On the Road
Your RV needs YOU
That’s right, YOU (errr, me). Is it ready to go? Have you accomplished your loadout checklists, your pre-departure checklists, has your spouse or significant other approved and finalized their checklist and yours? Is the interior clean and ready to occupy when you arrive at your destination? Are you fully stocked and have some water in your tank whether you are boondocking or not (stuff happens, ya know)? Have you got an alternate plan?
Over the years of travel with our old Piper and now with Bebop, we have both discovered (like many others) that we do not enjoy a long arduous day in the saddle. Nice easy travel days for which we are prepared: fueled tow rig, clean RV, fully stocked, well rested, lunches made before departure, maybe even a pillow and blanket for the non-driver and plenty of water along with a litter box for Jones. These things and a less ambitious travel day make it easier to pull over and see those sights along the way instead of saying “we’ll catch that on another trip” and maybe never making it back. This also helps us to be relaxed and ready for diversity along the way. I would wager that the angry couple and cranky kids that just pulled in next door tried to push a long travel day to get to their destination and now are mad at each other for no reason. Ever arrive at your destination after dark and not have ideal conditions to set up? That is no way to travel or relax whether you are on limited time or not, been there/done that and had the mads all night. Speaking of arriving, late or early, what’s for dinner? Make this decision before you leave and keep it simple. Travel days are not the time to try a 10-course meal prep after you get to your new site. We keep it simple with easy to make or pre-made meals for simplicity and ease.
Remember that you and your partner are there for each other, this is not a competition for who does what right, take that advice or suggestion and run with it. If it doesn’t work, regroup, don’t recriminate!
Whew, So much stuff to think about before pulling out of Vegas. Yes, checklists complete and we are hooked up and pulling out. The only thing that I didn’t do the night before was fuel because the Railroad Pass truck stop is in our path of travel and easy in/out as well as in the EFS discount card network.
Actually, leaving town
Yay, Fueled at Railroad pass for a buck off the pump price per gallon! Pointed Karl south on Highway 93 into a blowing wind and dust cloud, next destination Parker, Arizona. We have reservations for a week at the La Paz County Park. South and south, we go into the dessert of Nevada and then California. We travel through the washes and hills of this sandy, blown out country and actually have to stop for a train crossing near Needles, CA. Southern Nevada is a beautiful collection of bluffs, buttes, flats and upthrusts. This woebegone area of California is just there. It is neither flat nor mountainous, neither dusty nor wet, neither remarkable nor unremarkable. It Just Is.
We turn Northeast toward the Vidal junction and the terrain changes into craggy beautiful skylines of ragged upthrusts and worn basalt peaks.
We cross the Colorado river and pull into Parker. Parker is this typical dessert town with a couple things setting it apart. Number one is the Colorado, this beautiful flowing river is damned, er, dammed upstream to form lakes and reservoirs for water use and sportsmen get to enjoy them as well as all sorts of different recreation opportunities. Number two is the immediate onslaught of Marine, RV and ORV sales/rental/repair businesses. Obviously, Parker gleans most of its revenue from those three crowds. And crowds they are. The predominate area is the Parker Strip. This section of river is almost completely lined with RV parks, rental cabins, boat docks and it seems everyone has an ORV in their driveway or at the RV.
We pull into the park from the wrong end: If you are travelling from Parker going north on US-95, take the exit marked La Paz County Park no matter what your GPS might say. If travelling south on US-95, then you can take either the first exit for Riverside Drive or wait the mile or so to the County Park sign.
Check-in is easy and away we go into the park to our pre-assigned site of 46. This site is on the river front with nothing between us and the flowing river. There are full-time, long-term renters on both sides of us and each site here has water and electricity. Each site has a covered open structure which covers the heavy-duty pic-nik tables. Bebop is the biggest RV in this section, and it does take a little jockeying to get her in just the right spot to best utilize the size of our site. Our view out the front window of the river is fabulous with ducks, seagulls and a lovely changing sky due to a rainstorm gathering.
Dinner is a simple affair of a homemade spaghetti and veggies. E and I get out in time to enjoy the last of the sunset and the wonderful smell of the river and sage mixed with ozone and fresh rain coming across the hills opposite us.
As bedtime settles and we snug down in bed the wind and rain hit us. Lulled to sleep by the rain upon our mobile condo’s roof we gently fall into sleep as the nights chill makes us snuggle into our blankets, warmed by each other, Jones and the comfort of knowing that we have no worries to attend.
To my friends out there,
Goodnight and pleasant dreams
BFD
