We had just finished getting our solar installed and wanted to go somewhere that could really put it to the test. The Nevada desert seemed like a perfect place.
We could check a new state off our "States RVed" list, we could hike around Lake Mead, and we could visit a favorite city of ours, Las Vegas. Oh, wipe that shocked look off your face! We do in fact love Vegas, despite not being into gambling or nightlife.
The best way I like to sum it up is, it's a city where you can feel stimulated and relaxed at the same time. Even though our love for the glitz and glam of Sin City remains, lots of other things have changed. We did head into the city for a couple shows, but otherwise, Lake Mead was our primary destination.
We reserved a campsite ahead of time in Lake Mead National Recreation Area to ensure that we could get a spot for over a week, to really test our new solar system. The campgrounds have no hookups, which meant this would be our longest stint totally dry camping. Until our solar install, we had only done shorter stays with no hookups, or at least had some electricity during the longer stays. We were venturing into new territory. Choosing a Lake Mead campsite that would fit our RV was a hassle in itself.
Many of the sites are pushing the limits in terms of size, with measurements just large enough to fit our 28ft trailer. Sometimes there is room to "overhang," which is the shortest way of saying, park partially on the site pad and partially off, but the problem with this was, we had no way of knowing what vegetation might be in the way. Sometimes you can Google Street View a campground, but in this case most of these street views were so old, the entire state of vegetation had changed.
