Boulder City, NV
After a week in Hurricane, UT we returned to Boulder City last Sunday to finish up with the purchase of our new home. We signed the final closing documents on Monday, then waited the required three days before closing on Thursday. We met the sellers at the house before closing so they could give us information on all the nuances of the house. We found them to be wonderful people who are very proud of their home and expressed relief that we appeared to be decent people who will continue to care for it properly. Boy, did they misread us! They will be staying in the house until the beginning of next week to finish moving some of their things and supervise a person they hired to do a final cleaning (although the place looks spotless to us). We’re heading for Bluff, UT on Sunday anyway, so we told them they didn’t need to rush their departure (they have a townhouse in Huntington Beach, CA).
Jodie and Bill (On the Road Abode) had arrived in this park (Canyon Trails RV) before we left for Hurricane last week and were still here when we returned (they left on Thursday). They told us about a nice Jeep ride they had taken recently on the south side of Lake Mead about 20 miles into Arizona. We decided to call friends Steve and Joan (Friends of Steve and Joan) to see if they wanted to make the trip there with us. Steve and Joan are volunteering at nearby Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Their main assignment is to travel the many back roads in the area to check for damage, fix fallen signs, and monitor conditions. They’ve been on just about every road in the recreation area so we knew they would be familiar with the route. Sure enough, they had driven the roads numerous times in a park vehicle, but were more than up for another visit in their Jeep. So we rendezvoused along US 93 at Nevada Way at the crack of dawn (ok, 9:30) Friday morning and headed into Arizona. Near mile marker 19 we turned left (east) on to Temple Bar Road. After 13.5 miles, the paved Temple Bar Road makes a 90 degree turn to the right. We continued straight on to the maintained dirt road labeled 74 on park maps.
Park Road 74
As we traveled on Park Road 74 we could see a section of Lake Mead in the distance. The contrast of the mountains and the water always looks beautiful.
After four miles we came to a cross roads where we turned left (west) on to Park Road 71 (Cohenour Loop Rd. on Google Maps). We stopped along the way to check out some ancient artwork.
Just up the road from the artwork we came to our first wildlife sighting.
A group of three cows were enjoying lunch by the road. The animals had no markings so Joan said they were probably wild. Just a short distance further, Pam spotted a black animal moving off to our right. We radioed ahead that we though it was a horse. Joan said they had never seen a wild horse in the park, but it could be a wild burro.
But a closer look revealed that it was, indeed, a horse. He had no markings but looked very healthy. Steve later reported both sightings to his supervisor at Lake Mead NRA.
We continued driving up the loop road, stopping frequently to enjoy the scenery.
Steve and Joan try to sneak past us after a switchback
About half way around the loop we turned left on to Park Road 72, a short, dead end spur that leads up to a crest near an old mine. At the end of the road we were treated to an outstanding view of Lake Mead below us and the skyline of Las Vegas in the distance.
Mt Charleston is snow capped in the distance with Las Vegas below
We returned back down to the loop road, enjoying the views all around us as we descended.
As we returned past the area with the art work, one of the sentinels kept an eye on us.
One last view of Lake Mead
Tomorrow (Sunday) we’ll head out very early because we have a long drive ahead of us. Our next destination in Bluff, UT is really a two day drive for us, as we don’t like to drive further that 200 miles in one day. But there isn’t a real convenient spot to stop along the way so we decided to just tough it out and make the 440 mile journey in one day. Someone once said that only the strong survive. We’ll see if that’s true tomorrow!
Oh, the Places They Go! 
Wow…those are some magnificent animals. Congratulations on your closing, John and Pam!
Thanks, Jim and Diana!
The cows certainly weren’t going hungry!
Oh, the people who sold you their home are right! You are definitely decent people who will continue to care for it properly. But they haven’t met your friends….:-))
440 miles. Ugh. But it’s for a good reason!
Hopefully, the sellers won’t find out about our friends! We arrived safely and in one piece after the long drive. It wasn’t a bad drive since there was no traffic and most of it through beautiful countryside.
So glad you are all done with the paperwork, and the home is yours! Congratulations! The previous owners hit the nail on the head…our two are nice people and will love the house as they did.
The view of Lake Mead is gorgeous! Wonderful drive…it was a great day for spotting wildlife too.
Oh goodness dear friends. Y’all be careful out there going 440 miles. We did that once. Took two days to recover.
Thanks, Marsha! Purchasing this house certainly was an easy and quick process.
Having Lake Mead as a view point on so many drives and hikes is going to be awesome. Such a pretty area.
We made our long drive and lived to tell about it. It was a relaxing drive for John since most of it was more rural highway with beautiful scenery and no traffic.
If I could only get the Cowboy to drive 440 miles in one day!! Congratulations on the purchase of your new house–I’m glad the process was smooth!
Thanks, Janna! Everything just fell into place with the house purchase.
While our drive wasn’t bad at all since it was Easter Sunday and we were on rural highways, it isn’t something I would want to do often.
You won’t find any better tour guides than Steve and Joan for the Lake Mead area! We were only able to see them for a few hours last time we were in the area , maybe next time we will get out on another jeep adventure!
You are right about Steve and Joan being great tour guides. If there is a road in question, they will know it! You two need to make a point of stopping for a longer visit, especially since we may be here also!
Ugh, that is a long drive! But Bluff is always worth it! Can’t wait to see what you find this time…
It was a long drive, Lisa, but not a bad one since it was Easter Sunday and there was no traffic on the rural highways with lots of beautiful scenery. We have been to Bluff at least four times for a week or longer, and I still have a list of sites to hike to. This place has an endless supply of amazing hikes.
Sounds like a fun day exploring some back roads. Congrats on the closing and have a great time in Bluff.
Thanks, Ingrid! We will definitely have a good time here in Bluff. I still have a list of sites to visit even after all our time here.
How was the Curling?
Must feel strange to be homeowners again.
Ah, the Bluff area. Awaiting the red rock photos!
It most definitely is a strange feeling, Gayle, especially since we left town and won’t get to try out the house til late April. I think we will enjoy having some time where all we have to plan is where to hike or visit each day and be totally alone.
So glad you enjoyed that great loop drive!! Interesting about the cows being wild, they were some of the healthiest looking we’ve seen. Now I’m really curious about the horse 🙂 We didn’t drive up to the mine site – great views of the lake! Here’s hoping for light traffic and perfect weather for your long drive. Happy Easter!
I’m so glad you and Bill ventured out to do this loop. It was a great trip. We will have to go back now and add 73 to it so we can stop and hike that little canyon. I hope Joan and Steve find out where the animals came from that we saw. They were all very healthy. The drive was a breeze…no traffic and lots of beautiful scenery to keep John busy.
Hmmm, you get to see a horse instead of the burros on this interesting loop drive. Congrats on being new home owners, again. Hope the neighbors don’t squeal on your visiting friends bad habits. Hope you have light traffic for your long holiday drive.
Thanks, Gaelyn! We will be keeping our friends hidden away from view!
The drive went smoothly with no traffic and beautiful scenery on rural highways.
Safe travels to you! Glad all went well with the closing. It’s always so nice to have things go well with both parties!
Thanks, Nancy! It was such a smooth, easy process on both sides and all within a month of our arrival back to Boulder City!
I don’t know who the stars aligned for…you or the sellers…probabally both! So awesome how when things are suppose to work, they do! Great ride with Joan and Steve. We haven’t been to Boulder City…hint, hint! Have fun in Bluff…yippee…see you soon!
I think the stars aligned on both sides, Gay. The sellers didn’t have any place for all the belongs in this house, and we didn’t have anything to fill the house. So it truly was meant to be for all of us. It is still amazing how it all came together.
Having Steve and Joan as our back country guide is great fun. There are hundreds of miles of roads to explore and spectacular scenery everywhere with Lake Mead and the Colorado River is most views. You and Joe would have a great time here.
Congratulations, you are now officially a homeowner! The sellers have not met your friends who might just use your house to party! By this time you may have already settled in at Cadillac Ranch, we are just 55 miles south of you. See you soon!
Thanks, MonaLiza! We are keeping our sketchy friends a secret from the everyone in town! See you in couple days!
Can’t believe the Petroglyphs you find. Love them. That is a beautiful white blaze wild horse. Not as crazy about the bovine. I think your friends may have to paint their jeep if they ever hope to sneak by someone. WHEW 400 miles. Don’t think I’ve ever done that. We think 200 is a burden. Safe travels.
There seems to be petroglyphs everywhere in the west. The horse was beautiful. We made the drive without any problems. It was a very easy drive with no traffic and beautiful scenery. But we don’t plan to make it a habit.
Congrats on your new home! I can’t imagine a more perfect fit for the two of you.
Thanks, Lu! We have lots of room for visitors!!
And we are planning to be two of them!
Congrats on your new home. You’re in a great area and have the best of both worlds!
Thanks, Steve and Dianne! This area has everything we could want. We are very excited.
Beauty everywhere!!! And such exciting news about your house. WordPress needs a “lol” button like Facebook!
Thanks, Debbie! We are very excited about the house. We will only be there maybe four months of the year. We’ll come and go but still spend most of our time traveling. Yes, WP could use a “lol” button!
We’re trying to figure out how our life will look after traveling full time! It’s complicated. I hope we can keep on keeping on for a long time!
Our settling in Boulder City all came together so quickly that we knew it must have been meant to be. We love our little town with all the conveniences just 20 miles up the road in the craziness of Henderson and Vegas. But we weren’t totally finished traveling. I just needed a break at times from the RV park life. The only thing we were sure of for years was that we were settling in the west. I am not a fan of the east at all.