We slept sound and woke to a clear, crisp day. A light breeze kept the frost off he coach and car. After our first cup of coffee, we realized it is November already.
Our destination is St. George, Utah, which is on the southern edge of the state, just north of the Arizona border. It would be another easy drive. Not wanting to arrive in St. George too early, we fiddled around before pulling out.
While preparing the coach to leave, we noticed two guys slowly walked past on their way to Burger King for breakfast. They stopped on the return trip to watch us dump the tanks and make other preparations to leave. It turned out they were Israelis on vacation. A father and son duo traveling across America. We were curious what two Israelis were doing in the middle of Utah. They explained that most Israelis visit New York City and feel they experienced America. Wanting something more, they rented a car in New York and started driving west, heading for San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Whatever they were looking for, I’m certain they won’t find it in Salina, Utah. However, the coach interested them and we gave them a quick tour of the inside. No doubt they will have a great story to tell to their friends in Tel Aviv.
Diesel and propane were both available at the gas station and we used the opportunity to fill both tanks. We sure buy a lot of hydrocarbons. 100 gallons of diesel, 28 gallons of propane and 18 gallons of gasoline in the Jeep. If something goes wrong, it will be spectacular.
Around 10:00 AM, we finally turned onto the highway. The route would take us west along I-70 and then south along I-15. The traffic on I-70 was extremely light, but I-15 is a busy highway. Despite the increase in traffic, the drive was uneventful.
We pulled into St. George around 2:00 and headed straight for the RV park. When we arrived, the only indication of an RV park was the sign. The rest of the property was a construction zone of half-completed commercial buildings. Obviously, something had gone terribly wrong — Jeanne had booked the reservation just two days prior.
I found a place to park the rig, which is not an easy thing to do with a 38 foot motorhome towing a 14 foot Jeep. A few calls revealed RV park #1 was sold and RV park #2 had bought the phone number. We were redirected to the Temple View RV park about two miles away. Jeanne was not happy and was quick to express her displeasure. Having personally been the target of her ire, I can report it is not a pleasant experience. The staff of the Temple View RV park probably felt the same.
We soon arrived, checked in and headed for our campsite. Other rigs were getting parked and we waited about 40 minutes for our turn. It was bad planning on the part of the RV park. Getting settled in was a relief and I celebrated with a can of Miller Lite. Shortly thereafter, there was a knock on the door.
Folks who make it to retirement are usually not bashful and our neighbor was no exception. It turned out he was negotiating to buy a Jeep Liberty and was curious about the towing characteristics of ours. A 45 minute conversation ensued that involved a complete inspection of our vehicle and towing system. The conversation ended when the young salesman drove up in a shiny red Jeep Liberty and continued the sales pitch. He smelled commission. I never found out if they came to terms.
By comparison, the rest of the afternoon and evening was uneventful. We hunkered down in the coach, grilled some chicken for dinner, watched TV and eventually went to bed.