Finding a New Home

It’s the 3rd of October and we wake up in a nice hotel but strictly we are homeless. The adventure has shuddered to a halt in a cloud of dry rot dust. So, a lovely swim in the hotel pool and a good breakfast brings some fun into our lives and is a reward for Alex for all the sitting around yesterday. 

We have thought overnight of how we might proceed and think a ‘pop-top’ camper might be an answer. But will it work for us? What are they like and are there any available locally? Emma is the genius on research and internet searches and so we decide to drive to Lancaster, California to view new(ish) Palomino pop-tops at a dealer. That will be a round trip of 250 miles, about 3 hours each way!

So off we go. Big Blue is somewhat sprightly without a camper on his back and fuel economy is up! The drive is through quite arid countryside but we enjoy the scenery. But as for the dealer - well,  we got to see new Palomino pop-tops, which were ok, but the salesman!!! He really needed to do a refresher course on how to sell, especially to a woman. Arrogant, mysoginistic, dis-interested, not prepared to negotiate. “If you don’t want to buy then go somewhere else” and “I’ve got new stock coming in which I will easily sell.”

So we walked out!

But at least we had seen a pop-top, thought it might be a workable solution for us, and judged that Palomino was probably over-priced for its quality (which was not the highest).

So as our dealer visit lasted about 30 minutes we could take a more leisurely drive back to Rancho Santa Margarita and the hotel. I knew we were in a significant aviation area, just near Palmdale and Edwards Air Force Base. Edwards is the world famous flight test facility in the desert, but just a bit out of the way from our route. But Palmdale is home to the Lockheed Martin “Skunk Works”, where the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes were designed and built. And not to forget the actual F-117 Stealth Fighter used in the Gulf War. Also Northrop Grumman are designing and building the brand new B-21 Raider stealth bomber there as well. So, a little detour has us driving past the hangars (no windows anywhere) but nothing to see.

But on the other side of the airfield is a volunteer museum, the Blackbird Airpark, with two Blackbirds side by side out the front and other retired flight test aircraft. As a volunteer museum it’s only open at the weekend so we just look through the wire fence. Looks a great place to visit especially if you are a Blackbird fan.

Back at the hotel we embark on a lot of soul searching on what is our next move. Do we return home; do we forget the truck and backpack; do we source a new camper, something else, or what? What about Alex, what will be right for him? After much discussion we decide that a home on wheels is best for Alex and that we wish to continue our travels.

The 4th October dawns and it’s up for another swim at the hotel. But the main task is a desperate search for a camper which is available and affordable. Even I have a look on-line but the US RV trader websites are awful. No real information, little price information and often out of date. Eventually Emma finds one and after much IT manipulation manages to contact the man to see if it’s really available. It is and we agree to visit to view it. 

We head back to the RV dealer and clear everything out of Beluga. She is being supported by a forklift truck while the dealer tries to make the jacks safe and the camper stable. Once everything is out and stored away, another big reminder that we are homeless, then it’s start off towards Reno, Nevada where the camper is located. That’s just 500 miles away, think Shaldon to Perth, Scotland to just view a camper!

We set our overnight target as Ridgecrest further upstate, just a mere 165 miles and 3 1/2 hours away. For sustenance we get burgers from “In and Out Burgers” which are simple and super. The chain is a 50’s themed throwback with excellent service, something to rely on, which we need. Our emotional state is not the best with the reality that we have just a few days to turnaround our situation or we will be heading home prematurely.

About halfway towards Ridgecrest we get a phone call just as night is falling. 

The man has changed his mind and doesn’t want the hassle of selling to us and is going to use a ‘consignment’ vendor instead. After much gentle persuasion and appealing (on the side of the road in darkness) he agrees to us visiting on the basis that there is no obligation and importantly they will not assist with any movement of the camper. We are desperate and are happy to just see it and hope we can allay his fears when we are there face to face.

We push on to Ridgecrest and stay in a Super8 motel. That was also a throwback in time but at least it was clean!

The following morning we are up at 5:30am and out before 6 as we have to be in Reno by 1pm. Travelling up the road we pass through wonderful scenery including old volcanic cinder cones and huge lava flows with the road just carved through them. Alex misses the volcanic landscape as he is snoozing on Emma’s shoulder -awww! There is a sense of Deja Vu as once again we pass through Lee Vining the gateway to Yosemite. 

Pushing onwards through beautiful mountain areas we arrive in Reno just on time at 1pm. The prospective vendors turn out to live in a gorgeous gated community in South West Reno based around a golf course. Mike and Kim greet us very kindly and Kim is brilliant with Alex. Mike shows us around the camper, a 2020 Northstar 850SC, and now that he’s met us a lot of his trepidation dissolves away. We check everything out on the camper, which all works as expected. And the camper’s quality is great. And the omens must be right as Mike has it on a pickup which is the same as ours, just with a shorter payload bed.

There is just one issue, the camper has outside storage boxes which will have to be removed to fit on Big Blue. Mike and I look at the problem, lie on the ground and crane our necks to work out how to remove them. An internet search suggests it shouldn’t be difficult, just a few screws!

So agreement is reached that we will buy - phew! The relief for us is palpable!!

Kim and I go to their local bank to sort out money whilst dropping Emma, Alex and Mike off at the local park for some playtime. On our return Mike and I make a start on removing the boxes, even though the money won’t clear until tomorrow, that’s the immediate sense of trust and rapport we have quickly developed. Emma and Alex spend time with Kim checking out the birds in the garden (pointy headed quails amongst others) and discussing things to do locally.

Mike and I have nearly got one box off when we realise we need to head to Lake Tahoe where Emma has organised overnight accommodation. We drive up the Mount Rose mountain pass at the back of their estate climbing to 8,946 feet and descend into Lake Tahoe and find our hotel. Which is actually in California in Kings Beach on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. It’s all remotely operated just turn up and punch in the key code!

Although we are all tired we need food, but parking in the area appears tricky so we just go for a stroll and find Lanza’s Restaurant, a lovely Italian eatery. Good food washed down with a bottle of wine is what we needed after a very long and stressful couple of days! Off to bed we go but Emma wakes with a nightmare about being trapped in a camper which was falling apart - the stress doesn’t subside even when we are asleep. 

In the morning Emma and Alex have a little de-stress in the hotel outdoor hot tub whilst I sort out paperwork for Wendy’s homeward transit as she is being loaded in Baltimore. Emma still suffering from the stress of all of this but we hear that the money has cleared and start back to Mike and Kim’s. We get glimpses of Lake Tahoe, looks gorgeous and is a must do destination for the Americans, think romance or water sports and you have it.

But there is a hidden delight. Returning along the 431 up Mount Rose we follow a recommendation from Kim and stop near the top of the pass at ‘Chickadee Ridge’. We walk into the forest, complete with a bag of bird seed Mike and Kim have given us. About 10 minutes into the forest we stop, put some seed in our hands, stretch them out and wait. Within a few seconds there are several little birds (Chicadees, a black and white type of ‘Tit’) flying onto our hands and eating the seeds! Alex is entranced with this close encounter with nature!

There are several people nearby doing the same thing. We talk to a couple who are interested in photography and the man manages to capture a great image of Alex with a nuthatch feeding from his hand. We also see several woodpeckers but it is the Chicadees which win hands down, or should that be hands out-stretched!

We get back to Mike and Kim’s to find that they have already taken the camper off their pickup for us. Just those darn boxes to sort out! Mike and I persevere, it should only be half a dozen screws say the videos on You Tube. What we eventually worked out is the adhesion properties of sealant. Overcome that with a Stanley knife and the boxes come off really easily! And yes they were held in by six screws!!

Now, all we have to do is get it loaded onto Big Blue. After much team work between all four of us, some delicate and accurate reversing we get the camper on with about 1/2 inch clearance on either side. An amazing team effort, albeit it took an hour.

We were homeless on Monday 2nd October but by Friday 6th October we have our second travelling home on the back of Big Blue! Amazing and such a relief!!

To celebrate we head to a great pizza joint with Mike, Kim and their nephews. The beer and cider selection is fantastic and self-service! You get a wristband which had a chip to unlock the beer tap, pour as much or as little as you want, and pay the bill as you leave. Needs a lot of discipline to use it!!

We have decided to stay overnight at a Best Western in South Reno to help quell Emma’s anxiety, and be prudent about learning the new camper. When we were heading towards Lake Tahoe I’d noticed some juddering on Big Blues brakes, so after breakfast at a ‘Chickies’ we head across the road to a service centre. A fairly quick check shows we need new disks and pads plus a bush had gone on one of the steering arms.  Great to get this sorted now before lots of miles - we'd expected to need to do pads and disks.

We spend a few hours in a local mall and Alex gets a Lego set as compensation whilst the work is done. Then, feeling much happier about Big Blue, we head southwards to stay overnight at Topaz Lake, Nevada, alongside the casino, giving our new camper its first use by ourselves.

We are no longer homeless and the adventure can continue!

Guy