The Final Push To Our New Home

After a night on the Las Vegas strip, morning seemed to come earlier than normal. As we made our way out of town our minds wondered about what lay in wait for us during the 6hr journey north. Fortunately, our minds didn’t have to wonder too long. About the time we were coming down into the Amargosa Valley we noticed that the van radio turned off and the indicators in the dash started turning on and off on their own. Then all of a sudden it happened. The engine shut off and the dash lit up like a Christmas tree. The van had died.

Coasting down the road, we were lucky enough to be able to roll into the parking lot of the Area 51 Alien Center and Fuel station. There I spent the better part of the next hour unloading the van, exposing the battery systems and testing the electrical, trying to locate the culprit. We were able to jump start the van but it would only run for a few minutes and then it would die again. The radio would come on and off, the door locks would lock and unlock the warning buzzer would chime and then stop. Mind you it was still doing this all on its own. I swore the van was possessed at this point. We disconnected the battery under the hood and the house batteries under the bench, removing all power from the vehicle. There we sat for the better part of 20 minutes. Full of anxiousness in the middle of nowhere hoping for a miracle. After a while we reconnected the batteries and were surprised to see that the dome lights came on bright and the door chime was dinging away. Even more so, it was like the Red Sea had parted when we turned the key and the van rumbled to life all on its own and kept on running. Was this Devine intervention or did it have something to do with the Aliens at Area 51? We let the van run for a bit and went inside the Alien center to check out this strange place. Might as well since we were there. Unfortunately I didn’t remember to take photos of the inside but let’s just say it’s an interesting place to say the least.

Making our way back to the van we were relieved to see that it was still running. We cycled the key a couple times and it started like a champ every time. Not ones to look a gift horse in the mouth, we hauled butt north and tested our fate. After all, we either break down in the middle of nowhere or we stay in the middle of nowhere (where we were) and wait for it to break down. I chose forward progress, since the outcome was basically going to be the same if it did happen. Wouldn’t you know it, fate was on our side and we made it all the way to Fernley, NV without so much as a hiccup.

Waking up the next morning I couldn’t help but wonder about the van and our trip the prior day. So, I grabbed the keys, turned the ignition and nothing happened but a click. So I grabbed our trusty jump pack and once again the van rumbled to life. A quick check with my multimeter and I figured out that the charging system wasn’t doing anything. Pulling the air box and serpentine belt off it was pretty clear as to why. The shaft on the alternator had an 1/8” of play and it made an unmistakable growl when you spun it around. The alternator my friends had gone the way of the dodo. A few runs to the parts store and 20 min of wrench time at the campground and we were back in business.

We spent the next couple of days at the campground searching for a rental home and taking care of life maintenance things. By the end of the week we were moving into a house and getting settled in. Good thing too because that weekend we were hit by a blizzard. I guess we made it just in time, talk about perfect timing…

West Bound and Down

After renewing our spirits and getting some much needed rest in San Antonio, we were ready to load up our vehicles and begin our journey west toward El Paso. Up to this point of our trip we really hadn't had to worry about anything other than fuel and a final destination for the day, since everyone had been sick. Each evening Jennifer and I would plan out a route that allowed for four to six hours of driving that would ultimately end at a hotel in which we would make reservations in advance for. This guaranteed a warm and safe place to rest and gave us the best chances to recover quickly from whatever it was that we all had.

Leaving San Antonio, now feeling renewed and rejuvenated, we were ready to become a little more cavalier in our travels again. We knew that we wanted to visit our friends in Tucson and that we had to be in NV in thirteen days, so we were pretty fluid from here on out. Trying to keep with the four to six hours of driving that we had been doing, we figured that would place us somewhere near Fort Stockton, Tx for the evening.

I have to say, I very much preferred traveling the western half of Texas, compared to the Easter half. I’m sure they both have their good and bad but it seemed like west of San Antonio the landscape started to dramatically change and we could tell by the terrain that we were finally entering into the southwestern region of the U.S. The humid marshlands and green landscapes of the east were beginning to give way to the arid and rugged brown terrain of the west. A change we welcomed.

Just before arriving in Fort Stockton, we scoured our maps looking for public land or national Forrest in which to stay on. Unfortunately, like most of our trip through Texas, there was nothing close by. Switching over to iOverlander, the only options we were presented with were hotels, street camping, a Walmart parking lot or the Hilltop RV Park. Not wanting to stay in a hotel again and definitely not wanting to deal with the Walmart parking lot, we chose to check out the RV Park. Pulling in and surveying the grounds, we instantly realized that this was not the place for us. The RV park being almost completely full, more than $40 a night with massive fifth wheel campers, golf carts and people all over the place, this was definitely not the environment we were looking for.

Retreating back toward interstate I-10 in defeat, Jennifer had noticed an old metal shop like building down the road that had a few sporadic campers throughout its lot. Pulling in to check it out, we noticed that there was a faded sign above on the front fascia that said Hillside RV. This looked more like an abandoned commercial lot than a campground. Could it really be? Confirming on Google maps, yep it was an actual RV park. As we were attempting to find any information what so ever about check in and fees another couple had approached us from their camper further down in the lot. This was their third or fourth time staying here and they said they much preferred the privacy and the quiet over the resort like atmosphere up the road from which we left. They said “Pay box is on the side of the decrepit building and the owner used to show up in the morning with donuts. He’s an older gentleman and we’re not sure if he makes it around too much anymore. There’s bathrooms, showers and laundry in the building, but we’re not sure if they still work… We usually just park our rig, place some money in the pay box and enjoy the evening.”

With the surrounding views of the area, almost no one there and the only noise being that of the passing traffic on I-10 in the distance, this sounded like music to our ears. “So how much is it to camp?” I asked. “We don’t really know.. It’s not posted anymore so we usually drop a $20 in the envelope and place it in the pay box.” They chuckled as they replied. As they turned to head back to their RV we thanked them for the information and we started to scan the lot for which site we wanted to occupy. Dropping our fee in the pay box I contacted the phone number that was listed on Google and left a brief voicemail stating who I was, which site we were staying at and for how long, just for good measure.

With the van all set up we took a walk down the road to stretch out our legs from the long day of driving. The sun began to hang low in the big Texas sky and the colors were absolutely mesmirizing. Off to the south we could see storm clouds and small flashes of lightening. The wind was starting to pick up, the air was starting to cool and all of it was headed in our general direction. Out of nowhere, we started getting hit with patches of heavy rain and wind gusts over 40mph. We quickly dropped the top, secured anything outside that could be turned into a projectile and took shelter inside of the van. Twenty minutes worth of excitement later we were able to crawl out of our hiding place and resume the evening. Jennifer whipped up a delicious dinner inside, we enjoyed the finally bits of that big Texas sunset and finally succumbing to the exhaustion we all felt, turned in for the evening to get some much needed rest.

New York City

After a quick reset at home, we were back on the road to our next destination. New York City! The girls have been excited about this trip for a long time and we were finally able to put some time aside to make it happen. In our normal fashion, we had to do things differently and we chose to camp at the Liberty Harbor Marina & Rv Park across the Hudson River in Jersey City. We were surrounded by the typical motorhomes that you’d expect in a campground, but there were also a Jeep and a beautiful Landy 110 rocking some rooftop tents. The word “Campground” should be used lightly here as it’s a paved parking lot with water and electrical hookups. There is 24/7 security, bathrooms with showers and a laundry facility on site as well. The best part about this “Campground” is the location. You’re blocks away from the Path train to go over to NYC and you can see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty right from the campground. Our first day in NYC consisted of hitting the big items on the girl’s list, just to help calm them down a bit.😂 Times Square, Grand Central Station and all 10 floors of Macy’s. Not to mention experiencing the NYC subway system. Once the “big must see” items were checked off the list, we were able to move onto the more experience oriented locations. Be on the lookout for our next post where we delve a little deeper into those……