 |
| Site 27, Valley of Fire State Park, NV |
I was going to try for a photo of Jupiter last night using my 300 mm lens & doubler. The technical reporter who writes for the Syracuse Post Standard used an iPad to shoot it and said he could see surface details. I found that hard to believe, so I dug out the longest lens system I could put together to see. I shot the moon setting up focus, but as daylight faded, the clouds rolled in & I never got the chance for Jupiter. Maybe tonight.
The original plan was to drive as far as Indian Springs on US 95, and take NV 156 to one of the Toiyabe Forest Service campgrounds for the night. That would split the 200 mile drive to Valley of Fire State Park in half. Only problem - I didn't realize that the campgrounds were at over 8000'. Not only was it a haul (with the instant MPG readout at 4.5), but it got cold! At 10:30 AM it was 65°F when I left US 95, and when I turned around at 8000' it was down to 50°F. I decided to skip the midway stop & drive on to Valley of Fire.
I stopped along the way for a photo of some pretty mountains. Better in person than the photograph - the scenery along US 95 is great.
So, it was a bit longer drive than I planned, but I pulled into the campground around 1:00. There were about 4 electric sites left open - I grabbed the nicest, although most of them (including mine) have the picnic tables & utilities in the wrong place for a trailer. Still, a nice site with a beautiful view of the rocks through any window. It will raise my camping cost average - this morning I was at $19.70 for the trip, but at $30.00 per night, a week in site 27 will bring that up to $20.16, even more if I stay another week. I may - I checked the weather at Zion, and the nights are still below freezing. I was here for a week in 2011 in site 33, when Don & Anne came out to join me for 2 weeks.
More photos at today's LakeshoreImages page. By the way, I'm not sure how much posting I'll be able to do here. While the Verizon connection is much improved over 2011 (it says it is 4G LTE), it is still pretty slow.
I'm glad I didn't get here any later - by 3:30, all but the disabled electric sites are filled, and most of the water only sites are also taken.
Dinner will be a couple of hot dogs & beans - Hey, I'm camping!
Until tomorrow -
Valley of Fire--what a great name!
ReplyDelete