About Me

The mountains are calling and I must go...Got the t shirt in Georgia one year and this is our calling! We'll see y'all down the road!

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Illipah Reservoir to Sand Mountain, NV to HOME!

We left Echo Valley Campground around 0900 on Monday for our 3 hour drive to Ely, NV.  Did a little shopping at Ridley's grocery store and got some gas.  We were nearing 1300 so headed over to the Prospector Hotel and Margaritas Mexican Restaurant. We were just there on our way going south but because we don't get to Ely very often decided to do it once again! 
Ely, NV!

Where we broke down a few years ago with all the grandsons along Highway 50



We got seated right away and ordered our drinks. Service wasn't near as good as the last time, but the food was excellent once again! I got the veggie fajitas again and Ken had the luncheon plate of pork burrito with beans and rice. It was huge! 

Once we were finished we took our 40 mile drive to the Illipah Reservoir. Having never been there before we have to say we were really pleased with setting. They have 14 huge sites in the main campground and then 2 sites nearer the water. Pit toilets which were excellently serviced, garbage dumpster, covers, picnic tables, fire pit and fire ring at each site. Wind fences also at each site to keep the wind at bay. It's Nevada so there's always lots of wind! All of this for FREE and you can stay up to 14 days. The lake is full of fish, you can see them jumping! There is no cell or wifi service at all. Luckily it's only 1 1/2 miles from the highway and cell service is just down the road. 
Cover, wind fence, fire pit and bar b q


Big group of toy haulers and toys!

We really thought there wouldn't be many people there but we were pleasantly surprised at the amount. One huge off roading group having a wonderful time with their UTVs (Utility Trail Vehicles)! Again, nice to see people out camping and having fun! 

We got ourselves settled and sat on the shady side of the trailer. People watched and just enjoyed the afternoon/evening! The scenery is beautiful in that area.  We were too full from lunch so no dinner was required. 





A beautiful sunset :) 

Yesterday morning we awoke around 0630 and had our coffees which went a lot faster as we had no service to catch up with our blogging friends. After showers and breakfast we took a walk over to the lake and it sits beautifully.  It was already hot so we didn't stay out too long. Back to camp and off we went on the next trek towards home. 




Part of the big group of toy haulers and toys!

Some of the campground!

These cuties were following the leader to the water!

We arrived at Sand Mountain Nevada to spend the last night on the road.  It was 104 degrees! Smarter people would have left, but we wanted to watch people go up the sand mountain! It's Nevada so it usually cools down at night. We sat in the shade and a little wind blew. It wasn't too bad, haha. 
Middlegate, NV..Burgers are supposed to be awesome!!

Sand Mountain, NV..lots of good times were had here!💗




It's huge!!

ATV at the top of the mountain..zoomed in



2 at at the top of the mountain..


Once it cooled down about 1930 Ken fired up the bar b q and cooked some delicious Better Cheddar Links..yummy! Ken started the generator and we were able to run our portable fan.  Along with all the windows open it was just fine. Because it's wide open country out there he left the generator going when we went to bed.  I woke at 0130 and the fan was still going, sometime during the night it quit but we expected the generator would run out of gas. 

This morning we were up again about 0630, he got the generator going again and the fan came back on. Had our coffees and caught up on our friends. Showers, breakfast and off we went. Time to get in the air conditioned truck and head for home. We arrived home just about 1200. 
Our camping spot at Sand Mountain..


Our neighbors behind us today! 

Fire up near Gardnerville, NV..seen from our backyard..😢

It's hot, 99 degrees but I got the trailer unloaded and Ken did his stuff. It was a good trip for sure, but it's always nice to be home 💙😊

We are actually thinking of buying a side by side. I've wanted one for the last ten years or so.  Watching the people at Sand Mountain really brought back the urge..I contacted our researcher (our son Russell) to see what we could come up with..so we'll see! 

Our governor is trying to enact a mask everywhere policy...so it may be awhile before we buy as we won't support any company that enforces this policy. 4 months later and you say now you have to wear a mask..NOT! 

We had some major thunderstorms this evening.  We were out on the back porch then Karen texted to see if we wanted to come over, so we did. Awesome evening of rain, thunder and lightening! Again, it's good to be home. 

Time for bed!




6 comments:

  1. Looks like a lovely place to stay, that Illipah Reservoir! I could live without wifi for a few nights if the highway was that close. :) Could you camp where the picnic table is at the lake? So pretty!
    The heat sounds crazy!!
    Nice to be home, always, but you are sure enjoying your trips out in your new 2nd home. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You could camp there I would think, but would be a rocky ride and tough turnaround in a trailer. We are really enjoying being out in our huge 2nd home haha.

      Delete
  2. It's funny about the masks. In Calif now they have noted several increases in Covid ... all of which seem to be in the areas where protests were held. Do tell .........

    You have so many neat places to camp in Nevada. I love your pictures!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, so ridiculous. The idiot governor here should look at the counties differently. We have 17, 15 are totally rural and 2 that are Reno and Vegas. But nope everyone is to wear a mask. He sure loves your CA governor. We do have great places to camp. Thank you for loving the pictures :) Too sweet

      Delete
  3. Glad you had an Enjoyable trip and are now Safely home.

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete