From Cattleguard Trail Plomosa Road MM 16.6/1.3

On December 2^nd, I had a slightly rushed departure from the Shuswap . Even though I had aimed at December 1^st, I discovered, late in the game, that my driver’s licence was about to expire. ICBC was pretty good. I filled out the requisite forms in Salmon Arm on a Friday. These were sent immediately to Victoria over the Internet. Victoria sent a new licence in the mail on a Monday and I got it on Thursday – not bad for Canada Post. Since I had been expecting it the following Monday at the earliest, I had to shift into gear, eat lots of food, drink lots of beer, pack leftovers in the trailer and make my move.

Farewell Bend State Park - grassy lawns and boat ramps

First day departure from the gate at 9.30 on Dec 2nd – arrival at the Omak, WA Walmart parking lot by about 4.00, This might have been a shorter trip but, because of emotional pressure caused by having had to rush, I was lured in to The Jammery, a fine breakfast establishment not far north of Kelowna airport - this, to calm my shattered nerves.

The Walmart stop is useful because I can restock supplies taken by US Border Patrol. The products in question vary a bit from year but this time the frozen meats passed the test, whereas green onions, my single potato (“honestly, I planned to eat that tonight”), an avocado, limes and two oranges disappeared to feed the Oroville homeless. My agricultural agent was a very pleasant young lady who apologized because she had to make me wait because of a radio malfunction. Presumably consumed with guilt, she allowed me to continue with celery, a yam, lettuce, mushrooms, a bag of apples and some baby potatoes that only passed because the label said they “had personality”.

Roads for the first day or two were mostly bare with temps at night a little below freezing – even the dreaded Blue Mountain Summit on I 84 in North-Eastern Oregon, labelled by friend Darch as “hellish” and “the worst ever” a few weeks earlier, went under the tires like a lamb (possibly “heavenlish”?).

Dec 3^rd 2011 Farewell Bend State Park (N44 18.503 W117 13.467)

Elevation 2134’

Every year, I pass by the sign pointing to Farewell Bend State Park on a widening of the Snake River on the Oregon-Idaho border and wonder what is there and keep on trucking because I’m looking for free camping. This time, darkness was only a short time off, so I drove in to take a look. Quite a surprise - a large campground under trees with green lawns leading to boat ramps at the lake, a reservoir on the Snake River. Full hook-ups for $17, including warm showers in the morning made this a worthwhile stopover - nice given that outdoor temps were only 20F (-7C). I kept the trailer empty of water (lines full of anti-freeze) until further south where I filled with fresh water and drained anti-freeze.

Farewell Bend campground had no cell or Internet access for the MiFi - speaking of which –  back in the Omak Walmart, I bought two, $100 pre-paid cards for my Internet device. Amazingly, after a call to the Verizon operator, my gizmo started flashing and I was on the air. By e-mail, I arranged to meet the Michauds, Lyn and Linda, who were travelling north, at Cactus Pete’s Casino in Jackpot, NV the next night for the always tasty dinner buffet.

Thus far, things were moving along swimmingly so, for a brickbat, the Pilot Station in Stanfield, Or. has to take one. Basically, Pilots are truck stops, so one would think that they would know how to design efficient customer flow. Not so – this station has about 5 fuel islands facing directly toward their building with very little turning space for larger rigs. The Centre isle, only, has a diesel pump on each side, meaning that diesel customers, most of whom are large, either motorhomes or trailers like me; have to line up in the middle, thus blocking most other traffic, as well as a few people who were inside buying snacks. Anyway, I got my fuel ($4.09/gal) and moved on with no feelings of guilt.

Dec 5^th Cactus Pete’s Casino RV Jackpot NV (N41 59.096 W114 40.017)

Roads to Jackpot from Farewell Bend were mostly dry and bare other than the last stretch up from Buhl (near Twin Falls) where it looked as if it might have snowed and turned to water on pavement. I bypassed Twin Falls to take the route through Buhl, Hagerman and the Valley of 1000 Waterfalls. This year, the waterfalls, that pour out of a cliff over a mile long stretch, were flowing well and were quite spectacular – above average, I would say.

Cold and icy at Cactus Pete's in Jackpot NV

Almost 12.30 a.m., so why was I up and typing this note? The thermometer outside was reading only 3.5 F or -16 C, cold enough to freeze up the truck if left long enough. Not having a block heater, I could see myself stuck in Jackpot for weeks until warmer weather arrives, so waking the neighbourhood was the least of several evils.

It started easily, presumably waking the neighbours, in this case the Michauds who were en route home to Alberta. Cactus Pete did a good job on the dinner buffet and we caught up on the latest happenings in RV life. While it goes against the grain for me, I paid the price to stay in Cactus Pete’s RV Park, just to have electrical service that enables my small heater to operate. The furnace also ran intermittently, so the trailer was cozy enough. Both rigs planned to leave in the morning, heading in opposite directions, they to the cold white north and I, to the warm and sunny south. The Michauds have a new standard poodle (Sabuk) whose name in Maasai I am continually forgetting but is supposed to be a water buffalo, which is why I have written it here. I forgot to ask the Michauds why their dog wasn’t named after a jackal, dingo or wolf, since it didn’t look like a water buffalo, or, for that matter, any of the above.

Dec 5^th Lake Pahranagat (N37 17.993 W115 07.342)

The truck started easily in the morning as temps had risen to +9F. A quick goodbye to Michauds and I headed south. Roads most of the way were OK though one is never quite sure if the pavement is black ice or not. The only area of real ice was on the north end of Ely, probably where county maintenance and city maintenance have a buffer zone – hence, there is no maintenance. I drove this section in four wheel drive just to be safe. Pahranagat was warmer than Jackpot (3600’ compared with 5000’) and temps after darkness fell still hovered a little over freezing. However, it’s not as balmy as Bouse, so I made a decision to move along without the usual two or three day rest for trailer washing and bike riding. I was the only person in the campground, this likely due to cold temperatures there the day before. For some reason, I acquired a mouse. Why it would want to travel with me in a trailer that spends much of its time in sub-zero temperatures is a mystery. He/she set off the trap twice while I was typing out the log so I think its doom is pretty well assured. On a small point of interest, my mouse count at the cabin this year was about 48 (I maintain 4 traps at all times on the hearth)

The cell signal at Pahranagat was good, as was the MiFi Hotspot.  

December 7^th Lake Havasu State Park (site 6) N34 28.832 W114 21.339

Pahranagat was peaceful and no other campers appeared. The truck and trailer were coated with a thick layer of salt from road melting materials along the way. Therefore, In Vegas, I looked up a truck wash on the GPS, ending up in a line of semis and other RVs at the Speedco Blue Beacon Truck Wash. Surrounded by about 8 attendants, all brandishing pressure wands of varying descriptions and functions, the truck and trailer have never looked so good.

Never looking so good

I could have done the job for free myself, given access to lots of hot water and a pressure washer but this got it done ($37.50). From Vegas, over the new bridge at Hoover Dam, down Hwy 93 to Kingman and then on to Havasu. Decided that I would stay at Havasu State Park because I needed to fill with water anyway, and that would cost $10, plus, the China Buffet (a favourite) was within walking distance. No power at Havasu but plenty of water spigots, so I filled the trailer and all jugs. Ian and Gillian Wright, friends of Hugh and Christine, were there, in the same spot that they occupied the last time that I saw them.

After a quick hello, I walked off to the China Buffet, about a mile, and had a hearty meal including the not-so-Chinese bread pudding for dessert. This may be one of my favourite restaurants as the selection is better than average and prices affordable. Gerry Percy called from Scadden Wash near Quartzsite. He and Heather required a Verizon Pre-pay card for their Internet access. As none were available in Q, I found one at the Havasu Walmart. Also at Havasu, I filled with water and drained anti-freeze out of the system, which made me feel ready to get in some serious boondocking. Being a State Park though, showers were part of the package and hot water plentiful, so no need to use my own facilities.

Dec 14^th Plomosa Road 16.6/1.7 (N33 53.194 W114 03.172)

An uneventful 1½ hour trip from Havasu to Bouse and then up Plomosa Road - a fair number of RVs in evidence but my site from last year was vacant, so I am now happily installed on a ridge about 1.7 miles up from the cattle gate. My camp is the furthest up this trail, so very little traffic goes by. Since arriving, I have discovered Susan and Walter Brugger, he of mechanical fame from last year. They are camped within view but about a mile away on the Plomosa 15.5 trail.

I have been once to Quartzsite to see and have lunch with Gerry and Heather Percy, delivering to them their Verizon card. Their new Motorhome is a 40 foot diesel pusher and has everything one can imagine, including a Chevy Equinox that tows behind.

Quartzsite is fairly slow at this time of year but some vendors were open, so I picked up a couple of replacement LED lights to replace the one type (Starlightsinc.com)  that overheated and put burn marks on its plastic cover (not good). I have e-mailed the vendor of that particular brand, asking for compensation, a slim chance but one never knows – the power of the blog!  Other than that, a good dousing of rain one day, cloudy the day before with almost no solar input. 



Laundry bucket day on Plomosa - rinse cycle



 Sun has now returned and the panels are working hard to catch up – so far no need for the generator but I would hate the batteries to get low enough that the choice of turning off the TV at night or firing up the generator had to be made.    

Somehow, I have misplaced my cord, needed to transfer photos from the camera into the computer. For the moment, this will have little impact as most photos are the same as last year (and the year before, etc.). This hangs on a nail at home, so I may well have to wait until next Spring before sending any photos.