by laura beth

Here we are in the Slabs again. Well, actually we're at the laundromat in town, washing some filthy clothes and using the free wifi. We dumped our sewage for the first time today, and refilled our water tank. The sewage dump was surprisingly easy, tidy, and best of all, free. It's so awesome to be out in the barren desert, but still be able to cook, wash dishes, brush your teeth and use a flushing toilets. Motorhomes are the best.

Slab City is really great. We rolled in around 5:00 pm on Friday night, January 16th. Our friend Collins Lovett and his girl, Suhayla, showed up around 10 pm. They stayed until Sunday afternoon, and we had a nice time. Saturday morning we had breakfast at the Oasis Club, very near our camp, and enjoyed the Annual Slab City Talent Show at The Range all afternoon and well into the night. Great music, great comic relief, and a few skits. Sunday we decided to head out to find the hot springs and proceeded to get Collins' Volvo wagon stuck in the sand. Really stuck. It took several hours to dig it out BY HAND. No shovel, just a small stick and our hands. Collins and Suhayla walked 2 miles to town to try to find some help with no luck. Wh en they got back, we put Suhayla in the driver's seat as we all pushed the car up the ramp we made (after digging a hole at least a foot deep BY HAND). And out she came. We never found the hot springs, but instead took a shower and said farewell to Collins and Suhayla. Hope they come back someday.

Brett and Cathi are coming on Saturday, and Heather Kelly too. Forrest Fallows is coming up the weekend of the 31st.

We've made some friends and met some interesting characters here. There's been lots of good conversation, tall tales, improbable stories, and wild adventures. I can't wait to see what the next week and a half holds! We'll check in again soon.