A bit of a snag...

We have some news. Some fairly big news. But that is to come later.

Once we left LA, we were craving a space with no people -  a place where Dave and I could get back to what we're used to. But first, we needed to charge up the RV as it had been sitting for so long. We ended up at a gated time-share style RV resort. Honestly, the only reason we did this was the price tag - $45 for 4 nights. In resort speak, that's fucking cheap. We were a little dubious so I called to make sure there was no snag. I was told they didn't even have a sales person at the moment so we wouldn't have to sit through someone trying to sell us the space, bargain! But we were still waiting for the catch. Right up until we drove out we were waiting for something to happen; a fat bill or some condition we had overlooked. This was the first resort we had stayed in that had activities that people actively attended. We were the only people without grey hair (as someone actually commented!) but we were never made to feel out of place. It was a lovely community and I could easily see the draw for retired folk.

The site was near Palm Springs so we decided to head out and check what the fuss was about. They have a street market every Thursday so we sewed up our wallets and made the journey over. There was loads of lovely food to choose from, and we did manage to keep our purse strings tight. I mean, we bought some stuff, but Dave and I cannot walk past delicious, artisan food without picking up a token bit of luxury. We were also told to check out the flea market in the nearby University of the Desert. What a name for a school!! The flea market was pretty sprawling, but it wasn't what I was used to. I'm used to seeing quirky, second hand stuff, the things you'd find at a car boot sale in England. This instead was people trying to sell tacky t-shirts, golf cart covers, belts and other pointless commodities you only pick up to commemorate the visit. We bought nothing apart from a blooming onion for lunch. Oh wait, no, we bought a pastry brush too. Last of the big spenders!

We were eager to get to Joshua Tree National Park and get back to nature and camping. The first night we spent in a horrible campground where we were packed in like sardines in a fairly bland landscape. It really was our fault - we didn't book and didn't realise we were arriving on the weekend of a bank holiday where entry is free. All sites were full and we were lucky to find the one we did. We went down the next day to enquire about hiking trails only to be told that all hiking trails in this part of the park were closed due to

conditions within the park. We decided to take out chances and headed out north to the hiking area. It paid off - we ended up having to wait for someone as they left their campsite and bunged ourselves straight into the site once they had. It was the most beautiful campsite we have stayed in. We had no neighbors (that we could see) and the view opened out onto the Joshua Tree plains. It was peaceful and awe inspiring. We went off on our hike and tried to find one of the many trails outlined on the map. Couldn't find it so we forged our own way until we finally came across it. We ended up leaving the path anyway as it was a bit boring and headed off into some rocky hills to get a lay of the land. Once up there, we could see this glistening white rock in the distance. In that landscape, it really did stand out. So we hiked our way over and discovered we had to climb down a small canyon in order to get to it. The rocks really did come from nowhere. Someone had built a wall and 2 bowls formed in the rocks held water. It was pretty surreal, and I have no idea why it was there, but it made for fun exploring! We made our way back, and since daylight savings time had kicked in, we started to worry that we might not get back before dark. We did. But for a short while we were wondering what we would do in that eventuality. It led us to packing a properly stocked bag whenever we go hiking - food, torch, whistle, plenty of water and a warm jacket. Just in case.

We debated for a long time whether we should stay for a little longer, but we knew we were on our way to Las Vegas and needed to book a hotel. We had no access to internet and needed to stop into a fast food joint. We booked the cheapest place we could find that parked RV's on the strip and headed off toward the Mohave. We had farted about for so long at Joshua Tree and booking the hotel that dusk was drawing in as we got to the Mohave National Preserve. We had read about boondocking sites and turned off down a dirt road in search of our free haven.
Turns out the road was quite bad, so we quickly reversed and tried to get to the visitor's center before it closed. The guy, once we were there, told us that the option we had turned away from was pretty much all we were going to find. We turned around and made our way back toward the dirt track, determined to take it slow and get our free night's stay. We watched the sun go down as we made our way down the 4 mile track. We cracked a beer for the arduous journey and found ourselves in another practically empty site. We got a fire going and got our dinner on the go. Early darkness is a true bummer when camping. When we awoke the next day, we were right at the foot of some of the biggest dunes in North America. Somehow, we had nearly outdone the awesomeness of the campsite before. We got our hike in and climbed to the very top of the dunes - a task not for the undetermined! It was a hard hike, but the descent made it all worth while.

The sand makes a noise as you jump up to your knees down the dunes. Once back at the RV, I revelled in taking off all my clothes (mainly to get rid of all the sand in every place you can imagine) and running around the RV naked. There was no one there, so why the hell not I say?! Again, we were heartbroken to leave the site, but the reservation had been made and neon glitz was awaiting us.


Las Vegas. Hhmm. We got to our hotel, and had to wait in line for about 20 minutes just for check in. We were upgraded for free, which was awesome. Until we got to the room. What must the rest of the hotel be like? It was one of the more faded hotels on the strip, that's for sure. Dave and I are too sentimental for Vegas - the faded glory of hotels that were once the place to stay is too much for us. Vegas is a place designed for rich, single people or poor families. If I were ever to go back, it would be with a decent amount of money to spend. No, not a decent amount, an obscene amount. The hotels are incredible, the restaurants and clubs within them are even more a feast for the eyes. But we couldn't afford to go to any of them. So we just spent a whole day walking down the strip and going into each hotel to see what they had to offer. The

The Ventian (the sky is a painted ceiling)

Venetian has canals going through the hotel. The Wynn has a mountain in the middle complete with foliage and waterfall. Caesar's Palace is just huge and ostentatious. One problem we did find was that all the hotels had shut down their major features for cleaning or refurbishment. Treasure Island's pirate ship show was down! Why does every hotel do this at the same time?! It may be off season, but there were still lots of people around.

We decided to do a famous Vegas all you can eat buffet. We went for one of the upper end ones at the Bellagio. It was exactly as I expected it. The food was ok, with some things that stood out more than others. Okay, it wasn't as I expected it. I did expect more, especially after my careful analysis of reviews, quality and cost. They make sure the food is very rich so you can't eat that much. But it was still fun. We did the on the last night we were there, despite getting all the way there the night before and being told we only had half an hour to eat. It was our fault, we had decided on a happy hour bar crawl that led us to sitting in one bar and drinking until we had nearly run out of time. We took a shuttle back, only to find that there was construction all along the road leading to our hotel and we had to backtrack to a previous stop to get to the hotel. Although, before doing all this backtracking we tried to take shortcut through a big, fenced off parking lot next to a construction site. We set alarms off and had security very kindly tell us get the hell out. Whoops!

We were not too disheartened to leave Vegas. It's a cool place that's only worth coming out at night for. But I'd hit it either single or in my early 20's. I'm neither, and no longer want to be. We hit the road and looked

forward to the Grand Canyon. We made a brief stop at the Hoover Dam (it cost a tenner each to go into the visitor's center, so we appreciated it from outside). It was impressive, and I stole a postcard because I couldn't be bothered to wait in line. It's ok - karma got me back good. Just read on.

It's hard breaking down!

This is where it gets a bit bad. About 4 miles up the road from the Hoover Dam, just into Arizona, we broke down. We called AAA around 3:30. We made it to a campsite around midnight. The first tow truck couldn't hook up to the RV for some reason, so we had to wait for a flat bed truck to come and take us away. This truck's bed moved with comical slowness - it felt like another scene from Family Guy. When the second guy arrived we got a "the truck's a piece of shit, but it works!" A great vote of confidence! He was a chatty guy once we had settled in for the 70 mile journey to a campsite. He was a bit of a paranoid hick who thought Obama is a Muslim, but he was funny none the less. The truck itself constantly sounded like it was about to break down. To be fair, breaking down in an RV is the way to do it. We had beer, we watched an episode of Game of Thrones, it really could have been worse, and I still had faith that good old Damon wouldn't let us down.

We had someone come out to look at it the next day. It's not good. We are getting it fully checked out on Monday, but we are preparing for the 95% chance that it's over for Damon. I spent half an hour crying. I don't want this to end. I've loved this trip more than most things I've done in my life. But i have to remember that part of the reason this is so awesome is because Dave is here. And he still is. We are in the process of figuring out what the hell we are going to do. Sell her and buy another RV? Downsize? Just buy a car and a tent? Rent a car and start for Austin and start the saving all over again? I mean, the vehicle can be repaired, but at a cost we probably can't afford. Also, looking at prices in the hick town we're stuck in, the cost of repair is about what the rig is worth. There is still that 5% chance that the gaskets just need cleaning, or spark plugs need to be changed. But we are using Damon like it's our last chance. She's on death row and an approved appeal is unlikely. So we're trying to use up all the propane and using things we before didn't trouble with in case it broke down.

We shall know more tomorrow. Until then it feels like our partner has called us up and told us they're
not sure where this relationship is going. She needs some time - a week to see if this is right for her. Once someone says that it's only a matter of time anyway before it ends. The honeymoon is over. Welcome back to reality. With a short, sharp thud.

Piccies!!

Joshua Tree National Park

Mohave National Preserve

Las Vegas