Not A Good Day

Yesterday started out beautiful.  The weather was great.  We doddled around pulling up stakes to make our day's run.  I decided it was time to check the tires and found one rear tire quite low.  As I messed with it, I could hear air escaping sometimes.  The sound was directly related to movement of the air valve extender, a braided steel extension added to make airing up easier - actually, possible.  After messing with it a while, I checked the pressure again and it checked about normal.  So, I decided the problem was the extension and it was not opening the valve enough to give a good pressure test.  I checked on-line for the closest tire shop, but didn't really find anything - not surprising, considering where we were.  I decided we'd better head back to Broken Bow and get it checked out.  But, as it turned out, there was a tire shop/gas station/feed store back at the highway only a few miles.  The fella there was nice and helped us out immediately.  He jacked it up and jerked the wheel off (actually, two things good did happen that day - the convenient tire shop and the bad tire was on the outside).  My diagnosis of the problem was correct.  The butt hole that I had replace all my valve stems and re-balance the tires for $162 has used a replacement valve that didn't fit right.  He had obviously had trouble with it a had damaged it.  So, the extender could not thread down on it well.  As for the leak, the extender itself was cracked.  Whether the tire guy at Forsyth damaged it or not, I'll never know.  But, the tire guy at Anselmo, NE replaced the valve stem and added another type extender - all for $12.50.

We got back on the road thanking our lucky stars for the tire shop.  It was stressful and before long I was getting tired.  Joyce took over the driving - it was a straight road with little traffic.  She can't possibly get into trouble.  And, she didn't.

Just a few miles out of Alliance, NE, we switched back.  I hadn't driven more than a few miles when "whoosh", something seemed to have blown off the roof.  We both thought it was one of the vent covers and I pulled to a stop alongside the road.  I climbed the rear ladder and checked the roof.  Roof amiss up there.  I climbed down and walked along the passenger side.  Nothing.  I walked around the front to the driver's side and there it was.  The first 2-3 feet of the siding on the cab-over bunk had blown off, leaving a jagged tear at the start of the side window and exposing raw plywood underneath.  Crap!

I walked back down the highway looking for the piece and as I was approaching it, a Highway Patrolman pulled up to it and threw it in his car then drove up to me.  He gave me and the piece of siding a ride back to Pumpkin and after verifying I was still mobile, he headed on his way.  Nice guy.

Our next campsite was to be Walgen Lake, but we had earlier decided to change it to Chadron State Park.  It wasn't far away, so we made our way there - slowly.

Once we got settled at the campground, I drove to the town of Chadron and bought some "supplies".  I got some 4" wide Gorilla tape, some silicon caulk and caulking gun and some spray paint.  When I got back to camp, I taped the area all up and sealed the edges.

Then this morning, after it warmed up some, I spray painted it so it wouldn't look too terrible.

Now, where were we?

Oh yes.  Now I remember.  We drove up to the Badlands.  We're camped there now.

There's more to the trip from Chadron to the Badlands, but this post is long enough.  I'll fill you in tomorrow.

Girls Night Out

So, here we are, at Victoria Springs State Rec Area about in the middle of Nebraska.  It's wide open spaces and the kind of place you would expect cowboys on horseback.  But, instead, we're at a cute little campsite near a spring forming a little fishing lake and a small creek draining slowly out of it - so slowly, the lake and creek are heavily clogged with moss or algae.

This is actually the morning after.  It was a crisp 38 degrees when I got up.  We've used the furnace some the last two nights.  But, it is supposed to warm up and be just about perfect the rest of our stay in this part of the country.  We'll see.  Could be true.  Dusty is not here.

Of course, we did not have reservations when we got here.  Though, we had no problem getting a campsite.  It was early when we stopped.  But, then "they" started arriving.  It looked like an old broad reunion.  There must have been a dozen show up, some in SUVs, some in pickups, but all pulling itty bitty camp trailers - some of which I would have difficulty finding big enough for a bed.

Turns out they were part of "Sisters on the Fly", an "Outdoor Adventure Club for Women".  They sure had some neat looking little trailers.

Then there are the old farts in their nice 5th wheels.  Seems there's a bunch of siblings having a reunion.  Most of them older than Joyce and I and several seemingly barely able to get in and out of their trailers.  I wonder what these old folks think about this concentration of women couples camping in their campground.

Love Them Lutherans

We changed our itinerary a bit.  I had our next stop as Glen Elder COE campground near Glen Elder, Kansas.  But, since we toured Mushroom Rocks on Tuesday instead of today, Glen Elder was a bit too short a day.  So, here we are in Deshler, Nebraska.  Go ahead, Google it.  It's a little town of less than 1000, but about 99% is German Lutherans.  There are three churches, two Lutheran churches and a Presbyterian church.  There's a Lutheran school almost as big as the public school.

The town (city) has a nice city park with 10 RV spots.  Good thing it's October, though, as there isn't a tree within 100 yards.  But, the city offers these sites with electricity free of charge.  The sites are all along the street and intended for the RVs to back up to them.  But, we're pulling Coors and not another camper is around (except for the unoccupied 5th wheel that's parked out away from the actual sites).  So, we just pulled in across 3-4 sites parallel to the world.

Ditto found out the hard way (so did we) that Deshler's main crop seems to be goat head burrs.  They are everywhere.  Ditto was so pitiful.  We'd be walking along and she's be ranging out on her leash when suddenly she'd pull up with one foot in the air and we'd had to pull a burr out of her foot.  She and we tracked some into Pumpkin and Joyce found them with her stocking feet.

We took a walk into town...

The park is on what one might consider the wrong side of the tracks except the tracks have long been removed.  However, they used to pass through town just the other side of the tin building on the left.

We had to hurry our walk as it was approaching sunset and the town was rolling up the sidewalks right behind us.  We did see a sight that I felt was noteworthy.  It was some big metal silos.

Now, they may not seem noteworthy to you at first, but notice the top of a couple of the silos.  They are all bent up.  Fifty feet or more above the ground and they are bent way up there.  Now how did that happen?

Tomorrow we'll head on up north and west along the Sandy Hills highway.  It is touted as a beautiful and interesting trip, although out here it doesn't seem to take much to impress.  I guess it's because it can be a long ways between the "oh's" and "ah's".

Wandering Through Kansas

We're Still In Kansas, Toto

We left the Santa Fe campground in Chanute pretty much like we found it.  The trip ahead would take us through some pretty open country.

I should have suspected something when I saw a sign alongside the road that read "Experience the Flint Hills".  At first, as we traveled through this part of the country, it was interesting as to how wide open it was.  Just rolling grassy hills sprinkled with an occasional oil well, some pumping, most not.  Then we realized how desolate the place was.  Very few farms or houses and almost no sign of farming and few cattle.  This went on and on.  We spotted another two or three signs just like the first, "Experience the Flint Hills".  It occurred to me that the first sign should have given us fair warning.  The fact that the sign said "Experience" and not "Enjoy" or something like that should have been alerted us to what was ahead.  But, we "Experienced" the Flint Hills.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, we started seeing cattle and hay fields and nice farms.  I guess we made through.

We stayed at Kanopolis Lake last night.  My intent was to stay at the Venango Area COE campground.  By accident and non-attention, we wound up in a state park near the dam.  But, the price was right ($8.50) and the sites were open and clean, so here we are.

My schedule had us touring Mushroom Rocks State Park today, but since we arrived early at the campground, we jumped in Coors and took the 15 min. trip.

These things were really interesting.  Out in the middle of nowhere, in a little draw was a 5 acre park with these rocks.  The rock in 2nd photo was literally covered in names carved in by visitors.  Most were relatively recent, probably written over older ones, but one in particular was chiseled in very deeply and was dated 1878.

We went back to the campground and made ready for the evening.  Ditto and I went for a long walk and as we returned, here's what I saw in the west.

This morning turned out overcast and tried to be dreary, but it was about 60 degrees and no wind.  Dreary didn't fit.  It's a nice quiet morning.

Today...9/19/2011

We got away about 11 am. Amazing. We took the sorta back roads like we usually do. Well, once we passed Springfield, anyway. We took Hwy 266 starting at Halltown and then Hwy 96 once 266 quit. We followed 96 all the way to Carthage. It gets a bit fuzzy after Carthage. The map in my head did not agree with the map Joyce was reading and the GPS didn't agree with either. I made the mistake of trusting the GPS and we wound up on some long dusty dirt roads in Kansas. They were good roads as far as dirt roads go, but still dusty. Finally I gave up on the GPS and headed south where I was sure to find Hwy 160. Eventually, (by following signs, not the GPS) we found Big Brutus. I took a couple of photos, but we did not stop for the tour. For one thing, I would have had to disconnect Coors as there was not enough room to turn this rig around. For another thing, it cost $6 each and we didn't think we would gain that much deep knowledge from it - what with seeing it from the road (relatively close) and with what one can read on the Internet.

So, I gave the GPS another chance and we headed for Chanute - I thought. But, it quickly became obvious the GPS was in love with dirt roads. So, I headed for Hwy 160 again. We then caught Hwy 169 to Chanute. Once that close, I gave the GPS its head again. Dang! Dirt roads still. I jerked the reins and we went on up into Chanute and finally found the park - Santa Fe Park. It's a nice park. Several ball fields, a nice picnic area and well manicured. But, where the heck is the RV park? Finally some nice guy stopped us and pointed us in the right direction.

They have about 30 spots. Most are pull-throughs, but only about 40-45 feet long. With Coors in tow, we're right at 50 ft. I managed to get Coor's tail end just off the road by pushing Pumpkin's nose a bit into the road in front. It will have to do.

After a big dish of spaghetti and a nice walk (the weather is great!) we settled in for the night. Tomorrow is another day on the road, exploring Kansas???

Tomorrow...

Today was spent dodging rain and loading up.  The fridge is full and the kitchen cabinets, too.  We've packed our two seasons of clothes and aired the tires.  About the only thing left is to hook up Coors and load up Ditto and Joyce.  Oh wait.  Gotta take a bath and wash my hair tonight.  Joyce gave me a haircut this afternoon and the itch is about to drive me crazy.

We made arrangements with Floyd today to look in on Oxford and the hens.  The hens have just begun laying eggs, but Oxford just lays around.  Not quite the same, but both will need some attention while we are gone.  They'll be in good hands.

We leave out tomorrow.  Our first stop - drive by, actually - is Big Brutus.  I'm not sure why, but it's on the travel agenda.  It's about 180 miles away so that should give Pumpkin plenty of time to tell us what hurts.  If no complaints are registered, then it's on to Santa Fe Park in Chanute, KS (whoopee!).  Well, that's all right.  We don't want to start out too big.  It might make the rest of the trip a let down.  Onward and upward!  South Dakota or bust.

Crunch Time

We're tightening down all the screws trying to get Pumpkin ready to roll next Monday.  I sealed the questionable spot on the roof yesterday and the gap in the window rubber seal this morning.  I don't know if either was the source of water penetration, but they shouldn't be now for sure.

I cleaned out the stuff from the basement compartments that won't be needed on this trip.  Then I added a few things - like that danged bottle jack I could have used Labor Day weekend.

I'm leaving the cab-over bunk mattress out.  We won't need that either and it will help dry out what dampness there is left up there.  I'm going to stow our lounge chairs up there instead of in the Jeep so it's much easier to access them and put them back.  If stowed in the Jeep, I have to unzip the rear window to get them out and that can be a pain.

Joyce made some covers for the inside of the vents.  They Velcro in place.  They should help insulate both heat and cold.  If we want to open a vent, it's a simple matter of just ripping the cover off and sticking it to the ceiling somewhere else.  Joyce put Velcro hooks on the covers and the ceiling fabric works like Velcro fuzz.

I got a new LNB (feed horn) for the satellite dish and checked out the cables before we went to Beaver over Labor Day.  But, there were too many trees to even try to pick up Dish TV.  Where we're going this time, I think there will be lots of opportunity to try out the satellite TV.

The buffalo roundup at Custer was going to be a problem for us in finding a camping spot.  If we arrived at Custer during the roundup, most everything would be full.  If we arrived afterward, many campgrounds close as soon as the roundup is over.  But, I found Ellsworth AFB has a nice "Famcamp" RV park and was assured we could get in just about any time.  The AF base is just outside Rapid City so it will be a good jump off point for daily outings into and around Custer SP.  We may stay there several days.