“USA 🇺🇸 ~California to Nevada Drive Day and Zzyzx Rd”

• September 20, 2023
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

We Made It To Nevada

Las Vegas, Baby!! This is our third visit here, as RVers, since winter of last year. We always have fun when we come and both times we came, before, we got to enjoy visiting friends and family, who live here part of the time, or were also visiting!

There is one couple, Lisa and Dave, however, we kept missing, with our visiting schedules in Vegas, so this time, we nailed it!

Yay for us!

Our drive day from our house in California, to Las Vegas was a long ordeal, but it only made our arrival to Sam’s Town, that much sweeter!

It would be a 12-hour day, from starting out from our house; Beach City of Orange County in California, to arriving in the High Desert, of Nevada.

Point of Interest ⬇️

In 1944, LA radio evangelist Curtis H. Springer decided to make the mineral springs a health resort. As a gimmick to be the last listing in any directory, he and is wife ended up naming it the “Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Resort” as it’s “the last word in health” and the last word in the English language.

The resort was a huge success! They constantly had guests frequenting the “healing waters,” and Springer shipped his “medical products” all over the world. In the 70s, the government realized that they had no legit claim to the land and evicted them. Since then, it’s been taken over by the Bureau of Land Management.

Now, a group of California State University campuses manages Zzyzx as a Desert Studies center and the site is a protected habitat for the Mohave Tui Chub, which Springer had stocked in his pond, the Beth fish, which has died off almost everywhere else.
NOTE: The Mohave tui chub (Gila bicolor mohavensis) is in the minnow family and can reach over 10 inches in length. The Mohave tui chub was listed as an endangered species in 1970 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Mohave tui chub is the only fish native to the Mojave River basin in California.

With more digging in to its past, there are stories of unexplainable healings and claims that it’s the true fountain of youth. There are even news articles of when it was an army base how people were miraculously healed. Regardless of what you believe, or not believe it may be, it’s certainly interesting!

*************

The good news was, after we crossed over the border in to Nevada, and stopped for fuel. The price dropped from $7.23/gal on average in California, to $5.37/gal in Nevada. Though still too much, we had executed a great plan to avoid re-fueling, whilst traveling through California.

Our low-fuel indicator went on, only 10 miles from Nevada. Whew! It worked, though, as we got to skip California fuel prices the entire length of the state: north to south.

We love The Whale!!

*************

TOW TIME 

Unexpectedly, but not totally surprising, while at our house stop in California, Jonah began suffering symptoms from her already diagnosed front-end issue, we got when at a shop in Anchorage, Alaska. The mechanic could only do a temporary fix, since there was a lack of parts available, at the time.

She began pulling to the left, very badly, when applying the brakes, after arriving at our house in California, from Oregon.

So, when we left for Nevada, after towing Jonah behind The Whale, to beyond our home to Victorville, California, we chose to get her flatbed-towed the rest of the way (just under 200 miles) to Las Vegas. We had an appointment with the Beetle Barn there, to fix this final issue we had, by the lame restoration guy in Kingman, Arizona, who ripped us off!

We had to wait over two-hours in the hot desert for the tow, but we knew it was the right call. It’s possible Jonah would have been fine for the entire trip, since her brakes were not being used, when we tow her, but this is why we have AAA premier. We were not sure if we had an “under 200 mile tow” left on our policy for the year, so I called AAA and got a live human on the line, to verify. I was told yes, we could get the tow, do we arranged it.

When in doubt, it’s better to be safe than sorry! Besides, Jonah ain’t no stranger to flatbed tow trucks. This would be tow number 7, since we bought her and had her restored! Yes, we got majorly ripped off by the restoration outfit with shoddy work, obviously! No recourse, either since the business shut down, after we paid him and picked up Jonah, after, they had possession, for over a years’ time.

Jonah got dropped-off at the Beetle Barn in Las Vegas, Nevada by the wrecker who picked her up in California. We arrived at the mechanic location (in The Whale) not long after, to do paperwork.

It was so late in the day, my vote was to get to the campground, first, and set-up, then get an Uber in the morning to go back to the mechanic, or even talk on the phone? …but nope, Daryl was willing to drive right through Vegas in The Whale!

I just closed my eyes!
He did great, though!

Jonah will now get her front-end repaired with available parts and get aligned, after that. We are also getting her broken headlight replaced, (from a flying rock) a roll-up window aligned better, a rubber seal added to her trunk (to help keep dust out) blinker bulbs and running bulb lights replaced as needed, and an inside toggle headlight switch, replaced with a stock VW knob.

Interestingly enough, the guy at this Vegas shop said: “don’t ever worry about the money you’ve spend on your Bug.” He went on to say…For a long time, there were plenty of these old Bugs around, but over time, this has changed. There are now very few that are salvageable, and even less around which are the convertible or the “Cabriolet” series, (which we have). He told us the value will continues to rise, not decline.

Good to Know.

We don’t know how long we will be without our Jonah, but it won’t stop us from enjoying ourselves for a week, going to some shows, having dinner with friends and a very special “girls only night out!!!”  With my bestie from high school. There is always Uber!

From this point on, as we head for Arizona and then Mexico, we will (mostly) do shorter drive days and enjoy far less boondocking!

UPDATE ON THAT TOW 🙄

So, as I had mentioned, I wasn’t sure we had any “within 200 mile tows” left, between Daryl’s and my AAA acvountd, so I called and verified with a live human. I was told yes, we had one more “under 200 mile tow,” left, so arranged it.

Four months later, we got a bill for that tow and it came from a collection agency for $600!! I was really ticked! Not a word from AAA, following that last tow. Talk about messed-up!…. It would be months and months of fighting on this bill. Luckily AAA records their calls, so that was in our favor. BUT they didn’t want to acknowledge that fact.. so weird. We did not give them $600. No Way! 

************

Just For The Record:

On our first full day in Las Vegas, Nevada USA 🇺🇸 

…Typical after our arrival, just about anywhere we go…

“Where’d the sunshine go?”

This storm, in arid dry Las Vegas, mind you, was not even on the radar. It just came out of the blue. It Was suppose to last only a few minutes. We are over an hour in, and it’s been full-on pouring.

I suspect flooding in parts…

**************

CALIFORNIA

NEVADA