Monthly Archives: November 2016

#RV Journal: Lake Mead RV Village at Boulder Beach, Boulder City, NV

Location / Name: Lake Mead RV Village at Boulder Beach, 268 Lakeshore Road, Boulder City, Nevada 89005 http://www.lakemeadrvvillage.com/boulder-beach (702) 293-2540

Date: 10/09 – 10/10/2016 (2 nights)

Lake Mead was not our initial destination after leaving Lee Vining, CA for our Yosemite visit. I had planned on staying west of Las Vegas at Fletcher View Campground, a USFS campground which has some electric sites. However, I didn’t get around to making reservations soon enough, and there was no room when I tried to reserve a site. I looked around for other places near Las Vegas, which was an appropriate travel distance distance for the day, and where my wife needed to pick up a prescription at CVS Pharmacy. I checked out a few commercial campgrounds in Vegas online, and didn’t really like anything I saw. When I expanded my search to east of Las Vegas, Lake Mead National Recreation Area showed up. It looked good, and although it made our day from California longer, it shortened the trip to Grand Canyon – a good thing since I needed to make sure we got to the walk-up-only campground on the Grand Canyon South Rim early. I called for reservations, and our destination was set. My reservation timing error for Fletcher View turned out to be a good thing. There was a CVS and an Albertson’s just a few miles from the RV park at Lake Mead, the park was nice, and the views from the site were awesome.

Lake Mead from Lake Mead RV Village at Boulder Beach

Lake Mead from Lake Mead RV Village at Boulder Beach

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Arctic Gentian – Gentiana algida – Added to USWildflowers’ Database

Arctic Gentian, a native species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (11/18/2016.) Scientific name is Gentiana algida. Photo below was taken in Rocky Mountain National Park, Larimer County, CO on Aug 26, 2016. Go to the Arctic Gentian detail page for more information and photos.

Arctic Gentian, Whitish Gentian - Gentiana algida

Arctic Gentian – Gentiana algida

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#RV Journal: Mono Vista RV Park, Lee Vining, CA

Location / Name: Mono Vista RV Park, Lee Vining, CA

Date: 10/06-08/2016 (3 nights)

Yosemite National Park was one of the few items on my bucket list, especially after a few of my grandchildren visited it this past summer. Campsites within Yosemite are notoriously difficult to get. I had tried for some reservations earlier this year for when my grandchildren were going to be there, and all reservable sites within Yosemite Valley were gone within seconds of them opening up on the reservation system. Amazing. I was coming in from the northeast, so the Tioga Pass entrance was the logical choice, and Mono Vista RV Park was the only game at that end of the park which had electric. So Lee Vining, California became our destination for the three nights we had available to spend in the Yosemite vicinity.

California State Line

California State Line – start of California State Route 182

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#RV Journal: Winnemucca RV Park, Winnemucca, NV

Location / Name: Winnemucca RV Park, 5255 E Winnemucca Blvd, Winnemucca, NV 89445 775-623-4458 or 877-787-2755

Date: 10/05/2016 (1 night)

Winnemucca is a town in Nevada that just happened to be on the route from Boise to Yosemite National Park, and the right distance from Boise for an overnight stop.

Winnemucca RV Park

Pull thru sites at Winnemucca RV Park

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#NPOD: Tulip Poplar #NativePlants

Tulip Poplar – Native Plant of the Day 11/10/2016

Photo from 5/13/2008. Location: The Pocket, Walker County, GA.
More photos / info at the Liriodendron tulipifera detail page.

Tulip Poplar, Yellow Poplar, Tuliptree, Tulip Magnolia - Liriodendron tulipifera

Tulip Poplar, Yellow Poplar, Tuliptree, Tulip Magnolia – Liriodendron tulipifera

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Rocky Mountain Bee Plant – Peritoma serrulata – Added to USWildflowers’ Database

Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, a native species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (11/08/2016.) Scientific name is Peritoma serrulata. Photo below was taken in Grand County, CO on Aug 27, 2016. Go to the Rocky Mountain Bee Plant detail page for more information and photos.

Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, Stinking Clover, Skunk Weed, Navajo Spinach - Peritoma serrulata

Rocky Mountain Bee Plant – Peritoma serrulata

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Wyoming Paintbrush – Castilleja linariifolia – Added to USWildflowers’ Database

Wyoming Paintbrush, a native species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (11/05/2016.) Scientific name is Castilleja linariifolia. Photo below was taken in Arches National Park in Grand County, UT on Aug 29, 2016. Go to the Wyoming Paintbrush detail page for more information and photos.

Wyoming Paintbrush, Narrow-leaved Indian Paintbrush, Desert Paintbrush - Castilleja linariifolia

Wyoming Paintbrush – Castilleja linariifolia

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#RV Journal: A Trip Out West, Part Three (Moab, Utah to Boise, Idaho)

In the previous post, my second trip report, I covered the territory from Stillwater, Colorado outside the Rocky Mountain National Park to Moab, Utah, where we visited Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. This third report covers the three days we spent getting on into Boise to visit the family. We’d enjoyed Utah so far, and were interested to see what else it presented to us before we crossed into southern Idaho, on the homestretch to Boise.

Utah Desert and US191

As we traveled US191 through the middle of Utah, it was very much a desert scene.

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