Terri and Peter's RV Adventures

Well, the plan was to make up for yesterday’s marathon with a short trip across the desert from Winnemucca to Wendover, NV. On paper, that’s what happened, but the day held a whole lot more. Focusing on fixing our leaking trailer became our #1 cause and it led us down a long and winding road. One guy led us to another and him to another (a version of Operator if you’re old enough to remember that). It’s a good way to meet people and get the pulse of a place.

Here’s one career tip: If you want a high paying job, always in demand with little competition, lots of flexibility and you don’t mind driving hours in the desert, become a mobile RV repair guy in Nevada, preferably in Winnemucca since surprisingly, the nearest RV repair guy is in Elko and Reno, both two hours away in different directions. Sam, in Elko, charges $275 just to drive to Winnemucca, then he’s a $200 an hour RV repairman. Nice work if you can get it. Oh, he doesn’t have a shop and if you need parts, you gotta wait for those and he wasn’t available for two days. (And Airstream in Salt Lake couldn’t see us for a month.)

More word of mouth ultimately led us to RV Wizards in Draper, UT, just south of Salt Lake City. Their only terms were that we had to forfeit our beautiful two day stay at Utah Lake State Park in Provo for a parking lot of an RV park that’s close to their shop. But, they’re taking us tomorrow afternoon and we’ll go from there. Meanwhile, the leaking has stopped and we’ve noticed more twisted metal here and there in various places. Who knows what they’ll find but at least we have a plan.

We stopped in Elko for gas, and the woman at the counter directed us to a goldmine of a park a block away: all grass (an oasis in the desert), great for dog ball throwing and a picnic. Small kindnesses like those recommendations become high points. So did the Wendover Parks and Recreation coach who let Lily run around on the baseball field while the teams were arriving and gathering. We had a sweet interlude of conversation about his son graduating and going to Ukiah’s Mendocino Community College. You could hear the pride in his voice. Such kindness and connection in simple exchanges.

And now, another desert evening, Mountain Time, edge of the Great Salt Lake, and mild breezes. Looking for the good isn’t too difficult with an open mind. It’s there.