A Little Nudge Here and a Little Nudge There

It's been a couple of weeks since our last post and we've had a little adventure.....some fun....some not so fun. Nothing serious mind you....just one of life's little nudges.

Before...

A couple of weeks ago we were given an additional task to perform while we were out and about our normal Road Monitoring jobs....graffiti removal. It seems as though someone just happened to carry a can of brown spray paint in their 4-wheel drive while they were exploring some of the back country roads in Lake Mead. This is the result.

...After

Our supplies on this day included some scrub brushes, water and environmentally friendly paint remover. After a good soaking, scrubbing and rinsing, the signs were almost as good as new. Just remember...we are trained professionals so don't try this at home!


I may have mentioned that I started playing softball on a Sunday Night Over 40 league. After a couple of weeks of playing I was introduced to some guys who manage a couple of 60's tournament teams. I was invited to 'stop by and try out' one Saturday morning, which I did....and what do you know....I was asked if I'd like to play in a Senior Softball Spring National tournament. After many micro-seconds of consideration I said YES! So last week Joan and I loaded up the RV and headed to St. George, Utah for the weekend.



We decided to go early and spend some time in Zion NP before the tournament started. We traveled on Wednesday and set up at Sand Hollow State Park. Early Thursday morning we left Sand Hollow taking a back road to Hurricane and Zion. We rounded a corner and were surprised by what we saw.......icicles.


It was only 46 degrees by our car thermometer, but it must have gotten much colder during the night for this to have happened.

We drove into Zion and went in search of a nice hiking spot only to find every trail head parking spot taken and dozens of cars parked along the roadway at almost every pull off. Oh yeah...it's spring break. Not interested in hiking in a conga line we regrouped and returned to one of our favorite drives near Zion, Kolob Terrace Rd just outside of Virgin. Much less traffic and the scenery is just as pretty. We pulled off at a lookout and had a picnic lunch before taking a short 3 mile hike.....beautiful scenery and beautiful company.

Friday morning we headed to the Canyons Softball Complex in St George, a short 20 minute drive from our campground. Our team, LVSSA Raiders went 2-0 in the seeding games of our AAA 12-team bracket and finished #1 Seed. Good start.

Unfortunately Saturday didn't follow suit and we went 0-3. Oh well, still had lots of fun, got to meet some new softball buddies and I even managed to hit my 1st dinger of the year...a 3-run shot to center field. Man did that feel good! And I've been invited back to play with them in the fall when we return from Crazy Horse. What a deal.



Spring is definitely here in Lake Mead and everything is blooming. This week is Joan's last work week this spring as she is flying to Alabama to spend some time with her brother and his family before we leave Lake Mead. We got to drive a couple of our favorite roads, a new road we hadn't been on before and even got in a short hike.







Can you tell from this pic she needs some time off ?

L-R Chris, Leslie, Joan, Steve

Joan discovered that Leslie and Chris from RVNomads2too were staying in Boulder City and arranged for us to meet them for lunch. Chris is from Melbourne, FL and Leslie is from Boring, Oregon, the same little community where I played softball when Joan and I were working at Mt Hood. A lot of similarities between us as far as experiences and future plans, so I expect we'll be seeing more of them in the future.

Wax on, Wax off
It looked a lot easier in the movies Daniel-san
This scratch isn't coming out!

As for our not-so-fun adventure.....well on the way to Utah I managed to 'kiss' a concrete divider in a construction site on I-15. Just a little gust of wind...and when you're 8' wide in a 10' lane with concrete barriers on both sides...well I suppose you know what happens. A nice 4" wide, 30' long scratch down the side of the MH. No major damage, a new door skin, a new hinge and lots of paint and she'll be good as new.

That's it for now. Stay Tuned. More to Come.

More Adventure Than You Can Shake a Stick At (Or Should It Be Shake a Seed At?)

It's been a fun week here at Lake Mead. We had some adventure in our Road Monitoring job and we got to visit with some fellow RV'rs/Bloggers; got lots of pics and worked on a small RV maintenance job. I wrote a little story about it, like to hear it, hear it goes........(anyone remember Calhoun Tubbs from In Living Color?)

Since our return to Lake Mead after Christmas we had a slow 'leak' in one of the hydraulic jacks that level the MH. No fluid on the ground or on the jacks themselves; just a slow retraction of one jack over a short period of time causing the MH to lean and and move around a little as you walk through.

Behind this door awaits Adventure

I did a little research on IRV2 ( I love that site) and found several other RVrs that had experienced and resolved that very issue. After checking my MH owners manual I identified the model jacks on my unit, then checked out the manufactures website RVA Jacks. They have detailed schematics of the various model jacks they manufacture as well as troubleshooting guides and operational manuals for all models.

In their troubleshooting section they even discussed how to identify what may be causing a leak as well as detailed instructions on how to repair/replace the various parts of their system. All indications pointed to a problem with one of the 3 retract valves; either a faulty valve or something clogging the valve allowing hydraulic fluid to slowly seep back into the fluid reservoir.

A little cleaner with 2 of the coils & covers removed
and the top of the retract valve showing
(back row)

I called the manufacturer to order a new valve and spoke with a gentlemen that suggested I switch 2 of the valves with each other to ensure the slow leak followed the valve to the new jack leg. Then when I was sure the retract valve was indeed the problem I could order the new valve. Great Idea! I located the hydraulic reservoir and valve manifold behind the 'dryer' door on the driver side of the MH. After cleaning the area with a little WD40 I used a 1/2" wrench to remove the coil on top of the valve before using a 7/8" deep socket to remove the suspect retract valve and 1 of the other 2 retract valves. I cleaned both valves before swapping them and reinstalling them back into the manifold. I replaced the covers and coils, torquing them to specs (that was mentioned several times in the troubleshooting guide as well as by the tech at RVA). Then I extended all 3 jacks and re-leveled the MH.

The Culprit!

That was 6 days ago and guess what..........the MH is still level today. No slow leaks. Looks as though my problem was a bit of trash on the valve O-ring allowing the fluid to flow back into the reservoir. I'm telling you what....if you don't have IRV2 bookmarked on your PC you are missing out on a huge resource for the full and part- time RVer that has an interest in performing some of their own RV maintenance rather than going to the dealership with every issue. And my thanks to RVA Jacks for providing great support of their products.

No where to go but up!

Earlier this week we had a chance to revisit one of our favorite and more adventurous back country roads in Lake Mead; AR70a. This road is located near Kingman Wash just 2 miles into Arizona across Hoover Dam. AR70a is a short road that leaves the main road to Kingman Wash and straddles the spine of a mountain ridge while climbing several hundred feet in elevation before intersecting with AR70b which also straddles another mountain spine and returns to the main road.

As you drive either AR70 a or b there is almost no room to pull over or turn around because of the steep slope of the mountain on either side of the road. AR70b is rough and 4-wheel drive is recommended. AR70a is even rougher and I would recommend only attempting this one with a high clearance 4x4 vehicle. Bring a lunch because the view from the intersection of a & b is truly spectacular. You can see Kingman Wash Cove, Lake Mead, Boulder City, the new bridge at Hoover Dam, Fortification Hill; and on a clear day you can even see parts of Las Vegas. And if you follow the road a little further past the intersection there is an abandoned mining area that is interesting to explore.

We added another skill set to our resume; seed distributor. The park service has a plant nursery within the park. Native species plants are grown here and used to replant areas where desert plants may have been damaged or destroyed.

When the decision was made several years ago to build the new bridge across the Colorado River at Hoover Dam the park service combed through the area of the road realignment and harvested as many seeds of the existing plants as possible.

We get to go to the coolest places...
The temp in the nursery storage
room is kept at 40 degrees

The seeds were sorted and stored at the nursery to be used for future restorations. Our supervisor is also responsible for the nursery and she asked if we'd be interested in scattering the seeds near where they were harvested. Joanie SowsSeeds (kinda' like Johnny Appleseed) didn't hesitate with her answer....."Heck Yeah!" So we loaded up the back of our truck with buckets and buckets (28 to be exact) of seeds and off we went to check out several of the Approved Roads near the dam.

Joanie Sows Seeds and Joseph
Spreading Seeds. They're having too much fun

And everywhere we stopped throughout the day Joan could be seen throwing caution and seeds to the wind! Luckily, she didn't injure her knee like she did late last year throwing rocks. I guess the seeds were much lighter than the rocks.





The next day as we were driving one of the roads located about 10 miles south of town we ran across a disturbance where an ATV had driven off the approved road into a wash, then exited the wash onto an abandoned road bed. Joan began walking/recording the track on our GPS and after walking several hundred yards she exited back onto the approved road; but  not before finding an interesting discovery...an abandoned and burned car. Looked like a fairly recent model SUV, but every bit of plastic and a lot of the engine metals were burnt and melted. We called it into dispatch and we'll have to wait and see if the park service will be able to remove it without causing too much damage to the non-culturally cleared area.

Check out the grill. Can anyone tell what
year & model it is?

The park is huge; incorporating more than 2.5 million acres. And there are areas within the park boundaries that are private property. We spotted this car on private property buried in a wash almost 20 miles off the paved road. Guessing at the age of the car, we can only wonder how far was it to a paved road 50 or 60 years ago when it was left here? And what about the fate of the original passengers. Did the car break down and leave them stranded? For how long? Or were they caught up in a flash flood? Adventure whether you want it or not!

One of the blogs that we follow is Travel Bug. A few days ago we got a call that the blogs'............ (owners?writers?subjects?what is the correct term?) Susan and Bob were going to be stopping over in Lake Mead this week. They checked into Lake Mead RV Park and we drove down to meet them in person. We chatted for a little while sharing RV stories before heading back to our MH with an invitation for them to call us if they had any spare time during their visit. A short while later we got a call that they would like to stop by and learn a few new games. So over they came and we broke out Golf, Liars Dice and Qwirkle. Joan and I had a fun time and we think they did too. Susan and Bob were great reinforcements of our opinion that the vast majority of the people living this lifestyle are fun to get to know and really enjoy what they do!

As I look back over the last year, I think about all of the people we've introduced to the game of Qwirkle. I know we've given about a 1/2 dozen games to friends as Christmas gifts. And we know of at least 3 couples that went out and bought the game after we introduced them to it. I wonder if Joan and I could become Qwirkle Consigliere? Maybe we could make you an offer you couldn't refuse.

That's it for now. Stayed Tuned. More to Come

Kisses, Abandoned Mines, Flying Lizards, Baby Bighorn, VIP and Great Colors. What a Day!

Valentine Day has come & gone and we are no worse off for the eating of endless chocolate. Our lips are just a little bit chapped though......if you know what I mean!

A couple of days after Valentine Day we joined several of our co-workers and drove out to Anniversary Mine for a hike through The Narrows. Wandering Wingers Dave & Maxine were staying out at Stewarts Point so they decided to join us as we explored the area around the mine and slot canyon. We drove into the park to Mile Marker 16, then drove about 2 miles along one of the Approved Back Country Roads to a large wash.

We Snuck this Pic over the fence blocking
the entrance to the closed mine

The wash is several hundred feet wide and about 40-50' deep. We drove down into the wash and then followed the wash further into the park. There are several old mines in and around the wash as well as being bordered by active mine sites on both sides. Here's a peek at the inside of one mine I 'borrowed' from Dave's blog.

So if I go in here, do I end up over there?

Several of the group checked out the entrance to mine as well as 2 small tunnels outside the entrance to the mine, probably used as a rail- or walk- way along the face of wash. Farther down the wash it narrows into a slot canyon, which everyone was interested to hike. We had gone out early, so we had the slot canyon to ourselves on the way in.


And when we got to the far side we saw a small group of big horn sheep, including several babies. I'm glad we went early as we had 2 groups already hiking the narrows as we left and several groups hiking towards the narrows as we drove out of the wash.




Joan is always keeping her eyes open and checking out the surroundings. Looking up into one of the mesquite trees she noticed something unusual. Flying lizards? No, more like lunch. A *** lizard impaled on a mesquite thorn; more than likely placed there by a shrike.






Speaking of lunch, our group split up after leaving the mine; some of them had to go to work; others to recuperate from the morning's activities. We were all feeling a little sketchy after the hike.




We invited Dave & Maxine to join us for lunch. There is a smal chiiniese restaurant in nearby Logandale called VIP that we have enjoyed several times that we thought they would enjoy. And we were right (found out subsequently they revisited VIP a couple days later).  After that we stopped by their boondocking site to chill out and watch the late afternoon color.

Aside from our normal day to day activities, I've been very busy working with a realtor back in Florida. While we were in Florida at Christmas we visited friends and family, had our physicals, visited our rentals and met with our financial advisor (you have to do that kind of thing even though it's no fun). He suggested we consider selling one of our properties.

The house Joan & I lived in prior to going full time still has a mortgage and due to the current housing market is still worth quite a bit less than the original purchase price. We've been fortunate that we've had it rented the entire time we've been on the road; however the rent we've been able to get doesn't cover the mortgage, escrow, HOA & management fees. I don't see the market changing any time soon so we decided it was time to cut our losses and try to sell the house. So if you're interested in a nice townhouse in central Florida overlooking the 9th green at a great golf course, let me know.

Next on the list.......Income Tax......yuck!

That's it for now. Stayed Tuned. More to Come.

PS...Thanks for reading. As of last week stats indicate we've had over 40,000 page views. Who'd a thunk it?

Things Are Just "Grate"!

Maxine & Dave

We're into week 2 of February and things are still rolling along out here in Lake Mead. Our friends Dave and Maxine (Wandering Wingers) stopped by last week and spent a couple of nights here before moving on to a boondocking location further into Lake Mead. They're staying about 40 miles into the park at Stewarts Point just a few feet off the edge of Lake Mead itself. We're hoping to see them several times over the next few weeks to check out some of the hikes and back roads in the park.

Happy Birthday Darlin'

For those of you who may not know, on 2/11 Joan celebrated her 28th Anniversary. "Of what?" you may ask. Well she really doesn't like to talk about it, but I think it's great. It's the 28th Anniversary of a significant birthday. Yahoo! I'm looking forward to many more even if she isn't as excited about it as I am.






Last Tuesday the Park service held a small recognition party for all of the volunteers in Lake Mead. With sequestration and all of the shrinking budgets it's a challenge for all of the National Parks to maintain the level of services that visitors and tourists have come to expect. Volunteers are one of the solutions to that challenge.

Lake Mead NRA has the 6th largest volunteer group in the entire park service with over 3000 volunteers registered. Many of those volunteers are from the Vegas area and contribute a minimum of 8 hours a month. Another large group are like Joan and I, full or part time RVers that work a minimum of 16 hours a week. The various jobs include not only camphosting, but vegetation management, vehicle maintenance, visitor center, leading educational and informational outings for schools and private groups, water and boat safety & assistance. In 2013 volunteers contributed over 118,000 hours in Lake Mead; that's equivalent to 57 full time employees or a little over $2.1 million. pretty significant when you think about it. Joan and I are pleased to have contributed over 250 hours each since we started volunteering in January 2013.

Cut but not painted

I managed to make a few mods to the MH over the last few weeks. One of our cabinets holds several  pieces of electronics (DVR, Dish receiver, etc) behind a closed door with a glass window. Needless to say it can get fairly warm inside the cabinet which is not good for the electronics. Additionally we had a small gap over the top of our convection oven after having to replace the original last year. We've been looking for something with which we could replace the glass and fill in the gap. While strolling through the hardware store I stumbled across a 24" x 36" section of commercial lighting 'grate' which we thought might work.

Works Great! Or is it Grate?

We measured the glass frame and microwave gap and cut the grate to match. Then painted the grate with black paint. What do you think of the finished product? Our neighbors saw what we had done and having a similar problem with their electronics cabinet, we gave them the remainder of the grate which they similarly cut, painted and installed.

Also I ordered and installed an LED light for our MH door handle. It was a fairly simple install. Just remove 3 screws holding the lower bracket; drill a small hole through the wall of the MH behind the bracket location; run wiring through the hole and splice into the wiring for the step lights. Secure the light in the base so that it shines into the handle (I used clear silicon) and reinstall the handle and mounting bracket. Now when I turn on the step lights (which are located in the step well inside the MH) the door handle lights as well. It's not only handy providing enough light to easily see where your key needs to go to unlock the door, but I think it looks nice at night.

November 2013

Each of the Approved Roads within Lake Mead NRA are numbered and there are approximately 150-200 roads with many of them having smaller side roads identified with an A, B, C identifier. Over the course of the last few months we've driven on almost every one of them. Last week we revisited one of the roads driven last November...and were we surprised.

February 2014

Check out the difference in the 2 pictures. Same spot but with a much different water level. This spot is on the eastern shore of Lake Mojave. Even though Lake Mead is a little over 100' below its 'full' level, Lake Mojave doesn't seem to vary that much. While the high water lines evident all along the Lake Mead shore line are 100'+, along Lake Mojave the water lines appear very small. By comparing these 2 pics you can see the water level appears to have risen 5-6 feet since our first visit. There are several websites that share lake level data with daily readings. Just Google Lake Mead water level and you'll get numerous links to check out.

Dry as a Bone!

This is one of the things we enjoy about being in Lake Mead and our road monitoring position. The sights and scenes around us are always changing. The time of day-afternoon light compared to morning light; the browns of late summer, fall and winter compared to the greens of spring; you just never know what you're going to find as you drive around the park. Just make sure you bring lots of water. Wouldn't want you to end up like this. Our thoughts are that we'll try to return here after our summer job in South Dakota. I don't think we'll get bored.

Serious Strategizing Going On!

Friday night has turned into Game Night at our place. The neighbors stop by and there's no telling what games we might break out......Liars Dice, Fruit Salad, Golf, Qwirkle, Mexican Train, Left-Right-Center....and Poker is on the list.





That's it for now. Stay Tuned. More to Come

And Before We Were Done, We'd Walked From Arizona All The Way to Nevada!

It's been a relatively calm 2 weeks since we returned to Lake Mead. We're back out on the back country 'Approved' roads performing our Road Monitoring jobs and the scenery is still as spectacular as when we left. The temps here in Boulder City and Lake Mead NRA are great considering what some places in the country are experiencing. We usually wake up to temps in the low 40's and then spend the day watching the thermometer rise up into the mid 60's. We saw our firsts sightings of coyotes Thursday night as we were leaving our campground. 2 large coyotes had just come down from the hills behind the campground and were on their evening commute towards the lake via the campground road. Not enough time to snap a picture as they headed into the bushes as soon  as they saw our vehicle. Well, maybe next time.

(L-R) Steve, Joan, Barb, Liz, Liz & Bob

Last Monday was a holiday and several of our friends decided a hike back into Majestic Canyon might be in order. Majestic Canyon is located just behind our campground. It's pretty much a consistent uphill hike through a wide wash until you reach the steep high dark canyon cliffs.







The wash continues to narrow as you hike further and higher into the canyon, eventually ending at a high overflow that is impassable unless you're willing to climb using a knotted rope. Here's a pic of me probably 70'-75' up the overflow.



Err....wait....who photo bombed my pic! OK so I was only a few feet off the ground....I still went further up than anyone else. As we started back down the wash we were all rewarded with seeing a pair of peregrine falcons apparently nesting in and among the high cliffs. Nice little hike in & out, maybe a couple of miles all told.

Boulder Beach Marina

Saturday Joan & I decided to see what the Historic Railroad Trail was all about. The trail is 3.5 miles from the Lake Mead parking area to the Hoover Dam parking garage; and travels along the old railroad bed used to transport supplies and equipment to the dam during its construction. The trail passes through 5 tunnels along the way. We parked 1 vehicle at the Lake Mead Visitor Center (the parking area was full) and drove down to and across the dam to where we parked on the Arizona side.

Tunnel #2

We hiked from the Arizona side back across the dam to the trail head on the Nevada side and then onto the trail itself. Nice views of Boulder Beach, the marina and our campground once we reached the tunnels portion of the trail. All together we probably hiked about 4 miles taking about 2 hours to complete the walk.




Special Breaking News........this just in........earlier in the week Joan and I received employment contracts from Crazy Horse Memorial just outside of Custer, SD. We had contacted Crazy Horse after reading about our friends Phil & Rudee's (Workin' RVers) work experience there last year. We're excited about the opportunity and it's another new location for Joan & I to explore this summer. We'll report to work April 30th and work through the end of September. Phil & Rudee have both a jeep and motorcycle so we're really looking forward to spending time with them as they'll be returning to Crazy Horse for the 2014 season. Phil has even picked up a set of golf clubs, so maybe I'll have a golfing buddy this summer as well! Yahoo!

2 of my favorite girls
Birthday Girl Vickie &
my Granddaughter Tristyn

3 Shout Outs this week....one to my sister Vickie who celebrated a birthday last week (she's the one on the left....man is she getting old!)

2 more of my favorite people
Chris & Joan

Another to my youngest son Chris who will celebrate his birthday tomorrow! Happy Birthday to both of you.













And finally to Joan's son Sean who celebrates his birthday on Thursday! That's him Today...........












And in the day.......who's mother would send their son to school dressed like that?????!!!!!! Borders on child abuse. Poor kid probably got beat up at school too! I'm sorry Sean. I'm still working on your mom. Together we'll get her where she needs to be before we're done.





Well that's it for now. Stay Tuned. More to Come!

We're Back! Whew!

Hello boys and girls......we're baaaaaack! Back home in our own little RV at Lake Mead. And we're glad to be back. As much as we enjoy seeing our family and friends back in Florida, our RV is our home. And being gone for almost 5 weeks reinforces how much we enjoy our RV and our RV lifestyle.

Our trip to Florida was fantastic. We drove our car from Vegas to Joan's brother's house in Alabama in 2 days; where we spent 2 nights before stopping over in Atlanta to see Tristyn (and her mom & dad). Why is it that every grandparents' grandchild is the prettiest/most handsome grandchild ever? And when they are about 3 years old they turn into the smartest child in the world! It's amazing how that works.

After a couple of days we stopped over at my sister's house in Snellville for a night before we continued our travels into central Florida and set up 'moochliving' with our friends Jim & Debbie. I don't know how they stand us for that long, but we're grateful they do. This is the 2nd time we've stayed with them during our Christmas holiday vacation in Florida. Jim & Debbie still have a couple of years yet before they can go 'fulltime', but we're doing everything in our power to convince them they should start as soon as possible. We keep tempting them with pictures and stories of our adventures as well as inviting them to come visit us while we're on the road. Hurry up guys....we miss you already!

Merry Christmas
Ryan, Emily & Bradley

While we were in Florida we spent lots of time with our families, attending multiple Christmas parties. We also traveled back and forth across Florida to see friends in person that we've kept in touch with while on the road with via Skype, Facebook, email and cell. Our friends Dave and Lydia found out on Christmas eve that they are going to be grandparents for the first time (subsequent testing determined their daughter is having twins!); my cousin Terri and her husband Joe will become empty nesters as both their children are now engaged and planning weddings; we caught up with Workin' RVers Rudee and Phil as they arrived in Florida the day before we left to return to Vegas;

Happy Birthday Mom!

We celebrated my mom's 77th birthday by taking her to the Cotillion Southern Cafe in Wildwood (if you haven't been there, you may want to try it!); Joan's girlfriend Terri from Seattle flew into Florida to spend Christmas with Joan and her family; I got to play golf twice (twice as many times as I played during the entire year); and I even got to play in my first 60+ softball tournament with my old team the Cardiac Kids; we took Joan's grandkids fishing on my parent's lake;

Joan, Will & I...Semper Fi!

We attended a party for Joan's nephew William who has joined the Marine Corp Reserve and reported for training Jan  6....can you say Hello Paris Island!; we met our friends Tom & Rita who informed us they are retiring and moving to Texas this summer (now we'll have a stopover point in the middle of the country!); and more and more and more.....whew! enough! Time to head home.

Go Noles! 2013 National Champs

We packed up the car and headed out, stopping in Atlanta once more to visit with Tristyn and watch the BCS National Championship game between Florida State and Auburn. Tristyn and her mom & dad are hardcore Seminole fans which is plain to see in her first pic.

Who Did That?!

I'm sure you already know who won that game but I bet you didnt' know some behind the scenes recruiting was going on by some devious person with a blue knit Florida Gator stocking cap! I'm not sure if a certain 'new' Nana.....er forget I said that.....if a certain grandmother will be allowed to hold Tristyn for the foreseeable future. Only time will tell.

Larry looks real good for 75!

We took a little more time driving back to Boulder City, stopping in Monroe, Louisiana for gas and Cracker Barrel only to get turned around and end up driving by the Duck Dynasty warehouse! Didn't see any of the family or get invited in, but it looks the same as on TV. We stopped in Buckeye, Arizona to see our friends Larry and Jean; and Mel (all friends we met and worked with in Oregon in 2012). Larry even invited me to play in a 'pick up' softball game with his fellow league members.

While there we met Jerry and Kim of CR8TING THE LIFE who we've followed on their blog. We traveled on to Yuma and caught up with Don, Donna, Jerry and Phyllis, also friends we met in Oregon. Then it was a short drive back to Boulder City and home.

We arrived on Saturday, got everything set up and reported to work on Monday. On Wednesday we were invited to participate in the Eagle/Raptor Count on Lake Mead. Joan and I loaded up on boats early Wednesday morning and headed out to our assigned 'section' of Lake Mead with our pilot Tom, Recorder Vanessa and Chief Observer Christy where we spent 9 hours and traveled 80+ miles documenting all eagles and raptors observed. I'm not sure how many people or boats total were involved, but our group alone documented 16 eagles.

Tom, Christy, Vanessa

Well, that's it for now. Stay Tuned. More to Come.