Saturday, October 29
Virgin River as seen from Cedar Pocket Campground, northwestern Arizona
It rained, the sun came out, I changed my mind.
In the previous post I expressed an urge to leave Cedar Pocket Campground in Virgin River Gorge Recreation Area. Like the sunshine that followed the sudden deluge of rain, my contentment with this camp returned.
The sun comes out and thoughts of a new camp evaporate.
I pay for a few more days, clip the fee stub to our campsite post, and settle into my lounger for a few tosses of Bite Me, the flea, for Reggie to fetch.
Every day Charlie and his German Shepherd, Sadie, visit us at our shelter. Sadie and Reggie play together while Charlie and I exchange campground news, places we’ve camped, and other typical, RVer talk.
When Reg and I pass their campsite on a campground walk-around, Sadie, always wearing a pink bandana around her neck, comes running out to us. Charlie soon follows.
A couple evenings ago — actually it was dusk — Charlie hollers . . .
“Come over here, Sue! I want you to see what we found.”
He’s standing with a flashlight pointed to the ground. As I jog over he warns me to keep Reggie away.
“He’s tied,” I reassure him. Reggie sits down, having reached the end of his tether which is tied to the handle at the Best Little Trailer’s door.
At first we wonder if the visitor is a harmless gopher snake.
The snake is not aggressive or hostile. When it wiggles away to a nearby bush, we see the rattles.
“Sadie’s the one who alerted me,” Charlie says proudly. “She jumped up and crossed the road barking but she didn’t get too close. She sat down and waited for me.”
He ruffles the fur on Sadie’s neck. The happy gleam in Sadie’s eyes says, “Yep. I’m the one who saved the day!”
Almost every morning, Reg and I walk down to the day use area.
We first tried this trek about ten days ago and it was too much. Now we take it in stride. Even the long stretch going uphill! Progress!
The water is back on!
I drive the Perfect Tow Vehicle up to the water storage tank and fill ten one-gallon jugs. On the day we leave Cedar Pocket I’ll replenish what we’ve used.
The big decision — what rig to buy?
Reg and I are outside under the shelter when a couple stops by to ask questions about “your fiberglass egg.” I learn that they plan to sell their home in southern California, retire early, and live full-time on the road.
“We’ll try it for a year. We’re excited!”
Like me and many others, their choice of rig evolves, starting with a Class C (“too expensive and then you need a car, too”) to a travel trailer. At this stage they’ve narrowed the travel trailer field to fiberglass “eggs.” They also decide a van will be their tow vehicle.
Sadie sees us and leads Charlie over.
Charlie, who has a fifth wheel and lifelong experience with several types of rigs, shares his perspective, and adds . . . .
“No one can tell you what is best for you because everyone is different. If the trailer you buy doesn’t work for you, at least you will have a better idea what will work.”
The campground fills up for the weekend.
To give you a glimpse at something you’ll encounter if you camp in campgrounds . . . .
Next to our campsite there’s a site designed for tenters. It has a packed-sand pad. I call it the fee-jumpers site. Four nights in a row a car pulls into that site around 9:30 p.m. In the dark the person (or persons) sets up a tent. Sometime between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m., the tent is packed up and away they go.
Usually our temporary, surreptitious night-neighbors do their best to be quiet. Only one pair needs a reminder to keep voice-level down. (My windows are open and I can hear every word!) A few firm words from moi does the trick.
At first I’m puzzled why this particular site is popular with the fee-jumpers.
There are about fifteen other tent sites in the campground. Then I realize the obvious. The site next to ours is the furthest and least visible from the camp host’s site.
It’s a good thing I didn’t rush us out of here.
We would arrive too early in southern Arizona or southern California. During the day at Cedar Pocket we enjoy temperatures in the 80s; at night it can stay in the 60s. That’s warm enough!
rvsue
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Saturday at Cedar Pocket
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