Week Six (Election Week!)
Our first week in Golden Valley was uneventful except for
the national drama of the presidential election. As I write this on Saturday,
four days after the election, Biden is still six electoral votes short of
winning, but there is little doubt of the outcome. On the other hand, there is
no certainty Trump will concede as he has expressed his distrust of the results
in several states, promising legal challenges. What bothers me beyond the lack
of trust in the system is the fact that once again half of my fellow countrymen
(and women) have cast a vote to fundamentally change what America has been for
centuries. They think they want a socialist country. I hope the result they get
so obviously a bad choice very quickly, that in 2024 we can chuck the
experiment and get America back on track.
Forget politics; que sera, sera. When we landed in Golden
Valley last Sunday, I was slightly disappointed. First, the price had gone up
$100/month since I reserved back in September. Then the park itself was
underwhelming. It is all gravel except for a 12x8 concrete pad at each site. I
knew from my web research that the trees, one for each site, were going to be
small, but IRL they seem insignificant. They are little good for either shade
or protection from the wind.
The wind has been easy to take until yesterday. We put up
the screen room right away, but had to take it down in preparation for a
two-day windstorm with 20-30 mph winds and gusts over 40. That event brought us
our first dust storm. It was a small one, only lasting a few minutes, but it
was dramatic nonetheless. We now have two or three days of rain in the
forecast, so we will be closed inside our little (little) trailer for the
duration.
We made several 20 mile trips east into Kingman for
groceries and hardware items. Home Depot to the rescue. And they have our
favorite grocery: Smiths. Yay! We also went 17 miles west to Bullhead City to
visit a Lowes because I was given a gift card by the generous folks at
Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center. It was a wasted trip because they didn’t
have the pipe I needed to hook up our sewer. Who could imagine they would not
even carry 3-inch PVC? Really! That meant another trip to HD in Kingman. We
also discovered a quirky but tasty treat in old town Kingman, in their Route 66
historical district. We have eaten at Rickity Crickets twice already. There are
several other places we will try out as well as every fast food and sit-down
restaurant you could want in the new part of Kingman.
I ordered an electric bike before we got here hoping it
would arrive about when we did. FedEx has held it up for several days, but I am
supposed to get it Monday. I am like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. I
plan to ride it daily for my cardio exercise and hopefully explore some of the
desert nearby. It is a fat-tire folding model which is supposed to be able to
handle even sandy terrain with the tires partially deflated. The electric motor
can be used either as a pedal assist or a full-on motor-driven bike. I get my
bicycle and motorcycle in one toy. Karen is not overly pleased with the cost
($1,000), but I hope she will get over her disappointment. I dream of one day
getting her one too.
We looked into another park just down the road, and we may
move there in December to save the $100 we are paying here over the advertised
rate. It is similar but with paved roadways and tall, mature trees surrounding
the entire perimeter. That may help protect from the wind somewhat. We will
lose the unobstructed view of the valley and surrounding mountains, but the
savings and the protection should compensate for the loss.
Week Seven
Sunday November 8, 2020: First it’s the wind. Not a gale,
but steady enough and strong enough to rock the trailer a little once in a
while. Then the clouds darken, and the rain showers come. Not steady downpours
like in Michigan, but scattered, now-and-then showers pelting just enough to
sound mean on the fiberglass roof over my head. Suddenly the pelting takes on a
sharper sound: hail. Little BB size ice pellets bounce off the roof and the
gravel surrounding the camper. It lasts maybe a minute. It all stops for a bit,
then starts over: rain then hail again… and the wind. Thunder, once then again.
The sky is heavy, dark and low. We’re under a storm cloud again. I’m waiting
for the rain to start again. And the hail maybe. The wind picks up; the trailer
responds with a waggle. I think we will be right under the storm this time.
I can see fluffy cumulus clouds over at the southwest
horizon. The setting sun reveals blue sky over there, but between me and them
it is nasty. Flat-bottomed, bumpy gray that fades as the rain blurs the view.
Maybe it’s just to our north. Red and orange on the radar says we are just out
of its reach. But the rain is back; heavy and almost sideways in the wind.
Forty-five degree angle on the window-tracks. Harder rain this time like a
Michigan thunder shower. Sheets of rain freight train over the trailer.
Thirty-three degrees predicted tonight as the cold front that
brought the thunderstorms also brought a drop in temperature. It has already
dropped a few degrees, and the windows are fogging as the furnace burns propane
to keep us comfy. Living in an RV is different than living in a house. I feel
closer to nature, even though I am in a park surrounded by other campers. I
only have an inch or so between me and the real outdoors instead of
two-by-fours and fiberglass and shingles and an attic. Winter here means 20’s
or 30’s at night and 50-60 in the daytime. I can handle that as long as the
water lines don’t freeze. I may have to hook up the line heaters in December.
We’ll see. I am loving it whatever happens.
The Rest of November
One week has rolled into the next in such a way that weekly
entries are unnecessary. Don’t misunderstand that I am bored or have nothing to
do. Quite the opposite. We have done some sightseeing, visited three desert
wineries (Surprise!) and I have put about eighty miles on the new bike. I try
to ride at least twenty minutes every day as my cardio workout. It is so much
more fun to do that by cruising the desert two-tracks than sitting in the rec
room on a stationary bike. We have developed a pattern of Monday breakfast in
either Kingman or Bullhead City followed by shopping. Then on Friday we have
our “date night” in one of the two, usually involving shopping as well. We have
found some fabulous restaurants already, as you would know if you follow us on
Facebook.
It is December 1st as I write this. Today we are moving from Tradewinds to Adobe RV park five miles down the road. The wind I mentioned earlier blows through our current park stirring dust like crazy. I love the view the open arrangement provides, but the wind takes away some of the enjoyment. We will be moving to the center of Golden Valley the “city.” It’s little more than a few gas stations, convenience stores and swap meets (big thing here, I guess). Geographically, Golden Valley is about ten miles east-to-west and about forty miles north-to-south depending on where you draw the southern boundary.
I will miss my view; I can see the mountains marking the north, east and west edges of the valley from my campsite. Adobe is surrounded by trees that block long-distance views so that my neighbor’s trailers will be the main feature I see there. We are giving up the vista for two reasons: first it is $95 dollars cheaper per month ($240); second the park had paved drives and the surrounding trees I mentioned that will hopefully cut some of the wind/dust we are dealing with here. Sadly, the park will not allow any type of screen/tent structure on the lots, so we can’t use our attached screen room. If we find we can’t live without it, we may be moving again. Stay tuned.
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