Back "home" once again

October 25, 2009
Peoria, AZ

Today's drive from Las Vegas to Peoria was mostly uneventful, unless you count when Merlin tried to eat the inspector's hand when we stopped for the checkpoint at the Hoover Dam. Until they finish construction on the bypass (scheduled for "2008"), there are checkpoints to ensure that we're not terrorists before anyone is allowed to drive across the dam, and all RVs need to be searched. I asked the three guys to step back while I came out with the dogs to have Geri hold them, but Merlin's leash was too long and one guy wouldn't take direction. Hey, he's just protecting his territory. Like most security checkpoints these days, the examination is cursory at best (open all the bay doors but don't check anything in there) with more attention being paid to my reaction than the vehicle itself. If I'd acted wrong, I'm sure a different crew would have taken things apart, but we know the drill and were on our way in less than 10 minutes.

We could have avoided the dam by taking US-95 south and taking NV-163 to Laughlin and AZ-68 to Kingman, but that would be a lot longer than the 10-minute checkpoint. We followed US-93 from the dam, through Kingman and along I-40 for a bit, down to Wickenburg. We were surprised to find that a bypass of sorts had been built to connect US-93 to US-60 without entering "downtown" Wickenberg; we haven't been out that way since early-2008. From there, it was a short drive on US-60 to the civilization of Sun City West and Surprise before we got to Peoria. We were "home" by 3:30 and tackled some of the unloading, primarily the refrigerator and freezer. All house systems checked out OK, with no heat damage over the summer and no leaks as I turned the water and gas back on.

We had a great summer "vacation". We travelled about 11,200 miles round trip and used 1,950 gallons of diesel fuel. Because of our creative traveling companions, our per-night cost for parks was $23.25, and that was because we stayed at a few "expensive" places toward the end (we were right around $19/night coming back from Alaska).

Now, we shift gears and spend a few weeks off the road...