New Mexico to Oregon - Day 5 (and 4... and 3)

So much for my daily travel blog.  The last two days we were in areas where I either had a weak signal or no signal.

We stayed in Reno last night at Reno RV Park. We wanted to stay close-in so we could stay hooked up and walk to downtown.  This place was the only place we found that was this close.  We were far from thrilled with the place... it was dumpy, the sites were too small to stay hooked up, and even though their web site advertises that they offer a free shuttle to and from downtown... they dont.  But it served its purpose, I suppose... it had all the hookups we needed and we were close enough to walk to downtown.  So no more complaints here! well... need to mention that it would have been cheaper to stay in the Motel 6 just a mile away!  how does that make any sense... they dont have to make our bed!!

2:45pm  - Susanville, CA
We stopped in Susanville for fuel and breakfast lunch, and we are on our way again!

Now for Day 3 and 4:

The night of Day 2 we stayed in Laughlin, Nevada at a huge RV park (733 spaces) with shuttles to the casinos, which we wouldnt have needed except that we were on level 8 at the tip top of the park... so we walked down early evening and had the shuttle deliver us to our door late night.   It was 102 degrees!  So as soon as we could get plugged in, we had both air conditioners blasting! 

Saturday (Day 3) we drove 314 miles from Laughlin to Tonopah, NV.  We bypassed the center of Las Vegas by way of Hwy 160 through Pahrump.  We had hoped to connect with friends who live in Pahrump, but it didnt work out.  We stopped for a couple hours in Pahrump to eat lunch and wander around a bit.

We arrived in Tonapah at 7:30pm, and there were two choices for RV parking.  One was part of the Ramada inn & Casino, but they were full.  Our Passport America book listed Joyland RV Park as our other option.  I called ahead, but couldnt understand much of what the guy said... so we decided we would just follow the directions in the book to the park.  When we fueled up there, the guy fueling up his motorhome next to us asked about a place to stay so we told him about Joyland RV park and they eventually found their way there too.

Tonapah seems like an ok place... IF you stay on the main road through town.  If you veer off... like we did to find this Joyland RV Park... it gets a little scary.  We laughed as we wandered around trying to find where there could possibly be an RV park out here.  It reminded us of one of those movies where travelers stop for a stay at one of these little towns and they never get out.  Jeff said to our neighbor who found his way and parked beside us "If I hear a chainsaw start up, I'm comin out shootin'"  They were from Canada, and said "well at least you can have a gun... we can't even have a gun!"

The owners son (the guy on the phone) met us there once we found the right lot, so we met him at his pickup and I handed him cash for the site and showed him our Passport America card (which gives us 50% off).   I was so cold (far from the temperatures we left that morning) so I just wanted to get inside the trailer, so I was hoping this would be good enough... this didnt seem like the kind of place that did paperwork.  But he fumbled in his pickup to find his receipt book.  I said "oh, I dont need a receipt"  He chuckled and said "no... Ive got me a job now and I can even read and write...  so Im gonna write out this receipt!  My mama pays me to do this job."  I said "well, then you just write me that reciept!"  But then as he got distracted with the motorhome pulling in, I ran inside and turned the furnace on.

Despite the strangeness of this place, all went well.  We slept... we had power, water, sewer and Direct TV.  And we always remind ourselves that its all about the experience... whether its good or bad... its all part of this adventure.


Sunday (Day 4)  we traveled only 240 miles from Tonapah to Reno.

We stopped in Beatty, NV at the Candy Store for homeade ice cream!  We have cheated so much on this trip.  We very rarely eat out and we don't eat sweets, but have we ever blown it on this trip... and have we ever enjoyed it!  But we are also paying for it!  We feel like we have piled the pounds on just in the past few days.  Its so frustrating!!

We arrived mid-afternoon at Reno RV Park that I told about at the start of the post.


Back to NOW...

It is 6:30pm and we are on I-5 between Weed and Yreka, CA.  It was a beautiful drive out of Susanville to I-5 on the 44 and 89.  Lots of snow beside the road. 

We stopped near Hat Creek at a pull-out where we stayed our first night on the road a year ago March.  We went for a much needed walk through the campground across the road and were tempted to get a site for the night, but we couldnt justify the cost.  It was so peaceful and smelled so good!

7:45  Yreka, CA
We pulled off at Yreka, CA at 6:45.  We are only 85 miles from our destination of Grants Pass, OR.  But it would be too difficult to pull onto our friends property in the dark.  So... we are staying here for the night.  We found a great dirt lot off the road, away from traffic and any activity.   We have the generator running and we found one channel on the TV using the antenna.  We've got it made!