but at last all papers were signed and the money was delivered to the Escrow office. Last minute stuff was unbelievable. My office has thousands of little items that had to be thrown out or put in the motor home. I worked feverishly to get it all finished on that day.
May 21st, Tuesday – The Escrow office was giving me more anxiety as the woman officer said she couldn’t get the check made out for another day or so. Apparently she had personal things to do that were more important. I asked “What am I to do, since I will be out of my house today, shall I park my motor home in front of your office and sit there and wait until you find time to make out my check?”
For weeks I had been trying to get the owner of a crystal shop to look at my crystal collection, especially the giant one I could not lift - finally he came out and got them all to sell on consignment. I was running out of space inside the motor home and still stuff that had to be OUT of the house - where would it go? I just crammed everything in the motor home intending to sort through it once in Montana.
Around noon, I was shocked to see the salesman walk up to me and deliver the check for the house to me - I should have been ready to leave right then, but still more last minute cleaning. Regardless of how the husband had fouled up the transaction, I still wanted the house to look perfect, warm and friendly for them. I rushed the check to the bank and ran into a hassle with the bank over NOT releasing the money for days. I had a payoff amount on the motor home for only two days. I sent the check to the Credit Union for the payoff immediately.
Trying to help me save money, the mechanic had a customer of his bring a used hitch for me to buy for $20. The ball was too small so I had to rush over to a store to buy another for an additional $10. As I was hooking it up, I was so exhausted, sweating and anxious, then the pin wouldn’t go through the hitch. I thought it was too big, so I rushed over the store before they closed and got a smaller one, another $11. (Dumb me, I didn’t line up the holes right! I knew better - just forgot!)
Finally by around 6 PM I removed my gloves – the car was attached to the motor home and was ready to go and I was ready to bid my fond farewell to Palm Springs with no regrets about leaving the community or my house. I had to gather all the strength within me as I drove out of that gate – I had only driven this big bus a few miles, now I faced hundreds, maybe thousands of miles with no anchor anywhere. Yes, it was very scary! As I crossed the desert, the wind was blowing. The wind IS a problem! The plan was for me to spend the night in 29 Palms since I got such a late start. My friend in Montana, where I was headed, also had a cabin in 29 Palms where her son and his wife were staying. Up the hill, just before Yucca Valley, I didn’t think I was going to make it, the speedometer dropped down to about 20 MPH.
CHAPTER 5
THE FIRST TRIP
When driving a motor home towing a car, one must choose gas stations very carefully so there is easy exit access. In Yucca Valley, I spotted a station that I thought would be an easy exit. After filling the gas tank with $62 worth of gas, I was heading out of the driveway when wham, stuck, the motor home would not budge. I shifted forward and reverse -- nothing! What on earth was I going to do! Days before, I had inquired about emergency service via AAA and Good Sam Club but neither would be in effect for this trip. Who would I call? Oh me, oh my!
No matter what I tried, the motor home would not dislodge! THEN suddenly two Angels appeared in the form of two young Mexican men - one was a mechanic and was even wearing a leg brace. That did not stop him from getting down on the ground, helping to jack up the motor home. The bars on the car had to be removed with the tow parts detached, then part of the hitch had to be removed, finally after two hours work, the motor home at long last moved. I drove it across the street where the one young man, wearing the brace, reattached everything so that the motor home and car were ready to travel. About the same time the manager of the station appeared, not to help but to take a report. I assumed to try to collect off my insurance. One of the young men had left and when I tried to pay the other one, he refused but I insisted he take his girlfriend out for a nice evening and stuck the money in his pocket. I couldn’t believe they could have helped me so much then refused pay for their time. Unfortunately, while I was inside filling out the report with the manager, another motor home snuggled up in front of mine making it impossible to move. After the day I had, very apprehensively, I decided to just fall in bed and stay right there on a side street for the night. They assured me it was safe. My very first night in my new/older motor home was spent on a side street in Yucca Valley, California.
May 22nd - Wednesday - As I observed the damage done by my hitch and recalling the photos taken by the manager, I decided to take photos for my Insurance Company of the many scrapes on that dipping driveway, plus other major cracks in their asphalt. The other motor home was still parked in front blocking mine. I waited and waited for the auto dealership to open assuming the other one was there for repairs. Finally a man arrived -- no, they knew nothing about it. The night before there had been no lights on inside so I also assumed no one was in it. Finally I decided to knock on the door, and much to my surprise, it brought a sleepy-eyed bearded man to the door that was quite accommodating and moved immediately.
I drove on through 29 Palms. Although I had been to the cabin a number of times, I managed to pass the road I was supposed to take - good thing - I would have had to drive miles on a dirt road. Once a car is attached to a motor home you go in one direction – forward. Mark, Martha’s son, has a new SUV and could easily whiz by on the gravel road. Mark took a look at my hitch and said the neck of the ball was too small, etc. We drove into 29 Palms and bought another one $10. Now, this is just to say that had I have bought a NEW hitch in the first place, I would have saved money and had a brand new one. Mark reversed the whole thing so that it was higher and that was the end of my dragging hitch - I hoped…
I am supposed to be psychic and my intuition kept telling me to take Highway 62 and 95 to Vegas, even if it was further but Mark had been so helpful and had drawn a back roads map for me to take the shortcut. I did and a bumpy short cut it was! Worse than the bumps, road workers had just put down new asphalt on part of it. My motor home has a “skirt” dragging the ground to keep stuff from hitting the car -- BUT - when I got to Vegas, I realized my NEW little car was COVERED with asphalt and for months afterwards was still scrapping it off. Anywhere that asphalt could hit the motor home or car, it did. I stopped in Las Vegas to visit with very dear friends. I used their hose, washed and swept off as much of the asphalt as I could but deep in the crevices of the hood cover, asphalt was an inch or more thicker - I was sick about my cute little car but kept reminding myself it is just a material thing! My friend was counting on my staying and having breakfast at her favorite restaurant (not mine), however, I awoke before 6 A.M. and just thinking about getting away later with a heavy breakfast in my stomach when my best driving time is early morning, I cranked up the old girl and off I went on a long day’s drive…
May 23rd - Thursday - At the edge of Vegas, I filled the gas tank again -- another $50. It is a long drive to St. George, Utah and I had seen it all before. When I encountered wind, I had to slow down and hang on to the steering wheel. I stopped in Mesquite, Nevada. I was going to take a quick turn at the slot machines. I got out of the motor home and started walking toward the Casino when I said, “What am I doing, I hate gambling!” I whirled around and back on the road I went.
After leaving Nevada, there is a stretch of Arizona before Utah. The area on the way to St. George is very pretty. The whole state of Utah is gorgeous. I enjoyed the views. When I drive all day, I and the vehicle become one.
Memorial Day weekend was approaching. I really wanted to just get past Salt Lake City as I assumed heavy traffic would begin on Friday. Another $66 for gas in Beaver, Utah, then stopped at a roadside park to fix
