We’ve finally headed out for our first road trip with the new trailer and our goal is to find some relatively warm weather while trying out the features of the rig. Our itinerary includes stops at Lake Mead, Pahrump, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Temecula, and another stop in Las Vegas. We hope you’ll follow along.
After picking up the trailer at cousin Mitch’s house in Cave Creek, we headed back to Prescott to have some adjustments made to the hitch at our local dealer. From there it was north to Lake Mead for our first night on the road. It was a long day of driving (over 400 miles) but a learning experience the whole way.
The Lake Mead RV Village at Boulder Beach is located inside of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and was our first exposure to an RV park.
The RV park, while nothing fancy, provided a great location from which to explore the Lake Mead and Hoover Dam area. We had full hookups (water, electric, sewer, and cable) and were located directly across from the sparkling bathrooms. However, if we were to return, we’d spring for a lake view site to give us more room and unobstructed lake views.
Steve’s parents, Judy and Larry, joined us on one day to explore the area. We walked across the Memorial Bridge at Hoover Dam. Mia wasn’t supposed to go there, but we didn’t see the sign…really!
Then, we drove along Lakeshore Road around the lake. The best stop was at the Redstone Trail where we all took the easy hike among incredible sandstone formations. Even Mia loved the hike!
The next day we broke out the bikes and hit the Historic Railroad Trail. This former railway was used to haul supplies and equipment from Boulder City to Hoover Dam during its construction. 
Now it’s a really cool trail perched above the lake that takes you through five tunnels carved through the rocks. It’s just east of the road we’ve driven to Las Vegas for many years and we never knew it was there. We were told to watch for bighorn sheep but had no luck.
Next we headed about 90 minutes west to Pahrump, Nevada. The highlight was this:
Right on the side of the road in Boulder City was a herd of nine bighorns. Super cool!
Honestly, there’s not much in Pahrump, but it’s the gateway to Death Valley National Park, and there are wineries, so we stopped. The Wine Ridge RV Resort was a great choice in Pahrump. Full hookups and resort amenities like pools, tennis courts, pickleball, a winery, and a dog park. Mia checked out her park but we weren’t here long enough to enjoy much more.
Judy and Larry drove the 90 minutes over from Las Vegas to join us for wine tasting. We didn’t take a lot of pictures but can say we recommend Sanders Family Winery. Free tasting of 10 wines/cocktails and super nice staff made for a nice afternoon.
Pahrump is a good waypoint on the way to Death Valley National Park, our next stop.
This time we were joined by our neighbor and dear friend Sheri, and Sheri and I did the 10K while Steve took on the 42K/26.2 mile marathon. 
Of course the festivities began with the race expo where we picked up our race numbers and shopped for running-related stuff. This expo was unique as there were many featured products from Japan, where more than half of the registered runners come from.
The immaculate park showcases cultures from around the Pacific and allowed us hands-on experiences like poi tasting, canoe rides, fake tattoos, and lots of hula. It was a long day, but worth the exploration. 
Here are a few observations from our time on the island. 
The US-based currency exchange would not take the money and after asking at least a dozen Cuban-Americans working in the airport if they would like the money
We tried really hard to understand the systems but concluded some things are better left misunderstood. 
Marnie and Steve Travel 