We didn't get as early a start as we had planned but we were only half an hour late so it wasn't so bad. We had light to moderate traffic through the LA basin. Everyone was going the speed limit so there was no stop and go. Once we climbed over the San Bernardino mountains into the desert, the traffic got heavier. Lots of folks headed north on I-15 to Las Vegas! Again, though, no traffic issues - just lots of cars going 70-80 mph while we poked along at 55 (the speed posted for trucks and towing). The one roadside rest area along our way had so many cars in it that they were parking in the truck spots and off into a cleared area in the scrub. We lucked out and got the last truck spot but stayed only long enough for everyone to have a restroom break. We used our facilities or we probably would still be there waiting in line! We got into the Nellis FamCamp about 3:30p and we were ready to stop for the day! We've had our dinner and replenished the fuel tank and we are sitting outside with our computers. It's now in the high 70s, overcast, with NO wind. A very pleasant evening.
We had lunch just south of Barstow at an exit where there are outlet stores. We figured there would be lots of big parking lots and it worked out quite well. We found a parking area in front of a store front off to the side that was either being built or was abandoned. No occupants so the area was empty and big enough for us. It worked out quite well, because in the next retail space was a Starbucks. We bought iced coffee/tea, used their facilities and then sat on their patio area with Maggie to eat our packed lunch and didn't have to go inside the RV to eat. It was a beautiful day, so it was nice.
While we were sitting there we noticed two couples pull up, go in and get drinks and then sit down outside. They were German and they just couldn't take their eyes of our RV. One of them kept taking pictures. As we left we asked them if they liked the RV and when they said it was so beautiful we told them it was ours. They asked to come closer and see it and so we opened up and put the main slider out so they could see the inside. (Yes, we remembered to pull it back in and put the steps up before we left!) They were so amazed. Over and over the term "fantastic" in English floated around. We stayed and talked with them (actually, only one - the others didn't speak English) for a while and Roger got to talk truck and RV. They said that nothing as large would be approved for the roads in Germany. After arriving almost three weeks ago in San Francisco, traveling down US 1 along the coast to Santa Barbara and then over to Palm Springs to visit friends, they were on the way to Las Vegas. Somehow they saw Sequoia National Park in there somewhere. (I couldn't figure that route out.) From Las Vegas they are going to Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon before flying home. All this in three weeks. Yikes. They seemed nice - thanked us for showing them the RV and took our picture with it.
Maggie needed my lap today. She curled up as best she could across my legs and wanted to stay there the whole time. We could not convince her to get in her bed on the console and stay there. She would only last about five minutes before wanting back into my lap. She tried to get Roger to let her over in the driver's seat but he was mean and wouldn't let her. We are thinking maybe needing the extra comfort is because on the way south Roger had to make a couple of sudden stops and she and her bed went sliding off onto the floor in front of me. We have her tethered so she won't go through the windshield, but she did take a couple of falls. She had her anti-anxiety pill before we left and didn't seem all that stressed - just needy. She does have a tendency to get heavy after a while and it's not too bad most of the time. How many foot pounds of pressure (no pun intended) would you guess a 19 pound dog has on those front legs when she sits up? LOTS when your bladder is full!!!
We've got a great spot tonight and I've requested it for our next visit here in November when we start our "wintering." Hope we can get it.
Tomorrow we aim for Hawthorne, NV for the night - 317 miles - about 5 hours without pit stops.
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