Nellis AFB and the Hoover Dam

After a harrowing drive from Zion National Park, we arrived at Nellis AFB, located a few miles east of Las Vegas, late yesterday afternoon. I've been driving in desert winds now for almost a month, but this was the absolute worse!  I had several Oh Crap moments when I thought we were Thelma and Louise... but we made it safe and sound. I will be so darn glad to get somewhere where its not windy!  Alaska maybe?

The Desert Eagle RV Park, as it is called, was easy to find and check in went very smoothly.  This RV park is probably in my top 2 or 3 I've ever stayed at, military, state/national park, or private. It is very well maintained and well laid-out and the dog park is excellent!  I was pleasantly surprised that there were some trees and many shrubs including gorgeous flowering Oleander. If you are Active Duty, National Guard, Reservists, Retired, 100% Disabled Veteran, or DoD Civilian, you can stay at military campgrounds - and they are a sweet deal!  For more information, scroll down on the right of this page and look under Travel Information and Resources for the link for Military Campgrounds.

We got settled in and then did a little research on the Hoover Dam.  We learned that we'll need to get going pretty early to beat the crowd.  According to what I read, the traffic is backed up by 10 AM due to the requirement that passenger vehicles go through spot security checks before being permitted to cross the dam. And, all RVs must be boarded by an inspector to be checked inside, and outside storage bays are also checked.  This is just one more result of 9/11.

Dam inspections!  (sorry, could not resist)

So we got going this morning, leaving Nellis AFB a little before 8 AM. The drive to Hoover Dam took less than an hour and we got to the inspection area before 9 AM. We experienced no wait time at all.  Lynda took Barley and Sydney off the RV so the inspector could come aboard but, sad to say, she barely looked at anything.  It seemed a waste of time, like a TSA person opening the lid on a suitcase but not looking inside.  People, if we're going to do this, let's do it right! Jeez.

Anyway, we drove across the dam just far enough to be in Arizona again.  I was able to find a place to pull the Trek over and Lynda got out and took some photos.  Then we turned around and headed back to Nevada and Nellis AFB.

We spent the rest of today doing laundry and Lynda is packing to leave for Knoxville tomorrow morning. I will drop her off at the Las Vegas airport around 8 AM and then make my way to Lemoore Naval Air Station in California.  This is about a 400 mile drive but I'll be getting an early start and will probably just drive it right through.

Its a bummer that we have to put our travels on hold for a while, but that's just the way it goes. Lynda has a long day ahead of her tomorrow and so do I.