“I was driving across the burning desertWhen I spotted six jet planesLeaving six white vapor trails across the bleak terrainIt was the hexagram of the heavensIt was the strings of my guitarAmelia, it was just a false alarm.”
~Joni Mitchell
I had a nice visit with Carol and Penny. On Monday morning, I headed north toward Barstow and stopped on BLM land for a couple of days. It was nothing special, but remote and a good place to regain my footing in the wild after back-to-back visits with friends. As well taken care of as I’ve been for the past few weeks, it was good to be back living in my van, alone with Cosmo out in the middle of nowhere.
It was hot and probably going to get hotter before getting cooler. I was working my way toward Flagstaff, but there was a lot of desert to pass through on the way. I found myself once again plotting a course, trying to find free (and cool) spots along I-40. Wednesday would be the tricky day, heading through Mojave National Reserve. There is no town nearby, and the Reserve doesn’t show up on Weather.com, so I don’t know for sure, but suspect being so close to Death Valley, it could be blazing hot. I like to stay at least two or three nights in any place I stop, but this week, it will probably be mostly “one-night stands” due to the heat and wanting to get east to cooler spots as quickly as possible.
By Tuesday night, I was not liking my itinerary. My potential stops were not evenly spaced out, and some of them were based on suggestions (I use several camp-finding apps) that were over 5 years old. The only thing worse than long drives for me is long drives ending in a camping spot that no longer exists or doesn’t allow overnight stays anymore. I went back and searched for paid campgrounds as well as free ones. I found a campground for Wednesday night that was only a little over an hour away (I had resigned myself to having to drive about two and a half hours on Wednesday) and was very cheap. It had showers, laundry, and even a swimming pool. I could plug in and run my AC if it gets as hot as predicted (upper 90’s). I can top off my freshwater tank and even get propane there. That eliminates searching for those along the way. I felt some stress dissipate once I booked the site. I needed a few items, and there is a Walmart halfway between where I was on BLM land and where I was heading, right off I-40. Since check in was at 1:00, I spent some time in the morning playing ball with Cosmo. It’s been some time since we were so far away from traffic that I felt safe to let him run off leash.
We checked into our campground early afternoon on Wednesday. It was blistering hot, so I immediately plugged into the campground’s electrical supply and turned on the AC. It didn’t help much. I don’t know if my air conditioner is not working properly, or if it just cannot keep up when I’m parked in full sun and the temperature outside is 100 degrees. It probably brought the temperature down to about 92. I went to the pool. The water was cold and refreshing. Poor Cosmo stayed in the van with the AC running. It was cooler inside than outside, but not by much.
By bedtime, the wind kicked up. It was still hot, but the wind did take the edge off slightly. It felt cooler outside than inside, so I opened a couple windows to get a cross breeze, still leaving the AC running. The breeze felt cooler than the air coming out of the AC, so I turned the AC off and opened all the windows. It helped but was still quite hot in the van and the noise from I-40 traffic was annoying. I couldn’t get to sleep, and the wind rocking the van combined with car doors opening and closing nearby made Cosmo jump often. When he’s scared, he snuggles up next to me, and that’s just what he did. It was really too hot for snuggling, but I felt good about comforting him if he was scared. He had already returned the favor many times over. I finally fell asleep.
I had planned on staying one night at Mojave National Preserve on Thursday. The temp there would be 104⁰. I realized that that was not a possibility. It would not just be uncomfortable, it could be life threatening in or out of the van. Instead, I booked a spot in KOA in Needles, CA that was actually cheaper than where we stayed on Wednesday. (KOA’s are normally over-the-top expensive.) It would be 102⁰ there, but I hoped for some shade and to get the van cooled off before the heat reached triple digits. I couldn’t find a better option, and I’d have to drive about twice as far as usual to make this happen. I took comfort in knowing that by the weekend I’d cross over into Arizona and lower temperatures.
We arrived at KOA just before 1:00 p.m. The woman who checked us in was super friendly. She asked if I wanted to be close to the bathrooms, and I said, “Not particularly. I’d love to be anyplace with just a hint of shade.” She looked at the park map which she had already scribbled a Wi-fi password on, and scratched out the space assignment she’d already written down. She said “No problem. I can move you to space 76. There’s afternoon shade.” By the time I got settled in, there was indeed shade covering most of the van. Since I was plugged into shore power, I didn’t care that my solar panels were shaded. It probably dropped the temperature by 10 degrees. It reached 104⁰ in Needles, but we managed to stay somewhat comfortable by running the AC in the van on high all afternoon and evening. Being in the shade really made the difference.
After a dip in the pool, I talked to some of the other campers on the way back to the van. I realized I was an outlier. Most of the other people who stay in campgrounds are on vacation and stay at campgrounds while they visit National Parks, or tourist attractions. Some are out for a week, others for several months. Mostly in big pull-behind trailers, they take their vehicle for day trips and come back at night to sleep. I, on the other hand, was just looking for a safe place to live while on my way to my summer home.
Having planned to be in Needles on Friday night, I had already booked a campground on the Colorado River. In hindsight, had I known I would be in Needles on Thursday, I would not have stayed again on Friday, but rather kept heading east toward Flagstaff and cooler weather. But since I’d already paid for the site on the river, I headed down the road and checked in. The campground looked pleasant enough, and our site was right on the river. From our back door a steep stairway lead us down to the crystal clear Colorado river. In the 105⁰ weather, Cosmo and I stepped in often throughout the day to try to keep from spontaneously combusting. The site itself was grassy with a picnic table. It was also quite steep with the electricity and water on the wrong side for backing in. (RV’s nearly ALWAYS have their hoses and electrical plugs on the driver’s side. If we backed into this “back in site,” the electricity and water would have been on the passenger side, making it nearly impossible to hook up without major extension cords and long hoses. We pulled in and were so out of level that I didn’t think I had enough blocks to get us level. I used every one I had, and made it work, if a bit precariously. There was no shade to be found, so running the AC full blast in the burning sun took us from unbearable to merely uncomfortable. The outside temperature was 105⁰. Inside the van with windows closed it would easily have reached 120⁰. With the AC running full tilt, we probably kept it in the upper 90’s. The frequent dips in the cool Colorado river were the only saving grace. Unfortunately, the river is the playground for speed boaters and jet skiers. They were unbelievably loud and at times, from our perch above the river, it sounded like we had front-row seats at the Daytona 500. The boat engines are apparently designed to be as loud as possible, and the boats passing by made sure to rev their engines as much as possible. After sunset, it cooled down slightly. It was hard to tell if it was cooler outside, or inside with the AC running. After a while, I shut down the AC and opened all the windows. There was an occasional breeze, but it never got cool. We went to bed around 10:00 and I slept on top of the covers. I lay awake for hours, Cosmo pressed against me and snoring softly. I was happy that one of us was sleeping.
In the morning, after a shower for me and a river dip for Cosmo, we headed over to Kingman, AZ. This would be the last of our uncomfortable stops. We’d had to stay in paid campgrounds for several nights—never my first choice, and this night was to be Cracker Barrel. When we arrived, there were empty spots for RV’s and busses. I pulled into one and got out and walked around. This particular Cracker was at a busy intersection. I’ve told myself before that I can handle this, and during the day it seems tolerable. But then at night, the mercury vapor lights come on and the traffic picks up (doubly so on a Saturday night) and the noise and light make me remember why I don’t like this option. I got on my laptop and pulled up Campendium—my go-to camping guide. There was BLM land a bit farther down the road. The reports say it is basically a homeless camp for crackheads. (Hmmm. Cracker or CrackHEADS? Not good options). A Mexican restaurant close by had great reviews and said they have a big dirt lot in the back that they allow RV’s to stay in for $10. I called and they confirmed. I drove over, got some Cheese Enchiladas and a good spot in the back lot, next to some cows and roosters. Much less traffic noise, no bright lights, and several alarm clocks to get me up at the crack of dawn in the morning.
Lessons From The Road: This has been an incredibly strange leg of my travels. Not only have I gone from needing a jacket to worrying about heatstroke, but I’ve had a lot of trouble finding places to stay at night. Route 40 from Barstow through Needles offers few free spots, and the paid campgrounds are not that nice. It is a fairly ugly part of the country. I’ll have to make a note that this is not a route I ever want to travel again. I can’t wait to get over to the Flagstaff/Sedona areas where there areis plentiful camping opportunities in National Forests.
Mortality has been on my mind this week. I had a dream about a good friend from college who died a few years ago. He was a year younger than I, and never saw 70. I saw a notice that people from my high school class were meeting for happy hour at a bar in Delaware. A few years ago I got invited to my 50th high school reunion, I noticed that none of the guys I hung out with were signed up to go. A girl from my graduating class sent me photos of the event and I realized why my friends were not going. They were dead. There on the “In Memoriam” table were the smiling faces from my high school yearbook of all the boys I either wanted to like me or wanted to be.
I don’t worry about dying. I am, for the most part healthy. But hey, One never knows. I do think about what time I have left on this planet and try to budget my time and money to maximum benefit. I also thought a lot about money this week. After spending so much for yearly repairs and upgrades while in Long Beach, and splurging on an e-bike, I felt guilty for spending $38 to stay in a campground instead of pushing through and staying in dirt in the desert where it would be over 100⁰. I justified my decision by realizing that I’ll be in Flagstaff within a week or so and will stay most of the summer “rent free” and spend very little on gas. (Gas averages $2 a gallon cheaper in AZ than in CA). And with a Walmart nearby with groceries at half the price I’ve been paying in California, my summer expenses will be small. I decided that I should not make the journey there an unpleasant one just to save a couple bucks. I started this odyssey 3 years ago next month believing I could be happy on a very limited income (my Social Security was $949 a month when I hit the road.) I’m still learning how to balance a good life on the road and frugality. Overall, I think I’m doing pretty well with that.