Today would be a shorter drive since we were going to stay in Salt Lake City a 336 km drive.

We slept in a little later than usual and were on the road by 9:30 a.m.

It was still pretty cold in the trailer. I was glad that Bernie threw in the little electric space heater at the last minute. I finally ditched my boots and found my runners!

The day was basically uneventful and we arrived in Salt Lake City and found the campground without too much trouble. We arrived about 1:30 p.m. which was nice. Bernie could get a rest since so far he has done all the driving.

The KOA had a code for the bathrooms and showers. Once again we were close to the facilities.

The fog came and went and there were also a few snow flurries, but nothing to get excited about.

On Monday December 21 we were up very early and on the road by 7:25 a.m. It was -4 C.

This would be the last leg for a while since our destination was Las Vegas. I drove a short leg of the journey until we got to Cedar City where we stopped for gas. We also found a Wal Mart Super Centre and shopped for groceries and dog food (of course). We grabbed a bite to eat at the McDonalds. The store was very crowded with Christmas shoppers.

All went well on this journey even though there were a lot of ups and downs and twists and turns through the mountain passes.

"Betty" got us straight to the KOA on Circus Circus Drive right on the Strip. We made it without taking any wrong turns.

The "campground" was a huge parking lot. We got a site with a little grass strip and a table and chairs. There was a swimming pool and hot tub which nobody used and of course the store.

The most important thing was that there was no snow and that was why we came. We planned to stay in this campground until December 27th.

It was windy and kind of cool for a couple of days in Vegas. In fact it was so windy one night that I was afraid it would blow the trailer over, or at least blow our t.v. antennae off the trailer.

It was here that the snow finally melted for good from the back of our truck!

We went for many walks on the strip and took in the sights. Our site was right behind Circus Circus. It was also right next to the freeway so there was a lot of noise from the traffic day and night. The airport was very close as well so lots of planes and helicopters went over all the time.

We decorated for Christmas with some lights outside. Bernie took a small branch from a tree in Idaho and we put it in a jug of water and wrapped tinsel around the whole thing. We wore Santa hats and took our picture with our tree!

On Christmas Eve we left Duke behind for a while and we walked the Strip. We ended up in a shopping mall and brought home chicken for Christmas dinner the next day.

It was nice - sunny and warm on Christmas Day and the wind went down considerably. We called my sister's place and talked to Carol and Gord and Tracy and my mom. Bernie tried calling his mom and sister but they were not answering their phone.

We packed up the truck and drove to the Hoover Dam. It was not very far and easy to find. There was a huge line up of vehicles just to get to the parking lot. Since it was Christmas Day the visitor's centre was not open, nor were the bathrooms. There were a LOT of people there. We just parked the truck in the first spot we found and we walked and walked and walked some more. The funniest thing I heard was a little girl about nine years old saying to her dad, "We came all this way to look at some water. That's not very interesting." LOL

Once we got back to our little home on wheels we were ready for our Christmas feast of chicken.

On Boxing Day we found a Wal Mart and did a little shopping and we also stopped on the way back at a car wash. The truck was very dirty and it looked a whole lot better once it was clean. When we drive in the winter time at home we never wash the vehicle and everybody's looks the same with a lot of road dirt on it all the time. Then we come to a place where the weather conditions are very mild and warm and everybody's vehicles shine........don't want to be too different! Our trailer was kind of dirty as well and we would need to find an R.V. or truck wash to get it clean again.

December 27th saw us heading further south to even warmer climates. We got off to an early start for the 538 km drive. Of course we had to head through more mountain passes, but not nearly as bad as on the way to Vegas from Salt Lake.

We kept on watching the temperature gauge in the truck go higher and higher and we got more excited as the day went on!! Hurray! Warmer temperatures ahead!

We didn't stop much, just for gas and we ate lunch in the trailer in a Home Depot parking lot in Barstow.

We arrived in San Diego about 4:00 p.m. at the Metro San Diego KOA in Chula Vista. The temperature was about 20 C. at that time.

The campground is very nice with palm and cedar trees all over the place. Our site is very close to the store and the showers, etc. It is rather noisy because we are right beside a freeway, but I don't care, it's warm.