Girl Meets West # 6: Quail Ridge and the Drop Off

If you’re new to this tale, you may want to read #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 first.

For our last night, we booked a campsite at Quail Ridge RV Park, located just north of Phoenix. Originally, we had planned to stop at the Grand Canyon on the way to Phoenix, but due to various constraints, those plans had to be changed. The main task of the day, therefore, was to drive several hours south to the RV park and do laundry.

Oh, y’all. There was some serious laundry screaming to be done after nearly a week of summertime RVing in the Southwest. Let’s just say we had lots and lots and lots of laundry mixed in with the giant bags of desert debris we collected.

While LCB worked and I laundered, the kids enjoyed the activities offered by the RV park, including bocce ball and mini-golf. Our hosts, filling in for the regular hosts, were attentive and accommodating.

But it’s never a story without a ninth-inning complication, is it?

Over the course of the day, as we had headed toward Phoenix, a series of work-related events had taken place that would require us to finalize a business deal the following morning, all while simultaneously returning the RV and picking up a rental vehicle. Here’s what I know to be true: Returning an RV can bring unforeseen complications, as can renting a vehicle. Business deals? They always bring unforeseen complications along with the foreseen ones. Adding these factors to the mix was the makings of a perfect storm.

So we prepared as much as we could the night before, and at dawn, LCB conducted a lengthy business conference call while we all broke camp. I can’t begin to tell you how many tasks our family has accomplished this way over the years, all rendered mute while LCB works via phone. I wouldn’t recommend this practice if there is any other way AT ALL, but it does vastly improve one’s nonverbal communication skills over the course of a marriage.

The looks I can give, y’all.

At any rate, as we neared the area where we would drop off our RV and pick up our rental car, we began to look for a bank and a notary. When we found one with very little parking located on the other side of a nearby highway, LCB determined it would be more time efficient to access the bank on foot. He went first, briefcase in hand, jogging across six lanes of traffic, while I stayed with the kids and did the final cleaning up of the RV. At this point, we were beyond tight on time.

I just want to paint a picture here as I develop this next part. I had just spent the last week camping and the last few hours packing and cleaning the RV; I was wearing old denim shorts, multi-colored Reeboks, and a t-shirt that’d seen better days; and I hadn’t slept much the night before. In short, my appearance was a hot mess.

LCB called me as he left the bank so that I could begin my trek, and told me a notary was waiting for me in a back office of the bank. We crossed paths in the parking lot, high-fiving from a distance, and as I approached the highway, I realized there was a brief window between the slew of cars coming from either direction.

As I hit the curb, I did a final check in both directions, girded my loins (in this case my cross body purse), and ran like the dickens across that highway.

I can only imagine my own scene here.

I made it to the other side of the highway and slowed down on the short walkway to the bank door, pulled out the large piece of hair that had flown into my mouth while I ran (remember, I’m the woman that single-handedly brought back the duck-feet-sexy look), adjusted my clothes, and assumed a profession expression as I opened the door.

The gentleman I’d be working with was standing by the glass door, awaiting my arrival. He’d clearly seen my mad dash across the highway.

I swallowed as he extended his hand and introduced himself. “I’ve got your paperwork ready in my office,” he smiled, gesturing toward the back of the bank where he should have stayed in the first place.

Naturally, since my business woman ruse had been uncovered, I ran like the dickens back across that highway, this time girding documents along with my purse. I hopped in the RV, and off we went.

The RV/rental vehicle exchange went as well as one could expect in those circumstances. We were a little late in dropping off the RV, but Cruise America was very gracious. After we picked up the Jeep we had rented, we made a beeline for the Grand Canyon and ran straight into what would be two hours of stop-start traffic.

Fortunately for me, LCB was the one driving.