Monday, March 9, 2015 (Travel to Government Wash, Lake Mead, NV)

It was shortly after 9:30 when we said goodbye to Dennis and Charlene and were on our way. It was so good seeing you both one final time this season before we head north!  After a stop at the sani-dump, we left Midland LTVA and headed south to join up with the I-10 east...yes, our first stop will be at RV Lifestyles in Quartzsite. Hopefully, they will be able to repair our hot water tank right away.

We were in luck, they were able to fit us in and after replacing the gas valve under our extended warranty, it was all fixed up and we were ready to hit the road again. So within a week we've had to pay a $100.00 deductible twice! By this time it was just going on noon, so we decided to eat our lunch in the cab of the truck before heading off. As we left, this cool car was parked in the parking lot...Steve couldn't resist taking a picture!

We took highway 95 north to Parker and then instead of continuing north on it, we crossed the bridge over the Colorado River into California...

...and took highway 62. A boondocking area along the way...

This is the California Agricultural Inspection Station as you approach US 95...

 ...then we headed north...

Coming down into the valley and Needles CA...

Lots of Yucca plants in bloom...

This is Terrible's Casino in Searchlight where we thought we might stop for the night but decided to carry-on. We stopped here a year ago last fall on our way down...a cool little casino with $1 beer (needless to say, we enjoyed it!)

A Joshua Tree in bloom...

 At the junction of highways 95 and 93, we took 93 through Boulder City towards Lake Mead...

...and the Lake Mead National Recreation Area....

We turned onto Lakeshore Road and the entrance to the park...

 Campgrounds in the distance...

Boulder Beach Campground (no hook-ups and $10/night) is on the left and Boulder Beach RV Park is on the right (full hook-ups, but no idea the cost)....

We filled our fresh water tank up and then took a drive through the outer part of one section of the campground and decided that it really wasn't where we wanted to stay...even if we could find a site big enough to accommodate us. We've been boondocking too long and don't like the crowds! :-)

So we got back onto Lakeshore Road and carried on towards Government Wash...a popular boondocking area that we had heard about....

From Lakeshore Road, we turned onto Northshore Road...that's Las Vegas Lake. Looks like there are some nice condos/townhomes with a great view of the lake and dam...

Shortly after turning onto Northshore Road we were stopped by road work. It was about a 10 minute wait before the pilot truck came and escorted the line of traffic through. The idiot in the pickup started dropping the "F bomb" at the flagman...as if he could do anything about it...sheesh!

Water from Las Vegas Lake flows into Lake Mead...

It was going on 5:30 when we turned onto Government Wash Road. Being our first time here, we really didn't know where to go. This is the boat launch ramp and beach access parking area...now a long way from the water.

So we headed down this lumpy, bumpy road for a bit before pulling over, putting on our running shoes and walking in...

We ended up finding a great spot up a small hill that has a 180 degree view of the lake...awesome! We couldn't help but wonder why no one had taken the spot but figured, being Monday, that someone must have just left either last night or today. We walked back to the truck then continued on at a snails pace.

It was after 7:00 by the time we had set up...the sun had gone down behind the mountains, so we didn't take any pictures....they will have to wait until tomorrow, so stay tuned....