Lets Finish this Solar Project.

WHERE ARE WE? Lake Mead, Nevada 

NEXT DESTINATION? Pahrump, Nevada

Another beautiful day here in Lake Mead.  We had our morning Happy Hour and discussed, well we didn't really discuss much.  Just a bunch of bologna being rehashed!!!  We actually are positive that we know how to change the world but be damned if we are going to share our information with anyone else. 

Even Murphy got tired of the banter and went and laid down!!!

Chuck and I have been working on working on installing his solar panels and controller for a few days now.  Tours and hikes have taken priority but today the hammer was falling!!  His Jayco was sent "Solar Ready" except they made it like a scavenger hunt to find the wires and then figure out where they were on the breakers behind the 12V disconnect.  The block of wires were all labeled nicely, except none of them were what they said.  That took a little bit of head scratching but after crawling around in the bowels of their basement we finally figured it out.

Chuck got the panels up on the roof and we wired them together and then to the roof connection.  At least the wire they provided was heavy enough for the 2 - 100 watt panels.  Chuck is going to screw them down a little later.

Next we wired in the solar controller which was no problem at all.

And everything was hooked up to his 2 Lithium batteries. And then turned on and poof.......nothing!!  What the heck.  I had to go back over everything to find the problem.   Very little current coming to the controller.  Up on the roof and check the connections which were good.   Hmmm.... finally I saw that when I hooked up the Y connectors between the panels, I had mistakenly hooked a positive and negative together.  Because the ends are different for positive and negative one ASSUMES that if they hook together they are right.  Not when you introduce a Y into the mix.  So change the 2 wires around and we have solar power.  

Next on the list was to temporarily hook up their new inverter so they can run some things like fans and the TV without starting the generator.   Because they have Lithium it is possible to hook the inverter right above the batteries which made it easy for a temporary fix.  And an extension cord will work for the power source until we hard wire the inverter in Quartzite.

It is a 3500 W inverter so will serve them well for what they need.  We just ran the extension cord in the door for now and they can watch TV to their hearts content.

Pat and Harold have got all set up in their spot and we will hang around here till probably Sunday when we will move to Pahrump. 

Another great day in the desert.  Beats the heck out of shoveling snow.  Hope you didn't have to shovel any either!!!

Pat and Harold arrive!!

WHERE ARE WE? Lake Mead, Nevada 

NEXT DESTINATION? Pahrump, Nevada

We relaxed a bit more today to recover from the busy day yesterday.  Pat and Harold are going to be here sometime today so we made sure our Jeep was holding there spot by us. 

Chuck and I piddled around with his solar and he got the panels put up on the roof.  We will get it up and working tomorrow hopefully.  Around 5 pm Pat and Harold arrived.  They have a nice little Class C and are pulling their Jeep.  It makes a good rig for travelling.

Today is Angies 29th Birthday plus a couple so Sue made supper to celebrate.  She made some Mexican because that is what Angie likes.  Of course there was lots of goofing around now that Sue has her sister back.

Chuck made sure that he got an Angel Food Cake for his wife and Sue made some fruit topping and whipped cream.  Yummy!!!  We didn't have a candle so I got a stick out of the fire for her to blow out.   Happy Birthday Angie!!!

Another great day with the addition of more friends.  We love having them all around.  Nothing quite like a bonfire to end the day.  It wasn't long and the yawns sent us scurrying home to bed.  Goodnight.

Walking the Strip

WHERE ARE WE? Lake Mead, Nevada 

NEXT DESTINATION? Parhump, Nevada

Since we arrived at Lake Mead, one of things we needed to do was to get our fill of walking the strip in Las Vegas.  We have been there close to a dozen times in our lives, but its the sort of thing you just have to do one more time.  Today was the day to do it and Chuck and Angie, who have never been to the strip, were going to join us.  We headed in right after lunch and found some free parking at Treasure Island.  Then it was off to the strip.  

The Venetian is always a good place to start because it is so pretty.  I love the sky.

And a stop by the Flamingo to see if the flamingo's are still there.  This hotel has a lot of history with us and we have stayed here quite a few times.  Rowdy and Missy just mentioned last week how we hid $20 under a rock there so they could buy a drink on us when they came to Vegas 2 weeks later.  

And on our way through the Casino Sue had to play the slots and of course won!!!  Maybe its enough to pay for our winter travels??

On closer examination, maybe we won't be travelling as far as we thought!!!

It always makes me feel a little sad there there is so much money and festivities in Las Vegas but yet its pretty close to the end of the line for a lot of people.  They are so close to the prosperity, but yet so far!!!

The strip is changing every time we come here and one of the things there was lots of was virtual rides.  I wanted to do the flyover Las Vegas, but had to settle for a rollercoaster ride and a trip in outer space.  Both were good but the graphics were a little disappointing.  The kids running the rides had fun running around spraying air on your feet and trying to make some special effects.

On down the strip we went and there was the Paris!!  We have been up in the tower a couple times so we passed this time.

Angie met the group from Paw Patrol and got her picture with them.  There are not many street performers around right now because Covid has reduced the crowds on the streets dramatically.  They do have a mask law here indoors and I would say 75% are wearing masks.  I kinda wore one around my neck most of the day.

Right next to Denny's was the Flyover virtual reality ride.  Where are the prices you say?  Right up there says Angie!!  $34 gets you on it.  Maybe next time.

We always like to pause at the Denny's cause the first time Sue and I came to Vegas alone, we got in on a really late flight like 2 am and we were starved.  We found this place not far from the MGM where we were staying and had breakfast so we always remember this place.  Ok Ok it means nothing to you but for us it is a memory!!!  LOL

Then on to the M&M store just because.  There are 4 floors of M&M stuff and its all the same but you just have to go there.  I am always looking at marketing schemes of businesses, and this store has their restrooms on the 4th floor so you have to tour the whole store to get there.  I'm sure that is the reason it is there.  And no bathroom pictures!!  Sorry!!

I have to add this picture just because I like to question things.  Why in the name of all that is good and decent, would you name your this.  Apparently this is a famous restaurant with outlets in NYC, Las Vegas, Toronto and lots of places.  Didn't Dave's (David Chang, the owner) mother say, "you know Dave, maybe another name would be better?"  Its all about marketing again and this name certainly catches your eye whether you like it or not.

Across the street we went for a little bit of NYC.  Of course what better ambassador for NYC than the Statue of Liberty.  We had a bite of supper at a fish joint in there.  It was quite good.

And of course, what evening in Las Vegas would be complete without a water show at the Bellagio?  

By the end of the day, all four of us were weary travelers and need to go home and take a day off.  A bit of a jump in activity for me, from the last week!!

Another day with good friends.  Days spent with friends are never wasted.  Hope you got to spend some time with your friends.

A Little Hike

WHERE ARE WE? Lake Mead, Nevada 

NEXT DESTINATION? Pahrump, Nevada

Today our friends Michael and Sandra broke camp around 9 am and headed out to continue on with their adventure.  A quick goodbye and promises to make sure we kept in touch, and they were off.  Bye guys, we sure enjoyed our time with you.

So we finished our coffee and then I went up to help Chuck find some wires so he can hook up his solar.  They bought a new 5th wheel and it is what they call solar ready.  Well the only thing is that they hid all the wires for the solar ready part.   We finally found some in the wall but we have no idea where they go.  I took some pictures in the wall to try figure it out.

It looked like something down there so I pulled on the wire and poof, it came out with no indication where it runs now.  Oh well, we are going for a hike so I will have time to think about it.  At least we know the wire is 8 AWG and heavy enough to support 2-100 watt panels so that is a plus.  So we headed up the Lake Mead Parkway for about 20 miles to a nice little 1 mile hike around some red rocks.  Apparently they were sand dunes at one time and the wind over the years have hardened them while leaving the insides somewhat pliable by the wind.   When we got there I got a picture of Chuck discovering America!  I thought this is what Christopher Columbus must have looked like as he surveyed the country.

Sure hope that rock up there doesn't fall on anyone's head. 

Chuck and Angie love to hike and they are all decked out.  Meanwhile Sue and I are kinda like the tourists.

Our hike today was very interesting.  The rocks were beautiful and the hike was quite gentle.  I even got dared to climb up and check it out.  I felt like a bird in a nest.

A couple more pictures and we headed home. Tomorrow is going to be a great day so don't forget to check in with us.  Until then hope you enjoyed your day as well.