Destination Reached!

Jacob took the wheel as we headed to Winslow, AZ.  We crossed the continental divide and reached an elevation of over 7,300ft.  We tried minimizing our restroom stops to about one stop every four hours so that we could keep trucking along.  After a while we realized we were both very dehydrated, and we kept pounding the ibuprofen. Looking back on it that probably wasn’t the best strategy for us.  Nonetheless, Winslow was in our sights!  Naturally we listened to The Eagles radio station on Pandora to get into the Winslow spirit!

Sunset in Winslow, AZ

Our first stop in Winslow was the Walmart parking lot so we could comfortably sleep overnight.  However, we quickly learned not all Walmarts allow overnight parking (not even semi trucks).  It took us a while to regroup and figure out our next move; we ended up driving down the street near the Walmart where a lot of semi trucks were parked.  Stasia did not feel comfortable there, so we scrambled to find another place to park and sleep overnight.  It was dark and it turned out Jacob was starving, which led us to a nearby McDonalds.  While there, we noticed quite a few semi trucks parked in an empty lot with a couple overland rigs.  Our assumption was they were parked for the night, and we both hesitantly joined.  Unfortunately for us, we happened to be sandwiched between two semi trucks with refrigerated cargo (again).  Jacob was going to grab McDonalds for dinner but instead, he cooked panburgers inside our camper and it was delicious!  Cooking burgers on any type of surface (other than a grill) keeps the juices in and tastes similar to a Five Guys burger.

I-40 at Meteor Crater

The next morning we brewed coffee and prepared for our 5 hour drive to Lake Havasu City, AZ.  We were anxious to get there, as it was our first true destination on our new journey!  We topped our gas tank off and was approached by a guy our age who was also pulling a camper.  He noticed our Missouri license plates and wanted to know more, as he was moving from Arizona to Willow Springs, MO (near the North Fork River where we enjoy floating).  After chatting with him we hit the road in pursuit of Lake Havasu!

We wanted to fill up our 27gal fresh water tank on our way in so we could immediately begin using water as soon as we set up camp.  We searched various camping apps for nearby fill and dump stations and Havasu didn’t have any free stations.  All their stations charge $15 to fill and dump tanks.  Stasia wasn’t ready to spend money on that – $15 could be better spent on a case of beer or cut of meat.  After 45 minutes of calling around to every single gas station in Havasu to ask about free water, we decided to stop in Kingman, AZ which is about an hour out from Havasu.  Flying J gas station had free potable water and we took advantage of it.  It was our first time filling up the 27gal tank in our camper and we scrambled to quickly get in and out.  It was not pretty.  Afterwards we decided that while it’s nice of us to be considerate of other people’s time (we’re nice people, what can we say), we should be mindful of our time and energy as well.  Thus far on our journey we’ve learned it’s not a race.  We’re learning to slow down and enjoy every moment, especially while pulling a camper and filling/dumping tanks.

Sunset near Lake Havasu

We finally made it to Havasu!  Our plan was to set up camp on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land on the north side of Havasu.  We drove through there to see if any campsites were available, it was very full with tight spaces.  After about 30 minutes we turned around and got out of there.  Our next option was to drive through Havasu and continue towards the south side of town where there was more BLM land.  We found a great spot to park our camper (so we thought).  We overheard our new camp neighbors talk about how close we were to their campsites.  Whatever.  We set up camp anyways and made the best of the situation.  To celebrate our arrival, we popped a bottle of (warm) champagne and soaked in every minute of our first sunset view in Havasu!

The first campsite at Lake Havasu on BLM land

We organized our belongings inside the camper and prepared our dinette for work the following day.  Jacob installed the monitor on the wall, and we set our laptops out so that we’d be as comfortable as possible in our tiny office/dinette.  As far as WiFi goes, we purchased the Skyroam Solis Lite that runs off of T-Mobile in the US.  This particular device works in 130 countries without having to change the SIM card, which is the main reason we chose this WiFi device.  Skyroam doesn’t tie us into any plan like Verizon or AT&T, and we have more flexibility with data usage.  We bought one month’s worth of unlimited data for $50 – and to clarify, it’s 20GB of 4G data for the month, and then it reduces to 3G of unlimited data.  We could have also purchased data by the gigabyte, or by the day.  But we felt with both of us working full time, we’d need the unlimited data.  To be honest the 20GB of 4G data didn’t last us very long, but we didn’t notice too much of a difference when the data changed to 3G.  We were fully able to work remote and stream Amazon Prime and YouTube videos on 3G data.  We highly suggest it for remote work and overlanding/camping.  It’s incredibly easy to use and very affordable.  We’ve worked out a partnership with Skyroam and can give you 15% off your purchase by clicking on this link and using our discount code “OZARKFLOATING”.  By using our discount code, we gain a small commission that helps to keep our gas tank full for more adventures.  We appreciate your support and hope to keep bringing you more stories as we embark on the unknowns!

Working remote with Skyroam Solis Lite