A timelapse of driving the coach 181 miles from Boulder City, Nevada to Caliente, Nevada.
travel
Freeways, highways, and other roads as we move the coach from one site to another. Plus cat pics.
Travel from Boulder City to Caliente, NV
We drove our coach 181 miles, four hours, from Lake Mead, Boulder City, Nevada to Caliente, Nevada.
Here’s the map, heading north:
Decorations in Boulder City:
More freeway decorations:
Paladin was contented in his safe space:
A trike:
Las Vegas in the distance:
Overpass art:
Wall art:
Passing by Las Vegas:
Exit:
Overpass art:
We stopped at Love’s for fuel:
We were interested to see that this Love’s has RV and boat storage:
Fuel time:
Spendy for less than half a tank:
I used my laptop while traveling:
Motorcycles:
A lake:
Curvy road:
Interesting rocks:
A long straight road, heading for the hills:
A bunch of Joshua trees:
Downgrade sign:
The exaust heat warning light came on, with all the hill climbing; went off again shortly thereafter:
Rocks and curves:
Our destination:
Video: timelapse of coach driving from Williams, AZ to Boulder City, NV
A timelapse of driving the coach 189 miles from Williams, Arizona to Boulder City, Nevada.
Travel from Williams, AZ to Lake Mead, Boulder City, NV
We drove our coach 183 miles, 3.5 hours non-stop, from Williams, Arizona to Lake Mead, Boulder City, Nevada.
Here’s the map, going right to left (or heading west, if you prefer):
Maybe someone didn’t like their dog? Devil Dog Road:
A view heading downhill:
A truck clipped our mirror, crossing the center line. Doesn’t seemed to have done more than scrape it, but it was rather disconcerting:
Based on the their trailer, they may not be the best driver:
Paladin not looking impressed by a rough stretch of road:
I put him on my lap for a bit:
Passing a motorhome; hey fellow traveller:
This was a non-stop trip, so we had a lunch of chips and a sandwich while driving:
Interesting rocks:
Another motorhome (a Thor Aria was one model we considered when shopping for an RV; Thor isn’t the best brand, but the Aria isn’t bad):
More interesting rocks:
Steep uphill:
Travel trailer delivery:
A pickup with a camper, towing an interesting trailer; I’m guessing a contractor:
Approaching the exit from I-40:
Yet more interesting rocks:
Our exit:
A view (and yes, our windshield was getting rather dirty, from lots of bugs):
We encountered a motorcycle accident; the rider was on the ground, attended by several people. I hope they’re okay, but it didn’t look good:
Paladin peeking:
Last stop in Arizona:
Info sign:
Hey look, more interesting rocks:
Hilltop view:
Approaching Hoover Dam:
A glimpse of Hoover Dam from the center lane of the bridge next to the dam (when Jenn later saw the bridge from the dam, she said she was very glad she didn’t know how high it was when driving over it!):
Entering Nevada:
Our exit:
View of Lake Mead:
Lake Mead National Recreation Area entry station:
Jenn going to the RV park office to check in:
Following a guide to our site:
The timelapse video from this trip will be coming later today, and our review of the RV park tomorrow.
Route 66 around Seligman, AZ
Williams isn’t the only town celebrating the history of Route 66 (or stuck in the past?). We took a drive along one of the longest drivable portions of Route 66, from Willams (actually on I-40 until just after Ash Fork) to Kingman, Arizona, with a stop for lunch at the Roadkill Cafe in Seligman. A 129 mile trip, plus a faster 114 miles return via I-40.
Here’s a map showing Williams on the right, and Kingman on the left:
The equivalent satellite view:
The portion of Route 66 between Ash Fork and Seligman were the best; after that, the road was much like any highway, resurfaced and recently painted. So in retrospect, we could have skipped that longer portion. But hey, at least we can say we’ve done it. Apparently this is the longest section of the original Route 66, too.
A useful reference site for driving Route 66. And another one.
Here’s Jenn with Route 66 sign, at the start of the portion after Ash Fork:
Driving Route 66:
There were several series of dark-humor Burma-Shave signs along the highway:
Seligman, AZ:
We stopped at the Roadkill Cafe for lunch:
A very interesting menu:
Jenn had the Fungi Burger, I had the Swirl of Squirrel:
Route 66 sodas:
Back on the road, more of Seligman, AZ:
Continuing along Route 66:
Grand Canyon Railway and National Park
While staying at the Grand Canyon Railway RV park, and the reason for staying there, we took the train to the Grand Canyon.
This was a special wedding anniversary treat for us; we did the train trip on a day when they used the historic steam train, and went to the park in the Luxury Dome train car, did a bus guided tour, and returned in the Luxury Parlor train car.
Before boarding the train, there was a little cowboy show:
All aboard! Here’s the Luxury Dome train car; a double-decker car, with a lounge below and a full-length dome above:
After that car, at the end of the train, was the Luxury Parlor car, where we boarded:
Us in our seat in the dome car; the TSA was still requiring masks except when eating and drinking:
The Luxury Dome car, built in 1955:
Each car had a Passenger Service Attendant:
A glimpse of the front of the train out the dome window (don’t worry, better pics later):
Snacks and beverages:
The train newspaper:
A photographer took some pictures:
Here are a couple official photographs of us, in the dome and on the rear platform:
The Luxury Dome car was only about half full:
I walked the length of the train, starting from the rear platform:
The Luxury Parlor car, built in 1947:
Passage between cars, with the steps to the Luxury Dome visible:
The lower floor of the Luxury Dome car:
One of the Observation Dome cars; they have smaller domes:
The dining car:
The historic 1923 Pullman car:
A Coach car:
Singer:
Looking over the train from the frontmost observation dome:
Arriving at Grand Canyon village:
Tour bus:
On board the bus:
Ranger operations building:
A bunch of pictures of the Grand Canyon:
Lunch was included in the bus tour; it was supposed to be a buffet, but in these COVID times, it was instead a sack lunch:
Jenn found a hat in the gift store:
More angles of the big hole in the ground:
When we tipped the bus driver/guide, she gave us a snowy canyon pic she had taken:
Back at the train station in the park, I got some pictures of the 1923 steam train engine:
An assist from a diesel engine:
The power car:
Coach cars:
The rear of the train, with observation dome cars, the Luxury Dome car, and the Luxury Parlor car:
The rear platform of the Luxury Parlor car:
Champagne toasts in the Luxury Parlor car:
The conductor making a PA announcement:
Snacks:
Singers:
On the rear platform:
View from the rear platform:
The cowboys stopped the train:
Cowboy train robbery:
The sheriff going after the robbers:
Lastly, an official photo of the steam train engine:
This was a fun way to spend our anniversary, and quite the experience. Highly recommended.
Video: timelapse of coach driving from Cottonwood, AZ to Williams, AZ
A timelapse of driving the coach 95 miles from Cottonwood / Verde Valley, Arizona to Williams, Arizona.
Travel from Verde Valley to Williams, AZ
We drove our coach 95 miles, a bit less than two hours, from Verde Valley to Williams, Arizona.
Here’s the route map, going from bottom to top:
Instead of the Thousand Trails park, we originally were going to stay at Verde Ranch RV Resort. But we were glad we changed it, not only because the TT was much cheaper, and with a great view, it was also much more quiet, instead of being right next to the freeway:
A cliff by I-17:
A sign warning of elk:
Hey look, trees! Real pine trees! We’ve been in deserts for months, so haven’t seen real trees for ages:
Snowy mountains:
Paladin was comfy in his safe space next to my chair:
Snow by the side of the road:
Approaching Williams:
A sign for the Grand Canyon Railway depot:
Williams arch, “gateway to the Grand Canyon”:
Our destination, the Grand Canyon Railway RV park:
The timelapse video for this trip will be coming later today.
Video: timelapse of coach driving from Tucson, AZ to Cottonwood, AZ
A timelapse of driving the coach 237 miles from Tucson, Arizona to Cottonwood / Verde Valley, Arizona.
Travel from Tucson to Cottonwood, AZ
After the FMCA convention, we drove 237 miles, over four hours, from Pima County fairgrounds just south of Tucson, Arizona to Verde Valley, Cottonwood, Arizona.
A longer drive than we prefer, but not too bad. We try to keep drives to about 200 miles or three hours where feasible. We like to follow the 2/2/2 rule: drive no more than 200 miles in a day, arrive by 2 PM, stop every 2 hours, and stay for at least 2 nights (so the rule really should be 2/2/2/2, but some people omit one of the middle clauses). There’s also the 3/3/3 rule, with the obvious variations, but that seems a bit much to us.
Here’s the route map, going from bottom to top:
On departure day from the convention, there was a pretty constant stream of RVs leaving the fairgrounds. Here are two Tiffins departing:
We noticed once on the road that I had neglected to remove the Magne Shade from the small side window, so we pulled off on the side of a freeway onramp to remove it:
Passing Picacho Peak again; such an interesting pointy bit:
A couple more Tiffins:
We liked the quote from the Lord of the Rings: “Not all who wander are lost”:
Since this was a long drive, we stopped at rest areas where available:
Paladin sitting between us:
Passing by downtown Phoenix:
Paladin in his dash bed, briefly; I still hope he’ll get comfortable enough with travel days to sit there while we drive:
Cacti:
Yay, gusty winds; super fun in a high-profile vehicle; fortunately not too bad:
We passed through several hills, including this 5% downgrade:
I was amused by the sign for Bumble Bee and Crown King:
Another hill:
A stop at Love’s for fuel:
And DEF:
Chips and sandwich for travel lunch:
On another hill, a runaway truck ramp; a deep gravel upward slope to stop a truck that loses its brakes:
6% grade:
Quite the view from the hill, though:
The Cottonwood exit:
There were several traffic circles:
Another nice view:
Our destination:
