Pumpkin Bowling at Slab City the morning after Halloween. Last time I was there was Easter when they shot easter eggs off of saw horses the morning after. Fun times.
Me and Lisa took her car to the Dunes to take some photos while Ross was working on the RV at Slab City. Unfortunately the dunes were covered in little kids on ATV’s and big kids in jeeps. On the other side of the highway there was less pure dunes but no people so we hung out on that side.
The Brougham is not made to be lived in long term, nor is it meant to be camped in the winter as we have learned. When we left Slab City (Salton Sea, CA) it was in the 80s. We wanted so badly to be able to stay longer but the internets just wouldn’t allow. We got pretty good Internet as far south as North Shore (AT&T 3G) but any further south aka Niland, Slab City, Brawly and it was nearly impossible to work. After we spent a week wandering around North Shore, La Quinta, Palm Springs, we returned to Niland one last weekend and decided to go to Arizona, then changed our mind and went to Yucca Valley, then Victorville.. (read blog about going in circles). No matter where we went it was the mission to find warmer weather combined with good internet that motivated our decision to keep looking.
California is expensive and it doesn’t seem to matter which part you are in. All the state parks were $30 a night with hookups and $20 without ($20 for what? a toilet and a parking spot? jerks). We didn’t stay in a single park in California the few weeks we were there (Walmart’s, behind abandoned buildings and at Slab City). RV parks were even worse, usually costing $45 a night and up – + the lovely California tax. Some RV parks on the coast were charging as much as $250 a night in places like Newport Beach. After Yucca Valley and ditching the Death Valley idea, we went to see my friend Lisa in Santa Ana then headed towards Mexico. Once in the San Diego area – a place with several state parks, we found our luck was definitely not going to change. We ended up on the verge of breaking down in a town with an “no overnight stay” ordinance and “cant check into hotels after 10pm” ordinance to compliment the first.
After the new U-joints we had to get installed at Sears on a Sunday, we headed to Arizona – Catalina State Park again (GPS: 32.4439, -110.9188), trucking it through the night without stopping (except for gas and pie). Weather was nice the whole 2 weeks we were there and we got allot done – then we left. Ever since we’ve been cold as hell!
Oliver Lee State Park
Our next stop was New Mexico. We left on a Friday and made it to Las Cruces where we stayed a couple nights in the Walmart there while we figure out our actual plan. Finally deciding on seeing the white Dunes outside Alamogordo, we found Oliver Lee State Park 15 miles south of Alamogordo on the 54 (=GPS: 32.7358, -105.916). The first night at Oliver Lee was cold and raining steady. We had lots of propane so we cranked the heat before bed and when we woke up – then abusing our power of fire through most the day. The next evening we were surprised to learn that mountains are mountains everywhere in the world and elevation always means there is probably snow. By morning the next day we had a foot of snow and temperatures in the 20s.
Our first issue was water, before we even thought about stuffing pillows in crevasses or taping vents shut outside, I was reminded quickly of growing up in Montana and having pipes freeze quickly without the proper preventative measures. Before the pipes froze fully they gave us a hint what was happening by slowing to a trickle. We quickly went (aka I sent Ross) outside to bend and twist the hose (connected to the state park water) to break free any ice chunks then wrapped it enough to keep it off the ground. We then left the tap running at a small steady stream the rest of the time we were there – while temps were below freezing. We never saw a Ranger or went into the visitor center so we never knew if maintenance, if any, existed. The bathrooms always seemed clean but after the first foot of snow the electricity went out and no one did or said a thing. We weren’t the only ones in a the park and just like us, no one complained, just pulled out their generators and went on with their lives. It was kind of refreshing to see a bunch of people not whining about snow, weather or lack of electricity. When it snows in Portland I swear the reaction is as bad as if there had been an earthquake.
Oliver Lee State Park
It took a few days for the snow to melt and the roads in the camp stayed pretty well used by people who had trucks to haul their trailers, but we were fairly confident after being unable to stop dependably in just rain, that the snow wouldn’t be any more forgiving. We were stuck as far as we were concerned but it wasn’t really a bad thing. We had food and didn’t have anywhere to go. We tried to go get more Propane before the snow hit, starting the week at 40%, but the battery had pretty much died during the night and we had to spend the rest of the day charging it. Chena was pissed about being stuck inside every day but other than that we survived. We had paid till Thursday and by Thursday afternoon the snow was mostly off the roads and the drive to the highway would be dry. We were at 10% propane, less than a day of steady heat and cooking, and there was yet another snow storm on the way. We left Thursday afternoon racing against a pretty nasty storm, trying to make to El Paso, TX.
On the way to El Paso we stopped at white sands for a break from driving – we hadn’t gotten to see it during the wintery week. While we were there the snow started to fall, making for some cool photos but pushing us out for safety pretty soon after arriving. On the way out they were closing the park an hour early and a ranger was on his way in to check for any stragglers. It would be in the teens in no time and anyone stuck inside would suffer pretty bad – good thing it wasn’t us though! We made it to Las Cruces, NM in once piece, literally feeling like the storm was on our heels. We came out of a cafe after sharing New York Cheesecake Pancakes at IHOP for lunch to find it snowing once again. The chase was on. We made it to the El Paso Walmart by 8pm, El Paso time, and just as we setup camp, it started to snow again – at least this time we didn’t have to drive and were near resources.
Chena was in love with White Sands, NM
Brouham in White Sands and Snow
Almost as soon as we got to El Paso we got an electric heater so we wouldn’t have to worry about staying warm in a situation where we were that low on propane – as long as we were plugged in somewhere at least. We did use the heater with the generator but it pretty much has to be running while the heater is running because it uses too much power. It was definitely a purchase we wont regret.
It’s really difficult to get propane in Texas so far. We haven’t seen a single gas station that will refill an RV, even having called about 10 in the area – everyone seemed completely baffled at the idea. They refill tanks – like the ones you can carry – but not ones attached to an RV. We had to wait till Monday (today) to go to an actual gas company and get filled up. At least with electric heat and being plugged into a site we can save the majority of our propane and make sure not to run out for cooking this time. While I was in Spokane, cooking everyday for 5 weeks and using the heat before bed for about a week, I ran out of propane the very last day I was there. It goes a really long ways if you’re not heating a drafty RV all day long.
We left El Paso Friday night heading for Monahans. The roads were clear with only a little snow on the ground. We saw from the google maps topographical layover that we would be crossing some mountains at up to 5000 feet which meant even more chance of snow and low temps. After seeing the Fantastic Mr. Fox on the way out of town (awesome film), we made it to Van Horn Texas where it was 15 degrees. We were well below 10% propane by the time we got there and the prospect of trying not to freeze to death – huddled with Chena in the single bed (having to wake up and function in 20 degrees ‘maybe’) was not sounding so good. If Van Horn had anything to offer it was a Motel 6, gas and truckers cafe’s. We checked in about 1am Texas time and slept till noon of the same (we were up late showering and downloading movies on their free wifi I swear). Checkout was also noon – so a disaster I will blog about later was caused by our scrambled rush to get our things out of the hotel and turn in our keys. We checked out without being charged for staying late and headed to the nearest cafe, Sands Restaurant and Inn, where we had warm sweet rolls and weak coffee. It was our first experience in a ‘Texas Cafe and it didn’t disappoint. Our waitress had a thick accent and a bit of a ‘wise southern woman/waitress’ attitude and we dined near men in cowboy hats, truckers, hunters, old cowboys and an old baptist couple who handed me religious pamphlets before we left the cafe.
I could tell that overall, no matter what people have told me about Texas, I would probably find it pretty interesting.
Showtime – Pecos, Texas
Hiding out at North Shore, CA
We left the Slabs in search of better internet speeds for work and just up the road we found a place to park and work at North Shore. We ended up staying the night and plan to return after some errands in La Quinta. It was a fairly perfect spot aside from the smell of the salt water, dead fish, cat pee and bird poo. The view was worth it. North Shore is on the East side of the Salton Sea, about 14 miles south of Mecca, CA.
Driving to New Mexico with 3 cats, a dog and 3 people in a 19 foot RV is about as fun as it sounds. Well, it wasn’t that bad, especially since my mom spent every night with the cats in a hotel. Surprisingly I was able to find hotels for her that take pets and cost under $40 the entire trip, Motel 6 being the most common one she stayed at. Often we were even able to use the shower in her room – less often the internet but that was usually our own fault for not asking for the password.
A couple nights we stayed down the street from the motel, once at a Walmart, other times truck parking outside Casinos or we were able to stay in the parking lot of the motel – Motel 6 being the coolest with using showers, bathrooms, internet and their parking lot.
The first part of the trip went smoothly. We didn’t run into any mechanical problems and covered allot of ground the first couple days. After the first night in Goldendale Oregon, an uneventful place where we spent hours at a kinkos just slumming the parking lot and printing services, we headed on to our shortcut to New Mexico, a mix of small curvy highways across Nevada. The first highway between the I5 and Reno is a horrible, dark little highway over a tree filled, icy mountain range. We had allot of trouble staying awake for that stretch and ended up staying in Susanville, CA rather than pushing on to Reno, our goal. Susanville was a horrible little town 80 miles from anywhere and next to a state and federal prison. Susanville didn’t have a Motel 6 but we managed to find a Motel 9 that was open ( not any sort of chain, nor an upside down 6). When we went into the office to get a room, for only my mom, the concept of my asking how much a room is for one adult – while being in a group of 3 was too confusing for the rude bastard behind the counter. About the time his blank face got its blankest, I explained we had an RV. His response “what do you mean you have an RV – I have an RV too – I dont think this is going to work” – having the assumption that we planned to use the shower and bathroom in the room, while sleeping in the RV in the parking lot of his hotel. I promptly told him “no, we plan to go park at a Walmart or something. You could have just asked rather than assume we plan to scam you.” (being the blunt person I am). He soon got much less assholish and told us a decent place to park since Susanville has no Walmart. The hotel was a total piece of crap and just to make sure we didnt scam him, he put my mom in a room directly across from the office and was standing outside in the morning watching us load her things into the RV – making sure we didn’t take long enough to shower or flush a toilet. We were glad to leave.
The next night we made it past Reno and on to central Nevada – somehow convinced we would make it to Vegas. We would have, even if it would have been 2 am by then – had the alternator not died on us 20 miles out of the closest populated town, Tonopah. We were in a town when we noticed the but a town without a gas station open after dark was no place to be stuck the next day. We limped back to Tonopah after our trusty iPhones told us they had a Napa Auto parts and a Motel 6. The next morning we went straight to Napa who told us they would have to order a part that would be in the next morning at 9, then gladly referred us to a mechanic just across the street. Since we were running only on battery, driving the Brougham all over town was risking a worse fate, needing a tow (really we would have just had to charge the battery with our generator or drive with a house battery but I like to dramatize). Next day we were there and ready – completely unaware of whether the mechanic could see us right away or we would be waiting all afternoon. Luckily he was ready for us right away, even putting off picking up a stranded hunter (we liked that) to install our shiny new alternator and fan belt. We left full of hope, heading to a casino/restaurant next door and returning just before he was due to go to lunch. “Ive got bad news for you” was the first thing we heard walking up. The new alternator had fallen apart after running for about 30 seconds – just literally cracked open. The mechanic blamed the defect on it having been rebuilt in China. Lucky for us this wasn’t your average shop or average mechanic (like the ones we often get) and while we were gone he had already scouted out a used alternator to install. This was great, even if the arrangement for the used one meant the owner of the used one got our reordered one (to come the next day), we still didn’t have to wait another day in Tonopah and that was great. We got out of town about 1pm, having to stop only once in Pahrump to get a voltage regulator (to stop the new alternator from frying our stereo) then on to Kingman by midnight.
Arizona was a great state to pass through and we did it in only a day. The highways were smooth and pale pinkish black (if that wasnt a color it is now), and we had no mechanical troubles till we met the bumpy rugged roads and insane freeway drivers of New Mexico. About the time we passed Gallup by about 20 miles (our lucky breakdown number), we stopped at a rest stop to find radiator fluid under the cab. We lifted the hood and concluded it was a fat short hose going from the radiator to the engine, filled it up a little and headed back to Gallup for the night. Gallup also being a town with a Napa and Motel 6, our new favorite types of towns. We were able to stay in the parking lot of the Motel, use their showers and make a pizza before bed. The next day we messily replaced the hose in a Denny’s parking lot. We later noticed it was not that hose,… but the one next to it. We bought more hose, and sealed the pinsize leak with electrical and duct tape till we had time to change it (which worked great for a day by the way).
The next day – late at night. We made it to Santa Cruz, NM. The drive after Albuquerque to Santa Cruz was a rough stretch of angry drivers and rough roads destroying the frame of our RV. It was much colder than we expected, getting down to 35 at night, and my mom’s place was without heat when we arrived because of something wrong with the heater. We loaded her up with blankets, helped out a bit, hung out a bit and went to bed. The next day we worked most the day and quickly realized, especially after I was reprimanded by AT&T for “off network data usage”, that we would not be able to work from her place. We had planned to stay a week but with the work issue and the weather planning to drop to 24 degrees at night that Wednesday, we left for Arizona.
By the time we got to Tucson we were so completely drained and behind on work, well, it took us till now to blog about it. Our normal traveling time was intended to not be a rush but getting my mom to New Mexico was a bit of a rush job for many reasons. We’re vaguely keeping track of mileage and gas costs and rushing across the country as fast as possible is not the cheapest way to travel we are discovering quickly. I also didn’t get to stop as much as I usually would to take photos so many are from Tonopah during the 2 days we were stuck there – so here’s a few at least. Many more to come as the wandering becomes more paced out and we can hang out, work and enjoy our trip!
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