The day started with a bad omen. The hose, water filter and pressure valve were all frozen solid. The wrapped water pipes in the campground should have been a clue, but it is one of those live-and-learn things. The hose spent the day defrosting in the shower. I ended up roasting the hose washer with a cigarette lighter trying to free it from the frozen hose bib. The lighter was not a good idea and hot water would have worked better. The water filter was a total loss.
When we started for Cottonwood Cove the weather was clear and the winds calm. About halfway between Barstow and the river the wind started blowing. Hurricane force winds would be more descriptive. The coach handled well, but it was a white-knuckle ride all the way. What a relief to pull into the campground.
Cottonwood Cove is a beautiful and remote place. You wind down a narrow road from Searchlight, downhill all the way through desert. Nothing here but sand, rocks, cactus and lake. I think we’ll like staying here if the wind stops blowing.
Contemporary Note: There is more to the hose story. When connecting to an RV park water system, a back-flow valve, pressure regulator and ball valve are connected to the spigot before connecting the hose. All this is to protect the coach water system from excessive pressure and nasty-tasting water. If a freeze is predicted, it is best to disconnect everything from the spigot and re-connect when it warms up. This particular night, none of this happened and the valves, regulator, filter and hose were frozen solid. The hose was like wrestling with an angry 25 foot snake and the valves had to be removed with pliers. The spigot was frozen open and I had to come up with a method of defrosting it before we left the site. In retrospect, the lighter idea was lame. While checking tire pressure, the plug of ice melted just enough to shoot out of the spigot and spray everything, including me, with ice water. Lesson learned.