After packing up and a little bit of work, Melissa and I left Craggy Wash and headed north. We soon hit I-40, headed west into California, picked up US 95 again, and continued north into Nevada. I’ve done this drive a few times before, but over the FRS radio (no license necessary), Melissa expressed her awe over the vast expanses of landscape we saw between the tall mountains. Like me, the first time I saw them, she didn’t realize that the enormous blue areas in the desert weren’t water but miles and miles of solar panels.
Passing through Las Vegas is never fun, especially near commute time on a weekday. The ever-changing requirements for which lane we were supposed to be in made matters worse in stop-and-go traffic. Fortunately, Melissa was able to cut over and then make a hole for my van and trailer to sneak in ahead of her on several occasions. Even then, we ended up in the wrong lane and got diverted into the most expensive Sinclair station in town for the gas stop we both needed. Then, the pump refused to read my card, forcing me to wait in line behind a bunch of truckers just to fill up. Often I’ll just drive away to a gas station that works, but since there was heavy traffic, I had the trailer, and I didn’t want to lose Melissa in traffic, we stuck it out.
Finally, we got back on the move through infinite traffic lights and accelerated up Nevada Route 160 toward Pahrump. The mountain pass was beautiful to drive over and was recently free of snow as we hit 5,500 feet before descending down the other side. The rest of the drive was easy and quite scenic, especially the snow-covered mountains near Charleston Peak at 11,906 feet. After entering Pahrump (2,500 feet, for comparison), Google Maps took us down an idiotic route through neighborhoods and gravel roads when there were easy paved ones leading us all the way to the campsite Matty Van Halen had picked out for us. To my surprise, a second white van was there, too. James, a.k.a. Chocolate Man in a Van, had joined us as well. We’d hit it off well at the Ironwood Meetup. I’ve been watching his videos, and it was great to see him again.
We set up camp, giving ourselves a spectacular view of the mountains behind us. The snow is melting quickly off those peaks, with huge changes just two days after arriving. It’ll be fun to watch it go away completely. I don’t like cold and snow, but I can appreciate its beauty far away on top of the mountains while I’m staying warm down here.
Melissa’s MoonShade might as well have been made to clip to the eye-bolts on my van’s roof racks. The spacing is perfect, and even my own tarp and shade cloth awnings don’t fit nearly as well. We really are a good match. The van, facing north, already creates a nice shady area on the right side in the afternoon, but the MoonShade helps keep the van a bit cooler in the morning as the sun comes up in the east.
One thing I like about Pahrump is the excellent cell service. I set up Starlink, but only to use while working, watching videos on my TV, or otherwise using devices that don’t have built-in internet access. When I’m just using my phone, I turn Starlink off and save power — not that I really need to these days, with equal-length days and nights plus the sun rising higher and higher in the sky.
Soon after arriving, a pack of four wild burros came grazing pretty close to our camp. They ignored us, but I put Lister inside when they got close, remembering warnings from Oatman about burros attacking pets. Before long, they wandered off back toward the mountains they came from.
Yesterday was all about Melissa getting ready for her flight back to Arkansas for her son’s wedding. The cheapest flights around by far were out of Las Vegas, which isn’t surprising because they want to bring people in to take all their money gambling instead. While there are closer places to stay near Vegas, I wanted to stay in Pahrump. It’s a real town with everything I need, less than a mile from where we’re camped. It’s also an area I know well, this being the third time I’ve camped here.
We’ll likely stay the full 14 days we’re allowed. I dropped Melissa off at the airport today, so I’ll be on my own for the next week. When she returns next week, we’ll have time to explore this area and choose our next destination. I have some ideas, but ultimately it will depend on the weather and what we feel like doing at that point. Until then, though, I’m temporarily living the bachelor life again. I miss her, but I’ll be fine.
I’ll leave you with this turtle I found hanging out in front of my van as I was preparing to take the bike into town today. Fortunately, Lister was inside sleeping and didn’t try to mess with it. I’d be more afraid of the turtle hurting Lister in self-defense than Lister causing any harm, but no separation was necessary.
Smokey Da Van 