We had to hang around in Nevada awaiting a part for the van to be delivered from the UK. 

Part of one of our rear light clusters wasn’t working and as it’s an integrated Hymer part rather than a change of lightbulb, we had to have the whole unit shipped out to us. Luckily we have friends in Boulder City who were happy to receive it for us!  From ordering to delivery it was nine days and the costs were £34 postage plus £25 import duty – many thanks to Darren at Brownhills for his assistance with this, we were really happy with the service.

We spent much of this time around Lake Mead camping on BLM land close to the lake – no facilities but free so we weren’t on our own.

We originally visited the Valley of Fire State Park back in 2016 but just drove through the park.  This time we had time to do some hiking in the park and spread our visit over two days ($15 per day entry fee).  The small hikes within the park are worth doing as you really get in amongst the rocks and a couple of small slot canyons.

Motorhoming 

Driving an RV in the southwestern US outside the big cities is so easy.  The roads are wide (even the “narrow” roads are 2 lanes) and the choice of overnight spots is beyond words.  We’re using iOverlander on a daily basis to find park ups, water, grocery stores and laundromats.  

Many of the campgrounds in the national and state parks have service points outside their entrances and therefore accessible to everyone, so we’ve had no problems finding water.

We were finding fuel around $3.80/$3.90 per gallon (around 80p a litre).  It is worth keeping an eye on fuel prices as garages on either side of the road can have widely differing prices, as well as having different prices for cash or credit card.

LPG, or propane, is easy to get and prices are pretty much as they are at home.