WEEK OF 18 OCTOBER 2020; PAHRUMP, NV

 Sunday 18 October;

We decided to do a Jeep run this morning.  We met Don and Linda right outside the entrance to Mountain Falls and then headed up the highway toward Las Vegas.  We turned off and headed into Lovell Canyon.  We wanted to do this run for two 

Reasons;  1) because neither of us (Don & Linda or Rob or I) had done it and 2). Because Rob wants to do it with Tony on the way back from the Vegas Airport.  He doesn’t get in until 3 pm and we wanted to find out how long it would take to do the trail so they wouldn’t be doing it in the dark.  And the cool part about today’s adventure......I got to drive it.

It’s way more fun to drive it than to be a passenger getting bounced around.  Plus, I was a bit smoother and slower and so Bella wasn’t getting bounced around nearly as much as she usually does.

Most of it was pretty tame.  There is an alternate route that takes you though rock gardens, but we didn’t do that.  Although, there was one section where we didn’t have a choice.  We had to go through the rock garden.  Rob spotted me and then left me to spot for Linda (it was a ladies’ day with both of us driving and our hubbies as passengers).  While he was spotting for Linda I continued picking my way through and did a pretty good job of it.  Lovell Canyon goes into Red Rock Canyon which is really pretty.

We entered the La Madera Mountains Wilderness before getting to the top parking lot of the Red Rock Canyon drive.  

It is so pretty in Red Rock Canyon 

It was a beautiful day and a lot of people were out and about.  There were tons of hikers.  There was a group of motorcycles and there was a group of about 10 Slingshots.  One of them had a big dog as a passenger.  He was sitting up, was harnessed in and was wearing doggles like Bella has.

When we talked to his owner he told us the dog has ridden all the way to DC and back.  Seems kind of tiring for a dog to ride like that that far. It sure was cute sitting up in the slingshot like that though.

We continued on through the park 

and then drove over to the little town of Blue Diamond.  Rob and I do a lot of mountain biking there.  They have great trails.  There is a little restaurant there with yummy pizza’s and sandwiches and salads.  It has a nice big deck so its a nice place to go during these trying times.

We sat out and had a flatbread pizza and a beer.  It was fun.  They we drove back to Pahrump.  

When we got back to town Rob asked me if I wanted to see where the famous Brothel was, so we went out to find it.  It is a famous place that is still active, but gives tours and is apparently a great place to have lunch.  I have been curious about it ever since we moved here.  So we found it.  It is Sunday, so I guess they don’t do a lot of business.  The parking lot was pretty empty.

There is another one to the left of this one (right next door)  It is really cute.  Both offer tours.  I’m not sure which is the one that is the great spot for lunch.

From here we drove out into the desert following a dirt road. Rob wanted to see if it was the correct one to take to get over to the Dumont Dunes without going on the highway.  It seemed to be correct.  After that we went home.

Both of my football teams are on a bye this week, so we didn’t miss anything. 

I worked on a blouse.  It is made of gauze and I had split the back of it.  I got some replacement fabric for it about a year ago and am finally getting around to fixing it.  I took the back all off so I can use it as a pattern.  It was a lot of work so I decided to make the patter, cut it out and sew it tomorrow rather than tonight.

Monday; 19 October.

The Coronavirus is blowing up again.  30 states have had record new cases and the deaths in the US is over 800,000 now.  The US is not the only country either.  France, Italy, England and many other states are blowing up as well.  It is very frightening.

I sadly, have decided not to go and visit my Mom before we venture south east.  It is a very hard decision because we are going to be gone for a year.  But, she is in an independent living facility and they are not really abiding by all the health and safety rules.  They are allowed to have visitors now, they can take Uber around town to appointments etc, and they don’t have to go into quarantine when they get back anymore.  They get together in each other’s apartments to play bridge.  I am happy she is having a good time, but I am also afraid for her and afraid for me if I go and visit.  I have no place to stay so would stay in her apartment, in her facility and that worries me.  I don’t want to be exposed to the virus and would sure hate to get it and get sick or especially to give it to Rob or anyone else.

When planning our trip to go to Florida to buy a boat we were planning on visiting a friend in Phoenix, friends in Tucson, and friends in Dallas.  Then onto Houston to have Thanksgiving with Aunt Maddie et al.  But, after the news about the virus and all the states that are blowing up we have changed our plans.  We called everyone and told them it is all to scary and we are not going to come to visit.  It is really sad.  I so much want them to hurry up and find the cure, make the vaccine and let us get together with friends and family again.  In the mean time, all we can do is wear our masks and continue to socially distance ourselves from everyone.  We feel safe around people who feel the same as us, those who are following the rules and wearing their masks and socially distancing themselves.  Like Kate and Joe for instance.  

Anyway, these are very sad times.

Wednesday; 21 October 2020

Rob, Bella and I went to Las Vegas to a new Dentist.  It is a lovely place.  Very large with a big staff.  We both needed teeth cleanings, nothing more.  But, first we went through an hour of x-rays and exams and meeting the new Dentist.  He is very nice. I needed a night guard.  I had my bottom teethe straightened a couple years ago and then had implants done over the course of a year so I had to wait until everything was done to get my night-time retainers.  Unfortunately the had to do the mold of my upper teeth twice.  It was taking forever.  Rob was all finished with exams and cleanings as they were just starting my cleaning.  He had taken Bella from me, so he then had to wait for me.  Actually, he didn’t, he could have just taken her home.  I had plans to meet Kate for lunch.  I did, but I was 15 minutes late.  I felt bad about that.

We had a lovely time at lunch tho.  It is always so nice getting together with her.  It was especially nice having a “girls” day.  Since the Coronavirus outbreak and all the “stay-at-home orders, Rob and I have pretty much been connected at the hip.  It was nice to have an outing with just a female friend.  

We didn’t do much else for the rest of the week, although I did go through my clothes again.  I went through all my shorts and pants and long and short sleeve tee shirts again.  I managed to get rid of two and a half garbage bags again.  If I keep doing this every couple weeks I might be able to get all of my clothes in just one closet.  It is nice having them all in one household, nothing in any of the RVs, only here at the house.  One of these days I will go through all my dresses and skirts.  But, that is for another time.