Photos of Thousand Trails Las Vegas campground

There are a few shady campsites in this Thousand Trails Las Vegas park and they are the ones everyone wants. It's only 90 degrees and I can imagine what a scramble it is for the best sites here in the summer when the temps are way above 100. (Actually, the staff assigns each camper to a site when they check in so there is no scramble.) Today was the first day we turned on our air conditioner, but some neighbors have been running their's since we got here. Up until today it was overcast and breezy. Opening all the windows all the time has been more than sufficient to keep us comfortable. Even cool. Today was the warmest in 2 weeks.

This park is very popular in the winter, obviously not so popular in the summer heat. We attended the manager's meeting on Saturday morning which was well attended by the members. When talking about the amenities at this park he told everyone that this TT park is not the revenue generator that other TT parks are. There is no food service here because Thousand Trails cannot compete with the casino buffets. This is the entertainment capitol. Most who stay here go downtown for food and entertainment and use the park as a safe haven to return to at the end of the day. It's not a destination park, but rather a nice campground that enables you to see the local sights. It makes for a quiet campground most of the time.

The park is quiet, but every once in a while we hear a big jet fly over, headed for the airport. The jets aren't too noisy, they just remind us that we're in the middle of civilization, not in a national forest. The traffic out on the street is not loud, but we must be near a police, fire or ambulance station because the sirens are very noticeable at times. At night we've seen the police helicopter circle overhead. It may sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not. We're in a big city and it's expected. It's a nice campground, a good stopping place on the way north, friendly people, and it seems to be safe. Having a TT person at the front gate to check everyone in gives us a good feeling.

Thousand Trails Las Vegas is a clean, well maintained park and they have upgrades and improvements planned for this summer when the park is empty. There is a well-stocked store, an activity room with a pool table, a couch and chairs, and wi-fi access. The swimming pool and hot tub are just outside the store, right next to the fenced dog run. We've seen some of the campers have difficulty with the turns and streets, but I don't think that's the fault of the park. In fact, the wooden posts that mark the grassy areas can be easily removed if someone gets into a pickle turning a corner too tightly.

We spoke with a friend in Montana and he said it's cold and about the time you think it's going to warm up, it rains or snows, and then turns cold again. Having a motorhome with exposed holding tanks and hose connections, we need to be more cautious with freezing temperatures than a stick-and-brick homeowner. We're anxious to get to Montana, but not anxious to face frozen water hoses. We'll probably be here another week, with the air conditioner running.

Thousand Trails - Las Vegas

We've been here about 10 days and have another 10 to go. Having never spent this much time in Las Vegas, I thought we'd be bored and unable to stay put this long. We're not gamblers nor do we like to mingle with thousands of tourists. But half way through this visit we're enjoying ourselves and our motorhome lifestyle. We think we'll stay a little longer.

Our TT membership allows us to stay at a member park for 21 days and then we're able to move immediately into another TT/LT/NACO preserve without being out of the system. There are no other TT parks on our route north so as long as the weather is not too hot here we're going to stay and explore Vegas. It's been about 10 degrees cooler here than in Phoenix, with overcast cloudy skies and lots of wind to keep us cool. If we feel the need to move we'll look for campgrounds in Utah. Opening day on the river is May 16 and we plan to be there.


Thousand Trails Las Vegas is not like other forested, rural, green-grass, scenic campgrounds we've visited. However, it's not a casino parking lot for boondocking campers. Far from a parking lot. This is a little bit of an oasis in a big, bustling metropolitan city. A heavily populated city that stays awake allllll night long. Vegas never sleeps. They never sleep because they don't have clocks in casinos to remind people what time it is. Clocks are the enemy of casinos. Gamblers get so engrossed in playing, and hoping to win, that they lose all common sense. That may not be true of all gamblers, but walking through a casino at 8:30 in the morning and seeing all those slot machine junkies propped on their stools, you just know they've been there for hours. Sorry, that's not for us.

I plan to post photos of this Thousand Trails Las Vegas park soon.

Staying in Vegas

We're staying in Vegas for a while. Almost sounds like the commercial "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas". We've been through Vegas many times, usually just stopping off to eat, not gamble.

We arrived at the Thousand Trails park and knew from the reservation system that it would be full, or almost full. We're able to make reservations 120 days in advance so we had no doubt about getting a camping site, but figured we'd have to take whatever was available. The friendly staff greeted us and assigned our site. After filling up on propane we parked the motorhome tightly between our new neighbors. I do mean tightly! After getting set up we took a walk around the park and I made a mental note of the departure dates on the rigs. I found a couple nicer sites and told Rick we probably would move to a bigger, more open site when possible. This TT park is like the Palm Springs park in that the sites are tight and it's a place to park while you explore the area. We asked the TT guard if we could move to the site at the end of the row with the big shade tree and green grass on Saturday when they moved out. The row we were in was clastrophobic and I could practically reach out the window and shake hands with the neighbors.

We got the inside scoop on dining from the locals in the campground and decided to go out for a seafood buffet Friday night. There were lots to choose from, but we decided to go to the Main Street Station ($16) in the north part of the Strip. We walked around Fremont Street, but it was afternoon so there was no light show. We will go back to see it and some of the other casinos lit up at night. Soon after dinner opened at 4 PM we were having our fill of snow crab legs. And a little shrimp, but mostly the crab. The Deadliest Catch fleet will need to go back out and replenish the crab supply in Vegas.

Parking the rig

You know by now that I love to drive the motorhome. Rick is fantastic with maps, the GPS, and navigating and I love to drive so that makes for a good team. When I pulled into the Thousand Trails at Palm Springs, there were, as usual, a few campers who gave me the long stare that I've learned to smile at. And I usually wave. It's mostly the men campers who look surprised to see a woman driving a motorhome, and this time it was no different. Rick and I both get a kick out of it. This TT park is really tight quarters with all the date palm trees lining the skinny streets and with palm trees situated in all the wrong places within each campsite. It was intimidating when I first visited there, but now it's no big deal. When we arrive we pull to a small parking area and unhook the toad, then drive the car through the resort to pick out a campsite. When I drove the motorhome to the campsite I noticed a guy get on his bike and follow me to the site. I also noticed a couple other curious on-lookers, but un-intimidated by the trees or the curious, I backed the motorhome into the site on the first try. A few minutes later I saw a guy back his truck into a palm tree while parking his 5th wheel trailer. A little while later we watched someone else do a 10-point maneuver to get their motorhome parked. I actually enjoy the challenge of parking and as long as Rick is guiding me, I haven't had a problem so far.

We spent a couple nights at the Thousand Trails Palm Springs park and had fun while there. Rick likes to get the local newspaper delivered to the steps of the motorhome and we like to plan our day over morning coffee. Most mornings Rick and I played a few games of pickle ball and made new friends. In the afternoons we did some shopping and visited family.

We're close enough to Rick's sister and brother-in-law to be able to drive over and spend time with them and share a few meals. They are always gracious hosts and we always enjoy visiting with them.

After a few days at the TT park we moved to the FMCA Western Area rally in Indio. We had friends, Tom & Jo, staying in their motorhome at another campground and we planned to go to the rally with them. We called them to see if they were ready to head over to the rally and they gave us a 20 minute head start. They were coming from one direction and we were coming from the other. It was amazing when we got to the intersection to turn toward the rally entrance and they were at the intersection also. We turned left, they turned right and they followed us into the staging area. It was amazing that we each traveled across town and met up at the same time. After a short time we were guided to our camping/parking places and wouldn't you know it! We have some of the best parking of all the attendees! We are in row 1, space 1 and our friends are facing us.

So far the rally is lots of fun and I have some photos to share with you on the next post.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our one year anniversary and we are celebrating! It was one year ago that we retired. We had worked January 4th and on January 5th we were retired! At this time one year ago we were finishing packing the motorhome and planning to travel the next day, January 6th. On January 5th, the first day of retirement, we were estatic! Looking forward to the freedom of not working! That day I received a jury summons in the mail and thought it was going to delay our departure. I remember reading the summons and it was like someone had burst my bubble. But we took off, hit the road, let the dust fly, and made our way on January 6th to Thousand Trails Palm Springs. This was the first leg of our retirement adventure and we weren't going to let the jury summons, or anything else, stop us. (I wrote a letter to the courts and they gave me a long term waiver.)

A few days ago we found ourselves once again loading the motorhome and getting ready for another road trip. We'd been home for a couple months, but had planned to spend most of January exploring. We drove to Thousand Trails Palm Springs on the 3rd and we'll spend the next few days there enjoying the warm weather, the palm tree filled sky, the fellowship of our neighboring RVers, and the friendship of friends and family. Rick and I love the fact that we spent about 300 days out of the last 365 living and traveling in our Mobile Fishing Lodge (aka our motorhome). And it's deja vu that we are in the exact same place one year later.

I hope we are able to enjoy another year, NO, many more years, living this life of freedom, adventure, and exploration. Whatever your dreams and goals are, I hope you are doing what makes you happy.

OR to CA

It's late and I'm tired. Just a quick post to let you know we had a great day and made it to the Sacramento area. The weather was good and traffic was light. We were on the interstate from 8:30 AM to about 6:30 PM - a LOOOOONG day! But a good one with a few rest area stops along the way. It started out foggy, but eventually cleared to blue skies in a place called Sunny Valley. Appropriate.


The coffee this morning was decaf (won't happen again), snacks in the morning were pretzel sticks and fresh fruit (no processed sugar), lunch was crab salad (my recipe) and crackers with the fabulous view of Mt Shasta. Finally some caffeine in my iced tea! By the time we arrived at Thousand Trails Lake Minden this evening dinner was leftover baby back ribs, fresh corn on the cob, and fresh zucchini. And the cold beverage tasted especially good!
Tomorrow will also be a long day, but we are anxious to see family.

Southbound

We are leaving the beautiful state of Oregon and heading south to warmer climes, where all those experienced geese and ducks went weeks ago. I say the geese are experienced because they've done this before. This is our first time as snowbirds. And we sure are having a good time! But it's getting cooler and we're finished with our warranty work at Guaranty RV in Junction City. I'll fill you all in on the details in another post. I might even have some tips to share that might make your stay at the RV dealer easier.

Once again, while here, we've met some very nice people waiting for their RVs to be fixed. And it was wonderful to see our Guaranty RV friends. They are all very generous and caring people. Sorry to say goodbye to them, but happy to be on our way to visit with family. We'll be heading into the So Cal area before turning left for Arizona.

We planned to stop at a small Thousand Trails park we missed on the trip north. It's called Turtle Beach Fish Camp (for real!) in Manteca, CA. I called the park just to confirm that they weren't having wildfires, mudslides or road construction -- you know, something major that might make us reconsider our decision to stop there for a day or two. WELL! They are having a problem with the electricity to a portion of the park and they are busy so we've decided to pass them by and wing it. Probably drive 6 or 8 hours until I get tired. Probably 400 miles or so! Yikes! I'll need lots of coffee and sugary snacks throughout the day! No fear! Rick always takes care of me while I drive! And he makes sure I have a cold beverage ready after we get parked and settled into camp for the night. (And I've already got the lunch and dinner planned for the travel day - just so you don't think it's one-sided or anything.)

Here in Oregon the gold and red leaves are falling from the trees, floating in the wind like colorful butterflies. And as the leaves are blown along the sidewalks the sound reminds me of a babbling brook flowing over the rocky stream bed. The air is crisp, even foggy in the morning, and Rick says we need to be where it's warm. Looking at the weather forecast, it'll be in the 90's when we get back to AZ!

How do you choose a campsite?

What are your priorities when choosing a campsite? It's not a problem to navigate a route, get on the highway, and drive the motorhome, but when we arrive at our campground it's often a task to decide which site we want to live in during our stay. If it's only a night or two then I'm not so picky, but if we're going to be there longer I look for certain qualities in a site. Some campground managers assign your site, but most that we stay in let us choose. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

I asked a number of other RV'ers what they look for when choosing a site. Here are a few of their requirements.

1. No tight spaces with overhanging tree limbs.
2. Enough space for the slides and awnings.
3. Hook-ups, especially electric, in good working order.
4. 50 AMP electric is preferred, but at least 30 AMP.
5. A level site.
6. Not muddy.
7. No trees so we can get satellite TV with the roof mounted antennae.
8. Privacy.
9. Close, but not too close to the amenities & activities.
10. A nice view.
11. Do the neighbors seem reasonable?
12. Do the neighbors have dogs?
13. Afternoon shade.
14. If a one-night stay, then a pull-through so the toad vehicle doesn't have to be unhitched.
15. Wi-Fi access.
16. The sun shining on the solar panels.
17. The firepit in a good location. (Not under the awning or right outside the door!)

I think an interesting view is number one with me. I've always liked to have a nice view, be it the ocean, mountains, valley, or the sunset. We like to be near the lake or stream if there is one. All the photos in this slideshow were taken at the campgrounds we've visited in the last 6 months. We didn't have to drive to find these views.

We don't need to be close to the activities, lodges, bathrooms, or showers. Some of the Thousand Trails parks have water and electric only, with no sewer connections. In those cases, if we are staying a long time, we might use the shower facilities to keep from filling up our grey holding tank. At one TT park we were a few rows away from the showers, but on the pathway to it. We had people walking by the motorhome at all hours, and some were real characters. We saw a variety of pre- and post-shower fashions. Somewhat entertaining, somewhat frightening.

We often camp at Thousand Trails/NACO/LTR parks since we've been members since 1976 or so and we have a VIP membership that lets us into all the parks. We also have the ability to stay 21 days at any TT park and then move directly into another TT park.

Thousand Trails Crescent Bar, Quincy, WA

This TT park, Crescent Bar, is unique. It is located in the high desert near Quincy, WA and overlooks the Columbia River. The sunlight plays off the surrounding basalt cliffs, giving them ever-changing color and dimension. Although the weather was drier and warmer, the wind was ferocious! Our photos do not do justice to this very nice park. This is another TT park we would like to visit again and spend more time.

Thousand Trails Paradise, Silver Creek, WA

When we left Junction City this is the lush, green Thousand Trails Paradise park where we stayed one night. The campsites are well-spaced with lots of open grassy areas. We were especially interested in the 2 lakes which are stocked with trout. We want to visit again when we have more time.

Headed for Paradise - Really

We gathered ourselves together and amazingly all 'things' arrived overnight or express delivery so we are able to travel once again. We left Guaranty RV in Junction City somewhat sad. They are really caring and compassionate people and we truly appreciate their kindness. We started out on Sunday for Thousand Trails (TT) Paradise and it really was a gorgeous camp resort. I will work on a slide show of the park for those TT and non-TT readers who might want to see photos other than what they print in the sales brochures. We only spent one night there, but it was a nice stay.

We departed Thousand Trails Paradise on Monday and drove about 5 hours to the next TT resort - Crescent Bar. We stopped and had lunch in the moho at one of the nice rest areas that Washington provides for travellers. We arrived at Quincy, WA early this afternoon and found the TT park overlooking the majestic Columbia River. One of the biggest rivers I've ever seen. It's so big you can't really tell it's a river - more like a large lake. The park is 8 miles outside of town, with nothing much around. You drive down into a gorge and there is the river. There are some nice housing developments being built near the park and I kept asking Rick who could possibly live out here? Retirees? He read in the newspaper tonight that Quincy is home to at least a few large data centers for large corporations like Microsoft, Intuit, Yahoo, and others. Seems there are many computer techs moving into the area. More about the area later.

I've taken some photos to share with you and Rick also took some very nice shots on the drive today. We saw snow, deer, elk, and crossed many bridges and rivers. And we would have also seen Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier IF the clouds hadn't been hanging around. All in all it was an extremely scenic drive and we are delighted to be able to move on down the road. Life is good.

Drive to Washington, Thousand Trails Parks & A New Camera

With the realization that I needed surgery to remove my gallbladder, we knew that we weren't going to be able to spend the time in Washington that we had planned. Our plans are flexible anyway, with nothing in concrete really, so we just came up with another plan. Keeping a positive attitude helps and we've decided our retirement adventures would all be faced with a positive attitude.

We had already arranged to have mail forwarded to our Washington RV park so we needed to make the trip and we (I) wanted to see more of the coastline. So early Thursday morning (5/22) we headed up 101 on a mission to get to the post office in Seaview and retrieve our mail. We drove about 5 hours, passing many vistas and scenic pullouts, and I promised Rick that we would visit each of them on our return trip. We arrived right at lunch time when the post office is closed (do they do that in the big city?) and took a quick trip to Costco to look for a new camera. We went in looking for one model and realized when we saw it that it wasn't what I wanted. We looked at another Nikon model and liked it, but Costco only had the display camera in stock. We decided we liked it, but passed because it was the display model that everyone had played with. (*Remember all the vistas and scenic lookouts we had passed on our trip north? I was really disappointed that we wouldn't have a new camera on the return trip.)

Back to the post office. Guess what? This is a small, remote post office and our mail was taking a little longer than usual to reach it's destination. We spoke with the postmaster and left him a change of address card for Junction City, hopeful that he would get our package and forward it on. Having completed the 'mission', we were left with the rest of the afternoon to explore. We visited the Thousand Trails RV park in Seaview (aka Thousand Trails Long Beach) and took a quick tour since it is located on the beach. We walked the beach for awhile and thought this would be a nice place to stay with the motorhome when we have the opportunity. It was a stormy day and the waves were kicking up the sand, making the waves appear muddy. There were pockets of wildflowers growing along the path which added a touch of color on a dreary day. The sites are a little close together with 4 rigs sharing a common pedestal, but being on the beach is the draw for this park.

While walking the beach we had time to talk about the cameras and Rick suggested we go back to Costco and get the display model. Costco has a 90 day return policy so the idea was to try it out and see if we like it. You know this made me happy -- to have the new camera on the trip back! Yipeee!

After getting the camera our next stop was another Thousand Trails park at Seaside. This is a beautiful park with wide open grassy spaces. We started using the camera and of course I was pulling into all the lookout points I saw.

We ventured on to another Thousand Trails park, Thousand Trails Pacific City. As we were getting near the park we pulled over to look at the ocean and saw eagles dueling with seagulls over some morsel of food - probably a fish or small animal. We both were able to snap a quick photo, but neither one was that great. We had heard that Pacific City was hilly, curvy, steep, and not big-rig friendly. However, our 36' motorhome would not be a problem getting around this park, especially if we unhook the toad (car). This campground is known for being inhabited by black rabbits (we saw all colors), and they're everywhere! Sort of over run actually. The park is on the hillside overlooking the ocean and is definitely one we want to visit again.

At the end of the day, and I mean 0-dark-30, we returned to Thousand Trails Whalers Rest where we had been staying. Whalers Rest is also a beautiful park with both shaded and sunny sites. In Oregon I've learned that sunny sites are usually better. IF the sun comes out you want to be in a place to catch some rays. This park is also close to the beach, with only a 4 minute walk across Highway 101. This was my favorite park so far with the interesting beaches oozing with agates and gemstones.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you come back for the next post when I'll share the vistas and scenic pullouts of the return trip.

Newport, Oregon - Ahhh, the beach

What a beautiful campground we are lucky to be in! Thousand Trails Whalers Rest in Newport, Oregon. There are trees, but not too many. Lots of ferns and wildflowers. With the ocean shining through the trees and the sound of the waves crashing on shore, we have arrived! There is a short path to the highway, and then the beach. Just be careful crossing that highway! I could stay here for our 3 week allowance, but there are some other TTN/NACO/LTR campgrounds we would like to visit before settling in for the summer in Montana. So we will enjoy this little piece of peace for a week or so.

Thursday morning we stopped by the Allison Transmission service center in Coburg for the 5,000 mile tranny filter replacement. We're not quite at 5K miles, but we will be in the middle of no where (Montana) when we get to 5K. I called Allison at 7 AM, was there by 8 AM and they were finished by 10 AM. Rick finished up with the paperwork at Guaranty RV and met me at Allison. After a painless $70 charge and a few cups of their coffee, we hooked up the CR-V to the moho and drove about 120 miles or 2 1/2 hours on scenic Hwy 20 across to the coast. The road was curvy and 2 lanes most of the way, but nice.

We settled into our campsite and then headed to the beach for the afternoon. All of the waiting around for the past 4 weeks was washed away by the waves, literally. If you know Rick, you know that he was soon in the water, not body surfing like the teenager Rick, but up to his shorts.

There were a number of people walking bent over looking at the small rocks on the shore, every once in a while bending down to examine a gem of a rock. We knew from our visit to Thousand Trails South Jetty in Florence just south of here that rock collecting is a popular past time on the Oregon coast. We are rock hounds from the '80's and enjoy looking and finding beautiful rocks. We found a lot of agates and quartz the size of cherries, a few as big as a golf ball. They're yellow, orange, clear, gold, and the elusive blue. There aren't many shells and only a few pieces of broken glass. There is also jasper and lots of fossilized clams and snails. Relaxed and happy, with our pockets filled with gems, we headed back for a late dinner.

The Scenic Oregon Coast

While in the Florence area, staying at the Thousand Trails South Jetty park, we drove north for an hour or so and saw some beautiful sights. We went to Heceta Head Lighthouse, but it was closed for the day, so no tour. I know there will be others to visit as we make our way north to Washington. The next time I'll capture the sound of the waves on video.

We love to walk and look at the rocks, drift wood, and bits of shells. We didn't see many whole shells, except for one small perfect sand dollar. Rick says it's the size of a half dollar. People were looking for jasper, jade, and agate on the beach. We found agate and jasper. They say every so often someone will find a glass float washed up on shore. We've also been told the beaches get more spectacular as we go north from here.

OK, This Is Snow! Yesterday Was Just A Frost

I woke up before 7 AM and peeked outside to see if it had been snowing. It was ALL white outside! I slipped on my jeans, Rick's coat, and my flip-flops, grabbed a camera and quietly went outside without waking Rick. I took a few (too many) pix and made it quietly back into our warm bed without him even knowing I had been outside. The only thing he said was, "You're cold!" and he snuggled me until I feel asleep again. It was very peaceful and you could hear the snow beginning to fall from the trees.

We drove from TT South Jetty in Florence to Junction City today and the weather was not too bad. I think today was the first time driving in the rain and seeing the snow on the roadside was a little un-nerving. I have a fear of ice - not in my drinks, but of slipping on it. We made it in less than 2 hours and have been warm and snug in our home-on-wheels while it has drizzled all day.

Brrrrrrrrrrr! SNOW!

What a thrill to wake up and see everything dusted with snow! I'm not sure thrill is the right word, but I wrapped myself in Rick's coat as soon as I got out of bed and went outside to take a few (very quick) photos. I guess I should say I was thrilled to be back in our toasty warm mobile fishing lodge (aka motorhome).

We're staying at Thousand Trails South Jetty in Florence, Oregon and had weather warnings from a friend who lives in the area that it would get mighty cold overnight. I'm sure our friend (you know who you are!) thought it was downright funny that we Arizona snowbirds had moved far enough north to find snow.

It's been a day of icy rain and a little more snow. The clouds did briefly part and show the blue sky, but when Rick asked if I still wanted to take a drive out on the jetty I said "that's OK, we've seen it and it's going to rain/hail/sleet/snow again." I'm fine working on organizing photo files and crocheting. Rick has been tying fishing flies in anticipation of future warm days filled with flyfishing.

Where Are We???

We are at the Lake Minden Thousand Trails park in Nicolaus, CA about an hour north of Sacramento, enjoying the sunshine before heading north into Oregon. We plan to be at the South Jetty Thousand Trails Park on the coast of Oregon around the middle of April. Friends in Oregon tell us it's still very cold there so we slowed down a bit. We'll visit our motorhome dealer, Guaranty RV in Junction City, and the Monaco Motorcoach factory in Harrisburg before moving north along the Oregon coast in May. Check back for updates!