It was about 10:30 when we pulled out of our spot at Pilot Knob. We decided to bite the bullet and use the sani-dump at the nearby Chevron Station...pretty rich at $20 (yes, you read that right) but other than driving back into Yuma which would be about a 30 mile return trip (and we weren't going in that direction), there was no place to dump between here and Blythe. Steve had finished dumping and flushing the black water tank when it happened...the cable to the gate valve broke! Well, isn't that just wonderful...Steve had been waiting for this day! The Montana's are known for having extremely hard to operate dump valve cables. Unable to close the gate valve to the the black water tank meant we couldn't use the toilet...hopefully we can find an RV repair place that is able to fix it today! Steve called RV World but they were booked up for the next two weeks...I find it amazing that they don't have any strategy in place for emergency cases. So, the next call was to La Mesa...they couldn't get us in either but gave Steve the number for the company next door. Thankfully, County RV was able to get us in at 1:00 today.
We arrived at County RV at about noon. After getting unhitched, we sat eating our lunch in the truck...and that's basically where we spent the afternoon. Shortly after 1:00 the forklift driver came to collect our fifth-wheel. We actually had a birds-eye view from our truck...we could watch them work on it. Steve tried to hang around watching, but they didn't want him to.
So we sat in the truck...Steve on the iPad and I was crocheting (I made great progress on my project!)It was after 4:00 by the time they had finished the repair. They replaced the cable and gate valve. We put a little water into the fresh water tank while they were contacting the extended warranty company for approval. It was approved (yay) so after paying our $100 deductible, we were on our way. Since it was now 4:30, we decided that we'd find a spot to overnight off Ogilby Road which is on our way to Blythe.
So we headed west on the I-8. I took this picture of the Yuma Territorial Prison as we passed by...
We took the Ogilby Road (SR 34) exit and headed north. A view of the mountains along the way...the black ones are sure distinct...
About 5 miles along Ogilby Road, we turned east onto American Girl Mine Road...and a popular free 14-day BLM camping area. About a mile up, we found our perfect overnight spot and pulled in. We basically just leveled off and then I did a minimal set up inside while Steve set up the generator and satellite dish....it's only for one night but why not be comfortable, after all, it's not a parking lot! LOL!
After he was done, Steve decided to go for a walk and take a few pictures of the area. It's really quite a nice area and we will definitely keep it in mind for the future instead of Pilot Knob. The BLM area is huge and actually starts at Sidewinder Road and continues way past the American Girl Mine turn off.
Steve climbed to the top of gravel mound to get a better view of the boondockers in the area...
A close up of our spot...
After dinner, we hunkered down in front of the TV (as usual) to watch our favorite programs...I multi-tasked, crocheting as the same time :-). Tomorrow we'll continue onto Blythe.
Sorry to hear you had black tank issues ?...at least it was under warranty !
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ReplyDeleteJust another bump in the road. :-)) Our extended warranty has more than paid for itself in the last 4 years!
DeleteThankfully you could find someone to fix it quickly. I am looking forward to boondocking at Ogilvie too.
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