Leaving Pahrump, Nevada

A last photo as we leave Pahrump today - these are some of the mountains surrounding Pahrump during one of the many beautiful sunsets we've enjoyed while staying here.  Rather appropriately, we will be staying at the Valley of Fire State Park (Nevada) for Halloween and a few days thereafter. We're looking forward to hiking and taking some great photos, for we've heard only fantastic things about this park.

Red Sky BBQ, Pahrump, Nevada

A local recommended this restaurant and as we were out and about running some errands, we decided to try it.  Upon arrival, we were not impressed – down a small road we found the restaurant and the outside did not bode well for our appetites.  Tentatively, we still went inside, to find no one else having lunch at noon…hmmm……  The interior still did not impress us (not the décor, nor necessarily the cleanliness, but just a general “feel”), but we took a table and looked at a menu.  For a BBQ place, there were limited BBQ items, so we were still hesitant, but we stayed……..

Brad ordered a pulled pork sandwich and Suzanne a Philly cheese steak sandwich.  As we waited, we were still questioning our decision to stay, but did stay.  A few more people, obvious locals by their conversations and interaction with the two staff members appeared, so we were feeling a bit better. Then the food arrived………fabulous! Brad’s was great with sides of potato salad and baked beans, and Suzanne’s was also excellent – had a bit of a “kick” in the dressing, and the sides of cole slaw and French fries were also very good. So we were very pleasantly surprised and would recommend this place to people looking for a good meal.

Lesson leaned – locals always know the great restaurants!

Wine Tasting at Pahrump Valley Winery, Pahrump, Nevada

Pahrump Valley Winery is the only winery in the state of Nevada and grows its own grapes for one of the 18 wines they produced – their Nevada Ridge Zinfandel. Th grapes for their other wines, ranging from a Peak White to Symphony and a Burgundy to Cabernet Sauvignon, are grown in various other places, such as California and our old stomping grounds, the Willamette Valley.

Free wine tasting (up to seven wines, although the pourers did not seem to keep count) is available every day of the week (hours vary by season, so call ahead) and is an enjoyable experience for anyone who likes to try different wines. We seemed to enjoy the whites and rose/blush wines more than their reds, but on a different day, or a different year, that could change, as wine is clearly a personal choice.

Wine tours are offered everyday. These days they tour at 11:30, 1:30 and 3:30, but again, call to check on times if you’re interested in touring the winery. We keep missing their tours, but we’re sure it’s a good time – we’ve toured wineries often in the past and their always educational.

Pahrump Valley Winery offers discounts on bulk purchases: 6-11 bottles will get you a 5% discount and 12+ bottles will garner a 10% discount. We hear that they offer their wines in the local grocery stores, so we’ll check that out before we stock-up on our favorite varietals.

Cheers!

Symphony’s Restaurant at Pahrump Valley Winery, Pahrump, Nevada

Pahrump Valley Winery is Nevada’s only winery, and the restaurant always seems busy, so of course we had to try it, thus we went today for lunch. 

The décor ~ very nice.  There is seating inside and outside, and one has to walk through the wine tasting room (we skipped this for now) to the restaurant.  There are many areas to sit and enjoy a glass of wine and relax.

The food ~ excellent! We decided to share a few different appetizers, and glad we did.  The crab cakes – yum!  They arrived with a  great aioli as an accompaniment.  We also shared the bruschetta topped with tomatoes and a lovely balsamic vinegar, as well as baked brie served with croisanti and various fruit (apples, pears and strawberries).  All three appetizers were excellent!  As we were still hungry (there’s a shock), we split a turtle cheesecake for dessert – fabulous!! 

The service ~ not great.  Not terrible either, just okay.  For a Thursday afternoon, lunch, it could have been better. 

The price ~ not inexpensive, that’s for sure.

When in Pahrump and if you want a special meal to treat yourselves, this is definitely the place to go.   

Bon appetit!

Pahrump, Nevada

Friends keep asking us where is Pahrump,Nevada and what is there to do in Pahrump, Nevada. So….

Where is Pahrump? Pahrump is 60 miles west of Las Vegas and 60 miles east of Death Valley National Park. There are mountain ranges surrounding Pahrump ~ the Spring Mountains to the east and the Nopah Mountains to the west. The elevation is about 2500’.

What is there to do? Of course, being in Nevada, there are casinos in which you can win your fortune or eat at one of the many buffets. There is off-roading, a couple golf courses, Pahrump Valley Speedway, hiking/biking at the Spring Mountain National Recreation Area, and the Pahrump Valley Winery which is part of the RV Park we’re staying, and on out “to do” list this week.

Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge Plaza, Hoover Dam, Nevada

 

Since we had a couple days in Las Vegas during our roof fix, we drove around one afternoon basically to get out of the hotel room. Although we spent time at Lake Mead and biked to Hoover Dam when we traveled a couple years ago, Brad wanted to see the new bridge.  According to him, it’s something of a phenomenon.  Suzanne, on the other hand, stayed in the car and took a nap. However, the facts do side with Brad:

The Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge was built to divert traffic from Hoover Dam. It has the longest concrete arch span in the western hemisphere at 1060’. The bridge deck is 1900’ and (give or take) 880’ above the Colorado River.

Charleston Peak RV Resort & Winery, Pahrump, Nevada

First things first ~ look at the new roof! She’s a beauty! :-)

Now look at the sky – clear & blue – ahhhh!!!

Okay, onto the RV resort ~ Charleston Peak RV Resort & Winery is a very nice park and we’re staying here for nearly two weeks under RPI. The park is clean, sites are long, graveled, and each site has a concrete pad to use as a patio. There are lots of activities, the staff and RV’ers are a friendly bunch, there’s a swimming pool & hot tub, clubhouse with the typical book exchange, games & puzzles, horseshoes, RV wash, small dog area, the usual. But what makes this RV park unique, is that it’s also part of Nevada’s only winery ~ complete with vineyards, a tasting room, and restaurant. We haven’t been yet, but be sure to check back on our report of the winery ~ eating and drinking are right up our alley!

Our RV Roof Blew Off, Somewhere, Nevada

Ah, yes – the title of this post is not one that we ever thought we would write. Here’s the story ~ on Monday we were driving southbound I-95 in Nevada heading towards Pahrump. We were about two hours from our destination and heard some flapping/thumping and thought we had a flat tire. We pulled over and looked around – nope, no flat tires. The Brad looked up…………

We were stunned, to say the least. For those of you non-RV’ers ~ a roof tearing off for no reason is HUGE! We were in the middle of nowhere, and luckily we had a few rolls of gorilla & duct tape, so up Brad went to do some damage control so we could get to our destination and deal with it there.

Tuesday morning (5am) saw Suzanne calling the manufacturer (they are on east coast time and opened at 8am) and it took about five hours to get the “right” person, but finally we got some movement in the right direction.  We drove to Las Vegas that afternoon, stayed in our rig that night at the dealership, and as we write this (Thursday late afternoon) our new roof is being installed and we hopefully will be back on the road tomorrow afternoon, back to Pahrump.

So yeah, for lack of a better word, this sucks. But on the bright side, it wasn’t raining so structural damaged was minimized, and once we found that “right” person at Keystone (the manufacturer), he moved mountains to make this right, which we appreciate.

Life is crazy, ain’t it! :-)

More photos..........

Desert Rose RV Park, Fernley, Nevada

We are here a couple days as we continue our route south. This is a nice park – most sites are pull-through with full hook-ups, cable, and free WiFi throughout the park. The sites are narrow, but each site has a nice shade tree and some grass, which is especially rare in a desert park. There is s small clubhouse with laundry, showers, a couple couches and puzzles.

The best part about Fernley ~ we have finally gotten to some warm & sunny weather! Yippee!

Mariner’s Resort, Susanville, California

This is a lovely campground right on Eagle Lake. Although there are no RV sites on the water, we can see the lake from our site on the hill. Each site has full hook-ups with cable. There are two playgrounds, a small of-leash dog area, tent sites, some permanent sites which are quite lovely, horseshoe pits, boat dock, restaurant, lounge and a store. Eagle Lake itself is large and this seems to be a great place if one has a boat, or a friend with a boat. Basically, we need a friend with a boat!  :-)

St.Vincent's Hospital, Portland, Oregon - again

We are back at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Portland for Suzanne’s final post-op appointment. As we said when we were here four weeks ago, the hospital offers eight electric/water sites for free – whether you’re a patient or visiting the patient at the hospital. Coincidentally, we’re in the same site as last month!

Although we love Oregon, we’re looking forward to heading south at the end of the week whether it will be sunny, warm and dry!

Seaside, Oregon - neighborhood

We have always enjoyed walking in neighborhoods and looking at homes. Since the weather has turned rainy, cool, and windy (read: Oregon in fall), we decided that instead of walking the campground (yet again) and the beach was too windy, we would walk the neighborhoods around the touristy area of town that we wrote about earlier this week. As it was mid-week and the non-tourist season, it was quiet and relaxing as we meandered and enjoyed the homes – some new construction, some small and original, some well-maintained, some not.

Seaside, Oregon

Seaside, Oregon is a popular destination spot for Portlanders and college students in Spring Break. There are a ton of restaurants ranging from full dining to candy stores (salt water taffy – yum!). Of course, there’s a plethora of gift shops that one can find at most coastal towns, and in Seaside, a lot of arcades. Yes, the old fashion kind where you can spend $20 to play games, earn tickets, and then trade them in for a $3.59 toy that you “win.” But it’s fun!

One cool thing about Seaside is the long boardwalk (wheel-chair accessible) that runs along the beach quite a way. As with many Oregon beaches, the beach is wide and has lots of room to roam, but this boardwalk is a nice addition to those who find walking he beach cumbersome.

Seaside makes a nice destination spot to explore surrounding coastal towns, such as Astoria to the north and Cannon Beach to the south.

Seaside Resort, Seaside, Oregon

 

We staying at Seaside Resort in Seaside, Oregon for a while, under our RPI membership. It’s a pretty nice park – there’s a large, clear swimming pool with a kids pool and separate hot tub. Alongside this indoor area is a dining area where you can either purchase food or enjoy a picnic lunch. There are two clubhouses, both with great book exchanges, common areas, the usual. There’s a large clean laundry room and a pretty nice exercise room with six aerobic machines (two each – treadmills, ellipticals, recumbent bikes). The park is separated into two sides – both are open with large sites. Seaside Resort is a bit further from the ocean than Whaler’s Rest in South Beach, but closer to town and a sort drive to the shops, arcades, and beaches.