Sunday, January 31, 2016

Prepping in Plaster City

I didn't think I'd be writing until we got back from Baja, but we have been 'van-ridden' for the past day and it looks like another van day today due to major wind....so I thought I would update you with our happenings thus far. 

We left the RTR spot in Quartzsite about a week ago and camped in Ehrenberg for a couple of days...a couple of really windy days...got a few things done over there then headed down to El Centro.

Imperial Sand Dunes on the way to El Centro

We weren't sure what to expect in El Centro due to never traveling down here. We drove into the main part of town, looking for storage units and I have to say at first I didn't want to be here, I was scared! I'm usually pretty good with these feelings....as long as I'm in the van with windows up and doors locked but the neighborhoods we were driving through did not feel very safe. 
We stopped at one storage unit and left right away due to the lady obviously not wanting any business. The 2nd place we stopped, I stayed in the van while Jamie went to see about pricing. Right away I noticed a group of 3 men walking their bicycles slowly toward the van, they slowed even more when they saw me sitting in the van and then started hooting and hollering at me. I made sure the doors were locked and grabbed the bear spray! And maybe I watch too many damn movies or Datelines but it was at this point that I noticed every single person in this neighborhood was wearing dark navy blue clothing and here I am sitting in this van, that looks quite delectable with all of our stuff on it, in a bright red shirt! Great!
Jamie came back after what seemed like forever with paperwork...looks like we found our storage unit! He got in the van and said, "The good news is, we have a storage unit, the bad news is, we're going to have to carry the trailer....sideways to get it to fit in the unit!" 
My Olive Oyl arms will be put to the test today!


At this point in time, it was about 4:00 p.m. so we had to start tearing everything apart pronto, get the stuff we aren't taking into the unit and get to where we are camping for the night, hopefully before dark!
We were at the storage place a little over an hour and while the unit is packed poorly, we got most of everything we aren't taking inside. Woo hoo! Now to throw everything back in the van to get to a spot for the night.



We arrived in Plaster City, our staging area for the trip, just before dark. Plaster City is a huge OHV area near a Gypsum quarry and factory, it's very desolate out here. 


 It's a great place to play with all the fun, big, loud toys! Another cool thing about this area is there is a Bombing Range on the other side of the OHV area so there is a lot of military activity in the air, we get to see fighter jets doing air maneuvers every morning, except yesterday and today due to this crazy wind! 

My new fave pic! Helicopters and Wind Turbines with the sunset! Yes, please!!!



The next day, I tore everything out of the van sans the bed; rugs, water jugs, boards, cabinets, toilet, food, dog stuff, etc. to do a deep, deep cleaning...God knows it has needed it for quite some time! It took me most of the day wiping everything down and vacuuming every nook and cranny at least 3 times. Going to Mexico was a great 'excuse' to be able to tear everything out and take the time to clean everything as best as I could (which is pretty damn clean)!



By the time the Sun was starting to set Scott had arrived, the van had been scrubbed down, ready for repacking and we narrowed our stuff down to the necessities and a few fun things that we can't live without. 

Scott's Rig

That's it! Now it all has to go in there somewhere!

Then it was dinner time!!

Desert Dining at its finest
 
More preparation info in the next post!

PEACE
 
 

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