Monday, November 7, 2016

Monday, November 7, 2016.

The time change off of daylight saving time is really taking it’s toll on us weary travelers. Add the miles of driving and sitting in the truck when we are not used to that and you have two people that are mighty tired. But we are enjoying our trek together.

This morning it started out gray and gloomy but in an hour the sun was shining brightly and it looks like it could be a very nice day. The wind is a bit brisk and really blowing across the land. Good thing we are not driving anywhere today.

A trip to the grocery store for some veggies, milk and eggs today. There was only one grocery store and not much else in the town of Stratford, TX. The meat looked great and the prices were so good that if I had room the freezer, it would be filled with t-bone steaks. It was on sale and a really good price We drove around to see what else was in town and what we saw was a lot of deserted buildings. There really wasn't much but we did find a post office and two banks and a liquor store. hehe

The rest of the afternoon was  laid back and it felt good to not be bouncing around in the truck. Although the roads in Texas were good. The evening was just as quiet and restful. Not many channels to pull in so tv left a lot to be desired.

Tomorrow we head on down the road again, with hopefully some nice scenery this time. 

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Sunday November 6, 2016

Last night we found a Walmart in Dodge City and called it a day. We did ask if we could stay and were told that most park on the south side of the lot but we parked on the north where there were less trucks.  Woke up to sunshine and headed through the parking lot to a gas station for coffee. For some reason we didn’t have enough power to run the coffee pot. Mark will be looking into the transfer switch we we take a longer stay down the road. Anyway the coffee was hot and strong enough to put hair on anyones chest. My goodness everyone down here likes strong thick coffee, but me.

As soon as we got out of Kansas and into Oklahoma the roads turned from good to horrible.  As we later learned all roads in OK are that way. The truck and camper were bounced all over the road. Not to mention how hard Mark had to work to keep the truck and camper on the right side of the road. We stopped many times on our way out of OK to give our bodies and the machinery a rest. Lola was as glad as we were to get out of the truck. The way side rests were as bad as the roads. They have just dilapidated tables with part of a roof on them. No trash cans or toilet. So there was garbage all over the area. But at least we could pull over and stretch our legs. It’s nice having your bathroom with you along the way. :) Feedlots were the only sites to be seen. And some of them stretched as far as the eyes could see. Amazing!!!!!!!

It was a long nasty ride the short distance we had to travel in Oklahoma but we made it unscathed. As soon as we crossed the state line to Texas, the roads instantly turned to great roads. Long long straight roads were very tiring and finding a place to park for the night was next to impossible. Finally we came across the town of Stratford in Texas and there was a unattended RV park with all the hook ups we needed. Finally some rest for Mark and his tired arms and back. We could almost hear the truck sigh in relief. So we let out the slides, put down the stabilizers and settled in for the night. Finally, too, we had a nice meal in our home on wheels. No eating out which was nice, except for all the dishes the meal created. hehe But Mark being the great husband that he is, still helped with the clean up and dishes, before falling asleep in the chair. He deserved that rest too.

Marks additions to the trip to far.

So it has been a while since I checked in and left some notes. Funny thing solar works great but it does need sun to get it all fired up soooooo guess what? Its been raining and overcast for over a week and as such our onboard needs sucked the battery bank down too low to use the inverter (12volt to 120volt) so we have been relying solely on the onboard 12 volt systems.

Someone may say I know he said he packed a generator and I did, but without unhitching the camper from the truck it is inaccessable at this time. (Note to self replan storage of generator). But now that we are at a campground and the sun is shining again the battery bank once again is fully charged.

On another note to self “Never Ever” go into a metro Kansas City downtown during rush hour in the rain pulling a 5er. There is room for me and all the rest of the cars and trucks but not truck and 5er and all the rest of the other cars and trucks. What an education I got attempting that poor decission. Almost as stressful as on the next day when I turned to soon and ended up in a very very SMALL PARKING LOT of a financial institute. Trust me when I say I had some Divine Help getting out of that tight spot.

Ok so now what have I been doing to the 5er lately. Well we had a little poo tank issue. Before it was resolved I had opened up the belly of the 5er alone to make sure the drain valve was functioning correctly. If you have been following along then you know that our problem was not the valve (thank God) but our own omission of preparation for use. Today I got a chance to finish closing up the opening with screws and duct tap. Yea I pulled a Red Green trick I know but it worked and I also used some spray foam for the final gaps.Also because of my hast in closing the slid outs while preparing to leave our over night Boon docking location (this time a Walmart)

 I got a chance today to put back on the wheel molding trim that broke because I closed the slide with one of the spare tires we carry in the way………. Oops but really not big deal a strategically placed screw and washer, some tie straps (Lincoln would be proud) and some clear silicone caulking and not to brag but it is in better shape than it was before I screwed it up!

I also got a the time to replace both gas lines that attach the propane tanks to the 5er. They were not leaking but had grown stiff with age and were hard to line up when connecting the line to the propane tank. It really takes on a higher priority after a 1:30 in the morning in the rain and you're attempting to connect the lines on the new tank because the furnace ran out of fuel. But as everything becomes an adventure this gave me a chance to browse thru a local True Value hardware store looking for gas thread tape. Man what a store (thought I died and went to heaven) I could have stayed there all day.

But one quick question? How and why would you pay $279.00 for a Yeti lunch container. One of those lunch bag sized soft sided ones. Man if I had one of those I could not afford to fill it. Really I am sure they have there purpose but are they in that much demand? Why?

Ok it has been a great couple of days laying back and collecting Gov. Pay hehehe. Tomorrow we hit the road again and the adventure continues. Mark

What are the size of the squirrels in Kansas??

We found these lieing next to a small oak tree on our site at the Owl's Nest campground.

Day 3 November 3, 2016

This morning, Nov. 3rd we woke up to a flat tire on the camper. So we called our Good Sams club and someone came and changed the tire for us. That was nice to have. The man that changed the tire said it looked more like it was just out of air. He was a very nice guy and finished the job quickly. He also told us how to get to the campgrounds we were heading for. A quick coffee and breakfast flatbread at Subway and we were on our way.

We are now at the Owl Nest campgrounds in Junction City, Kansas. Very nice lady held the spot for us. She felt so bad that we had issues on our first trip to Kansas. The site we got was a drive through so we didn’t even have to back the camper into the spot. The campgrounds is a bit too close to the highway so it’s noisey, but ear plugs work well for sleeping. Mark even wore them last night and he slept better. He won’t laugh at me and my earplugs again. LOL It’s a nice little campgrounds with all that we need to enjoy our two day stay.

A couple bonuses to this nice little campgrounds is that it has free wifi, and 50 amp service. Which means I don't have to unplug one small appliance to use another. Wow, I like being spoiled.

 It is nice and sunny and now it’s 72º with a nice breeze. Love the sun and being able to open all the windows in the camper for a change. Last night it only got down to 49º, which is what it was this morning, and the people here thought it was cold. hehe 
 Tonight we are going out for supper to someplace where we can sit and relax. 

Day 2 November 2, 2016

The next morning, Nov.2nd, it was overcast and cool, which is what we were used to by now. So we tore down and headed out of Iowa. But not before having a great cup of coffee and some sustenance. 

Getting tired by the time we got to Kansas City Missouri we looked for a WM. OMG, that is not a place to be during rush hour. It was so bad we couldn’t even begin to look for a place to stay. The constant rain was no help at all.

We did, however, find a small Walmart to pull into and see how to get out of that city. Oh, When we got into the WM parking lot, I took Lola for a walk and we noticed there was hail all over. God saved us from that hail that could have destroyed our solar panels. The grass was white with hail!!! There was a slight break in the rain and we found our road to leave the city never to return. hehe 

The rain continued to follow us all night long.  When we came upon a large parking lot along side of a Walmart, we parked it for the night. We put on way too many miles in one day. Even poor little Lola was feeling lousy from that long ride. A conclusion was made that that will NOT happen again. We are in no hurry so quit hurrying. 

Day one, November 1, 2016

Before we could leave our Hutchinson campsite we had issues with changing the fridge over to propane. After many attempts we finally called the place where we bought it and it was a simple little turn of a nut and we had propane to the fridge. The tear down was finally done in sunshine. Guess the sun was happy to see us leave. 

The roads and traffic were good until we hit Iowa. From there to here in Kansas we found that their highway crews has no idea how to transition from road to bridge or bridge to road. The poor truck and trailer were in a constant battle with every bridge and road transition. So I sent a huge Kudos to the Minnesota road construction crews. Go to the southern states and show them how things should be done!!!

We spent our first night in Dows Iowa at a BP truck stop. The people there were so very nice and friendly. The highlight of that stop was that they had a Godfathers pizza spot there. So we had our first Godfathers pizza in years!!!!! OMG, we inhaled, or at least I inhaled the wonderful pizza. We asked if we could park in the back. The attendant was happy to offer any assistance and even showed us the lounge, laundry, and all their amenities of the truck stop. WOW, amazing kindness. So we back into a spot and hunkered down for the night.

I forgot to mention a little cafe that we stopped at for lunch. It was called Dinky Cafe and it was that, very dinky, aka tiny. The board of health would have had a field day. The prices were very reasonable but I doubt we will ever go there again. Now we just laugh about the place. ;)