Water Canyon Recreation Area

There's not a lot to do here in the little town of Winnemucca. 

So, we spend some of our free time taking short drives in the desert...

and accidentally driving up on local attractions like..

Water Canyon Recreation Area

http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/res/Education_in_BLM/Learning_Landscapes/For_Travelers/go/adventures/watger_canyon_recreation.html

It's just outside of town on BLM Land

There's free camping, picnicking and hiking...

possible bear activity

a great place to get away... and relax for a few minutes in the clean desert air.

just a short 4 mile drive from our apt.

it's a primitive peaceful place...

http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/wfo/blm_programs/recreation/water_canyon.html

There's a little bit of water flowing through the creek,

and granite rocks sticking out of the mountains...so interesting,

we've visited a few times now

always so peaceful

and quiet

lots of wildlife...mama and baby tagging behind

down by the creek.

and the best part... it's free! 

Living in the High Desert of Nevada

So, here we are with only 5 weeks left in Steve's assignment at Humboldt General Hospital in the peaceful desert of Winnemucca, Nevada. I haven't blogged as I should and now with the contract ending soon...so many things I want to share and remember.
Here are some of the pictures we've taken these last 8 weeks
 and a quick update... 

There's not a lot to do here in Winnemucca so some days we just take a drive, especially in the evenings....when the air is cool.

We drive for miles and never see a soul!

We lean out the windows and sing a long with our fav Eagles CD! 

and we stop and take fabulous pictures in the vast wilderness! 

Then we drive back through town and enjoy the rural setting at sunset

2 railroad tracks run through town...

The desert has its own beauty...

Those are our apartments at the base of Winnemucca Mountain.

Then there's the price we pay for all this peace and quiet...

gas is $4.29 a gallon. 

Not sure why Steve is smiling.

Then there are some not so beautiful places around town... like brothels. Yes, it's legal here.

they are in town near the highway..

and casinos everywhere you turn, even inside restaurants, hotels and gas stations...weird.

but some of our favorite places are the local restaurants... like The Griddle 

so so good, absolutely the best breakfast, brunch, and lunch in town! 

Right on the main street!

http://thegriddle.com/

This is Spencer's favorite dive for breakfast! He loves their bacon!

and I love their French Toast... the best I've ever had.

Our other favorite dinner spot is Chihuahua's 

http://chihuahuasgrill.com/

They have great fajitas

I really enjoyed the pork tamales and cheese enchiladas! 

Definitely the best Mexican food we have had since leaving Texas!

and lastly a final reminder that we live in the middle of nowhere...

a few simple grocery items will set you back about $25.

Thank goodness for Walmart. We are able to do most of our shopping there and we can get cash as needed too, since none of our banks have branches here either.

Ultimately we are having a great small town experience here, but we are looking forward to seeing our loved ones soon in Texas. 

Lovely Lake Tahoe Day 3/4

Wow, so we had an amazing trip to Lake Tahoe in July. We spent 4 days and 3 nights at the 

Forest Suites Resort 

http://forestsuites.com/

7/13-7/16. So affordable, totally accommodating, literally a wooded forest retreat. I keep repeating how great the forest smells... I'm so in love with the beautiful northwest trees!  I'm secretly devising a plan to come back through here before we travel back to Texas, lol! 

So here's the rundown of Days 3 and 4. We did so much in such a short time and we never waited in line for anything, a totally relaxing atmosphere! I can only imagine the crowds during peak ski season. I'm sure this is the place to be in the winter!

So, Day 3 we started out at the Ski Run Marina, just down the street from our hotel.

http://www.skirunmarina.com/

Parasailing was first! 

http://www.tahoesports.com/parasailing

This was a biggie for all of us! 

Spencer said he felt like he was flying like a bird! 

Steve has some really good gopro video but I don't know how to edit it.

So here's a short clip I took of them taking off and landing!

They were in the air for about 15 minutes!

Then Steve came down...gopro and all, and I got on! 

Wow! That view is spectacular! 

Spencer got to ride twice! 

What a wonderful experience! 

Next... Steve strapped to gopro on Spencer and they went kayaking! 

Don't tip over! 

ooops they did and there's some video too, but at least it was in the shallow water! 

so much fun! 

look out doggie! making great memories!

After all that excitement we went swimming at the hotel then had lunch at base camp!

After a quick nap we headed to Zephyr Cove for an evening cruise! 

http://www.tahoebleuwave.com/#!

We sailed all over the Lake for 2 1/2 hours! 

Here's Rubicon Bay!

This is Emerald Bay

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1159

Fannette Island

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=35090

The boat stopped so everyone could get a picture with The Vikingsholm castle in the background! http://www.vikingsholm.com/index.html

The water is so blue and still...

The next morning we had time to do a little more sightseeing before we checked out and headed back to our apt. We decided to walk around DL Bliss State Park. It was just across the way from our hotel!

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=505

The gondolas were running straight above our heads! 

We stopped again at the Emerald Bay lookout... 

for one last peek at the crystal clear blue water and amazing trees! 

Bye Bye Lake Tahoe til we meet again...