The Low Point

We have arrived in Death Valley and have set up at the Texas Springs Camp. It is situated a little high up off the valley floor, so we have a view out over the valley to the Panamint mountains. Our back window looks out on some sandy hills. We arrived not knowing where we would camp. Most of the RV camping in Death Valley is a first come, first served variety, but we got here at about noon, just after check out time, and had a few choices in one of the favorite camp areas. Score! This is a dry camp, no generators allowed, so our solar is extra nice.

The drive this morning was lovely. I'm sure you'll get tired of reading about our wonderful driving experiences, but it is all true. As we left the Tonopah Dispersed Camping area, we drove south on US 95, and quickly started seeing Joshua trees. Topping a pass, you could see four ranges of mountains in the distance, including the snow-topped Sierra. Gorgeous. We also drove through the town of Goldfield, NV, which looked like it came out of some movie set. I took a ton a pictures, but with Russ's big camera, so nothing to post... again.

Distant Mountains

Joshua Trees

More mountains and Joshua Trees and sagebrush

After setting up and getting settled, we drove south through the valley to Bad Water Basin, the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. We hiked out maybe two miles onto the salt flat. It was perfect timing, since it is forecast to rain tonight at 7 pm, and so the clouds kept the sun off us and made for a comfortable hike. We plan to stay here for four nights, so we'll have many opportunities to really explore the park.

The Low Point

Salt flats and the view into north Death Valley

This was the trail.

Winnemucca, Tonopah, and the Griddle, Plus Gold

Winnemucca,NV is a long running personal desert mirage for us. We frequently drive from our home in Tacoma to the four corners area of New Mexico, and we usually choose different routes each time. However we go, there is usually a sign, often quite far away from the place, directing us to Winnemucca. Russ always says, "We could go to Winnemucca." Then we laugh. So this trip we decided to go to Winnemucca. I can see why so many of the area roads lead there, because there are no other large (or medium or small) cities for hundreds of miles around.

Russ points out that we are ready to leave Orovada.

We left Orovada this morning and got to Winnemucca by about 9:30 am. Too early for lunch, but we called it that, because I didn't want to just drive through when it has been at least 15 years of laughing about going some other direction. We ate breakfast for lunch at a place called the Griddle, which was a fantastic old school diner with fabulous food.

Russ tastes his breakfast burrito

After lunch it was just driving through the beautiful high deserts of Nevada. We passed the Round Mountain Gold Mine. Russ commented "that is one hell of a lot of extraction." I think the whole mountain is gone, turned into the tailing piles we saw... so many it looked like at least 20, and we couldn't see them all from the road. I'm sorry I don't have a picture. Seeing the result of mining in this way really reminds me that I don't want to contribute any more to making huge holes in the earth. I try to limit my purchases to only things I use that wear out, no upgrades allowed.

I drove the section from Battle Mountain to Austin.

Lovely Roads

We are camped tonight at the Tonopah Dispersed Camping Area. It is nothing special, but it is free and about the right distance for a day of driving. I am discovering that I really appreciate how self-contained we are in the R-Pod. It does make for some crummy gas mileage when we are towing it, but we have our bed, our kitchen, our bathroom and all the little comforts.

The REAL Loneliest Road in America

Oregon 78. That is the lonely road. It was a beautiful drive today from Bend, OR to Orovada, NV. We are camping in a BLM Dispersed Camping Area off the Orovada Rest Area, up against the Santa Rosa Mountains. We put the back window of the R-Pod toward the mountains. What a view! The entire day was filled with lovey open range and distant, snowy peaks. I felt adrift on the sagebrush sea.

The sun is setting now and our solar panels are no longer actively charging our batteries, so we will be using stored power and propane until sunrise tomorrow. I am enjoying the solar system. It gives us more choices and means we can continue to use our electronics even when we are not plugged into shore power. I can blog! We do need a cell signal to stay connected. I read online that we wouldn't get a signal here, but it turns out that post was outdated. We have four bars of AT&T here.

The Sagebrush Sea

Russ captures the Santa Rosa Mountains on our walk before dinner

Russ surveys our spot near Ovovada, NV

Dinner. Pasta with yellow squash and pesto; plus view!

A Day to Repair and Rest

We got moving early this morning and drove into Bend marveling at the snow on the ground and how bright white the mountains looked against the clear sky. The door handle on the truck was frozen and let loose a shower of ice chips as I opened the door. We took the trailer in to Jerry's RV Repair, and they were able to quickly determine that our water heater element was burned out...usually this happens when you energize it with an empty tank. We just figured we screwed this one up for the first time in this trailer and were grateful to get it fixed so easily and quickly.

Billy installs the new element

The old element... totally blown

Painted rocks decorate the counter at Jerry's RV Repair

We needed to wait before we could check in to our new campground in Bend, so we tried to see the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, but it was closed for the season. There was a significant amount of snow in the road at the locked gate. We got gas and spent some time at the Starbucks in the Fred Meyer. It's difficult to just see what we want to around town when we have the R-Pod attached... parking is problematic and backing up is tough too. I wanted to stock up on a couple of food items (milk and croissants), since our next week will be in more isolated rural areas and in Death Valley National Park.

Our Fred Meyer stop turned out to be a highlight of the day. We spent some time getting to know Kathleen, who let us join her at one of the few tables near the Starbucks in the store. Chatting with people as we travel is one of the most fun aspects of our journey for me. We ate lunch in the same area (no parking lot moves) at the Bend Mongolian BBQ.

Spicy!

After lunch we moved the R-Pod to our new campground, the Crown Villas RV Resort, and our hot water was still stone cold. Some research by Russ online and one phone call to Billy later, we had disassembled our bed to reach the hot water system underneath it and found the valves controlling water flow into the hot water tank were in the wrong position. They probably got that way when the trailer was winterized and were never reset. In a way, I feel good about it; it means that we blew the element legit not our fault. A fair amount of testing later, and both the electric and propane water heating methods are working! I'm sorry I don't have any good photos of the process, but I was occupied with the effort and didn't pull out my phone for pictures.

We're relaxing tonight and eating in, then getting up early again to move south towards Winnemucca, NV.

Cold Water in Bend, OR

Our water heater is not working; either using electric with shore power or propane. So cold water for us until we can get it fixed. Fortunately, Bend has several options for RV repair and we will get it done before we leave. It is cold outside, and the cold water is not helping.

We enjoyed our drive south on highways 197 and 97 to Bend, OR. The mountains looked fabulous in their winter snow. Lunch was out of the trailer at a rest stop on Hwy 97 with great views. We saw Hood, Jefferson, and the Sisters before the clouds rolled in at about the same time we arrived at Tumalo State Park. As soon as we hooked up, we took a walk/short hike on the Deschutes River Trail. The trail section here was only about 2 miles, but it was lovely in the light rain.

The Deschutes River

When we finished our walk, Russ suggested we get dinner in town, so we drove into Bend just as it started snowing. We ate at 10 Barrel Brewing Company. The food was great and the beer was nice too. It was fun to sit inside the glass garage-style doors and watch the young men outside around the bonfire pit drinking and eating as it snowed.

Snow on the drive into Bend, OR

Spicy salmon cakes on green salad with a Sasquach Beer

Travel begins! Our day in the Columbia River Gorge

We left this morning, and the only thing I seem to have forgotten is the hand sanitizer that I had planned to bring. It's not a real trip for me unless I forget something.

You can just make out the new solar panels on the roof.

I didn't sleep well. Aside from the fact that I had already programed the furnace for minimum temperatures, I tried to see about campsite availability at our preferred campground choices for the first two stops. I couldn't get anyone to answer the phone at the first place, and the next nights state park showed no available RV sites. I lay in bed fretting over our lack of place to stay for several hours, and finally just got up and made a reservation at the state park. I could only find a site for the first night of a two-night planned stay, but that is better than a Walmart parking lot. We have been to Bend before, so a one-night stop is fine. I'm not sure I'm cut out for this spontaneous travel style!

We enjoyed our drive. Since we started early and all our food was packed into the R-Pod, we stopped at Spiffy's for breakfast. It's a favorite, even when I don't order pie.

Mmmm. Breakfast.

It rained until we moved east through the gorge. Google Maps directed us to our pre-selected campground here in Dallesport, WA. Fortunately they had space for us without a reservation. As soon as we set up, we found a Freebridge Brewing in The Dalles, OR across the river for a taste and a small lunch. We are now tucked in our warm R-Pod for the duration of a cold night (the weather predicts for a low of 27 deg F tonight).

Beer!

Let the Spring Adventure Begin

It took an extra week, but the our federal taxes are filed. Our accountant's office was fantastic and turned around that last form the same day. We've packed the R-Pod with food, clothing, and entertainment items. The house is prepared for a long empty stretch. My parents and some friends will check on it, handle the mail, and keep our plants alive. We had hoped to leave this evening, but decided to wait until tomorrow morning so we aren't driving tired and have to set-up for the night in the dark. Plus the campground we hoped to stay in didn't return our calls soon enough. We should have better traffic around Portland tomorrow since we will avoid the weekday commute. We plan to cross the Cascades through the Columbia River gorge to avoid the mountain snow.

I keep reminding myself that we don't have any reason to leave at a specific time; we don't have any agenda; we don't need to be anywhere but wherever we are, even if that is at home. I have tried to remember a time in my life when I was so unencumbered, but I don't think I have ever been. Spontaneity does not come naturally to me, so this will take some effort!