A New "Camper Adventures" Journey!

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

Greetings from Lone Pine, California!  Yup, I’m on the road again – and with Navidad! 

I’ve got the same truck, a silver 2006 Ford F-350 Dually.  And the same camper, a 2005 Lance 1121.  They’re both older, a tad worn here and there, but they continue to function fairly well.  I’m also older (66) -- and it remains to be seen how well I’ll function during this trip!  Navidad is 11 and this is his second trip with me in the camper. 

I had initially planned for this to be a three-month trip, leaving home on August 1^st.  That changed when, around mid-July, Navidad developed an IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) condition and, during subsequent check-ups, a heart murmur and slightly elevated blood pressure were also detected.  To get him stable and adjusted to medication and prescription cat food, I decided to cut the trip short and postpone our departure to today.

The camper was loaded up yesterday with clothes, food, and other essentials.  Leaving home at 9:30 a.m. this morning, we headed for Rt. 395 N by way of the famed California interstates - 10, 215, & 15 – and arrived at the Boulder Creek RV Resort (Lone Pine, CA) within four hours.  Shortly after setting up the camper and doing some organizing, I noticed that Navidad, who had been trying to hide under the pillows on the bed, was panting.  Yup, it was indeed too warm inside the camper so I closed all the windows and turned on the air conditioner.  Closing the windows also muffled the outside sounds that Navidad wasn’t used to and that helped him calm down and relax.  We had our suppers and called it a night as soon as it got dark! 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

Navidad did some looking around inside the camper after I fed him.  I think he remembers a thing or two from his first truck camper experience with me last year in Arizona.  He seemed content and comfortable while I continued to reorganize and put things in their places.

Navidad, relaxing with Purple Bear our first morning in the camper.

Unlike my past truck camper trips, there will be very little, if any, spontaneity during this trip.  This time I have a planned itinerary and a schedule to follow.  I’m heading for the East Coast and will be visiting friends and family along the way.  Earlier this summer I set up visitation dates and, to ensure that I have a place to stay at each location, made reservations (17!) at various RV/State Parks and campgrounds.  Knowing that I have those advance reservations does give me some peace of mind.  I just have to make sure I time my travel so that I arrive at each destination as scheduled.

My first visitation is today!  Navidad and I left Lone Pine around noon and continued 100 miles north on Rt. 395 to the gorgeous Mammoth Lakes area.  As soon as we were set up at the Mammoth Mountain RV Resort I contacted my friend Sally to let her know we had arrived.  Living just a few blocks away, Sally and Bear, her sweet, gentle, and loveable dog, walked over to my camper to welcome me and Navidad to Mammoth Lakes. 

Sally is a beautiful soul and a wonderful friend to have.  It was my lucky day when she sat down next to me at the Camelot Theater during the Palm Springs International Film Festival back in January 2013.  She spoke to me and when I told her I was Deaf, she then started fingerspelling and we communicated with ease until the movie started.  We ran into each other in the line for another screening a couple of days later and it was just meant to be that we would become friends.  And I just adore Bear!  Avid hikers both, Bear now has to take it easy and Sally fills her days with her music, her friends, her daily walks/hikes, her love for movies, and her joy in mastering Spanish! 

After visiting for a short while in the camper, I told Navidad I’d see him in a little bit and then left to walk with Sally and Bear to their home for a delicious and most satisfying stir-fry dinner that she prepared.  Neither of us was too full to top dinner off with a piece of triple-chocolate cake!  Sally then told Bear she’d see him in a little bit and we both walked back to my camper to play a game of Scrabble.  She won (again!). 

Sally and Bear.

Sally and me.

Posing with Bear.

With Bear at his home. (Photo by Sally)

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3

It got cold during the night but I was fine under the covers wearing socks and a flannel shirt.  Navidad was restless all night -- he woke me up about seven times, wanting to knead me, wanting to snuggle on this side and then on the other side, and at one point he plopped down on my chest/torso -- all 18 pounds of him.  He gets hungry, too.  We have a routine back home where I will get up in the middle of the night and tend to his needs.  Not a problem since I have to go to the bathroom myself anyway (ah, the joys of growing older!).  We don’t yet have a routine in the camper but we’ll get there.

Shortly before 8:00 a.m. I walked over to the nearby Good Life Café to join Sally for breakfast.  As he was yesterday at my camper, Bear was content to snooze outside the cafe.  Sally and I had the exact same thing – pancakes and scrambled eggs.  The three of us walked back to my camper, said our good-byes, and Navidad and I were soon back on Rt. 395 N.  Bless you, Sally and Bear – thanks for a lovely visit!

This section of Rt. 395, heading towards Lake Tahoe, is a scenic drive – a winding road with views of gorgeous mountain peaks everywhere.  I crossed into Nevada and, not wanting to take the route through Reno/Sparks towards Fernley, I was looking for the connection to Rt. 50 E at Carson City.  Spotting the signage for “Rt. 50” I got on that road.  Something in my gut protested and said, “Yo, MAP, the sign didn’t say E or W.”  I responded to myself, “Not to worry, MAP, there will be a fork up ahead, one going 50E and the other going 50W.”

Big mistake!  There was no East/West split on that road!  I was on Rt. 50 WEST, a winding mountain road heading directly for Lake Tahoe!  I couldn’t turn off anywhere right away and when I finally found a road on my left, I turned there, parked, consulted my map, saw where I erred, chewed myself out -- and started laughing! 

This just proves something I had told Sally yesterday.  When I showed her my planning materials, including my total estimates for expenses and miles, she noted that I estimated a total of 9,000 miles for this trip.  I told her my arithmetic actually came out to around 8,000 but I tacked on an additional 1,000 miles “…because I get lost sometimes.”  

My mistake here also reminded me of something else I told my friend Penny when we were talking about my camper travels not too long ago.  I told her of a quote I’d seen many times before – “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”  In this case, the silver lining in my “wasted time and miles” on this road is that I got to see a portion of the gloriously blue Lake Tahoe.  And, being the water-lover that I am, that view did my heart good!

Back at Carson City I eventually found and got on Rt. 50 E and then took Rts. 95 alt / 50 alt to Fernley, where I had a reservation at the Desert Rose RV Park, located on E. Main Street.  Noting that I was on W. Main Street, I declared “Hey, Navidad, we’ll be there in a few minutes!”  I made that declaration before I saw the one traffic obstacle that I absolutely detest – a roundabout!

For the second time today, I got lost.  Well, confused is more like it because the street sign for the road that I thought had to be directly opposite E. Main Street from the roundabout no longer said Main Street, E or W.  After several attempts on that friggin’ roundabout, I finally pulled into a shopping center, whipped out my iPhone (and this will make my friend Greg very happy!), typed in the RV Park’s address, and followed the directions.  As it turned out, I was on the correct road in the first place after all!

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4

Mindful of the distance I need to cover before my next visitation – September 17 in Quebec, Canada – I decided last night to head for Wells, NV, an approximately 300-mile, four-hour drive via I-80 E. 

On our way shortly before 10:00 a.m., I wanted to fuel up first at one of the two truck stops near the I-80 ramps.  As I approached Love’s, my truck lost acceleration and it felt like it was about to lose power.  I made it to a pump, filled up, and just stood there feeling totally dismayed.  What gives?  Why did this just happen?  I had my truck serviced three weeks ago.  I told my advisor at Ford I was gonna be on this two-month, 9,000-mile trip and to please make sure my truck was good to go.

I started up the motor, Navidad, in his carrier right next to me, so quiet, so patient, so trusting, and made my way towards the I-80 E ramp.  My truck would not accelerate and then the engine warning light came on.  I just barely made it to a parking space at the Pilot Travel Center.  Now I was really dismayed, worried, upset…and pissed off!

I went inside and inquired if there was a mechanic on site.  There wasn’t but this very courteous young lady (Laura, I think her name was) was only too happy to help me call a 24-hour mobile auto repair service.  Being that this was the Labor Day Weekend, they wouldn’t be available to assist me for some time.  I then asked Laura to call AAA, thinking that it would be better to have my truck towed back to last night’s RV Park where Navidad and I would at least be comfortable and the staff there could assist me.  Laura then suggested somebody else, a fellow named Henry, who might be able to determine the problem and fix it.  I said OK and went back to the camper with Navidad to wait for him.

Henry arrived within a few minutes and, using his computerized device, diagnosed the problem to be the EGR valve.  He left to get a new one, and with assistance from one of Laura’s co-workers, removed the old and inserted the new.  Showing me the old valve, he pointed out the accumulation of black gunk which had hindered the valve’s function.  I took it and will show it to my Ford guy when I get back home.  I asked Henry to test-drive the truck and he did so with me in the passenger seat and Navidad between the both of us.  He got on I-80, drove at high speed, observed the rpm needle, stopped at his facility to reset the engine warning light, and drove back to Pilot.  I had already paid for the new valve, of course, but Henry didn’t include labor – and he wouldn’t accept a tip from me when we got back.  Laura and the co-worker were standing outside Henry’s car and as I spoke to Laura, complimenting Henry and thanking her for recommending him, I learned then that he was her husband!  I thanked them both profusely and gave everybody a hug.  It was, by then, 1:00 p.m.

On our way on I-80 E, my emotions got the best of me and I allowed myself a brief cry.  The truck was running well and I told myself I had much to be grateful for.  Not only for the help I got from both Laura (making the phone calls) and Henry (doing the repair), but for the fact the stalling problem happened this morning.  Had the truck stalled on the mountainous roads I was on yesterday, or the day before…

Due to the late hour, and feeling the stress of the day, I decided to scratch Wells and stop at the KOA in Winnemucca.  I have a view of some hills and a field of tall grass.  This region of Nevada is rather barren...but I’m glad to be here.  The journey continues and I have to hope and trust there won’t be any more CAMPER ADVENTURES of the mechanical kind.   

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

Happy Labor Day!  We’re staying put today.  Time for me and Navidad to take a driving break and for me to work on my blog and for him to catch up on some quiet rest.

Taking it easy in his makeshift box with Purple Bear and Mousey for company.