April 4th: We pulled into Stovepipe Wells Campground last night; left Independence hooked up to Betsy, and turned the baby generator on to push the slides out, use the little oscillating electric fan, and have a morning cup of coffee - it doesn't have much more power than that. Independence is big, and 4 slides outs take a lot of power to slide in and out; utilizing the overhead air conditioner's were out of the question. Thankfully, the little turquoise fan cooled Independence's interior enough to be comfortable.
We had no cell service until we exited Death Valley (I lost mine in Baker-CA; Holland lost his in Shoshone-CA) - we had internet (Holland was able to patch into an internet link), but no phone service.
Today day started beautifully; we enjoyed a coffee and small talk in the relative quiet of the desert campground (campers were well spaced out); it is not yet he busy season for vacationers.
Then things went downhill, fast :-(
Holland did a walk-around to check things out before we hooked up and pulled out … and saw the treads on 3 of our new tires, had been pretty worn; and need to be replaced.
Those tires are not that old, and the weight on them is not that heavy (we're underweight, actually).
"IDAHO TIRE BLOWOUT!"~August 18th, 2024 Post: https://roadgypsiesvalandholland.blogspot.com/2023/08/idaho-tire-blowout-cody-wy-shoshone.html
But, they are worn on one side.
So, Holland double-checked them again, aired them up, and we both prayed we'd find a place soon to replace them.
Holland did an internet search and thought we may be able to change them out in Beatty-NV; so, we hooked up, and headed that way.
About 5 minutes down the road, we turned onto the road that was marked 'Beatty' … and had to immediately turn around: we are considerably bigger than the truck warning sign was showing.
We backtracked through Stovepipe Wells, heading toward Ridgecrest-CA, which was the next closest alternative: in 12 minutes you go from sea level to 1,000 ft. above sea level … and then we were passing through the Towne Pass, which was very steep, very snaky, and very windy - halfway over the Pass, we found a spot long enough, and wide enough to allow us to pull over and cool Betsy's jets off.
This side of Death Valley is very treacherous to travel with something as big as we are; Holland did it, but it's not something we want to repeat.
Once over the nerve-wracking Pass, desert wildflower pop brightened things up.
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But it was still very windy.
The sunny blossoms, and stubby green bushes, were being being bent sideways; and tourists taking pictures against the blooming background were being pushed sideways, their hair was being whipped around, and their clothing was being pasted against their bodies by the strong winds.
Howling wind gusts were pushing hard against Independence, and dust clouds were being whipped up & swept across the road; pinging Betsy pretty hard as Holland drove forward.
We could hear the gritty sand particles scratching across the hood, and cab; I prayed the none Betsy's shiny red paint wouldn't be carried away on the wind.
Poor Holland - I'm sure his shoulders, and knees, were aching … on top of the headache that started when he saw the worn tire treads :-(
We passed jokes back and forth when we spotted a UFO-shaped cloud out of the driver's windshield corner :-)
We had to pass through another winding-road-Pass at the top of the hill … how Holland kept from smacking either side of the Pass with the back end of Independence is a miracle: the roadway as so tight, and the Pass sides were so close.
Driving along, we discussed renewing "free" and "discount" RVing permits and memberships: conclusion was that we will let them run out - and pass on renewal. The only thing the LTVA (Long-Term Visitor Areas) permit pays for is a 7 months stay in one spot before packing up and moving to another site (away from current site) … and the KOA Membership was pretty much worthless - in the 14 months we've been touring the USA, we've only been able to find four KOA's that could accommodate our length; mostly we've learned that the phones ring endlessly at 95% of the KOA's (so, we hang up and find a RV Park that is actually open for business) … and again, like the RV Resorts we stayed at, the KOA offers perks we don't use - but we pay for them anyway, because they are bundled in with the space rent.
When we have used our LTVA Pass, we have had to hook-up and rent an RV space in town to drain the black tanks, take showers, and wash laundry: if we have to hook-up and go into town every week, there is no point to forking $$$ out for a 7-month space with no amenities. The privacy, and sunsets were beautiful … but Holland was running into town every day for water, and gas to run the generator - this ate up time we could otherwise have been enjoying, and ate up $$$ reserves as Betsy needed to be fed to keep running to do all that running; we finally just rented a space in town for a month to relieve the stress of the LTVA freelessness.
And at the Visalia KOA in CA, someone tried to steal our bikes off the back bumper - but seeing they were pretty secured down - brazenly slipped the tie-downs … and ran off with the oil-cloth-ground tarp David gifted us with, and one of the astro-turf ground carpets. So, the {secure} safety of KOA's is not as secure as promoted.
We've stayed at a few RV Resorts for security purposes; but they {touched} us for hidden fees (which, thankfully, our Bank demanded they return) - and the resorts were loaded with geriatric party animals that started drinking at 10 AM, and got loud at 6 PM - moving into ridiculously raucous from 9 PM into the early morning hours. We got no sleep, and ended up looking like drugged raccoons when we pulled stakes and pulled out.
And twice we were bumped from our spot, and expected to park at a much smaller space … one guy that booked our spot online (from an outsourced person who did not have access to the Park registry) actually demanded that we move, when he arrived to find us parked in "his space" until 2 days out (the outsourced person was not in person-person contact with Park management, and ignorantly booked him our space without knowing the checkout date). Holland refused, of course. But no apology was given by the man, the outsourced person, or the Park Management. I think we're pretty much done with RV Resorts, too.
We've found that the local mom-n-pop campgrounds suit us much better: surprisingly, most can accommodate Independence's bulk, the cost is affordable and we only pay for what we use, the hosts are friendly and helpful, and geriatric party animals are non-existent. ALL pluses ;-)
Plus, we do the occasional boondocking; and that works for us too.
We have learned a lot about RVing these past 14 months, and the bottom line is that things changed dramatically with the demonrat covid shutdowns that had people acting like mindless animals in RV Parks (bouncing checks, leaving piles of filthiness and garbage behind, party-animal mentalities, driving off and leaving their dilapidated RV permanently behind, ect.), which caused increased fees, tighter restrictions, and a sour taste in honest people's mouths.
While we talked, we found that we were driving through a ghost town - every building was boarded up, and looked long abandoned. I was surprised, when I did research later on, that people actually still lived there!
Between 2020 and 2021 the population of Trona, CA grew from 69 to 87, a 26.1%
History of Trona-CA: (https://www.desertnews.com/news/article_e7639c16-d828-11eb-926f-bfb27c1b105a.html & https://www.sbsun.com/2015/10/24/tiny-desert-community-of-trona-hopes-to-rise-from-the-ashes/)
Leaving Trona, we saw a Plant of some sort still in operation … it's a huge plant; we don't know where the workers live, because the dried-up town doesn't show any sign of life, at all.
I also noticed a 'China Lake' Sign, and remembered a 1990's Tom Skerritt movie, named 'The China Lake Murders'; Holland had never heard of it - so, I fed him the meaty tidbits ;-)
The China Lake Murders (1990): (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpp5G8Xcezw)
And then we were in Ridgecrest.
Holland pulled into a gas station to refuel Betsy, and inquired about a tire shop - he was told there was "a tire shop down the street": so, we headed there.
It was a small tire shop, with a large parking lot: but, they couldn't help us :-(
Holland called the number given him - they said they had what we needed, and could "get you right in"; so, we drove down the street; about a block.
We only had cash enough to replace two of the tires; so while the guys worked on replacing 2 of the tires (Holland says the other is safe enough to wait until we get to Les Schwab's, in Reno-NV - where he has an active account); then Holland worked on planning our next route, and I checked on the weather.
The two main concerns tended to, we breathed a breath of relief and turned towards Vegas.
But we ended up in Barstow again, where we rode out the storm.
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