The Millers Go RVing - Day 11

Day 11 was the day the tide turned for our trip. Just when you think "Good job, Big Bertha! You almost made it half way, we are almost to CA. I believe you're going to make it the whole way, old girl!" our worst fear came true.

It was a Friday morning. I made French toast for breakfast. For the record, we had fallen into a routine of cooking breakfast before we hit the road, eating snacks for lunch while we drove, and eating out for dinner. The menu planning I had done, the food & cookware I drug along to cook for dinner just wasn't compatible with our personal style.

We went to Hoover Dam in the morning. We asked the man at the RV park if there is a place to see it without having to go through the RV security screening. He told us of a bypass road but we couldn't find it when we got down there. There was nowhere to turn a big rig around either, so we just went through security. It really wasn't that bad- R had to unlock all the cargo bays on the outside so they could look in, while a security lady came on board and peeked in the bathroom. (I don't know about you but if I was a terrorist, an RV bathroom would be the last place I would choose to stow away. But maybe that's just me.) True to our thrifty Swiss heritage, we drove up the hill to the free parking lots instead of paying to park at the bottom. Hey, we survived hiking the Grand Canyon, we can handle a little dam walking. (no pun intended. Ok, so if you've never been there, you hear a lot of dam jokes in the area.)

 The menfolk had shrugged off the idea of taking the tour inside the dam so we just spent an hour top-side. We had watched a documentary on how this dam was built; the engineering and the danger (number of lives lost) added a sense of intrigue to what would've otherwise just been a massive pile of concrete. It was sweltering hot but the water was so clear we could see fish from up there.

Around 10:30 we left the Dam, and headed back up that long, steep hill in Boulder City that had us so worried about Big Bertha the evening before. She handled it slow, but steady today. We rolled down the other side and at the bottom, R realized too late that he wanted to turn right at the light but was in the lane to go straight. So we were circling around a side street, when Big Bertha started to make a funny noise. It only happened once in awhile so we weren't sure if something was dragging or scraping, or just our imagination. We pulled over twice, R & JS got out and checked her over but couldn't find anything. R would decide to keep going, but then it would do it again. After a couple starts & stops, they decided it was transmission related. Probably a torque converter (whatever that is). 1st & 2nd gear were fine but as soon as we'd pick up some speed, Big Bertha would protest with clangs & bangs. Obviously we weren't going anywhere now. Our worst fear -that we'd break down- came true.  

R got on the phone with our insurance rep and confirmed we have Roadside Assistance on our policy. Roadside Assistance was eager to help, but they can't dispatch a tow truck until we know where we want to be towed. So R started calling shops. Most of them did not work on RVs...two that did were booked for 3 weeks out! He finally found a place that agreed to look at it Monday. Coincidentally, they were located a mere 1/2 mi from where we were sitting beside the road; they encouraged us to drive in 1st gear to the shop instead of waiting on a tow truck. We were only too happy to agree, and  relieved to make it safely into their parking lot. Thank God we broke down in town! We were headed for Death Valley when this happened.

While R had been making calls, I was looking at the map and calculating how to salvage our trip. If you look at a map of the western states you will see a big loop of interstates running along our proposed route. The only sensible solution was to get a rental car and keep going until the RV was fixed, then circle back and get it. Did I mention that the 2 RV-unfriendly cities are on this route- the 2 places where we expected to park Big Bertha & get a rental car to navigate around? Again, the fingerprints of God.

So while Richard was doing paperwork with the garage, the kids & I started packing. This was no small feat! In the sweltering 107* heat, the generator was no longer able to keep the coach cool so it was quite warm in the RV, to put it mildly. On top of that, we had no suitcases. We had a laundry basket, we had some 31 bags, we had backpacks. We did the best we could with what we had. But we were packing for an unknown length of time, trying to make sure we didn't leave behind anything important yet not drag along unnecessary items we didn't have room for. All the while, it is so hot you can hardly think straight. It felt like one big jumbled mess!

RV Road Trip Tip # 210 Take a suitcase, just in case.

R was waiting on Enterprise Rent-A-Car to come pick him up. (I did not know they even do that- they came out to the garage, picked him, took him to their office in the next town to get the rental.) While we waited, the kids & I walked next door to Jack in the Box. How awesome is that of God to let us break down not only close to a garage, but one that has a good restaurant next door?! Think air conditioned!! good Wi-Fi!! and clean restrooms. An oasis in the desert for us stranded travelers. The kids ate lunch, but I was too 'on edge' to be hungry. I contacted the RV parks we had already booked and asked for a refund; one refunded minus $10, but the expensive one in San Francisco was nonrefundable so we lost all our money there. They kindly offered us a credit valid for the next 30 days, but what good does an RV park do us without an RV?

The boys were hoping for a cool SUV to motor around in, but on short notice all we could get was a black Kia minivan. It was a plain Jane model, lacking the redeeming qualities [in the eyes of the younger generation] of extra USB ports and DVD player. It was almost more than the auto detailer in our family could stand that it was filthy inside and smelled of cigarette smoke. BUT "Jane" was all ours for $35 a day, unlimited mileage. 

We loaded Jane with our stuff, and emptied the RV fridge -there was nothing we could do but throw all those groceries away! We did take an insulated bag of food with us but it was hopeless- the next day it stank and we had to throw almost all of it away.  There was 1 package of hamburger that was frozen fast to the RV freezer. I tried & tried but I couldn't budge it so we left it behind and hoped for the best. In the sweltering heat, I was not thinking straight because I also left some butter behind in the fridge. Do you know what happens to burger & butter in 110* heat over a week's time? More about that later. All told, we threw away over $50 worth of food.

By 3:30pm we are rolling. 4 unplanned hours in Boulder City. But we are fortunate; it could have been so much worse. We drove through Las Vegas just simply because we could easily. It looked like any other city to me, nothing special. We decided to drive to our original intended destination to make up for lost time, even though it meant driving till 9pm.

We found out pretty quick the pros & cons to traveling in a minivan vs. an RV. We could make better time- cruising right up the mountains, driving past Mojave Desert & Death Valley in cool comfort for everyone. We would save a bundle on gas, but spend it all on motels- even economy hotels were 3 times more than RV parks. I missed the big windows for taking drive-by photos. (In fact, I missed the California state sign completely; the only state I missed.) We were sitting much lower in a van and couldn't see the scenery as well. And speaking of sitting, Kia seats get really, really uncomfortable on a long drive. There is the obvious factor of not being able to walk around or lay on a bed while we drive. All told, the pros & cons are pretty evenly matched.

We started seeing more Joshua trees.

 And smoke from an active forest fire in CA.          

We arrived in Lone Pine CA going on faith that we could find lodging for the night. The first motel we came to only had 1 room left and it was $200. We drove up the street, but even the little Mom & Pop places were sporting No Vacancy signs, so we rushed back and snapped up that last little room. We were exhausted, and felt like a bunch of country hicks as we tried to sneak in with our laundry basket suitcase. Thank the Lord for an outside entrance so we didn't have to go through the lobby to sneak in a sleeping bag for the 5th member of our party. And a tiny patio where JS could sit to make his nightly phone call.   

to be continued...