Imagine spending more than $100,000 on your first travel trailer and taking it for a trial run from Las Vegas to Pahrump to spend a relaxing weekend with your spouse.

Tim and Jeannine, who declined to give their last name, were parked just outside the cordoned-off crime scene at Terrible's Lakeside RV Park but had a clear view of space 58, where the Friday morning shooting started.

"We had a quiet evening," said Jeannine. "We watched a movie and went to bed."

Tim said their first indication something was wrong was a woman's voice pleading for help. "We heard a voice close by saying 'Help me, help me -- oh, lord, help me,'" he said. "My wife called 911."

After the suspect was apprehended and the sun rose, about a dozen campers, who also did not reveal their names, were gathered outside the crime scene tape, watching detectives scour the area for shell casings and other evidence. The campers agreed they heard the woman's screams followed by what sounded like quick blows from a hammer against an object like a motor home.

"We know now that those were gunshots inside the coach," said Tim. "The person that owns the motor home was the shooter. When he got out and started shooting, I could see his head above the mounds as he was moving, just above and where his coach is parked."

Other campers added that the woman from the coach in space 58 got in a car and drove away. "She was upset because her two dogs were running around loose and she couldn't find them," said Tim.

People inside nearby travel trailers said they dove to the floor or got behind whatever objects they could while the suspect and sheriff's deputies exchanged fire.

"At one point the shooting stopped and I thought the guy shot all the cops," said Tim. "You could tell there were different kinds of guns being shot. The rapid fire shots seemed to come from the shooter and the cops' guns sounded more like loud booms."

Another woman from Las Vegas who frequently stays at Terrible's RV Park said, "It was surreal to wake up to the sound of gunshots."

She added that the incident would not keep her away from her favorite getaway -- as did everyone else asked at the scene.

A couple from Washington said they had stayed at Terrible's RV Park many times. "We are retired and we are always on the road. This could happen anyplace. We will be back to spend next April and May."

"It was scary and the gunshots were really loud, but I will be back," said Judy from Las Vegas. "I like it here. I travel alone and I have always had a good experience here. This is just one of those things you can't control."

One man added, "Stuff like this happens everywhere now. It's just how life is."