2022 #1: Lopez to Quartzsite, AZ

Thursday January 6th to Monday January 17th

OK, NOW I’m Hitting the Road

When I left Lopez on Thursday January 6th, there was 6″ of new snow on the ground. Roads were very dicey early in the morning on the way to the ferry as the plows had not gotten out yet. I slipped and slid a bit, and almost couldn’t stop at the bottom of the ferry lanes, but I did manage it. I missed the 7:45 ferry by about 10 minutes because the going on the roads was so slow. Once I got to I5 the roads were mostly clear and not too much snow on the ground. But I was later than I had hoped, and it was very slow thru Tacoma and Olympia, partly because of the pouring rain all afternoon and evening. I did make it to my destination – in Elma – on the Olympic Pen., but it was dark when I got there. I enjoyed the drive down 101 thru WA and Oregon. Often very little traffic and beautiful views. I really love winding roads, even pulling a trailer!!

Jan 6th, new snow on the ground, not plowed, very treacherous heading down to the ferry landing.

More Challenges

Stopped in Tillamook and then Florence. Got to Crescent City on Sunday the 9th. Stayed at a familiar park on the beach with a great view of the lighthouse. Not very many others there. From Crescent City we followed 101 inland and thru the redwoods. Then we headed east around Clear Lake, stayed in several state parks where there was only us and the camp host. On Wednesday the 12th we headed thru Sacramento on US99 to avoid Bay Area congestion, and headed down the valley to Bakersfield. From there we headed east to Barstow on Friday Jan. 14th. Then my trailer jack that raises the tongue of the trailer so I can unhitch the truck, died when I was in Barstow CA. Fortunately, it froze in the up position, so I left the trailer hitched to the truck overnight and headed to Needles CA on Saturday, with a reservation for 2 nights so I could do laundry and get ready for two weeks of boondocking in the desert. The challenge was to get the truck unhooked so I could do some errands. I had never used the jack that came with the truck, so first I had to discover where it was – hidden in a cubbyhole behind the rear seat. So I managed to jack up the tongue and unhitch.

Sunday, I noticed that one of the trailer tires had a big gash in the side. When I showed pics of that to other Rpod owners on FB, they ALL said DON’T DRIVE ON THAT!!! So I went to an auto parts store to get a better truck jack and got some advice on tires, but none of the tire shops were open on Sunday. I decided not to buy tires in Needles, and called AAA Monday morning to put the spare tire on so we could proceed to Quartzsite. Turns out the spare tire is 5+ years old and has cracks in the sidewall, but I only had a 130 miles to go to Quartzsite, so I figured I’d be OK on the spare. I had already emptied the holding tanks, filled the fresh water tank, and around noon we headed to Quartzsite. We stopped in Parker AZ just across the CA-AZ border with an almost empty gas tank because gas in AZ is $2.00 cheaper than CA!! I put 19.9 gallons in! We also stopped at Safeway and stocked up on groceries, then found a park so we could take a walk and have lunch.

By the time we got to Quartzsite it was around 4:30. We had to check in with the BLM (camping is free for 14 days in the desert) and then found the Escapees Solos group that I’m camping with. I parked the trailer and jacked up the tongue as I had done before. Then I pulled the truck forward, and as soon as I walked back, the jack fell over and the tongue crashed to the ground! Uh-oh! By now it was getting dark. There were lots of folks around, so a knowledgeable guy came over with a better jack, and he and several other helpers managed to get it up off the ground and usable, but not quite level. Sunna and I spent the night in the trailer without putting out the slide, a bit cramped but usable. Next day another neighbor came over and helped me jack it up again, so it was level and then I could put the slide out. It’s so wonderful having a helpful group of people that you’re camping with!

I hope you are all doing well and staying warm.

Hugs all around,
Ann

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