We pulled out of Reno on December 19th. It was a good weather day and we were happy about traveling with favorable road conditions. We drove east on Interstate 80 for a short while until we got to Fernley, then we cut over on ALT 50 until we reached Fallon. In Fallon we turned south on Highway 95. Our reservation at the Circus Circus Casino RV lot did not begin until the next day, so we planned to drive until we (Mike) got tired and then boondock somewhere. We expected the entire drive (from RV Park to RV Park) to be about 7 hours, so it made sense to break it up into two sessions. No reason to kill ourselves on a travel day.

Highway 95 was fairly flat and straight, so I was excited about that. However, it was also a very busy road with only two lanes and practically no shoulder. Mike was on hyper- alert all day in anticipation that an oncoming vehicle would cross the center lane and slam into us. He did not have fun driving that day. As our travels progressed, we figured we would be near the Amargosa Valley when nightfall approached. This location is where Highway 373 intersects Highway 95 as 373 comes out of Death Valley National Park. Mike recalled that there was a rest area and a gas station near that intersection. The temperature was dropping and we were definitely going to need to crank up the heater overnight. If we boondocked, it meant we would have to fill up with diesel to keep the generator running so we could run the heater. As I looked at google maps I also discovered there was an RV park at that location with full hook-ups. The rate was $25 per night. We were going to have to spend money either way, so we decided to call the RV Park and see if they could take us for one night. We didn’t need water or sewer hook-ups, but the 50 AMP electrical connection would allow us to wait and refuel in the morning before we pulled back onto the road. I called the campground from the road. The man on the phone said he could take us. We pulled in right around 5:00 PM and it was already pitch black outside. It felt more like 10:00 PM than it did early evening. He guided us to a spot near the back of the park, Mike plugged us in, I made nachos for dinner, we hit the sack extra early.

We slept well and got up around 7:00 AM to do our regular travel preparations. We filled up with diesel upon exiting the RV park, and we were back on the road with more good weather to lead us into Las Vegas. We only had about 90 miles left on our route, so the drive was easy and quick. The highway expanded to four lanes with a center median shortly after we hit the pavement, so Mike was much more relaxed as we pulled into the Circus Circus lot.

One of Mike’s co-workers, who is also retired, had planned to come visit us while we were parked in Vegas. He had hotel reservations at the Mirage and his flight was scheduled to land around noon on the same day we arrived. We got ourselves parked and situated as quickly as we could. Once we were all set up, we walked over to The Mirage and found Doug at the Sports Book. It has been so much fun to have various people visit us during our Lower 48 in 48 Tour, and we really appreciated the fact that Doug chose to come spend Christmas week with us. The three of us visited over drinks at the bar and then walked across the street to the Yard House for a bite of dinner.

The rest of the week blew by in the blink of an eye. It was bowl season (as in football), so Doug and Mike spent most of their time at the Mirage Sports Book. I joined them on occasion. When I got sick of watching teams I didn’t care about, I wandered over to the Pai Gow Poker tables and donated some money to the casino. They hung out a couple of evenings without me when I went back to the rig to keep the dogs company. They enjoyed their time together and I enjoyed my time alone – so it worked out great for everyone.

We had some good meals at restaurants like Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen and Bar, The Hash House A Go Go, and another DDD spot called Fat Choy. Doug was generous enough to bring us some delicious home- made Texas tamales, so we were able to have a proper Christmas Eve dinner (its a South Texas thing, and since I spent my childhood years in the Valley, tamales and queso are a required feast on December 24th). I cooked Christmas dinner in the Monaco and we enjoyed hanging out with our friend.

Mike and I never expected Las Vegas to be busy during the Christmas holiday, but we were completely mistaken. The crowds were “regular size” when we arrived, but on Christmas Day the number of tourists on the strip exploded. I was amazed at all the bodies that appeared out of nowhere. It was crazy. Apparently people start arriving on Christmas in anticipation of the New Year’s celebration one week later. Tour companies were dropping off patrons by the bus loads. It looked like guests were standing in line at the hotel registration desks for hours! I was also amazed at how many people were toting small children in strollers. I can’t imagine why anyone would choose Las Vegas as a vacation destination with tiny kiddos in tow, but they must know something I don’t because there were kids everywhere! Seems like Disney Land or the equivalent would be more appropriate, but what do I know?

We dropped Doug off at the airport on the evening of December 26th, and we left Vegas on the morning of the 27th. It was time to cross Nevada off the map and head for state #48… California!

When we knew we were going to Reno, I remembered hearing of an RV Park that some friends had stayed at while they were in that area. I suggested to Mike that he might look into it while he was researching options for places to stay. He looked up Reno/Sparks RV Park and the reviews were fine. The location was also good, as it was just off of I-80 near the section of town where we would be arriving from Hwy 395, and departing east on the Interstate when it was time to leave. Since it met most of our criteria, he started pursuing a reservation for us.

Some RV Parks have a rule that says the rigs of their guests must be no older than ten years. It is their effort to keep the campgrounds “classy”. Our rig is a 2006, in pristine condition, so we feel we are classy enough to meet the needs of the RV Park owners. For the past year, our Monaco has been near the “cut-off” point. To avoid this hassle during reservation processes at parks where this rule is in place, we have just told them our rig was a 2007. What are they going to do… ask us for the VIN number and look it up online? Well the lady on the phone did, indeed, ask Mike for the year of our coach and he replied with the standard answer of 2007. She said that was pretty close to ten years old, so we would have to send her pictures of the Monaco. They would review the photos and let us know if they would allow us to stay there. Whatever. Mike complied and went outside to take the photos with his iphone and then emailed them to their office. Then the lady called him back and said the pictures weren’t good enough. He would have to resend some at a different angle. Good grief. He played along and we finally got approval to make a reservation. Whew, we were shaking in our boots. Not really.

We wanted to stay in Reno for a month because we would be arriving just before Thanksgiving. This time of year is busy for everyone, and we wanted to be in one location long enough to get all of our Christmas business situated (cards mailed out, presents bought and shipped, etc.). We also knew we would be receiving some packages from friends and family during this time of year, and it would be helpful to be in one spot for a while with an address where people could send stuff to us. This catapulted the red tape of our reservation process to a whole new level. Since we would be monthly tenants, we had to fill out a five page questionnaire and wait again to see if we were approved. Mike agreed to play the game and they were supposed to send us the paperwork via email. He kept getting emails from them, but no attachments. They couldn’t figure out how to get us the coveted questionnaire, and they wouldn’t approve our reservation until it was complete. At this point Mike was fed up with the whole process and ready to start looking for Option B. However, he didn’t say anything to me and kept his cool as he talked with the ladies in the office each day. I was not aware of his level of disdain. Before it was all over, he was the one that ended up having to talk me down.

We finally received the paperwork and I started filling out the information. When they had the nerve to ask us to list the name and duration of the last place we had stayed, I laughed out loud. I skipped that question (as if that information was any of their business and had any relevance at all to our stay in Reno). We didn’t return the paperwork, we just kept it with us – ready to hand over during the check -in process.

Our arrival date finally came. Mike pulled into the “arrival lane” and I went to the office to check us in like always. I told them our name and the dates of our reservation so they could pull up our file. The first question the lady asked me was if we would be staying longer than 28 days. No. She asked if I was sure we wouldn’t be staying longer. Apparently if a guest stayed 29 days, the sewer connection had to be plumbed with hard PVC pipes as opposed to the standard RV sewer hose. I again answered no. Our reservation was for 28 days and we would be leaving on the date indicated on the paperwork. Then she asked again if we would only be there for 28 days because the sewer connection issue was very important.  I answered her again that we would be there for 28 days. When she asked me the same question for the fourth time in a row, I just looked at her.

Then she panicked when she saw that the completed questionnaire was not with her paperwork for us. I calmly assured her there was no reason to fret and turned over the five page “application”. I wondered if they would notice I didn’t answer one of their pivotal questions. They didn’t. They also needed rabies vaccination information on Piper and Cessna. I was prepared and had copies available for them to keep. Then they wanted information on all of their immunizations. I went back to the rig and pulled their files to get the information the campground wanted. (As it turns out, Piper was actually due for his bordatella vaccination, which of course we took care of with a local vet during our stay. However, they didn’t even notice this on the paperwork I provided to them during check-in… so my point is that they were all excited about the paperwork, yet had no clue about any of the information they received). At the conclusion of the check-in process I had to sign and date a set of rules  – the exact same information that was included in our campground map/brochure we always get at the beginning of a stay. They copied those signed rules and gave me back my copy. I guess they thought I might have forgotten I signed them or something. Then the lady took all of our paperwork and made THREE copies to file away in different sections of their office. Really? They needed to keep three different copies of our useless paperwork? The management of this place held themselves in very high regard. I don’t mind going through the motions of a campground’s check-in process. I also understand each RV park has their own way of doing things for their own various reasons. This just seemed like a bit of overkill to me. The management seemed far more interested in their control of the situation rather than the process of welcoming guests.

The last hurrah was the dog park situation. This campground had no grass. Anywhere. At all. The landscaping was all set in gravel and sand. The green spaces between spots was astro turf. They were very adamant about the fact that our dogs were not allowed to pee or poop ANYWHERE except their dog parks. Well, the dog parks were small fenced squares of sand and gravel that reeked with the smell of ammonia. The staff at the park watered down and raked the areas during the day, but they were gross. Piper and Cessna HATED going in there. I did too. Piper actually tip-toed through the space when he was forced to use those facilities. It was pretty funny to look at. I didn’t blame him. Made me want to gag when we approached the fence. There was an apartment complex across the street from the RV Park, and those grounds were surrounded by a ribbon of actual grass. We tried our best to make it to that green space when it was time to do business – which meant a brisk walk the length of a city block (we were in the back part of the campground – farthest from the street) each time the dogs needed to go. No sniffing along the way. Stay focused and keep those bladders in check until we cross the street. Those dogs were real troopers for 28 days.

After we got ourselves situated in the campground operated by Big Brother, the month was good. We obeyed all the rules and checked out while our sewer connection was still legal. We got our Christmas all situated. We drove up to Lake Tahoe one day when the weather was good. We took another overnight trip to Penn Valley in Northern California to visit my former doubles partner, Joyce, and her hubby Tim. (They left The Woodlands and moved up there when Tim retired from Chevron several years ago). We went to a couple of casinos to watch some games in their sports bars and gamble at some of their tables. We had a few nice dinners at some good restaurants. The dogs got regular long walks at the nearby Sparks Marina Lake. Mike turned 55. All in all, it turned out to be a convenient stop.