A Little Oasis in the Desert
~Wednesday, September 16, 2020~
Day 94 (Travel Day)
A big drive today...about 450 miles, with the next day being even more to get to Manteca in time for Ken and Bertie’s wedding on Saturday. You know us….we try to squeeze as much in as possible. Before we left Riverside Park Campground, and the fact that we had a water spigot in hose reach to our RV, Jeff gave the RV and truck a quick rinse/scrub from all of the dust residue from a week ago while we were at Madison Arm Resort. On travel days, while Jeff breaks down the outside stuff, I usually whip up some hot chocolate and a quick breakfast thing for the road, do dishes, then take down the inside stuff. I’d say we’re a pretty good team, getting on the road faster while being mindful of the checklist before we pull out of any spot. We’ve had a few minor things happen that you’ve read in past blogs….like the fridge door not being latched all the way shut, only to find open salsa containers and hummus all over the floor, or forgetting to latch the pocket doors (early on), and today, because the windows all appeared shut, there was one that wasn’t closd tightly enough that popped open while we were driving. No biggee as we could easily pull over and fix that one.
Jeff took the first 4-½ hours. We only did one break on the driving today to grab our leftover tacos out of the trailer, and to let Sadie run around and have her lunch. Then I took the last 2 hours where we had quite a delay of about 30 minutes on Hwy. 93 (big rig and 2 cars involved). But we still managed to get to our spot, The Welcome Station RV Park in Wells, NV, before dark. When we were about to call and let them know we’d arrived, we were promptly greeted by the camphosts on their golf cart, and escorted to site #4 (a pull through site). Very nice people and a beautiful, sweet oasis of a spot out in the middle of the high desert at 5,600 feet. Immediately, we met our very nice neighbors from Washington state, Karen and Robert and their golden retriever, Tobie. While Jeff and I were setting up modestly (we’re leaving bright and early tomorrow morning), Robert came over to make sure that we took a look at the big-horned owl sitting on a telephone pole just beyond the park. I got there in the nick of time since it decided to take off about a minute after I got there. The wing-span on those things is amazing. Jeff and I wanted to take advantage of the light to check out the park. The owners live right on the property and what they’ve done with the place is simply amazing. There is a creek with a pond (yes, Sadie jumped in), and chairs everywhere that welcome you to sit and relax. They even have hammocks if you prefer. Highly, highly recommend coming here. And it’s only $35/night for full hook-ups. On our walk, we met several other guests, one in particular from Michigan that couldn’t wait to tell us all the places we should visit in his home state, next summer. He and his wife are also traveling to attend their son’s wedding in California. I was telling Jeff tonight that one of the highlights of being a full-time RV’er is the interaction we have with others. Don’t get me wrong...I do miss having a real home in some ways, but traveling and meeting so many nice people is priceless. The RV community is a very supportive, tight knit group that is willing to help anyone with anything. And Sadie’s also enjoying meeting a lot of traveling companions too!