So, we stayed in the Oasis RV Park and Resort for two nights. Complements of Van City RV. It’s common knowledge that the West has been having a … ahem… warm summer, and it was in the triple digits when we were there. But, honestly, it was a great place. Hot, yes, but a store, a cafe, pool, and full hookups. Super-fast Wifi. We scrounged enough food from the tiny store on site, choosing to forgo a trip out into the vast Las Vegas suburbs to forage for more food. Did our best to stay cool and sleep without running the AC all night, but it was a challenge. On the gear shopping list: small fan.
Friday, we headed out of town toward the northwest, to Mt. Charleston, where we had stayed a few years ago on our trip to Philmont, New Mexico. It was a cool, and even rainy drive up to the lodge; good for the respite from the heat, and a good exercise for the Sprinter and it’s new driver. Stayed long enough to have lunch. But, about that rain.
I had joked that it would be good if we got rained on in case there were any leaks in the new rig. But, lo and behold, as I ventured into the bathroom as we were about to head back down from Mt. Charleston, I was surprised to find water dumping on me…. indeed, a small crack in the fan vent was letting rain water in. We phoned Van City, who told us to bring it on by — we had them install vent covers and they ordered a new fan that would be shipped to us and we could install. Tragedy averted, and actually, good that it happened then and there, so we didn’t put it away next fall and come back a week after a big rain and have the inside flooded. Quick stop at a grocery store before heading back to Oasis. Hey, this thing actually fits in a normal parking space (sort of….) . Another warm evening, but we dined al fresco, and managed to sleep better.
Saturday morning we fueled up and headed north. My pre-travel navigation failed to identify the proper route to connect us with 395, so we ended up driving through Death Valley – with surface temps reaching up to 124 degrees in Panamint Springs! I took the wheel through most of it, and got a chance to try out the manual shifting features as we wound our way up and down and around the rugged valley terrain.
Bishop was out intended destination that night, and we arrived fairly early, but ready to get off the road. Right off the highway was a lovely little RV park with nice grassy sites and big shade trees… we convinced the clerk to give us a spot, and we ended up with one of the nicest in the whole park! We celebrated with some cool drinks, fixed some dinner and enjoyed the relative coolness. We had a great view of the Mt. Whitney-area southern Sierras; quite dramatic and certainly a pleasant change from our concrete-pad and billboard scenery of Las Vegas.
Back on the road Sunday morning, destination Nevada City. Stopped for fuel and had a slight scare as we realized the supposedly “safe” Chevron station was dispensing 5-20% Biodiesel, versus the <5% that the Mercedes BlueTEC diesel engine prefers. We quickly stopped filling, and circled back to another station and filled with the proper type of fuel.
The rest of the drive home was uneventful, along the beautiful eastern Sierras; Owens river, June Lake loop, Lee Vining. Bit of wind from Gardnerville to Reno. Picked up the car at the airport and then caravanned over Donner summit and down into Nevada City. Up our slopey driveway with no problem. The Road Haus has come home.
The Road Haus Chronicles 