What a great Christmas at Erin and Andy’s house in Vegas!! Chad, Lais and their dog, Buddy, came from New York. Brett, lady friend, Nadia, and their dog, Pogi, came from L.A. My brother Glenn and his wife, Ruth, came from Miami. Nephew Brian and his lady friend, Terri, came from Seattle. And an old childhood friend, Ron, also came from Seattle. With fifteen people and seven dogs, the visit was non-stop for almost two weeks.

A few Vegas highlights:

Carol and I got crazy making peanut butter balls (buckeyes).

Lois made some new friends.

We visiting a neon museum.

Click on this link to take a tour. https://photos.app.goo.gl/XopKZyyDzA9hUM9WA

Dogs were our main entertainment.

Click on this link for puppy play. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ca8gQzB38H2e6av48

Thursday, Jan. 2

We left Vegas and traveled only twenty miles away to Lake Mead. The first thing we noticed was how beautifully blue the water was.

 We were thrilled to find a campsite with a great view of the lake and mountains. We kept trying to walk the dogs, but they were too tired from Vegas. Christy slept for 18 hours. I went on a couple of bike rides and discovered that there were miles and miles of paved trails. Mostly, we all rested from our busy holidays.

Since Vegas was so close, Erin drove out to go shopping in Boulder City and have lunch. After a short visit back at the Ham, we once again hugged her goodbye.

Sunday, Jan. 5

Before traveling to Joshua Tree N.P., we visited Big Bend on the Colorado S.P. in Laughlin NV. The campground and surrounding area had been burned out from the summer’s forest fires. It was sad to see all of the destroyed and charred vegetation. 

Monday, Jan. 6

Inside of Joshua Tree N.P., is a large section of massive boulders stacked on top of each other. We kept wanting to stop and gawk at each rock formation. Our campsite put us just feet away from one of those formations. Our walk around the campground, looking at the jumbo rocks, was amazing. Little by little, Christy and I started climbing up into the rocks. The more we did it the more we wanted to climb. Eventually, it was time for puppy dinner and returned to the Ham. With a little bit of sunshine left, I went climbing by myself. This place was like a giant playground. I couldn’t remember having so much fun. 

Tuesday, Jan. 7

Morning walks took us to different parts of the campground. Once again, we kept finding new formations and enjoying every moment of it. After lunch is mostly my time to hike, so I took off on a marked trail taking me to Skull Rock. Skull Rock is one of the most visited sites in the park, so it was very busy. With all of the people, climbing and taking pictures proved to be a challenge. I moved on to other formations until it was time to call it a day.

Link here to view the hike. https://photos.app.goo.gl/dYg7QuRm2xMook2V6

When you’re in Joshua Tree, you are totally off the grid – no phone service, no internet and no TV signal. In the evening, Lois played games on her tablet and read, Carol fooled around on her tablet and I watched downloaded movies on my tablet.

Wednesday, Jan. 8

We had been to Carlsbad, CA on the ocean last year and really liked it, so we decided to return. A pretty sunset greeted us soon after we arrived.

Thursday, Jan. 9

The weather was cool and rainy, so we spent most of day in the Ham. No whale watching today. Since the weather wasn’t going to improve for days, we decided to travel to a warmer, drier county park, just west of San Diego.

Friday, Jan. 10

The drive up the mountain, on a narrow, winding road, was our adventure for the day. There were a few switchbacks that made maneuvering the Ham exciting. Carol didn’t share my excitement. It was offseason at the park, so we almost had the place to ourselves. After we took the dogs for a walk, Christy was ready for another adventure. A dirt road took us up a low mountain for some exercise and nice views. Red Shoulder hawks were common in this area and every day before sunset they would roost in a pine tree close to our site. The thirty-plus hawks were entertaining to watch this evening.

Saturday, Jan. 11

Last year, we had overnighted at a restaurant/gift shop in Yuma, AZ. Since there was record breaking rainfall there last year and couldn’t get out of the Ham, we never got to do any shopping. It was sunny and dry this time, so Lois and Carol had a grand time.