There’s something about a travel timeline that never quite goes the way you plan it…
Let’s set the record straight from the beginning – we’re laxed travelers. Going with the flow is our preference and when we load up the trailer to go, we like to do it on our timeline, without a rush. After years of traveling, we’ve learned that getting stressed out about a trip usually ruins the experience and why kill yourself to get to a destination? Enjoy the ride, man.
Now, having prefaced with the “we’re chill people” talk, we also have a neurotic side that shines bright when panic sets in. Which happened to be the day we were supposed to leave for our coveted Yellowstone 2020 Trip.
When’s the last time you checked your tires?
If you don’t remember, go out and do it now.
Go on.
I’ll wait.
On the eve of our departure, we were feeling good. The trailer was packed and we had double checked our lists and for the first time in a long time, we were ahead of schedule and ready to hit the road. While we walked around to do our standard trailer check [lights, plugs, jacks, tires], we obviously had overlooked our tires in the weeks leading up to this this day and – wham! The harsh reality of the issue we faced stopped us in our tracks.
It was a Sunday evening.
*Cue the panic*
Luckily, we have a legit tire guy (shout out to Mendez Tire Service) who rushed up to Fresno to pick up tires for us and was able to have them installed the next morning. We, clearly, had a rookie mistake and Jose swooped in like the MVP he is and saved the day.
We were a day behind schedule, but we found our inner zen, loaded up the Russell Dawgs and hit the road to catch up with our uncle John.
The first leg of our trip was a long day on the road, with a pit stop in shady ol’ Barstow for lunch. We rolled into Las Vegas to set up camp for the night, where we enjoyed a frozen pizza, a few cold cervezas and sang along with the live banda playing a few houses down from the Las Vegas North Elks.
Night one lived up to the travel chaos.
Next Up: St. George, Utah
TRAVEL DETAILS
Miles Traveled: 375
Lodging:
Las Vegas North Elks
2939 Van Der Meer St.
North Las Vegas, NV 89030
(702) 642-9431
View Facility Website Here
Lodging Amenities:
- 12 – 50amp spaces with water
- Dumping Station
- The Lodge Room was closed due to Covid.
Lodging Score: 4/10
Review:
Overall, it did its job. We needed an overnight stay between home and St. George and it checked the box.
Positives:
- Inexpensive place to stay ($20/night | $15/night for dry camping)
- You’re in Vegas
- Concrete slab/patio
- On a quiet road (at least the one night we were there)
- There was a lot of availability
Challenges:
- Few amenities
- We had homeless people knocking on our door at 7am, asking for money.
- The site we took had stickers and thorns near the pedestal (power & water station). The property looked neglected.
