San Diego Wild Fires

Above was what we saw one morning during the height of the wild fire outbreak here in San Diego County in May. At one point in time there were eleven (11) fires going at the same time. I think a total of over 30,000 acres were burned.

So you can imagine our concern when we saw this column of smoke just a few hundred yards from out rigs. There was a steady stream of fire engines responding past the campground.

There must have been a dozen or more engines on this fire along with water tenders. One of those tenders pulled in the campground to refill.

When two helicopters showed up on the fire, we campers started thinking about the possibility that we would need to evacuate. Many started packing for the move.

The campground has seven small lakes which made for a quick access to water for the helicopters.

There snorkel was in the water for about 25 seconds and then it was lift off and back to the fire.

The two helicopters passing each other. You can see how low they flew.

It was not long before the KUSI-TV news reporters showed up.

Now the big guns from Cal-Fire showed up from their air base in Ramona. The air boss flew in first to direct the bomber's activities.

Soon to follow were two bombers to help check the spreading of the fire.

All this activity continued for a little over an hour and a half before they had the fire check. There were fire crews on scene for three or four hours before the fire was really out. According to reports, a total of about 30 acres burned. Several houses were threatened but no damage. We did not evacuate.

If you look closely at the center of the photo below, you can see line crews working on the hill.

THE FLOWER FIELDS OF CARLSBAD

My first adventure after setting up camp in San Diego for the summer was to visit the ranunculus flower fields located in Carlsbad just north of San Diego. They have 50 acres of blooming flowers to walk among and smell. Here are just a few of the images that I took that day:

Until Next time

LAS VEGAS HIGH ROLLER

The latest major attraction to be enjoyed on the Las Vegas strip is the High Roller ! This is the world's largest observation wheel. The views from the top of the wheel are at 550 ft. above the street. The location of the wheel is at the east end of a quarter-mile long pedestrian area called the LINQ. This is located between Harrahs Casino and the Flamingo Casino on the east side of Las Vegas Blvd. The LINQ is also all new with shops, pubs, bowling alley, etc. Even without the wheel, the LINQ is worth the short walk off of Las Vegas Blvd. I happened to be taking images of the new area on the first day of operation for the public to ride.

 

Mid-day Views

There are 28 of these Cabins on the wheel that hold a maximum of 40 people each. That means that over 1,100 can ride the wheel at the same time. The ride duration is one (1) revolution and that takes 30 minutes. It has the capability to load and unload passengers without stopping the wheel. It moves so smoothly that there is no sensation of movement. There are a few bench seats in each Cabin, but you have a 360 degree view from the Cabin so most people walk about getting great views of the Strip and the southern part of Las Vegas.

Just after sundown, I came back for more evening and night photos.

I had not initially intended to ride the wheel at that time, but how many times does a person have the opportunity to ride an attraction on the very First Day Of Operation? So I obtained a ticket and walked right on for a New Way To See Las Vegas. In order to give you a taste of you see when you ride, I am including the following photos:

Here are some views from the top of the wheel.

 This platform is some 30 feet above the street.

 

End of the Ride

Next time you are in Las Vegas check out the High Roller.

WHERE HAS BOB BEEN FOR THE LAST 3 MONTHS

I have NOT had a reliable internet connection since I left Apple Valley on the 5th of January so no posts on this blog. Today, as I am camped in Las Vegas, I thought I had a good hot spot so I could post before it dries up, but I am unable to upload any pictures. So I will give you a review of my activities over the past several months.

First stop was a week with the Golden Spike chapter of Family Motor Coach Ass. rally in Indio, CA. where the theme was Dogpatch USA. Then, it was on to Blythe for a week at their annual Bluegrass Festival. A short 25-mile travel to Quartzsite found me enjoying a week with good friends and great jeep riding adventures.

I spent the entire month of February enjoying the many activities found in Lake Havasu City. Among my favorites was a tour boat ride through the Topock Gorge on the Colorado River almost to Needles and back. At the end of February, I moved the coach one block to the Arizona State Park next to the London Bridge and spent an interesting week at the Bluegrass On The Beach festival.

After the festival, I spent the next week in Laughlin at the Riverside RV Park. Always have great photo opts there. Next stop... Death Valley. I've been going there for a week in March for the past 30 years. This year, as well as last, my life was blessed with the presents of my daughter and son-in-law. They were staying in the campsite next to mine. As many times as I have been there, I still find new places to visit. This year we visited the Furnace Creek Fire Department in Death Valley National Park. They also have an ambulance and I wonder what a person would be thinking if they were to find themselves being put in this ambulance after an accident and seeing "Death Valley Ambulance" written on the side? Another place that I had visited for the first time was the Furnace Creek Inn. I found out that they have a park Ranger tour so we took that informative tourl.

After Death Valley, I spent 3 days in Pahrump, NV at the Lakeside RV Park located about 3 miles south of town. Gave me a chance to rest up from the activities of the past week. Then it was on to Las Vegas for a month. Since I don gamble, drink or chase women, people ask me what I find to do in Vegas for a whole month. Not A Problem! When I get back to Apple Valley next week, I'll try and post some images of what I found to do in Vegas. Let me put it this way. My camera has been busy! I have created five (5) major production slide shows in the past three weeks while here in Vegas.

One thing that has kept me occupied over the past several months is overhauling all of the slide shows that were created in 2013 (about 130 of them). My computer became upset with me for putting all my picture folders in one folder called "2013" back in January. It scrambled the pictures in all of those folders so I had to go back and recreate those presentations. I just finished that task a couple of days ago.

So NOW you have an idea of what I have been up to and hope to have pictures posted in a 2 or 3 weeks.