OK so we must be quite a way int our trip as I honestly had a hard time remembering the overnight at Newberry Springs RV park and Motel. Part of that could have been it was just an overnight and part could be because neither of us got much sleep that night. I am always nervous about a location that ends with “and Motel”. Not because of the Bates Motel but Motels in most cases are left overs from the past when there were no interstates and like in this case they were of the old roads like this one was…Route 66. But to get East we had very few choices for stays with many hours between campgrounds and lots and I mean LOTS of open spaces that are mainly desert. Today’ trip was an 8 hour 372 mile leg. Wayyyy too many miles but there were not any campgrounds that I felt we would be safe at if they existed so we bit the bullet and drove.
Well on the lonnnng way east we were being blown around by gusty winds as we went up and down through mountain passes that funneled the winds. At many spots there were signs suggesting high profile vehicles (like us) should get off the Interstate. Well we had places to go so taking slower sheltered back roads was not an option. And the Interstate gave us some beautiful views when we were out in the open. But it was beginning to get really windy from a cold front moving through the day before. I just wanted to get to a place that was safe and had power and water and allowed us off road time to eat and rest.
Well after a really long day we arrived at the Newberry Mountain RV and Motel in Newberry Mountain, CA. On arriving we sat behind another truck and trailer. It seemed odd that the guy wasn’t coming out of the office for quite a while. I decided even though I was back a ways from the office that I would head in to stand in line as it was getting dark. I no sooner got out of the truck when the trailer with no visible activity for 5-10 minutes drove off???!!! Well on pulling up to the motel office I could see a handwritten sign on the door asking us to call a number to check in. So scary they didn’t even dare to be here after dark? I called the number and a very nice person took our credit card info (no deposit ahead of time here which is unusual what with no shows etc) and gave us our site number and said she would text us the receipt which she did. And we went to our site.
This campground got the lowest rating of any of the campgrounds we’ve stayed at, 7 out of 10 so I wasn’t expecting much. Turns out it was essentially just a big gravel parking lot with site numbers and hookups for electric, water and sewer. It was an overnight stop where we didnt unhook the trailer, it appeared safe with other travelers nearby and it was off the road. I unlocked the trailer, put the stairs down and began to hookup the trailer to the utilities while Jo unpacked the inside and got dinner started. We have a great routine where Jo cleans and stores and puts away inside stuff before leaving while I empty the tanks and unhook and hook stuff outside. Well as I was finishing up the outside I heard Jo make an odd noise so I went around to the door side of the trailer and found her struggling to keep the door from slamming open against the side of the trailer. The wind was so strong I had to hold the door while Jo took Mocha out. It must have been blowing across the open prairie unimpeded by trees or structures at about 40-50 miles an hour steady with higher gusts. Oh and the sand is blowing at that speed also. Well we managed to batten down the hatches after dinner and went to bed. Now when we just do an overnight I dont unhook the trailer. When I dont unhook I dont put the stabilizers down at each of the 4 corners of the trailer to keep the trailer from bouncing around while walking etc. I dont put them down to avoid the mistake of driving off with them down. Well I should have put them down as the trailer was rocking all night with wind noise that was howling. Not a lot of sleep but being on call has given me the ability to function with cat naps so not to worry.
The next AM was in the 30’s without the windchill. Walking Mocha was scary at night but at least we could see where he was blown in the daylight LOL. At one point during the night Jo and I were yelling over the wind walking Mocha trying to find the lee side of something to not have him blown away.
We headed out early (hey we were up) for our next stop in Winslow Arizona. Such a fine site to see.
Bill and Jo’s Road Trip 