Good-bye Las Vegas -- Hello Tempe Elks

We arrived in the Phoenix area just as work traffic was starting to move at a snail’s pace. Our timing was bad. When we pulled out of Las Vegas we weren’t really sure whether we would drive the full 300 miles that day or stop along the road. The more distance we covered, the more distance we wanted to cover.

The road from Las Vegas is a very good road most of the way. The only problem with it the day we chose to use it was the amount of traffic and the flagmen stopping traffic along the way. For such a main road between the two cities you would have thought more than two lanes would have been put in long ago. Drivers were impatient and road rage in some cases was obvious. As you might guess, no one wanted to be behind an RV of any kind. We were thankful when we finally pulled into our site at the Tempe Elks and hung up the keys for the night. We were exhausted.

Most of the Elks lodges we have stayed at are super, super friendly. They’re happy to see you and will even bend over backwards to assist you. Many times our favorites have nothing to do with the park but with the people. We always recommend that RVers should join the Elks.

Our timing wasn't just bad with traffic coming in on the freeway. It was also bad at arriving at the Tempe Elks Lodge. We have been to this lodge several times. It is not our favorite place by any means but it’s not the location. The location is perfect.

As many lodges as we have presented our Elks card to and stayed at in just the last year alone, the bartender here fined Terry $5 for not signing the back of his card. Now we have been here twice in the last few months. Nothing was said then or at the many other parks we have visited since this card was issued. There were lots of sites available but she even chastised him for not calling ahead. I called 200 miles out to check availability. She felt we should have called again prior to arriving. Just signing up for a site to pull into while we got our Jeep fixed required a confrontation with the bartender! Like I said, it’s not the friendliest of places we’ve visited but heck, maybe she was just having a bad day. Everyone is entitled to a bad day every once in a while but .... wait! She was having a bad day last time we were here too.

Maybe tomorrow will be better. We can hope but we know there can be a thorn in every bundle of roses. We just plan on staying away from the lodge. Actually, the visiting Elks pay for the RV parks and add extra revenue to the local clubs through food and drink purchases as well as RV park fees. I certainly wouldn't think any lodge would want to lose that revenue. Most of them invite you to frequent the lodge while you're signing up to stay in their park. It's convenient and most of the time we enjoy doing so.

Wednesday we drove the short distance to drop off the Jeep at the repair facility. We should hear on Thursday all the details about the repair job and when to expect it back. We were totally zonked most of that day especially after the drive and after the bartender from the day before. It was catch-up time.