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!
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