Tuesday January 2nd 2018

Today started with a heavy cloud cover. If I were in another atea of the country I’d say it was about to rain. Here in Las Vegas it just meant a cloudy day. It has been 110 days since there has been any measurable rain here in the valley. That’s a new record. The forecast actual admits to the possibility of rain this weekend. At the end of the day the sun broke through in the western sky.

Selection of palm trees around the RV park laundry.

The weather has a big influence on my energy level. The cloudy start to the day caused me to role over and sleep for another hour or so. Once I did get up I was moving at a snails pace most of the day. I never got my energy level up high enough to leave the RV park. Instead I worked on a continuation of yesterday’s cleanup tasks and did some more travel planning.

I have the start and end of my trip back to Florida laid out. The middle is proving a little more challenging. The first couple of weeks of February are proving difficult to lock in. The Mardi Gras celebration is in full swing during that period in the area I need to travel through. East Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and coastal Alabama have parades and parties leading up to February 13th. I would like to spend a few days in the area, but it may prove difficult based on a sample size of one. I tried to make reservations at one place and was informed I was several months too late. Based on the delivery of the response, I don’t want to stay there anyway.

I’m going to keep looking at my options. The worst case will mean moving through that area quickly with only one night stays. I have reservations from the middle of February through the first week of April at various places. I’m assuming that Florida will be a little easier to find places to stay after the middle of April. Easter on April first means many snowbirds will have already headed north. I plan to head north on the west side of the Appalachians at the end of April or the beginning of May. I’m looking at stops in Chattanooga and Nashville Tennessee then moving through Kentucky into Indiana. Many of the campgrounds in the north don’t start taking reservations until the staff gets back from warmer places.

While I was exploring all of my immediate travel plans, I also put some research into next winter. I plan to stay in Florida next winter. Given the popularity of the location, now is not too soon to start thinking about reservations. I need to decide if I’m going to stay in one place for several months or move around every couple of weeks. Staying in one place for multiple months probably means the center of the state. It’s a cheaper location and it has more options for day trips. I need to decide before too long, the reservation window for the state parks is 11 months. Some of the more popular state parks are already booked for the first two weeks of December.

The late day sun on the west side of the mountain to the east of the park. The sky to the east behind the mountain is still thickly cloud covered.