This will be my last posting of travels for this roadtrip. There will be a summary and maybe more especially about my little leisure travel van and all my dogs and me and the state of the environment, the weather, driving.

I leave St George and continue to Las Vegas on the I-15 about 2 hours. I visit a friend, we meet in a very large park in one of two large dog parks. He and I sit in the shade watching the dogs romp, then they pile around us. It’s full of grass and sitting under the tree on the ground with a bit of a breeze it doesn’t feel so hot. We chat for a while, walk over to the pond and back and I head on stopping for the night a bit before Barstow, it’s another mediocre KOA. I fill the propane on my rig, I’ve already emptied and cleaned the black and gray tanks, buy more water, take a shower in the camp bathroom while their  plumbing screeches uncontrollably. I tried the pool, it has too much chlorine, is too cold and too dirty.  I bemoan the loud traffic, the cigarette butts – gonna let my KOA membership lapse. I don’t sleep well. I wish the sites were facing the desert instead of the highway, seems really stupid that weary travelers are placed near the road they just left and for which they will soon return. I walk around Calico Ghost Town, 3 miles from the KOA before they opened. It’s cute and in my head I half plan a return when the weather is much cooler but Ghost Towns are not my thing. Cool, the Ghost Town has an RV camp, saw 3 campers there, it’s quiet, likley very hot but has power. Should’ve stayed there. I looked around Barstow a bit then Apple Valley where I get a coffee. It’s dusty and dry but soon the marine layer will cover the blue of the sky and mingle with the particulate matter of the Los Angeles Basin. The women running the shop are lighthearted and accommodating adding 2 extra shots to my cappuccino since they couldn’t figure out how to not make it so milky. First time I’ve had a 4 shot drink…  turns out I’d need it fighting non-stop gridlock all the way home from the San Fernando Valley to my coastal fog laid town.  The women invite the dogs out of the hot van onto the porch. Mason stays behind, he’s content to wait.  Three hours after that I’m at my Mom’s house in the S. F. Valley and she makes me a perfect light lunch. I’ve lost about 10 pounds. I don’t expect it to be noticed since I’d gained that weight in a few months at home and now am simply back to a more comfortable weight but I know I will gain it back once I return anyway. The dogs are so happy, I think even Dino, my mom’s Lagotto is happy. I can’t wait to get home, to the coastal fog, check on my plants, let the dogs do their own thing, but I don’t know yet it will be another 3 hours of gridlock getting there. I think I will sleep well but it turns out I still barely sleep at all and my headaches and anxiety-angst return and swallow me in a prolonged post trip slump. Maybe I should go on the road again.

Driving through Las Vegas, Nevada

This KOA did have a nice large area for the dogs but no play equipment as they advertised, still my gang all know what a dog park is and were eager, pulling me along, to check it out.

I watch people arriving for work at the Ghost Town. It won’t open for at least an hour.

 

The coffee drinkers.

Yep, everyone’s here and on the road!  LOL

Approaching Grandma’s house the dogs get all excited 🙂