Thursday, May 15, 2014

Sparking....

How delightful to be able to sleep with ALL the windows open Tuesday night free of the fear that hypothermia might become an issue at some point in the wee hours.  The skies continued to be deep blue Wednesday, and the temperatures delightfully balmy.

Our task for Wednesday was two fold: 1) Meet our CampeForce representative at Amazon here in Fernley, and 2) Check out other possible RV parks in the area to obtain a firm reservation.  

We drove directly to Amazon around 11 am and met for about 10 minutes with Amanda who was able to answer all our questions.  Unfortunately, they do not give tours at this Amazon facility like they do at the Campbellsville, KY Amazon, so our introduction to the interior workings and layout of the Fernley Amazon will have to wait until we do our orientation in November.

From there we headed directly to the other contracted RV park in town aptly named Fernley RV Park.  I had put my name in about 60 days ago on their waiting list, however, when we inquired as to our current waiting list position it was discovered our name never made it on the list.  At any rate, this park only has about 27 sites for Amazon workers, unlike Desert Rose, which has over 100.  Our odds of getting into Desert Rose are pretty certain at this point, so it was on to Sparks, NV some 30 miles to the west.

Sparks Marina RV Park

We arrived at the first RV park on our list called Sparks Marina RV Park located just a mile off I-80 on the Lincoln Highway across the street from Sparks Marina.  We were immediately captivated by the upscale nature of this park, and went in to inquire about getting a reservation, initially as a back up to Desert Rose, but ended up deciding we would stay there this Fall....well, about 90% sure.  It is a 30 minute drive via I-80 to Amazon, and the way we figure it with the VW that is 1 gallon of gasoline each way, or about $8/day.  The benefit of staying there means we will have excellent cell phone service, which is noticeably lacking in Fernley, and we will be within walking distance of most services we need on a regular basis.  A great example for me is the local Supercuts is just 3 blocks away.....I desperately needed a haircut so we headed there after securing our reservation at Sparks Marina RV Park....I was seated immediately, and on my way out the door within 15 minutes.

The frosting on the cake is that I have both a cousin, and an uncle who live in Sparks and am looking forward to spending time with them, as well as celebrating Thanksgiving with them when we come back in the Fall.

We headed back to Fernley arriving around 1:15 pm and went directly to the local Walmart Supercenter, which is directly across the street from Amazon, to do some shopping, and get lunch at their in house Subway.  From there we stopped off at the local Scolari's Supermarket to see if they carried Snap-E-Tom's and they do!  Yay for me!  We quickly procured the 6 cans they had on the shelf to add to my stockpile, which was down to one can.....:D

By the time we arrived back at our coach the temperature was up to a delicious 85 degrees, so I decided to spend some time outside taking care of some things in the trailer, and then pouring the 2 gallons of Delo 100 40 wt. oil I bought from West Marine back in February into my oil reservoir....the reservoir holds about 4 gallons of oil, and is completely separate from the oil in the engine.  When I need to add oil I just open a gate valve and let it drain into the engine until it is back to the "full" mark.

Late afternoon we took a walk around the park logging another mile of walking, and then both took long, relaxing showers.  It was a good day which saw us accomplish all of our objectives we had set for ourselves during this two day stay in Fernley.....I love it when a plan comes together!

Thursday we drive a whopping 58 miles south and west to Washoe State Park where we will dry camp on the shores of Lake Washoe for two days before heading into the Tahoe Basin on Saturday morning.  We are only 78 miles from our summer destination.....no more 200+ mile days after two weeks of one after the other.

Thanks for stopping by!

2 comments:

  1. Don't forget to factor in the bad weather drive. That 1/2 hour you mention could easily turn into double that. You might talk to Jim over at Jimbos Journey about the winter weather. He worked in the Fernley Amazon last winter.

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  2. Yep, we are taking bad weather into account which is why we will be leaving for our shift 90 minutes ahead of time. I read Jimbo's Journeys.

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