Sometimes in small towns, you’ll often find that the businesses located there only exist because they have a captive audience. Their prices will be sky high and quality can really stink, but hey, where else are you going to in a 50 mile radius? Being from a small town, I’m used to that.

Say you’re traveling, and you want to check out a place, but there’s only one RV park in the entire county and nowhere to boondock? Well, you fork over your dough and hope for the best. That’s what we did at Far Horizons 49er Village.

As we headed toward Jackson, CA to see some old friends, we wanted to park our rig somewhere. The only one closeby, 49er Village, had a rate of $47 a night for a standard 30 amp site! Yes, you read that right. That’s $14 a night more than any other place we’ve stayed at on this trip (so far). Now, while the area is known for it’s wineries, it’s no Napa Valley (and even parks in Napa were less money). We thought, this had better be good.

As I walked into the office I was greeted by a surly, Nurse Ratchet grey haired stocky woman who never once smiled at me or acted friendly in the least. She was in a word, curt. Whatever, I thought, maybe she doesn’t like tattooed chicks like me. No problem, I’ve seen it before. However, later when my super clean cut husband went in there to ask her about the “satellite friendly” spots that their newsletter advertised (we were having trouble connecting), she was even more unacceptably rude to him. The conversation went like this:

Jim said “I wanted to know about your satellite friendly sites in your newsletter. Do you have satellite friendly sites?”

Ratchet said, “All of ’em.”

Jim then asked, “The newsletter said you have satellite friendly sites.”

“It’s not a newsletter,” she said.

Then Jim asked if there were sites where we could expect better reception than where we were, and she said “No.”

Offering even greater customer service, she suggested “It’s probably your dish.”

Jim replied, “I doubt it, considering it’s a brand new .98 meter F2 Motosat dish. Are you familiar with satellite internet technology?”

Ratchet said, “Yup, I got one on my rig.”

“What kind?” Jim asked.

“I got Dish TV.”

As he left the office he asked for her name. Then said, “Do you like your job?” and as Ratchet realized he was looking around for some kind of comment card, she suddenly looked in her computer and offered that he might have better luck with sites along the freeway, but they cost $5 a night more.

Is the park worth their sky high fee? Sure, if it’s getting late and you don’t want to keep driving (closest nice RV park is in Pine Grove on Hwy 88, about another 30 minutes. But that’s the only reason.

The sites are jam packed together. The facilities are basic, laundry prices high, and the overall atmosphere is more like that of a long term stay mobile home park with the most outragous rules for humans and pets alike (“all pets must walk on paved walkways only and remain off decks of buildings” for example). They flood their lawns at night to keep them green, despite a growing water shortage in the county. In addition, they have the nerve to charge an additional fee for wifi access!

In a nutshell, if you want to check out the quaint historic mining towns in Amador County, do it another time when you don’t have your RV. Stay in one of the many fabulous B&Bs and spend your money on a better business that appreciates it’s customers.