Sonoma County Fairgrounds. We stayed there 3 weekend nights. It’s nothing more than a gravel lot with hook ups. We used our Passport America membership to get our first night 50% off. That is one membership that I knew we would be able to get our money’s worth right away. It costs $44/year-we got 15 months on a special- and we saved $22.50 on this stay so it’s very close to being paid for already.
We were in the area for a weekend long Regae festival. It was dreary and rainy but we had a great time.
There were over 70 families living there in FEMA trailers still from last years’ fires. While the lot was kind of depressing and the view was very lacking, we were just there for the location for 3 days. I wonder if the folks on the other side of this privacy fence ever wish their home was on wheels too.
I felt blessed that I could change the view out of my living room 3 days later. Headed back to home base AGAIN to snip a few more loose ends.
We needed to be in the Folsom area again for a few days to sell Mike’s truck and transfer things in and out of our storage unit in preparation for our trip south so we landed at Red Hawk Casino again. We were there 4 total nights and had no issues whatsoever. One Class C was there when we arrived and left the day before we did. A couple rigs came and went but no problems from campers or the casino. They were very accommodating.
I took advantage of our time and took the dogs back to Brown’s Ravine where our boat is still stored and did some hiking. While Beal’s Point is flatter, Brown’s has some great hill climbing and nice dirt trails.
We needed to change our generator oil before we did much more dry camping. We have an 8000K Onan generator in the front of our rig and oil is supposed to be changed every 100 hours. We were just over so we watched a Youtube video and got the necessary supplies and got that done along with cleaning the spark arrestor per recommendations. AutoZone accepts used oil and filters. While Mike did all the work, it was a fun project to research and learn together. This journey does require a lot of learning and new experiences that I think brings a couple closer together.
Because we were there a little longer than we had anticipated, we were a bit stretched for fresh water toward the end-we hadn’t filled our tank very full because we weren’t planning to stay too long and water is heavy-better mpg’s with tank empty. Our waste tanks had plenty of room after four days of boondocking, cooking, dishes, and a couple quick showers. I found these smaller water containers at Walmart and we use them all the time now. While our water is triple filtered and can easily be consumed, I want to always make sure we have water in the tank for flushing and showers. These are 2.5 gallons so they can be filled easily and aren’t heavy. So far we have not had any leaking from the containers either.
As I mentioned before, social media groups have taught me a lot in preparation for this life. Some things are for me, some are not. One of the best ideas I have found on water conservation while dry camping is to fill a spray bottle with concentrated soapy dish water. I have very good non stick pans and we do use paper quite a bit but for those items I need to wash, I spray them with the dishwater, let them soak a bit, then scrub them and rinse them with running water. Takes very little water to do my dishes, thus very little is added to my gray tank. I love this idea-not mine originally-but happy to pass it on.
We sold Mike’s truck, his baby, a 2012 Chevy Silverado 4×4 to Folsom Toyota. While not the price we could have probably gotten from a private party, it was fair, quick, and easy. I found Folsom Toyota when I was selling my convertible and they did much better than CarMax was willing to do. Now that we had that task done, we could take off for a while! (We still need to sell our fish/ski boat, but storage is paid in full for that through the end of March so we’ll let that be for now. Let’s Go!!!!
Mike drove from Red Hawk to Tehachapi after we stopped at Express Fuel just one exit down from the casino. They have the best prices around for fuel and a dump station and water. There was a dog run there as well. Large fueling lanes-be aware that there is NOT diesel on the interior pumps. Had to circle a couple times not knowing that initially but it was pretty easy. Dump station was easily accessed behind the store and was $10-12, can’t recall exact amount. We filled up with water there as well, using our filter. (We have a hose filter, the Coach has a filter, and the refrigerator has a filter) The station would have gotten a A+, but they don’t fill propane. If they had that, it would truly be a one stop shop.
We got to Tehachapi, CA, just about 5 pm and the Warriors were playing at 5:30 so we pulled off for the night. The Love’s Travel Plaza was easy to get to and not very crowded and we had no issues. It was roomy enough to put our slides out and get comfortable for the night. We visited with a couple truckers and no one gave two hoots if we had jacks down or slides out. There is a lot of back and forth on proper truck stop/parking lot etiquette on social media. We try to judge each site while we are there. If the lot is empty and we’re not in any one’s way, I’m putting slides out, which means I’m putting jacks down. We parked next to a semi trailer without a rig attached sitting on jacks that were much heavier duty than ours.
Parking next to the idling diesel rigs there was no concern running our generator so I made some homemade wings and fries in the air fryer while we enjoyed the game. The parking lot is large and the dogs got a good walk in and we slept pretty well. We have dual pane windows and sleep with the television on so the noise from the semi’s was not a bother at all. I can see how it would be bothersome if one needs quiet to sleep. Heading to Vegas in the AM and I’m driving! Holy buckets!