There was no wind advisory when we went to bed last night. Apparently, Mother Nature found out we were going to hit the road this morning.
While showering, the first gust hit... enough to make the coach shudder. Even though we are in California, I knew it wasn't an earthquake, because I felt the wind coming in through the open overhead vent in the bathroom.
It wasn't pretty - blew over the patio chairs that we hadn't put away. Someone else's rug was in front of our coach. We went to work putting everything away. Our route would take us east, then north, then east again, then north again. The wind was blowing about 25 with higher gusts, direction variable from northwest to northeast.
In order to not backtrack, we took a side road heading east. About 25 miles of whoop-de-doos...
By the time we got to I-10, the wind was rippin'! I had to slow down to 40 to 45 mph. Plenty of blowing dirt, but visibility wasn't the issue - high profile vehicles were all having issues with the gusty crosswind. It wasn't long before we saw this...
An 18-wheeler had gone into the median. Ugly. Another 45 miles or so, and we turned onto a 2-lane road heading north. For some perspective, it took us over an hour and a half to go 70 miles. On the two lane, we had this...
There should be mountains on that horizon - can't see them, thanks to the blowing dirt. On the bright side, with the change in our direction, it became a quartering headwind instead of a crosswind. This is the first time driving the Aspect where I felt my butt pucker up. Repeatedly. Nasty gusts.
At an intersection, we saw this...
A cool old Caddy pulling a shiny Airstream. I'm guessing that black Caddy is going to need a thorough washing after today. Two-thirds of the way there, the blowing dirt began to clear...
The wind hadn't let up, just less dirt in it
Little Izzy had been riding in the back. She came up to sit on Joan's lap...
In all our travels, she has never gotten car-sick or sea-sick, and we have been in some rough water on the boat. She is a trooper. But, you can tell from those droopy ears that she has felt the effects of the whoop-de-doos and the yaw from the wind movement.
Another few miles and...
The wind was down to about 25 mph and the blowing dirt was done. Still nothing but scrub brush and cacti out there, but that provides some green.
With the head and cross winds, we decided it might be a good idea to fuel up before pulling into the RV park - I heard that the price of fuel might be going up in the next week or so. Joan pulled up Gas Buddy and found that unleaded at Sam's in Bullhead City, AZ (across the river from our destination in Laughlin, NV) was $1.31. That is $1.07 less per gallon than we paid in California, before we got to Palm Springs. And the fuel pumps aren't a giant pain in the ass like the ones in California... really messy when trying to fuel up the scooters. We topped off the tank and drove back across the bridge into Laughlin, and pulled into our RV park.
We got a weekly special here - great price for the site, and it includes some buffets. The lady checking us in put us in a pull-through site that faces east, with a view of the casinos. Nice.
We enjoy Laughlin. It is one of the first places that seemed very welcoming to RVers when we first started this mode of travel. Less crowded than Vegas. A shuttle that will pick us up at our site and drop us off at the Riverside Casino. When the wind lets up (maybe by tomorrow night), it is a pleasant and pretty walk along the Colorado River, alongside the casinos. Maybe work on "letting it ride" in the casinos.
We are settled in for the next week.
Little Iz settled in for a nap...
She always has that one little fang that hangs out when she sleeps upside down.
2 comments:
Now that last picture made me LOL.
Bill Kelleher
You know that is one tired little kitty when she sleeps on her back. It wasn't a long driving day - just felt like it. Wish I could sleep like that.
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