Dante's View in Death Valley NP yesterday. The 25 mile (40km) drive takes you from below sea level to over 5000 feet. The people walking out on the famous Badwater Basin far below look like tiny ants. Still unseasonally chilly, cloudy, and wet. High temp in the valley was in the 60s F (15C) and up at Dantes around 40F (5C) and with strong winds making it feel below freezing. Made for some interesting views though that most people don't normally see.

Just a little bit of elbow room here! :) We moved about an hour and a half southwest of Death Valley to a dry lake bed in the Mojave Desert near Dumont Sand Dunes. Great weather today, low winds and around 20C (68F) March 24 2023

Some dash cam footage of my drive through Death Valley Junction the other day. Recent rains quickly evaporated, leading to impressive puffy cloud formations in this barren mountainous high desert country.

March update video for our 2022/23 Snowbird trip. If you haven't caught up on our previous videos, check them out. So, when we last talked, we had just arrived at Death Valley National Park, where we spent most of our time exploring the park and the surrounding areas.



Related Videos:
Previous Snowbird Trip Videos - https://www.loveyourrv.com/tag/snowbirds/
2022/23 Snowbird Video Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFTgofrXYzs&list=PLp14lzXh07ulg5J9C1ghQeJXg2Ey2xa8R
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge - https://www.loveyourrv.com/visit-to-ash-meadows-national-wildlife-refuge-southern-nevada/
Dumont Dunes OHV Camping - https://www.loveyourrv.com/camping-dumont-dunes/
Death Valley 2019 Visit - https://www.loveyourrv.com/death-valley-national-park-7-videos-from-our-visit/

Hi Ray and Anne,

I'm back home now, between Toronto and Montreal. I left in between bad weather events and had nothing but sunny skies, although some high winds heading north right by tornado alley.

Stayed at "the pads" back in 2016 before I retired. Came into Death Valley via 190 and spent a week in rather warm conditions in the north east campground near the crater. Last week before it closed due to the heat.

Here's a video of some of the places I went to this year:

Steve's 2022-2023 Snowbird Trip

I did repeat stays at many areas and didn't include footage of those areas.

Safe travels on your way back north.

Cheers,
Steve

Nice slide show, thanks Steve. :smile:

Overnighted April 9/2023, at Buffalo Bills Casino in Primm, Nevada. Just off I15 on the CA/NV stateline this makes for an easy in and out. Has a huge parking area out back. It was closed down the last few years due to the casino being renovated, but back open now.

Spent the last night at a Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge camping area in eastern Nevada, about 2 hours north of Vegas. Free camping 14 sites first-come right on a lake. Great deal. They have several sites to accommodate larger RVs. It's at around 3400 feet, so spring is just getting started but hit a warm spell with temps into the 80s.

Moved up Highway 93 in eastern Nevada a bit to Cathedral Gorge State Park. It has some really cool sandy rock formations carved by wind and rain with narrow slot canyons to explore. Great for photography and hiking.

Cool place to stay. This is an area of the U.S. I'll never have the time to go through and appreciate the photos. Cheers, Steve

Explored the Moon Slots at Cathedral Gorge SP today. Deep and narrow! Will have a video about this gem of a Nevada State Park coming soon.

Moved another couple of hours north today, leaving Cathedral Gorge SP and landing in a sweet little free BLM camping area just off Highway 50 in the far east of Nevada called Sacramento Pass BLM Rec Area. Even has a fishing pond in the middle. Good base to drive into Great Basin National Park from. Still a ton of snow on the mountains, but we'll check it out tomorrow and see how much is accessible. Bright and sunny up here are 7400 feet, about 12C today 54F, warm in the sun though but will be a tad chilly tonight down near freezing. with clear starry skies.

The lingering snowpack in eastern Nevada has stopped us from being able to explore the higher-elevation scenic drives in Great Basin National Park. They are closed off at around 7500 feet.
However, the views below aren't too shabby! :cool:

Long 300 mile drive yesterday to outrun some cold weather coming into the high elevations of northeast Nevada. Made it up to Twin Falls, Idaho, and hunkering down for today in some fairgrounds. Windy and light dusting of snow this AM. Good day to do some video editing.

We made it into Oregon today on I84 from Idaho. Spent last night parked at the Mountian Home, Idaho Walmart. Not a bad spot against a grassy bank. Now set up for a few days at a nice little free BLM campsite on the Snake River a few miles from Farewell Bend State Park.

Spring is slowly emerging on the Snake River northwest of Boise, Idaho, just into Oregon. A gorgeous afternoon today, with low wind and a high of 17C (62F)

Looks like there is a railway on the other side of the Snake river, were there many trains or very loud? Given the proximity to the I 84 I guess you didn't have much traffic noise from their. Again nice spot, we will bookmark this one for our return home when we are coming from Elko Nevada back to B.C. Thanks Ray :up:

Great spot. Some trains go by on the other side. It doesn't bother us since so many places have trains we are very used to them. I hardly notice anymore. Just a rumble as they passed, and rarely did I hear a horn. I84 is on the other side of a large hill, so can't hear it at all.
The loudest noise was from the RV park lawnmower. :)

We took advantage of a warmer day and a Sunday to get our butts over the Blue Mountains, Deadman Pass, and Cabbage Hill on I84 in eastern Oregon. A bit of fog and rain at the top but otherwise a nice drive. Overnighting at the Wildhorse Casino near Pendleton.

We are back in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area on our way back to Vancouver Island. This time we checked out some of the many waterfalls flowing well with the spring runoff. The two-tiered Multnomah Falls is something to see!

I'm currently camping on the Washington side of the Columbia River, at the Columbia Hills Historical State Park near The Dalles. It's been quite warm lately, with temperatures reaching nearly 80F 26.5C today and expected to continue rising in the coming days. I wanted to share some photos of the picturesque scenery around the cozy camping spot. Additionally, one family had a lovely time fishing at the nearby small lake and caught their limit of Rainbow trout!

Another lovely day in the Columbia River Gorge. So, this morning I hiked up on top of Horsethief Butte to get a couple of shots of the snowcapped volcano Mount Hood. Gorgeous!

In this video, I update you on our April 2023 travel route, camping stops, and sightseeing to finish our 6-month snowbird RV journey from British Columbia to Arizona and back. We went from just north of Los Angeles, California, northeast to Las Vegas, Nevada, then north to Twin Falls, Idaho, and northwest towards Portland, Oregon. Major highways included Interstate 15, Nevada State Highway 93, and Interstate 84.

Stops include the California Poppy Reserve, Primm Casinos, Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, Cathedral Gorge State Park, Sacramento Pass BLM Recreation Area, Great Basin National Park, Farewell Bend on the Snake River, Wildhorse Casino, and Columbia Hills Historical State Park. Whew!

Due to elevation changes, the April weather varied from freezing up to near 90F. After Las Vegas, the highways were pretty decent and not too busy. Overall an excellent route north.



*Related Videos*
Previous Snowbird Trip Related Videos - https://www.loveyourrv.com/tag/snowbirds/
California Poppy Reserve Antelope Valley - https://www.loveyourrv.com/visit-to-antelope-valley-poppy-reserve-in-southern-california/
Cathedral Gorge State Park - https://www.loveyourrv.com/early-spring-visit-to-cathedral-gorge-state-park-in-nevada/
Twin Falls, Idaho - https://www.loveyourrv.com/early-spring-rv-visit-to-scenic-twin-falls-idaho/
Columbia Hills Historical State Park - https://www.loveyourrv.com/visit-to-columbia-hills-historical-state-park-on-the-columbia-river-wa/
Deadmans Pass Dash Cam Footage - https://www.loveyourrv.com/dashcam-footage-towing-down-dangerous-cabbage-hill-i84-westbound-oregon/
I15 Las Vegas Dashcam - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEahhr51t0g

So long, USA. Crossed the border on May 2nd after 6 months Thanks for another fantastic snowbird trip! Cheers to all my American friends.

Welcome back Anne & Ray! Cheers, Steve

We finished off our latest snowbird trip last week with a sunny calm crossing aboard the Coho Ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, and now back up at our summer base in Campbell River for a few months. Looking forward to a relaxing summer back on the ocean.