Day 5 - 7 Snowbirds in a Snowstorm!

 Sat Oct 22 through Mon Oct 24, 2022

Heffay sees snow for the first time.  “I like it mom!”

On Saturday morning we woke up to blustery conditions in Wells, Nevada.  We got a good nights rest, even though the winds were howling hard.  Wind warnings were in effect with gusts expected up to 75 km/hr.  With those conditions we decided to pull in our slides so as not to damage the awning toppers that cover them.  Thankfully our RV still has plenty of room inside  to move around and to sleep comfortably even with the slides in.  That has always been a requirement for us when buying RVs.  

Our overnight spot at the truck stop in Wells, NV

We started the morning off with a short walk for Heffay.  His reaction when I opened the door and he saw snow on the steps was priceless.  He was completely confused as he had never seen snow before.  Once he got outside, he absolutely loved it!  I can’t say I felt the same.  All I had was a light rain jacket over my sweatshirt and the wind seemed to whip right through it.  

HoseHey checking out the weather conditions.  “What the heck is this mom?”

We decided we’d stay put for another day while we waited for this storm to pass.  Conditions were not ideal with strong winds and temps hovering at the freezing point, snow and windchills close to the minus teens Celsius.  Having lived in winter climates before, we knew enough that those conditions were prime for black ice on the roads.  Something you never want to hit let alone while driving such a boxy vehicle down the road.  Many truckers in the truck stop we were at were staying put too so that tells you how bad it was.  

Brrr!

After making bacon and eggs for breakfast we decided to check the forecast again.  Temps were not going to rise much and the winds were going to continue.  That got us thinking about our water lines, our lithium batteries, our DEF fluid and our furnace. All those things were susceptible to the cold temps.  Water lines could freeze, our lithium batteries won’t take a charge below zero, the boxes of DEF fluid we bought could freeze rendering them useless and our furnace ran off the onboard propane which we had filled with butane last time we were in Mexico.  Mexico doesn’t have propane.  The difference being that butane’s boiling point is -2ºC meaning it will be difficult or impossible for it to produce gas vapour in cold temperatures.  Propane on the other hand has a boiling point of -42ºC meaning it will continue to vaporize and turn to gas in colder climates.  

With all this in mind, the idea of having a site where we could plug in sounded more appealing than boon docking in a parking lot.  Thankfully there are a couple of RV parks in Wells.  We decided to stay at Mountain Shadows RV park which was only five minutes from where we were parked.  It was also about $10 cheaper than the other RV park called Angel Lake RV park.  I got online and booked us a spot then we headed over.  It was the coldest I’ve been in a long time, but within a few minutes of set up we were plugged in and warming everything up.  Thankfully they had a site available that was big enough that we didn’t have to unhook the truck.  That was a bonus.  It was a low key day and I got the opportunity to take some cool shots of the snowy conditions on the surrounding mountains even though I froze my butt off getting them!

Our spot at Mountain Shadows RV park, Wells Nevada

View looking North from the park

View looking South from the park

Overall, it was a good stop but if we had to stay overnight again in Wells I think I’d check out the Angel Lake RV park.  I’m wondering if where we stayed at Mountain Shadows RV park was cheaper because they are right near the train tracks.  We heard train horns all night long which didn’t make for a very good nights rest.

Although temps were to stay cold into the coming days the wind warnings were removed the next morning which is when we headed out.  I couldn’t imagine staying there in that cold wind any longer than we absolutely had to.  Early Sunday Oct 23 we hit the road with cold temps but sunny skies and most importantly dry roads.  Oh, and as an extra bonus…I was officially SICK, ugh.  I had been feeling something coming on and sure enough, it hit full force Sunday morning, yippee!

Heffay, ready to hit the road 😊 

Pretty scenery with snow covered mountains as we drove out of Wells

By all accounts, the roads and the weather was looking good.  But, that didn’t last too long as we made our way south toward Ely, NV which is at a higher elevation.

Looking somewhat ominous up ahead…

I had a chance to take a few video clips as we progressed through this area.  At the top of the mountain when the conditions were the worst temps dropped to -2ºC (28ºF) and we were met with a mix of snow, sleet and rain.  It was definitely nail biting at times, but we made it safe and sound.  Here’s a short video clip to give you a sense of what it was like to drive through.  Let’s hope we never have to repeat that again!

Once through this stretch, we set course to get as close to Las Vegas as we could and gradually temperatures started to warm up.  By 4:30 we had made it to Loves Truck stop just north of Las Vegas.  We filled up our diesel and set out to find a quiet spot in the busy truck stop to overnight.  After moving the RV three different times and realizing it was not going to be a peaceful place to stop, we decided to head into Vegas to stay at the KOA we stayed at in the spring.  And, rather than just pushing on the next morning we decided we’d take a couple nights rest to recuperate and finish stocking up on dog food and food goods.   They had a spot available for us, but we were lucky as they were almost completely full! 

It was cooler than “normal” in Vegas with highs of only 18 ºC but, having been where we’d just been that felt wonderful.  I wasn’t about to complain one bit!

Our site for two nights at Sam’s Town KOA in Las Vegas

It was a good rest, although on Monday morning I realized our electric water heater wasn’t working.  Thankfully we were able to get a mobile RV tech to come and fix it that day.  Unfortunately though, our warranty had run out earlier this year and so the full $1200 Cdn bill hit us pretty hard.  Isn’t that always the way though?  Something expensive like that happens within months of the warranty running out.  On a positive note, by the time we left Vegas I had started to feel a bit better.  My ears were no longer plugged and my throat wasn’t as sore as it had been.  I’d keep crunching on the chewable vitamin C I picked up in Costco though, to hopefully keep it at bay.

On Tuesday we’d set out on the road again to continue our journey south.

Wells, NV to Las Vegas, NV

Start Time - 9:30 a.m.

Temp at start - 0ºC (32ºF)
End Time - 5:30 p.m.

Temp at end - 16ºC (60ºF)

Total driven - 348 miles

Accommodation cost - $42.81 Cdn for 1 night in Wells, NV + $199 for 2 nights in Las Vegas

Fuel - $250 US ($341 Cdn) - 44 gallons @ 5.67/gal

Miscellaneous - Repair water heater $1240 Cdn ($904 US)