sky. Just click on the info button and then click on the picture to enlarge it. Thanks!

 

 

 
Map Map Just click on the pictures to see the enlargement
Map Map

 
Map Historical Rocks.

Map USGS has been here!

Map And so has a Bighorn Sheep...Sometimes that happens, but we leave the skull and the horns where they are, so that others can see them for the first time...That is part of the mission of the NPS.

 

February 6th: off we go to a casino to see the Superbowl. Hopefully some good seats. We had lots of fun, gambled a small amount and Sasha won $7! In Penny Slots - no fooling! There are lots of penny slots here in Las Vegas area - mostly in the outer lying areas of Henderson and Downtown. But even the Strip casinos are putting in the penny slots with the economic downturn here. Winning is harder, but not as bad when you are only losing pennies. Of course, you bet 25 lines, really you are doing 25 cents a bet, so it still adds up!

My parents came into town on February 7th, and we went into Sedona with them from the 7th to the 11th. So we have pictures of those couple of days. We did some good hiking and have some really good pictures not just from us, but also from my parents.

Pictures of Sedona Area
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Map

Here is a picture of my Dad, we believe they were on Rt 66 near Peach Springs...maybe Mom and Dad can tell us for sure.

 

 

 

 
Map So this was our first hike. On February 9th. Dad took the picture. It was a little cool and there were two ways to go.

Map We were going on the hike on the opposite side of this hike. There were two trails, we chose the shorter one but it was a little steeper. Still, we got some good views.

 
Map Mom and I and the Red Rocks! I do like how it shows the date on the pictures, much easier to figure out when these pictures were taken.

 
Map Enjoying the hike!

 
Map OK, you have to Zoom in for this picture. That is Sasha. No one else wanted to be on the ledge but him. But we are at the top and you can see for miles. Why he likes getting close to the edge is beyond me. I have a good, healthy fear of heights, as I have fallen from significant heights when I was younger. Scraped my legs up pretty bad with some of those falls. Slid down some major buttes in Montana with only a pick ax to help stop the fall. But here, there are major ledges without slopes. A fall would mean death, not something I am interested in seeing for a long while yet.

Map Good shot of Mom and the amazing view. Really do wish that there was a national park closer to Sedona, the entire area should be a national park!  
Map It was a little windy, and we were leaning against Dad! But a great shot by Sasha.  
Map So now Mom is the brave one! But look at that view!  

 

February 11th: So we went to another area within the Forest Service and Red Rock Canyon area, this time to check out some pueblos and rock art.

Pictures of Sedona Area
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Map

Thankfully we were able to get someone to take a picture of us, pretty good shot!

 

 

 
Map Rock Art for those that like that sort of thing. We definitely do.

 
Map As you can see, you can get up pretty close to it. There was a ranger that was giving a talk here as well.

 
Map Sasha got his camera to do the three shots and this one was the best. Love the light coming in, and the room here is quite big. A prospector lived here, for many years.

 
Map Cool views - farming below from the whites and pueblos above. Unfortunately, these pueblos were unavailable for viewing as there were some structural damages and it was not safe. But we were going to take another hike, to see other areas.

 
Map Map

Using the cliff to make the home!
Map Three different times of building the wall. The last time looks really good!  
Map Supernova possibilities shown on rock art. Click on Info and then on the picture to see all of the art.

Map

So there is rock art that is thousands of years old, and then there is graffiti that is a couple of years old. While it is hard to see the website now, the owner was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law because of this graffiti on a major rock art site.

You can think of it this way, as though to make Picasso more realistic or having more straight lines in a Monet, someone comes in and writes their website on a painting. How is it any different? It truly burns me to see that someone did this.

 
Map Actually, I think this was the one for either an eclipse, or a supernova. There was a supernova in 1054, it is possible that it was put on the rocks.  
Map Very similar to the Newspaper Rock near Canyonlands. Map
Map Just a different view of the rock art. Again, there was a Forest Service Ranger there to explain the rock art, which was cool.  

 

So we got back late to Lake Mead, RV looks good. We took a class on First Aid and CPR on February 12th, so that we did not have to do so in Canyonlands. It was with the park, so that was pretty sweet.

February 14th: Going to Death Valley National Park tomorrow! But we are headed out to Liberty Bell Arch with my Parents first!

So Check out the February Pages: Death Valley, Scotty's Castle, and DEVA Geology. We also did a hike before we went out to Death Valley, again going to Liberty Bell Arch.

Check out Next Month: March 2011 for text and for Expenses of March