Category Archives: California

Road back to California

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We had to get moving again and get back to California.  We had a trip scheduled to Hawaii (Maui), without the trailer, and had a hard date to take off.  We had almost 2 weeks to get back but we were trying to balance driving time versus distance and we had to throw in the factor that it was getting hotter the closer we were to Visalia.  After Great Falls we drove a bit over 200 miles to Beaverhead campground near Dillon MT.  This was a FREE campground with spots, pit toilets and right on a lake.  It was cool as some rain had just passed through.  True, it was right by the interstate but a large on-ramp berm blocked some of the noise.  It was a wonderful place (we even saw a man-moose for George – embedded in the concrete of the pavilion):

We still had to stop in Idaho Falls to retrieve our handgun that we didn’t try to take into Canada.  I ensured that our next stop would take us right by Idaho Falls.  Here are some ‘Idaho’ vehicles that I spotted:

Our next stop was for 2 nights at a Passport America site, Downata Hot Springs.  I didn’t get any photos while we were there but it is a nice, family oriented, park and it has a full water park with hot springs.  We did go to the hot springs but it was 90+ degrees, not the hot springs but the ambient temperature!  It would have been more enjoyable if it was cooler but that appeared to be the trend as we got closer to California, HOT!

We still had miles to go and headed toward Nevada.  This took us more west than south and through a corner of Utah.  This was extremely rural country with very few services.  We ended up in Elko NV for the night at a Casino RV park.  We needed hookups from now on due to the heat as it required air conditioning in the trailer for comfort.  Here is our luxurious spot and my lego block building prowess to level the trailer!

The next day we did another I80 leg across Nevada ending up in Fernley NV at another Passport America campsite.  We did 4 nights there prior to our next stop.  While in Fernley I was looking for some fast WiFi and checked the library.  Above the doorway was a quote from my favorite 4 book trilogy:

Still a bit to go…

On the road again

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Insert Willie Nelson here, or just hum to yourself.

We are back on the road again!  We had to wait a long time for our repair to be completed.  Here is a recap:

We have been noticing a bad smell all last year.  It came to a head when the black water tank got full enough to overflow out of a crack which leaked into the belly pan.  That told us there was a big problem.  We took it to Toscano’s on Dec 28 and they got right on it and found the crack around where the toilet connects.  They contacted Airstream and got bad news.  The blank tank was not available from Airstream nor did they have access to them either.  They were changing tank manufacturers and there was not even a MOLD available for the tank!  This trailer is only 6 model years old but the tank was used up until 2014 so that makes the tank 4 model years old.  How can a company not have a part for something that is only 4 years old?  I was not happy.

Airstream gave me two choices.  Use the old tank company which is more expensive and would incur a charge to create the mold (again), OR use the new tank company which would be cheaper but delays it until the middle of February!  I chose the first one and the order was made.

Fast forward to many weeks of angst.  We did not have our home to live in and had to ‘move’ in with our son for this time.  This cramped everyone’s style.  Finally, after 43 days, Airstream told us the tank was supposed to be delivered Friday (the next day).  They told me they would send it overnight shipping (from Jackson Center OH) free of charge and they did not even charge for the mold.  The new tank company actually made the new one.

Toscano’s got to work on it right away and we were able to get our trailer back the next Friday.  Yeah!!!  I had a few projects to do once it got the trailer back, I blogged about them previously.

We were able to get back on the road February 22nd and tried to head somewhere warm.  We went somewhere familiar, Desert Hot Springs.  But the destination was new. Catalina SPA and RV Resort.  I found them on Passport America and we thought we would try.

It turns out to be a very nice park at a great price.  They used to have many permanent residents and have many less now, but still a few.  We were put in a 30amp spot near the front but it was also near the lower clubhouse (newly redone).  Here are a few shots:

A quick rest area stop with a fellow road traveler.

Our spot at Catalina.

In the Hot Tub!

We stayed here for 3 nights as we had reservations for Joshua Tree National Park (JTNP) on Sunday.

JTNP is just over the hill from Desert Hot Springs but via roads, it was about 60 miles of travel.  I remember coming to this park as a child with family and scrambling all over the rocks so I got reservations for the Jumbo Rocks to see if I remember any specific spots.  I knew the weather forecast was for cooler weather.  This would be a good test of boondocking in less than ideal terms.  We got there on Sunday and set up camp.

Yes, the rocks look familiar but I could not tell if I had been on them as a kid or not.  The temperature got down to mid to low 30’s every night which meant running the furnace on and off overnight.  The first night the use of the furnace took 12% off of the batteries but the solar brought it right back up easily the next day.  One AM we even had a small snow flurry but nothing stuck on the ground.  One constant was wind though.

We took one drive up to Keys View which overlooked the Coachella Valley to the south.  You can even see the Salton Sea from there although it was hazy.  A bonus was there was cell coverage up there also!

Twentynine Palms was the closest town and we stopped by there a couple of times, once having a wonderful Middle Eastern dinner.  We did a few walks around the park and one larger one that took off from our campground and looped back to it.  It was the Skull Rock trail.

Skull Rock!

A glimpse of our Airstream!

Our 4 nights came to an end quickly and I felt we were running out of water, or at least that is what our meter said.  It was time to move.  We headed out the south entrance of JTNP and went through the Cholla Garden:

Now to our next destination!