October 24, 2012

El Solana RV Park

Inyokern, CA

We brought in all the slides before going to bed and we slept much better than the night before.    While Monte was in Ridgecrest getting the truck’s transmission flushed I researched our next destination.  I narrowed it down to 5 places at distances of 125 miles to 250 miles.  After being stuck at a campground because I hadn’t researched a plan b I am making sure we have not only a plan b but at least a plan c. 

Monte was a little bummed out because he received an offer on his motorcycle.  It has been on consignment at a dealer back in Florida since we departed in August.  I think he was secretly hoping it would not sell.  I am sympatric to his feelings but keeping the bike just isn’t practical in our current lifestyle.  On the bright side, the proceeds from the sale of his bike will put us a lot closer to being able to afford solar for our rig.  Having solar would give us more flexibility in where we stay and would allow us to go off the grid more often. 

Monte had reservations about taking the truck into an unfamiliar place but was very impressed with the place he took the truck for service.  The shop was clean and the techs very knowledgeable.   I was pleasantly surprised when Monte returned because he bought me a pair of trekking poles.  He had stopped in Big 5 Sports and found the poles that had originally sold for $30 each were on clearance for $10 each. 

To test out the poles, we took a ride to Red Rock Canyon State Park, only 25 miles from our campground. 

It is a beautiful facility that has primitive camping sites nestled among the rocks. 

The research I had done on the campground indicated that it could not accommodate rigs over 30 feet but when we took a ride through it we saw several that we could fit into.  If we are ever in this area again and we have our solar we would consider camping there.

After driving through the campground we parked and set off on one of the clearly marked trails. 

We ascended rapidly and were soon at the crest of a mountain where we stopped to eat lunch.  After descending we went back to our car and drove to another section of the park to take a different trail. 

 In total, we only hiked 5 miles but a significant part of the hike was ascending and descending, making it feel like much more than 5 miles.   I was very happy with the poles and was glad I had them especially when we descended as they gave me a sense of security.

It was a lazy evening.   We were both exhausted and went to bed early as tomorrow is a travel day.  The absence of wind allowed us to keep our slides open.