I need an intervention. Yesterday morning I was up by 7 a.m. for the third time in a week. This nonsense has to stop!
With the power still out on our side of the Thousand Trails campground, we planned to leave Las Vegas, but first I wanted to swing by the Speedco and get the oil changed in our Winnebago, and get a lube job.
It was eleven miles from the campground to Speedco, on the north side of Las Vegas, and we got there a little after 9 a.m. Unlike the rude reception we got at the Speedco location outside of Kingman, Arizona, the folks at the Las Vegas shop were very friendly and professional. In less than 15 minutes they had the motorhome inside and were working on it. This is a place I’d go back to any time.
When the work was done on the motorhome, we stopped at the former Flying J, just a couple of blocks away. The truck stop is now called Morton’s, and even though the signs said trucks only at the trucks islands, there were two other RVs there fueling up, so I pulled in too. We got nine cents a gallon off by paying cash, but diesel was still $4.19 a gallon.
With the tank filled, we got on Interstate 15, headed south. Greg and Jan were waiting for us a little south of downtown, and we caravanned together out of Las Vegas and into the desert. Traffic wasn’t too bad once we cleared the city, but we did have the occasional wind gust to deal with, just to keep us on our toes.
We crossed into California and started a long uphill climb that had our speed down to about 35 miles per hour, but we just got over in the truck lane and let traffic flow on past us. Coming down the other side, we had a 17 mile downhill grade, but it was nothing our engine brake couldn’t handle.
Eventually we passed through Baker, then made it to Barstow, where we turned west on State Route 58 for another 40 miles or so. Part of the route was divided four lane highway, but a lot of it was also rough two lane road, with narrow or no shoulders and an endless construction zone. The wind had also picked up, hitting us head on, and by the time we got to Boron, we were glad to get off the road.
We pulled into Arabian RV Oasis about 3:45, with 209 miles behind us, and by the time we got parked in our site, the wind was really slamming into the side of the RV. I got the leveling jacks down and started to run out the living room slide when Terry yelled for me to stop. Apparently in all of the bouncing and jostling in the construction zone, one of the doors on our china cabinet had come open, and as the slide room was going out, it snagged the edge of the door. Fortunately, Terry spotted the problem, and the only damage was bent hinges on the door, which were a fairly simple matter to fix.
Arabian RV Oasis isn’t exactly an “oasis,” but at $12 a night for a full hookup 50 amp pull through RV site, under the Passport America rate, it was a good deal. We went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Domingo’s that several people had highly recommended. I guess it wasn’t bad, but compared to Esther’s Taco House in Placentia, or La Fonda in Camp Verde, Arizona, it was a distant third.
Today, the game plan is to be on the road by 7 a.m. Yes, you read that right! We have another 240 miles to go to the Escapees Park of the Sierras in Coarsegold, California and want to be there before the office closes at noon. Otherwise, we will have to dry camp overnight. And as soon as we get set up, let’s schedule that intervention, okay? I need it!
Thought For The Day – It is tougher to lose weight as we age because your body and the fat have become such good friends
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The wind has been brutal in Wisconsin this week too, with freezing rain to boot! It sure seems like Summer is hiding from us this year. Reminds me of my Grandpa telling me about the Summer of early 1920’s that never showed up. There was ice out on Lake Superior all Summer!
My Uncle, (the Climatologist) says we are in the same weather pattern as the Dust Bowl Era, has something to do with an “El Nina” that occurs every hundred years or so. Thankfully, Oklahoma and other states now have soil conservation in place that should prevent a repeat of that terrible time, but winds will blow and cooler weather will prevail for this Season!
Hope you don’t run into snow. They say the Sierra’s could get 12 inches.
Probably too late to tell you, but snow level may drop to 2,000 feet. Guess what elevation Park Sierra is in Coarsegold? That intervention might be a “hot toddy”.
We have also had a closet door open and get hung-up with the slide going out. Good thing Terry caught it.
Nick we use “child-proof” adjustable clips on our doors that are behind our slides, when in. Badly damaged a door over the washer/dryer a few years back. It didn’t break, just cut a 3″ x 1″ gouge out of it, $40 to replace at Tiffin.
We are just a day or so ahead of you on that same route … but we traveled the construction zone on Rt 58 in the dark at 9PM!.. what a hair raiser! We had an air leak that caused us to pull over in a gravel “rest area” just east of Kramer Junction. Good Sam managed to find us a mobile mechanic who was GREAT … a mechanic and not just a “parts changer”. He is with an outfit called All-In-One Mobile Road Service, out of Hesperia, CA … a fine fellow named John. He also kindly showed us a really good website , that is a wonderful source for finding parts or repair facilities on the road. We are in Three Rivers CA for a few days and are coming on to Coarsegold and Park of the Sierras later in the week. Hope to see you!