Back in Pahrump…

It was getting to be the end of the season here where I was staying in Wendell, Idaho. I’d paid for a months stay after arriving from Milton-Freewater, Oregon in early September. There was a chill in the air, frost on the grass in the mornings, and far fewer campers. It was getting to be that I was one of the few long term campers left at Intermountain RV Campground. Which was fine with me as they only have one 50 amp RV space and I was finally able to move there when I only had 10 days left of my paid up month. My knee was really bothering me so I wasn’t able to get the wifi extension system up for them like I’d planned but I’ll drop by next spring and do it for them then, probably. Anyway, here’s some pictures of the camp and where I stayed after I’d moved over from the spot right next to this one…it took almost an hour to find the best positioning for the RV in this space to get wifi, satellite, and OTA signals all at the same time. Whew. That was a chore, lots of moving the RV back and forth, left and right. Eventually though finally found the exact right position where both entertainment antennas could peak through the trees and get a consistent signal.

Because of the cold front that was dipping down from Canada (made the national news it was so sudden and fierce) I really wanted 50 amp just for comfort. With it I could run my heat pump and all my electric space heaters and it would actually be able to warm up the RV quickly in the cold mornings instead of taking hours on a 30 amp supply. Here in southern Idaho, we only got the southern edge of the cold front but it was noticeably cool near and after sundown and definitely cold in the AM.

Take a look where I’m parked. A day after I parked there, I drove out to do my shopping and on the way back, pulled my little in-the-canal hearing aid out of my ear and put it in the console and when I parked behind the RV, picked it up and stuffed it in my pants pocket. The same pocket where I keep my keys for the RV’s front door. And I knew when I did that I’d have to be careful I didn’t drop my aid when I pulled out the keys. And damn if that isn’t exactly what happened. As I got to the door and pulled out my keys, trying to be careful, the aid went flying. So it was somewhere on the ground next to, under or way far away from the door. For the next week, whenever I went out, I’d slow search the path I’d taken. It was nowhere to be found.

But then I had a great idea, I went over to the office and asked Jessica the owner if I could rent her three kids to search for me. With their low to the ground stances, their good eyes, and tiny fingers, just maybe…

I offered them $1 apiece just to look and $5 to find it. The three of them wanted to look but I had to shoo away Jessica because she was looking too. Showed them my other one so they’d know what to look for, where I thought I’d lost it, and told them to have at it. TWENTY MINUTES LATER the smallest kid found it. She’s around 5, older brother around 8 and the oldest boy is around 10. She found it under a leaf in the grass just outside my door steps. From the looks of it, it had been smooshed into the dirt a few times as I stepped on it I guess. I was so happy I paid her her $5 and gave the boys $2 apiece instead of just $1. Girl saved me $60. It was nearly new too, I’d just bought it the month before. Happy to have it back. After cleaning it’s working fine too.

And here’s a shot across the way from where I’m parked that you can just make out the ‘temporary’ setup for the wifi extension system I made and blue taped to that shore power tower for testing. It worked really well, but there weren’t many campers either. Does need more testing but I think it will work fine right there. There are many reasons that would be a good spot and I’ll go into them when I actually permanently install the extension. Like I said, my knee was giving me fits so I didn’t want to have to dig holes for posts and things like a ditch for wiring so I didn’t finish the installation. At the end of the road is the parks dump station. This RV park doesn’t have sewer at each site, just this dump station. It is convenient, has water too, but usually I wouldn’t even use it, instead I’d drive to downtown Wendell the long way in order to warm up the engine and tranni.   Every morning they would prepare and serve waffles. Free! Usually it would be warm enough to eat outside at the picnic tables under the cover but because of the cold people would eat inside the office where they have a couple tables set up. The antenna on top of the building is the wifi. It’s too far from the center of the RV parking area which is why I’m trying to get an extension installed for them.
While I was here in town I went to a local tire store and bought 4 new tires for my car. When they finished I noticed there were 3 large weights on two of the wheels, that ain’t right, so I took it back the next day, the owner understood my concerns and watched the tech as he re-did the spin balancing on all four of them. Turned out he’d used the wrong wheel cone on the machine so they were all wonky. Dummy. That’s the 2nd time a tire shop has done that to my wheels. After that was fixed, I was ready to head south…but first…

The last week in Wendell was time for more exploring…and this time I wanted to have an excursion down to that golf course deep in the Snake River gorge right in Twin Falls. You can see some of the golf greens in this shot. I’d tried to find the way down there (see that road on the side of the canyon wall?) 2-3 times during my other visits to the area but kept missing any sign for the road. It was not directly pointed out in any street sign like you’d expect. I guess they didn’t want hordes of people heading down there. But this time, I asked a local how to get down there and armed with the name of the road, off I went. First I stopped at that bridge that spans the gorge and the Snake for a few shots…

While I was at the overlook, might as well hike down below the bridge for a shot or two.

Pretty cool looking bridge. And this next shot is looking east towards the actual Twin Falls. I went there last visit but this time I was determined to go down to that golf course, which is downstream further on from here.

And finally found the road. It goes right through a residential neighborhood so I could see why the home owners wouldn’t want this street be to well marked, to avoid all the gawkers from heading on down into the canyon.

So now I’m down that steep road (if you visit make sure your brakes are in good condition, pretty steep and twisty) on the floor of the gorge, I first stopped at the park for a look around. And a visit to the Snake River.

Very pretty. Nice down here. Not too crowded here at the park on a weekday and at the beginning of fall but from the looks of it, it’s very popular during the summer. There is a nice boat ramp too.

Then I drove over to but passed the golf course, just to explore. Turned out it’s a dead end. But at the end of that road found the city of Twin Falls’ sewage treatment plant. Ahh, that’s what’s down here. They probably own the land the golf course is on or sold it to a developer with the stipulation it was only to be something like a golf course. I was always surprised when I looked at the gorge that there weren’t any houses on this large piece of land next to the river. I did see some water treatment type building right on the golf course so I believe they just lease the land to the golf club. Reason for that is once a bunch of houses are built up around a sewage treatment plant, they all go nuts about the smell and try to get it closed. Happens all the time so smart cities buy all the land they can nearby, and then only allow things like golf courses or limited use parks near it.

After the road ended, turned around and stopped in at the golf course. Very nice. I would have played a round since my clubs were in the car but again, my knee prevented that. Prevented me from hobbling around to visit more of the course too. Inexpensive for a round. I can’t remember for sure but think it was $15. It’s only a 18 hole course but the views! Worth it. Named Canyon Springs Golf Course.

They have a nice pub and restaurant too but I would have rather played. Damn knee.

On the way out of the canyon, stopped to take a shot of the small falls.

And that was it. Spent 4-5 hours being a tourist and enjoyed it very much. Glad I made the time to head down the canyon. Oh, there are zip lines down there too. Was past the season I guess as they were vacant, but they’re there.

After I crossed over on that bridge, I wanted to see what it was like on the other side of the river as you can see some buildings over there. So I dropped down this nice road on the other side and about 2/3rds the way down found the road had a gate, a unoccupied guard house, a fancy camera sound system and notices to keep the hell out unless you’re a resident. Ok, fine, don’t have to yell. Turned around and headed home to Wendell.

The next two days I got the RV all prepared to travel, planned out my route, said goodbye to my campground hosts, thanked the kids again for finding my hearing aid, and on Monday, Oct. 7th, started the journey south. Soon was over the gorge bridge and almost immediately I needed to take a right to get on the highway to Ely, NV. That pretty much bypasses the vast majority of the town of Twin Falls. Which is handy if you’re trying to avoid traffic in a big RV.

Some of the evidence of the big storm up north. And 5 hours later, I was at the outskirts of Ely. I stopped at the RV park on the edge of town just to make things easier because they have sites where I didn’t have to unhook the car. Spent the night, and the next day headed onto Pahrump. Took the route through Tonopah, and started debating whether or not to top off my tank before getting to Beatty, but a look at the prices there in town made me keep traveling. Stopped in Beatty and got 15 gallons, also went into the nut store there and bought $35 worth of nuts. Also had a nice ice cream cone.

After that, back on the road and 2 hours later pulled into the Preferred RV Resort in Pahrump. And that’s where I am now. Space 106 if you would like to visit.

Thanks for reading!