Rally Planning can be Fun

We are members of the Golden Spike Chapter of FMCA. That chapter was founded for people who have an interest in Rail Roads. Because both Tom’s and my father were Southern Pacific RR Engineers we joined the first year we attended an FMCA rally.  We have loved the members and really loved our railroad excursions.  What we were not so aware of was that this was a “railroading” organization.  About 2 years ago I was “railroaded” into being the Editor of the Golden Spike newsletter, The Telegraph.  This was not an easy chore as Dotty Poole had done such a good job, it was a challenge to follow in her very big footsteps (figuratively speaking).  We were then “railroaded” last March to be wagon masters at the Verde Valley rally. We were promised and had lots of help from fellow Spikers, The Harrisons and Halls.  What a great time we had.  This fall Tom was “railroaded” into running for Conductor (president) of the club when our dear friend, Tom Harrison, became gravely ill.  Then at the January Western FMCA rally we were AGAIN “railroaded” into planning the next rally at Boulder City, NV.  I think we need to join a “Do Nothing” RV club to relax.

So after our Geocaching Rally at Quartzsite we drove 3 hours north on Hwy 95 through Arizona, into California, into Nevada and into Boulder City. 

We had never been to this cute, historic, 77 year old town.  Actually, I can’t remember visiting this new a town ever.  Build to house the workers of Boulder, now Hoover, Dam, it is one of only 2 towns in Nevada that does not permit gambling and did not permit prostitution. I’m not sure of the rules on prostitution in the state of Nevada now.

We pulled into the Elks lodge RV parking area, a very nice landscaped RV facility behind the lodge with full hook-ups, picnic tables, and a host, Deborah, that greeted us as we arrived. At $18 a night you just can’t beat the accommodations and location, between McDonalds and Jack in the Box. 

We paid for 4 nights and started exploring.  Our first stop was the train station which was only a couple of blocks up the hill.  The train only runs on weekends and this was Friday, but we ran into Choo Choo Greg as he was leaving the museum. Greg is a volunteer and a rail road devotee. I think he might also be a savant.  You would recognize the similarity if you saw the movie, Rainman.  Choo Choo Greg has hundreds numbers; dates, train numbers, miles, etc., that he excitedly tells you about at break neck speed.  We finally got away from Greg’s story telling, insisting that we (and he) needed to get home to dinner.

The next morning we were at the train station at 9:30 to meet Peg, our contact for the rally tour, and to purchase our ticket to ride the Southern Nevada Railroad Excursion Train.  The tickets were only $10, and although a short ride, it was a picturesque and a very informative ride.  This was the first weekend of the railroad’s season and we had hoped to see the herd of Big Horn Sheep.  Once the trains start running they go to the other side of the mountain, but they must have gotten wind of the schedule because they were no where to be found.

I have an App on my new Droid, Find That Guy, that tells us if we are near to a restaurant that Guy Fieri, of Diners, Drive-in & Dives,  has reviewed.  We were real near to the Coffee Cup in downtown Boulder City, so after the train ride we wanted to try out this restaurant. 

Tom had their Famous Chili Verde Omlet and I had a turkey melt.  Mine was good and Tom says he has never had better Pork Chili Verde.  The current owners bought this little café, built in 1933, and decorated it in a funky eclectic style that is a cross between ‘60’s’ surfing and ‘30’s’ junk.  The waitresses look like most of their tips go to the local tattoo parlor.

Our week in Boulder City included checking out the RV Park located right on Lake Mead,

a visit to the new Boulder Dam Bridge,

some geocaching,

and lots of really good food, especially at The Bistro, a very small restaurant that we were told was pretty pricey.  Tom had a 12 oz. top sirloin that looked like  Ruth’s Chris’s with twice baked potato, asparagus, and a special salad that was made as we watched; I had butter pecan crusted trout with risotto, asparagus, and the same wonderful salad. The appetizer was a phenomenal fresh baked Italian bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip. Tom had a beer and I had a glass of house wine… the bill was $40.32.  Pricey? we’ll take that price for a special evening out any day.

		Ethyl M’s Cactus Garden VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We added 2 more days at the Elks, went into Henderson and checked out Ethyl M’s Chocolate Factory and Cactus Garden, drove down to Willow Bay, the drop off point for the Black Canyon/Willow Bay Raft ride and did some more caching.

We sure look forward to our rally May 5-9 in Boulder City.

Back on the road, over the Boulder Dam Bridge in the RV and down Hwy 93 through Kingman and Lake Havasu City to Cattail Cove SP. We stayed here last year when we attended the Western Pyrotechnic Assn’s WinterBlast.  More about that in our next blog.

Until then, keep on caching.  Thanks for checking in.

Barbara, Tom, and Pansy