We spent a full week parked in the street next to my niece’s home. The first three days we were in an area that we couldn’t really open any slides. That was little rough but we could make due. I was able to make coffee and then we ran the generator a couple times a day to ensure we had batteries for the furnace, etc. Before getting our RV, we had always camped in a pick up camper. We did a lot of dry camping at Pyramid Lake in Nevada and never had a generator so I think I’m really conservative with energy use, especially with this 8K generator we have lol. I was afraid to run anything and in reality I could have run everything!
It was tight but we did spend most of our time in the house with the family. Poor dogs don’t do well with other dogs so they had to rely on frequent small walks for exercise and entertainment. I tried to take them at least 5K first thing in the AM going in a different direction each day, then little neighborhood walks every couple hours. There were several days of rain so they REALLY needed exercise once it stopped! Poor babies! But they would be the same poor babies in a regular home too. Just a little less crowded in the S&B and they definitely get more exercise since living in the RV. We all do! I haven’t found a way to successfully install a doggie door in the RV, so we must walk! And the way I’ve eaten since we started this journey, it’s a good thing we do or I would have gained a lot more than the 7 lbs I did gain! I have to get back on my Weight Watchers! There are weight limits in this RV and I’m not willing to give up any more possessions at this moment so I’ve got to get in line lol! AND I have two beautiful grand babies I hope to keep up with over the years! So, I’ll be getting back to tracking and will most likely include my thoughts on that whole other eating/weight control/tracking journey as well. Just skip that part if it’s not your thing. I completely understand! I just include it because it’s part of my life and my thoughts and I do have friends who share this journey with me who might be interested in how I do it, or don’t do it for their own research. I’m happy to share and frankly, I really do love to write.
On the 4th day, we were able to secure a spot, still on the street but parallel to our niece’s home. It did allow for us to put jacks down and put out the passenger slides. I can’t believe how roomy it felt after 3 days of being completely closed up! The pups were grateful for the added space as well.
We didn’t do any real cooking and we used the house shower so tanks weren’t an issue. It really was more comfortable than staying in another family’s home, even if it was tight It was nice to have our space and even nicer to be able to spend an entire week just chilling with family.
We played a few games of Sequence, had some great meals, and even did some cooking at the house-was nice to get my hands on a Traeger again and I think my ribs came out pretty good. Although my little Ella and I tried to make the homemade macaroni and cheese bundt cake they show on FB and that was an epic fail-fell completely apart! And I’ve had better flavored mac n cheese. Oh well! Don’t know if you don’t try!
Enjoyed a little shopping for RV essentials and found a few dvds at the local thrift stores to add to our collection. Hannah and I even caught a matinee, Bohemian Rhapsody.
I had booked Beal’s Point for December 3rd through December 14 since Mike had a pre-op on the 3rd and rotator cuff surgery on the 4th. I thought all was good and we could just hang with family until then. However, the MD decided Mike MUST have an EKG ASAP and the insurance company would not authorize this non-emergent test outside of our area so we had to go back to Folsom area early.
One problem, Beal’s Point was booked for the additional days. And KOA near Placerville was quoting ridiculous prices on their website in my humble opinion. I could not bring myself to pay $70-80/night as listed on their website. I’ve stayed in hotels cheaper than that! Some pretty sketchy hotels, but hey when you’re young and poor, you take your chances if you want to go somewhere on a limited budget. Another reason I love the RV. I take my bed with me. No worries about bedbugs or mattresses being too soft or too firm. My pillow is ALWAYS with me! My sheets!
From all the reading I had done in multiple RVing Facebook groups I knew that some casinos allowed you stay free. I checked Red Hawk’s website and searched the FB pages and found that it was RV friendly. So, we decided we’d go there and figure it out after the EKG the following day.
We found in our FB searches that we needed to head to the right at the parking lot entrance to area marked for deliveries. That area has allowed parking and can be more private and quieter than the area right behind the casino parking garage. I stole the photo above from a google search. It gives you an idea of area just behind the parking garage. Go to the right and use the lower open lot.
When we arrived there was a small class C at one end of the parking lot and a semi near the middle. We drove down as far as we could and still manage to get the coach somewhat level-it’s not the easiest to find level areas in this lot. With that said, we were able to get nearly level-we have automatic jacks. No one else came that night and we slept pretty well. Mike went to his appointment and I hung out with the dogs. We got several channels on our antenna (we have been researching different satellites and options and still don’t know exactly what we want for TV) and I had good cell reception, so no big deal. It rained a lot. Fortunately this lot is paved. We parked near the edge of the lot and had quite a nice view actually. Did what most people do on rainy days at home-snuggled up in a blanket, did some reading, some surfing, and some TV vegging. It was surprisingly so easy to forget we were sitting in a parking lot. At a casino. Maybe because the RV feels like home. Of course when the dogs needed to go out, I would definitely notice.
We indulged in their buffet that first evening. If you sign up for a player’s card they will give you a discount so the weeknight buffet is $15.99 each. It was a nice buffet, no lines, and no dishes to wash! We had already unhooked the Jeep so Mike could go to his MD appointment earlier so we just drove up to the casino. There are shuttle stations with a number posted to call and they will pick you up and take you to the casino.
Because it was raining quite hard and because Mike had agreed to meet some old buddies at the morning poker game, we took our chances and stayed a second night in the parking lot. It was empty and it was a weeknight in late November so we felt pretty okay making this decision. It was fine, no one even said boo to us during our entire stay. Just a friendly wave once in awhile as they cruised through the area during security checks.
While Mike was getting EKG’s and making a small donation to the morning poker buddies, I was looking around for where we might go next. We had 3 days until we could get into our site at Beal’s Point and I was still adament we would not be spending $80 per night to stay in a campground. I just cannot bring myself to do that. Searching Thunder Valley Casino’s website I found they will allow up to 72 hours of camping in their large overflow parking lot across the street from the casino. I called to confirm and got the okay to come on over! We stopped in Cameron Park and dumped our tanks. There is a gas station just off 50 that provides dump area for $10. And then we drove the 18 miles to Thunder Valley Casino.
Since it was such a short drive, and we were going to be in a lot of town traffic, I opted to follow in the Jeep rather than hook up and tow. Mike had his first “accident” on the way over. We were driving across Hazel Avenue which for those who know the area, know it’s pretty congested and lanes are small. There are houses along this busy street and it had been trash day. The bins were empty, but had been set back down well into the traffic lane, outside the white line. Following him, I could see what was coming and I knew there was nothing he could do about it. There was no way to swerve out of the lane without hitting cars on the left, so there went the bin. Mike was nervous as to what damage we might have once we parked but it was just a light scratch. Sorry about your bin to our neighbors on Hazel Avenue but it was wayyy in the street!
We stayed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Thunder Valley Casino. There was plenty of area to walk the dogs and we even found an area to play some fetch in the parking lot-although Louie did get his pads tore up a bit from the pavement. (I overdid it on the old boy a bit I guess). I found that at the end of the road beside the parking lot there is a large RV storage area that sells propane with very easy in and out. Convenient and good to know if you’re ever in the area.
This parking lot does have a landfill area behind it. It was the first part of December and we did not get much odor-every once in awhile that sickening sweet smell would come up while walking the dogs, but nothing inside the rig at all. It can get a little noisy outside at times, but we slept really well. There was a huge flock of seagulls that camped in the lot as well and they were fun to watch.
Stop in at the security desk and they will give you a 72 hour pass to put in the window of your RV-some parked rigs had these and some didn’t. There were maybe 10 RV’s and about 8 semi’s at any given time during our 3 day stay. Patrons are allowed to stay for 72 hours every 30 days. Very nice feature. Yes, it’s a parking lot but if you are visiting in the area or the weather is bad, it’s a great way to save money.
We had good television reception and good cell reception, so good wifi via our Mifi with Verizon. While sitting in a parking lot sounds horrific, it really wasn’t bad. We again used the time the same way one would use it in a sticks and bricks home when you can’t get outside. I went through cupboards and made a grocery list. We got out the manuals and got the AGS (automatic generator system) figured out! That was amazing! This thing can be set to come on at a certain battery voltage, or at a certain time, or at a certain coach temperature. We can program it so that it adheres to park quiet hours too. So Cool!! I also researched the refrigerator and figured out how to turn on the ice maker and where to replace the filter. We read up on the generator and ordered supplies to change the oil and watched some how to videos so we were comfortable doing this ourselves. I read some-a juicy guilty pleasure romance book- and got my blog caught up a bit.
Making sure to turn water off between lathering and rinsing, we both were able to take 2 showers in the 3 days we were there without filling our grey tank or running out of water. We did have drinking water on board since we haven’t sanitized our tanks yet.
We signed up for Thunder Valley’s player’s cards as well and went to their Sunday night buffet. The Friday and Saturday buffets are over $30/pp but they do have all you can eat crab and prime rib. Mike got tons of crab at Timber Cove in November and we ate fresh crab nightly for 2 weeks. So, we opted again for the lower priced Sunday buffet which was about $15.75/pp with discount. It was also quite good and no dishes for me! It was a little busier, but the lines moved pretty quickly.
A nice added bonus, I got $5 in free slot play for signing up for a player’s card. You will be pleased to know I cashed out for $18.76, nearly quadrupling my money! Woohoo!
I also drove around the parking lot for the first time! It wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be but I don’t think I’m quite ready for traffic yet. I do think I could do some straight on highway driving. I’ll get there slowly!
