Trip Log:   Nov. 27 - Dec. 19: Truckee, California to Tucson, Arizona

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11/27 - 12/1 Doris & Greta's Place, Truckee, California, US
Harrah's Doris & Greta's Snowed In
It's still a small World. We were in Reno helping Doris buy a computer, when Marty went to Harrah's to push his luck. He sat down at a Black Jack table and ran into Chrissa and Jeremy from Pacific City, OR. We couldn't believe we ran into them in Reno of all places. We had fun dining on lobster and prime rib and losing our money to Mr. Harrah together.

Cabin Fever Strikes. After shoveling about about four feet of snow over five days, we took advantage of a break in the storm and said our goodbyes to Doris, Greta and the Sierras.
 
12/2 Big Sur State Park, Big Sur, California, US
Elephant Seals
3,000 lbs each. Just off Pacific Coast Highway 1 (N 35°39.183' W121°13.398), you can see thousands of elephant seals, that swim all the way from Alaska to mate in Northern California in January and February.
 
12/16 Zion National Park, Cedar City, Utah, US
Rover in ZionAl at Kaban CaveKaban Cave
We spent ten days in Southern California visiting old friends, obtaining Mexican auto insurance and legal aid from Vagabundos, adding brand new Rovertym tie rods and completing our external roll bar, security system (thanks to our new found friend Jerry from Anaheim Hills Land Rover and McLeod Fabrications). On our way to Zion, Rover took us to Las Vegas, "baby." I found my old roommate, Sais, the Rapper Ace, who showed us how to rave, Vegas style. We even spent one night in the Harrah's oversize vehicle parking lot.

Exiting Zion was as much fun as driving through the canyon, there is a 1.1 mile, pitch black tunnel with a few windows cut right out of the mountain for intermittent light. We stopped at the Zion Frontier restaurant, just outside of Zion's east exit for breakfast. Ralph Jensen, the local Marshall, who slings a big pistol on his right thigh, gave us lots of interesting tid-bits about the local area. He called his local sources when we asked about any nearby caves we could explore. Sure enough, Blind Fold Tours gave us directions to the Kaban Canyon Cave (N 37°08.345'W112°32.011). Rover, nor Marty or I, had ever seen anything quite like it - a cove at least 15' x 15' full of cool water at the base of a beautiful, rusty colored rock wall swirled with vanilla white. From the cave, Rover took us off-roading through snow covered clay roads for a good 15 miles.

 
12/17 South Rim, Grand Canyon, Arizona, US

Leaving the Grand CanyonRover and the Grand CanyonMarty and the Grand Canyon

 
12/18 - 19, Gilbert Bay Campground, Tucson Mountain Park, Arizona, US
Tuscon
Seeking warmer temperatures, we headed South to Tucson and camed at the Gilbert Ray Campground (rN 32° 13.220' W 111°08.681'). We were able to see The Lord of The Rings (2 thumbs up) and logged in one last time at Kinkos before we crossed the border. We will cross the border and head straight to the Pacific Coast on Friday.
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