Saturday, December 8, through Wednesday, December 19, 2012:  In Beautiful Downtown Pahrump:
The 136-mile trek from Barstow to Pahrump, Nevada, went through some of the most desolate parts of California I have ever seen.  The only towns we went through were Yermo and Baker, which aren't much.  The rest of the way is just desert, and the only things worth seeing are the multi-colored mountains and some odd sand dunes.

We arrived at the Preferred RV Resort before 1:00PM and, after tussling with the gate person, who would not even try to understand anything we said, we were finally directed to a nice site.

We've been here before, so it was easy to settle in.  Saturday night we just relaxed; it was a travel day and they are always exhausting for some unknown reason.  Part of the relaxation was watching Hope Springs, a pretty funny Meryl Streep/Tommy Lee Jones flick (from the Red Box, of course).  Tommy Lee did a great job as a grouchy young version of a Walter Matthau-type character. 

On Sunday, we first ventured to the Lakeside Casino, about six miles away, for its Sunday Brunch, which was deservedly inexpensive, but satisfying anyway. 

We learned that it had recently been acquired by the same folks who now own all but one of the casinos in the the city (I think there are six of them).  There is a very nice RV park at the Lakeside property.  (The lake is man-made, incidentally.)

After brunch, we decided it was time for a wine fix, so we headed for the Pahrump Valley Winery for a tasting.  We ended up with two bottles of Chardonnay.

Since our refrigerator is now working, we needed to re-stock it, so a trip to Albertsons followed.

The big events on Monday were my getting a haircut at Walmart and Becky's taking a 23-mile bike ride

---visiting one of the two local brothels to use the bathroom while on her trek.

On Tuesday, my big project was refinishing the wooden step we often use to bridge the gap between the ground and the stairs to our outside door.  The one we have was acquired (by Becky, in an unauthorized transaction) at the RV park we stayed in when we were in Golden, Colorado last year.  It had been painted red some time ago, and the paint was wearing off.  It looked pretty shabby.  I painted the bottom and sides black, and then hand-sanded the top back to the raw wood and finished it with clear lacquer.  It looks pretty good; I may not want to step on it again.

While I was working on the step, Becky got a Mani Pedi at a local salon. She now looks as good as the step.

Wednesday involved a 85-mile (roundtrip) fun excursion to the China Ranch Date Farm a few miles outside of tiny Tecopa Springs, California.

It’s an actual date farm (the date palm trees were planted in 1990) in the middle of a canyon, reached by a one-lane dirt road, with the agriculture made possible by the presence of a stream flowing through the canyon.  Primarily, they sell the ten types of dates they grow on the premises.  They also sell a few date palm trees.

I had to have one of their date milkshakes, of course.  It was delicious.  There is also a large gift shop on the premises, loaded with an odd assortment of old and new things, including Indian crafts.  Strange stuff.

The location was first developed in 1890 as a normal farm (if anything in that part of the world can be considered normal) by a Chinaman named Ah Foo. He disappeared ten years later, but the area was nevertheless consistently referred to as the Chinaman’s place.

Thus, the current name of the farm.  It’s interesting to see how people can thrive in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by palm trees and a few abandoned silver mines.

Wednesday night we had sushi at Yoshi, one of the two Japanese restaurants in Pahrump.  The food was good, but the ambience was a bit weird.  The place used to be a Quiznos, and the bare walls and bright lights were a distraction.

Thursday was the day to go to the dentist for our regular cleanings.  Becky also got a massage.  Because of logistics, Becky had to walk about a mile---in the rain---from the massage to the dentist.  All in all, it was not an unpleasant day.

Friday, we tracked down the local Thai restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner.  The atmosphere was a little odd, but the food was tasty.  As usual, I had Cashew Chicken and Becky had Pad Thai.

It's been colder than I expected.  We're at 2,700 feet, and I guess I should have anticipated that December temperatures would be in the 30s at night and the 50s in the day.  The rain and wind the past two days haven't helped.  It feels colder than it actually is.

Saturday we watched two Red Box movies---Lawless and Your Sister's Sister, both independents with little-known actors for the most part.  They were different, but at least held our interest.     

Sunday, the 16th, we drove the 65 miles to Las Vegas to have lunch with Paula Browne, a buddy of Becky's from the Union Bank days.  She has been a commercial lender with Wells Fargo in Las Vegas for nearly 15 years.  She recently lost her husband, Chris.  She's a terrific lady and is holding up remarkably well.  We enjoyed seeing her again.

Our lunch was at Frank & Fina's Mexican Kitchen, on Blue Diamond.  I had an old favorite of mine:  Ropa Vieja (literal translation: old clothes).  It was delicious.
 
The "highlight" on Monday was watching another Red Box movie, Moonrise Kingdom, which had great reviews by both critics and viewers, but was horrible.  We couldn't finish it.  It was one of those films that are supposed to be very funny but aren't---unless you're smoking something illegal.  In its place, we dug into our personal DVD inventory and watched Lost In America and Get Shorty.  Both are terrific.  And fun.

Tuesday and Wednesday were ordinary days---I read while Becky walked Ramsey and got her hair done.  Late Wednesday, we decided to cut our stay in Pahrump short by one day.  That meant that Wednesday would be our last day there.  We had dinner from the local Panda Express.  Yum.