Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21, 2015 (Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, Alamo, NV)

Friday was another gorgeous day...we're so happy to have found this lovely little jewel of a spot to stay at to enjoy the last of these warm days before we make a "b-line" north and into cooler, wetter weather.

We thought we'd take the short drive into Alamo today to check it out. A beautiful ranch, with a lush looking valley floor...

We drove through Alamo...not much there except a big Sinclair Station with grocery store and a residential area. We turned around at this very cool looking Bed and Breakfast...A Cowboy's Dream...

We stopped at the Sinclair Station and took a walk through the grocery store...surprisingly, a full-fledged store, a little costly but look where we are. We bought a flat of bottled water (on sale and a good price!) and after a drive down a side road to check out the Picketts RV Park (formerly Alamo RV Park) where there is a dump station, we headed back home.

We had a very relaxing afternoon...the lake was so flat, not a breath of wind so far today...

Steve took the chairs into the shade behind the trailer and re-strung one of them...

After that, he relaxed with a magazine and read...and I joined him with my crocheting...and that was pretty much our day.

Saturday we had a bit more cloud hanging around and it was windy again...but still warm with temps around 75F/24C.
Steve captured this picture of a Red-Winged Blackbird with a caterpillar in its mouth...it was in the tree behind the trailer...very cool...

It was noon when we headed out for a hike...today we are taking the trail around the lake.

We started by walking down to the day-use area and walking across the levee...there were people out fishing today.

We were walking across the levee when Steve stopped to take a picture of this little guy...it's like he knew his picture was being taken because he turned around and posed...LOL...

There were about a half dozen bird nests in the bushes out in the lake...

The trail around the lake is actually a gravel road...

Now that's a big bird-house!

 A nice spot for a picnic lunch...

There were a few benches along the way...all with beautiful views of the lake. This one had binoculars...

That's our rig over there...great shot with a semi going by on the highway above the campground. The traffic is intermittent and after awhile the traffic noise just becomes white noise...

 We're at the southwest end of the lake now...

 The last of the campsites are in the trees on the right...

As we were walking back along the road to our site, we noticed this dead tree (what was left of it)...it looks kinda spooky with it's arms...

We believe this is a 'Diving Duck'. I guess we are a little early for the spring migration. We have seen very few birds...these guys, a few ducks and Canada Geese and Herons...

The hike around the lake was 3.15 miles and took us 1 hour and 25 minutes...with plenty of stops along the way. A very enjoyable walk on a beautiful day!

Our original plan was to leave here Monday but we've been watching the weather forecast for our route. Wells, NV about 4 1/2 hours north of here has a "hazardous weather advisory"...a cold front with rain and a chance of snow with lows of 29 F and highs of 51 F is coming through Sunday night through Tuesday. So, looks like we may extend our stay here until maybe Wednesday with lows of 40F and highs of 77F...we'll just keep an eye on the forecast. Luckily, we'll still have enough time to get back to BC as scheduled by the 31st.