RV Park Mini-Reviews for December 2017

During December, we went from Nevada to Arizona to California.

After leaving Bullhead City, AZ, we drove to Pahrump, Nevada.

Pahrump, NV - Wine Ridge RV Park:  This is a nice, well kept RV Park, with great amenities and lots of activities.  We are not activity people, but there is plenty to do if you like that sort of thing.  Bonus points for the winery that is attached to the park! We spent our time in Pahrump relaxing and just driving around, checking things out.  I won $50 at Irene's Casino, which is a little hole in the wall place with a good restaurant, a bar and about 250 machines.  We also drove out to Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge, an oasis in the desert and worth the trip - we were only gone a few hours.  They have a nice visitors center and well informed rangers.

Las Vegas, NV - Thousand Trails Las Vegas:  There were a couple reasons we stopped here for a few days.  First was just to check it out.  People either love or hate this park, or they admit that it is primarily about location, location, location, plus a free place to park the rig if you are a Thousand Trails member.  I will say this is not my favorite, or even close to favorite park, but what it does have going for it, aside from the location aspect and as a base camp for exploring LV, is the staff.  All the rangers and staff we met were very friendly, helpful and on the job.  The spaces are tight, and it is basically a gravel parking lot, and not the type of campground where you sit outside and visit with people walking by.  

The other reason was to see our niece who lives in Summerlin, and whose sister was also visiting from Washington, so two nieces in one trip, and a wonderful late breakfast at the Peppermill.  That alone made the stay at this campground worthwhile!

Lake Havasu City, AZ - Lake Havasu State Park:  This park had been recommended to us over and over again.  Let's get the bad news out of the way first.  These sites are W and E only.  There is a dump station in the park.  Inconvenient, yes, but certainly doable.  We had a river front site, and the boats were loud.  I can't imagine what it is like during the summer.  Those are really minor gripes.  The big sites, the beautiful views, the trails, everything else - I loved this park and would highly recommend it.

Palm Desert, CA - Thousand Trails Palm Springs RV Resort:  Truth be told, we came to this resort expecting to just hate it.  It pretty much borders on a busy section of I-10 (there is a frontage road between the resort and the freeway).  Many reviews of this park were not good.  You will hear that the spaces are tight, it's too loud, there are trains at all hours, etc., etc., etc.  However, you will also hear the people that love it at this resort.  We decided to check it out for ourselves.  We were surprised how much we did like it.  There is a 50 amp section, which is tight - most spaces are between palm trees.  There is also a 30 amp section, where spots are much wider and bigger.  This is where we stayed.  There are lots of activities, again if you like that kind of thing.  While we were there, we encountered many friendly campers and people to chat with.  Kim joined in on the daily pool tournaments, and he really enjoyed that.  There are so many things to do and see around this area, even if you are not the touristy type - which describes us.  We did drive out to the Salton Sea, Slab City, East Jesus and through Joshua Tree National Park.  We will be going back because there was still so much we didn't do or see.  As Kim often reminds me, we are not on vacation.  We are full timing.  We don't have to do and see everything the first time there.  We know we will be back.

Menifee, CA - Thousand Trails Wilderness Lakes:  This is a park where we had stayed about 7 years before.  At that time, there was a big dairy farm nearby, and you could smell it.  The dairy farm closed down but the property has remained agricultural, minus the smell.  We like this park.  The site spaces are big.  It is low key, but close to shopping.  Hemet, Temecula and Lake Elsinore are just 10-20 miles away plus you could easily make a visit to San Diego in a day trip.   This park also has plenty of activities, plus a separate family and adults only pool.  Kim enjoyed the daily pool tournaments here as well.  We have a number of friends in the area which is why we continue to come back.

Ch-ch-ch-changes......

The older you get, the easier it is to recognize that you are pushing too hard to make something happen.  And that is where we find ourselves this week.

Our lives were getting back to "normal" (whatever that is).  Our daughter and her two sons (ages 4 and 2) had been staying with us.  She had sold her home, and had made arrangements to rent a duplex near us.  The landlord had said it would take a month or two to get the unit ready to rent.  It just made sense that our daughter and the boys should move in with us.  Well, two months turned into nine.  The boys were thrilled.  As Sam Levinson once said, "The simplest toy ever invented, one even the smallest child can operate, is called a grandparent."  After about six months, the adults, however, looking forward to having some space to themselves.  But, I digress.  The kids moved into their own place last week, and we are working at getting back into our normal routines.

Kim has been working hard to fix the leaks, and replace the wall areas that had signs of wood rot.  He is making progress. His expectation was to get the bedroom fixed, replace the carpet, put the bed, the dresser and cabinets back in.  We would head south for a few months, and then come back and he would tackle the living room slide.  My expectation was that it would all be done before we left.  I was disappointed, but trying to be understanding.  We had rescheduled trips to the Wine Ridge RV resort in Pahrump, NV and the River Lodge Resort in Parker Dam,CA four times.  I had planned various routes and stops, depending on travel dates, more than a few times.  We were both looking forward to getting out of the rain in the PNW.

Then, as they say, $hit happens.  Kim wasn't as far along with the repairs as he had hoped.  We got a fabulous quote for removal of a huge tree in our yard that has needed to come down for a few years as long as the work was done within 60 days.  We have windows that needed replacing.  Dental work that needs doing.  But the thing that made us really rethink our plans was that the daycare center that the grandsons go to is closing in less than a month.  It is a scramble to find decent day care at any time, but in the middle of the school year, it is almost impossible.  We just didn't feel we could leave until other arrangements had been made for the boys' daycare.  

So for many reasons, we have chosen to change our plans again.  I knew it was the right thing to do because both Kim and I immediately felt a sense of relief. So much to do....so much more time.  It's a good thing.  It will be even a better thing if we have warmer weather and reduced rain here in the Seattle area!

Trip Planning and Packing

Well, I'd love to say I was already packing for our upcoming (fingers crossed) trip down to some warmer weather.  I'm just thinking about packing.  Because I have taken up painting, I now have an easel, paints, brushes and canvases to pack.  I've learned from many full-timers that if you take along something new, you have to leave behind things you've taken before.

I will be leaving behind some books to start.  Considering I have most of my books on my iPad, this is not a big deal really.  What I will have to watch is the hard cover/paper back books I usually carry around on the subject of writing fiction.  Somehow, I have collected quite a few of these books over the years, and I admit that I have really written very little since I started writing a mystery a few years ago.

I've learned I don't need to pack around every DVD I might want to watch.  I have no problem finding things to watch on TV.  We have only camped in a few spots where we could not pick up a satellite signal, and most of those spots had campground provided cable.  We will probably bring along the Boardwalk Empire series that we have yet to watch, and my personal favorite, West Wing.

I have a tendency to bring more pots, pans and kitchen gadgets that I have ever needed.  And more canned goods than necessary.  Therefore, I will be giving serious consideration to watch what makes its way from the house into the rig.  Honestly, we mostly grill our meat and steam our veggies for dinner.  I'm not inclined to try new recipes while on the road.  Seriously, how many pans do I really need.  I hate to cook in general, and I really don't like cooking on the gas stove in the rig.  I save my experimenting for at home.  And speaking of new recipes and experimenting, I posted a recipe for turkey, bean and corn stuffed peppers on my other blog, www.betsysblahblahblog.blogspot.com  I thought it was great.  Nothing I would make on the road, but pretty tasty.

However, my biggest category for overpacking is clothing.  I have always packed for every conceivable situation or weather condition.  But, just like at home, I wear the same favorite clothes, and the rest just hang in the closet.  Do I really need to pack funeral appropriate clothes or fancy occasion clothes in the RV?  If I should find myself needing them, it makes much more sense just to go buy something to wear.  My "northern" clothes consist of jeans or sweats, a tee shirt and sweater with crocs or sneakers.  My "southern" clothes are shorts and a tee shirt, or a sun dress, with flip-flops.  One fleece jacket, one rain jacket, and one pair of rain boots should be more than enough for emergency weather situations.  My husband will be so excited if I can accomplish this.  If I start now to think about what I really want to wear, and plan accordingly, this should be a goal I can easily reach.

All of this because I've taken up painting.  And speaking of painting, here's my most recent:

I think I've come up with the main stops for our trip this spring.  We will be spending a week at the Thousand Trails Wilderness Lakes in Menifee, CA.  Then off to the River Lodge Resort in Parker Dam, CA.  The next stop will be the Wine Ridge Resort in Pahrump, NV.  And we will wind up the trip at Thousand Trails Palm Springs (fingers crossed we will be able to get reservations there).

When you head south from Washington, anytime between November and April, you just never know what the weather will be like.  The Siskiyous could be clear and dry, or covered in snow.  We won't know which route south (I-5 or 101) we will use until we leave.  I have stopping points planned for each route.  Our trip back north will be toward the end of April.  I'm hoping we will be able to explore some of the Thousand Trails campgrounds in northern California and in Oregon on the way home.  At some point, you just have to get home.  For us, it will be because of property taxes and yard work.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things go as planned.  I've rescheduled this trip so many times.  It's not yet January 31st, so as our agreement goes, I am not yet able to nag my husband about when he will get to working on putting the rig back together.  Sometimes I just have to check to make sure my tongue is not bleeding.  Here's to an on-time departure!