Archives for October 2014

Got rousted out of bed by two rangers this morning (the second time in four days!), demanding that we pay double the charge we started out paying. Rather than admit that there might have been a misunderstanding, the arrogant supervisor claimed that he didn't tell me what he did on the phone (even though he did), and that he'd been there too long to make a mistake. I pointed out that in the world of RVing, there's a huge difference between a "tow" vehicle, and a "towed" vehicle, and he definitely told me "tow" vehicles were free. I offered to pay a standard second vehicle fee, which most places charge an extra $5-7 dollars for, but this guy was demanding we pay for an entire second campsite. This despite the fact that other than one other motor home, the place was empty. I was already disappointed that they had told us we had to leave on Sunday because they had a group coming in on TUESDAY that they needed to prepare for, and even though I swore I'd be out by Monday morning, they wouldn't trust me to honor my word! We don't like to drive on Sundays, in case we have a breakdown and need services, because so many places are closed on Sunday. Well, I was so glad I had called Lake Washoe and found out they had single camping, because I got so mad I finally told them to we would pack up and leave. It didn't matter what logic we used, that no place we've every been has forced us to pay full freight for both vehicles, the fact that the river was dry so we had to run out just to get water for the horses (which, to us, diminished the value of the place greatly), and so on. Nothing moved these guys, they were more interested in getting their $14/day, or if we refused, to write us a $187 ticket for non-payment, which, by the way, is the first giant sign you see when you first drive in. Very welcoming. Anyway, they finally left, throwing back a snarky "Have nice day" that just about set me off again, but I help my temper and immediately started packing up. We had breakfast, I called and confirmed we could get into Washoe Lake today, and before noon, we were on the road again. Stopped once to get gas and a sandwich to go, but otherwise got straight out to Washoe Lake in no time. Entry gate was unmanned, so we drove out to the equestrian area, finally locating the overnight camping area, and discovered a perfect site! Two of the four metal corrals actually had covers on them! There was a water spigot right next to them, and a large trough to boot! We were surrounded by beautiful mountains, the lake was in the distance, and even though the water was obviously low, it was still a lake. There was a large arena, a pavilion, several vault toilets, and plenty of loops here, so we were delighted that we got to come here early. Once more, a silver lining strikes again! It didn't take long to get set up, even managing to get the satellite up with only a minimum of difficulty. Just as I went hunting for an iron ranger to write my check, a young man in a park truck drove by, and took care of me. He was delightful, completely undemanding, he agreed with the $5 extra vehicle fee, the $17 overnight fee, and didn't even worry about getting my license plate number (or even which state it was from), so laid back and such a relief after our experience with the jerks out at Ft. Churchill. Settled down for a lovely evening, with a gorgeous sunset over the mountains to the west, a fantastic moonrise over the mountains to the east, just perfect! Definitely going to stay here for a while, especially if we can use the time to get the van fixed, and pick up our parts at the RV dealer over the course of the next ten days. Lemonade out of lemons again!

Well, we did it! We rode in our 50th state!!! And our incredibly well-traveled horses rode in their 48th!!! Wow!! We saddled up later, but we got out around 1:30, heading towards the primitive horse camp and an area known as Hercules (not sure why), on a lovely, sandy trail that followed the river (which is dry because of all the drought they've had in this region), and weaved around tall cottonwood trees. After driving through so much desert to get here, riding amongst trees was truly a pleasure. After going about 3 miles or so, we decided not to do the entire length of the trail, but to curve around up to the "overlook," a spot with a picnic table and a gate that let us out of the park onto the dirt road that separated the State Park from BLM land. The road actually paralleled the original Pony Express Route, and for a while we thought we were actually on it, but it turns out we were next to it (not that the terrain changed much). In all, we did about 6.3 miles, the second half in beautiful sunshine, so I got to work on my tan as well as get in a ride! And our 50th state to boot!! It seems almost impossible to believe that we've been on the road practically full time for nearly 5 years!! It's true what they say, time flies when you're having fun! When we got back, I did some reading up on the Pony Express, and Buckland Station, which is just a mile from us, was a Pony Express stop, and there's a group area on the other side of Ft. Churchill State Park know as the Pony Bob Haslam Group Area, Pony Bob being one of the more famous riders on the Pony Express. Fascinating history, and what strikes me most interesting is that the Pony Express only lasted 19 months, yet it made such an indelible mark on our country's history. The route was eventually sold to Wells Fargo, and I noticed that on Google Earth, you can still see a lot of those original stage roads! Fascinating! A great day of accomplishment as well as learning!

After a couple more relaxing days (though hunting season began, so we heard some gunfire, and several more folks came in over the weekend), we headed out to what will be our 50th state (the horses' 48th), as we close in on our final goal. After speaking with several of the locals, we abandoned our original route because we heard the road was extremely rough on trailers, with lots of bouncing dips which would slow us down considerably, so we headed back toward Alturas (a much easier drive than going the easterly Cedarville way, according to Hubby) where we picked up fuel and breakfast and headed south on 395. Arrived in Fernley,where I had found some alfalfa/grass mix for sale, we bought 11 bales, then headed to Walmart to do our shopping, then ran out of time to get propane (figured we could get it later when we pick up parts from the RV store in Carson City later in the week), and headed straight for Ft. Churchill State Park. We went to the dump first, picking up water in the RV and the horse trailer, enough to hold us over until tomorrow, then proceeded to the Scout Camp. Turns out to be a lovely spot, a stretch of cottonwood trees along where the river is supposed to be (it dried up a few months ago, apparently), a welcome site after so many miles of barren desert. We arrived just before dusk, and managed to get the horses settled in to two very nice corrals side by side, and, fortunately, Hubby was even able to get a satellite signal before full darkness fell. Had ourselves a cocktail before settling down to a movie and a quiet evening, though we're only about a mile from the main road, so it's not quite as quiet as the last place, but not bad. Just glad to be here after a long day!