August 25 through September 1, 2005

Thursday August 25:

Departed home 11:30 AM.  Fueled at Shell in Marlboro, found gas for $2.559/g, 6 cents cheaper than next lowest, at a Shell with special Thursday prices.  The pump had a $75 limit…I had to start that pump THREE times to fill…'nuff said!  Claire pulled off the road saying my keys were hanging out of the gas fill door...sure enough, I guess I'm kinda tired!  Almost immediately after starting again, she asked "What's that noise?"  I looked up and saw the overhead vent above the drivers seats was open.  I tried to close it, the crank gear mechanism had failed totally.  I removed the screen and wire tied it closed temporarily.  The drive itself went easy and fast, out the Massachusetts Turnpike then across the Hudson River in Albany. 

It was not so easy when we got to our destination in Oneonta NY.  This is the THIRD time we've stayed at this Walmart, and only the first time was it easy to find.  We used the next exit book for that.  Street Atlas has it on the WRONG SIDE of Oneonta, 5 miles away, through the center of town.  Claire remembered we had trouble here last time...I had absolutely NO recollection...none.  I think the rush to get away from home and fatigue associated with that blotted it from my mind.  I wonder if I will remember NEXT time?  There were "No Overnight Camping" signs posted here this time...not before.  It was hugely disappointing to think we would need to drive more...but I cleaned up and went in to ask.  The manager said, "Sure it's OK, just don't block the lanes".  :-)  I found 20 bottles of Motorcraft oil here too, bought all, as they are not able to get more.   After storing the oil, we moved into a corner of the lot out of any lanes and relaxed a bit before dinner, a delicious soup Claire had brought cooked from home. I replaced the vent mechanism right away, as the ventilation was necessary in the afternoon sun.  There is more to do, but not even DISHES are as necessary as sleep tonight!  It was easy to go to bed before nightfall here!  We were BOTH very tired.

Friday August 26:

Found free Internet connection here and caught up on email and net business.  Started at 9AM for 371 mile drive to Austinburg OH Flying J for cheap fuel and dump. We always seem to rush through New York state, in a hurry to get somewhere far away.  It is easy to miss the beauty here in that rush, but beautiful it is nonetheless.

We did manage to leave some money here though, as we found cheaper fuel on the Seneca Indian reservation, and filled.  We filled again at Flying J.  Surprisingly our mileage appears to be over 9 mpg so far this trip, but we do have a pretty strong tail wind.  Flying J in Austinburg OH has non potable water, but we will dump here in the morning and hope to get potable water on the Ohio turnpike which is reputed to have dump stations.  When we get good water, we will shower!  :-)

Saturday August 27:

Got under way by 9 after dumping in Flying J.  We got water at Ohio Turnpike exit 79 service plaza.  The plaza had RV parking with electricity, but wanted $15 for a permit good up to 24 hours. The dump/water was free, so we parked elsewhere long enough to shower, then dumped and filled.  We hit rain before Cleveland, but kept on moving.  The pictures turned out predictably awful, but this area is well covered in older trips.  We came out of the rain before we reached our nightly stop at Walmart in Elkhart IN.  This is nice, parked next to a little tree on an Island in the parking lot, with a nice breeze blowing, and we had the screen door open until I went to bed.  Claire made spaghetti with green pepper, basil, garlic & olive oil sauce…very nice!  Claire turned in shortly after our short walk and getting the dishes finished.  I spent some time on the computer, turning in around 10.

Sunday August 28:

Got underway by 9, headed through Chicago on Lakeshore  drive, US41. The area south of the city is older neighborhoods.

Once we reach the city, lakeshore drive is beautiful.

On the way we heard on the radio about a Tri-athlon that would impact some exits of Lakeshore drive. We passed Soldiers Field, quite a sight on this sunny day.

Not much further along, Lakeshore Drive turned into a ZOO…

The area was packed with people, two lanes of US41 were closed for the bicycle part of the Triathlon…  At least we are able to take some cheer from the flower decorations on the footbridge....

I'm sure they were aimed more at competing athletes than traffic bound motorists, but we had little else to cheer about..... well, maybe there were a few other day brighteners...  :-)

 However, things darkened considerably when Lincoln park was PACKED with cars, leaving us no place to park for lunch and a walk we were looking forward to along the lake.  We just kept on going  on US41 when it left the lake....

There was one low bridge we passed under, but we knew the main stuff would clear, just the antennas scraped pretty hard...but we drew some pretty long looks from passersby as we crept under it with loud scratching sounds emanating....  -)).  We soon rejoined the I-90 toll road toward Wisconsin.  We arrived in South Beloit IL Flying J at 2:30, fueled and debated moving further.  We decided to use the time to finish planning the trip to Yellowstone, and take advantage of free cell minutes to make reservations there.  It was a good decision, as we will get to Yellowstone on Labor Day WITH reservations, and see Devil's Tower National Monument on the way, as well as (maybe) an open pit coal mine near Gillette, AND a free Hot Springs state park (with a hot spring soak) near Thermopolis WY on the  way too.  It is hot here, but the fan keeps it bearable.  Rather hot here than hot and humid with a hurricane coming in New Orleans...how awful for those folks!  :-((  Dinner was kale and potatoes with chicken and pork...pretty darn tasty with Claire's spicing!

Monday August 29:

Departed Flying J after early showers, dump and fill, before 9AM.  When we think Wisconsin, we think green meadows, cows, beer, and of course.....

 CHEESE...We stopped in La Crosse WI especially to visit Woodman's grocery, an employee owned store that out competes Walmart locally both on quality and price; they don't take credit cards, but out of state checks are NO PROBLEM....  :-)  We overloaded on cheese, but that was predictable! We have a Sam's insulated bag and could keep some things in that with blue ice cycled through the freezer.  We moved to Sam's for a few things, and I was able to download email. We moved right along to Minnesota, crossing the Mississippi river once again...

Lock and Dam Number 7 stretched out across the river north of us, then we had to climb the steep bluffs before the road opened up again.  We elected not to stop in the Minnesota welcome station this time, and before 4PM were in Albert Lea MN, where a closed exit caused us to drive through downtown to get back to Walmart.  We fueled downtown at better prices than we expect in Sioux Falls, but found Walmart here had gas 7 cents cheaper than that...HORRORS, we've messed up!  :-)  The aftermath of hurricane Katrina will hit us hard in the fuel tank, and we must book our flights home NOW, before prices go still higher.  It was hot inside with the afternoon sun shining against the door side of the coach.  Dinner was a tuna salad, so no cooking heat.  :-)  I found more motor oil for the coach in Walmart, and returned later to buy a fly swatter which we must have left at home.  Unfortunately Walmart sells fly swatters in sets of two....now we have an extra seldom used but very necessary fly swatter on the coach.  :-(  An RV had pulled in after us, parking close by.  As I walked to the store I observed their hood and storage lockers open, stabilizing jacks down, and mechanics creeper lying under the awning.  Two women sitting in lawn chairs under the awning said they had problems, and the men had gone to Walmart to buy stuff to fix it.  I offered any assistance we could provide if they were short tools or equipment.  They suggested prayer...OK, and I'll add "good luck" to that!  I'm not sure Walmart appreciates their parking lot  becoming a repair garage...but to each his own.  I'd try to do such things almost ANYWHERE else given the choice...maybe they had no choice if they broke down nearby, or needed supplies.

Tuesday August 30:

Very early start for us, before 8AM. We noticed a liquid drip from the motorhome next to us, on the drivers side.  Claire noticed no smell, and I believe it is a fresh water drip.....still, I feel sorry for those folks trying to deal with that in the Walmart lot.  Claire was up quite early, could not sleep.  I prepared breakfast, then ate as she drove. Walmart fuel prices jumped 12 cents overnight...YIKES!! The Minnesota landscape is not unlike Wisconsin....

There are lots of dairy farms with silos, green pastures, corn or soybean fields, and COWS.  We stopped in a small town on the way to use the web to book our flights home.  Fares are up over last year, but will most certainly rise more.  We must pay $165 over the $1000 that our credit card frequent flyer plan will pay for two round trip seats on the flight, and that is the absolute lowest fare we could get, taking a red eye flight with two stops back.  We did get flights that are OK for us though, as we arrive near 7AM on Nov 9, which is after the Logan Express starts running.  The return flight is Sunday Jan 9, with hours of layover in Phoenix in case of weather delays....no repeat of last year's overnight in Phoenix!!  If we get there early, we can try for standby on the earlier flight.   We were disappointed that the frequent flyer would not book us on the web special fares America West offered on their website; they insist on going through a travel agent, who insists on their fee.  Our second try for the travel agent DID  finally book the flights we found at higher fares, although they would not have offered those flights if we did not know about them, and they actually found a slightly lower fare by leaving Yuma later, still arriving home at the same time.  They also applied the senior discount for us, saving more fare.  The flight fare from Yuma turned out $35 cheaper for us than flying from Phoenix with ground shuttle from Yuma, and it is faster.  It was after 11 AM when we were back on the road,.....having fun SURE takes time!  :-)  I ate lunch while Claire drove again.  Some of the farmers are getting extra yields from their fields.....

These wind generators are showing up in more places every trip.  I enjoy seeing them and applaud the extra energy we can get from them....and actually think they are kinda PRETTY....  but that's me.  :-)  We crossed into South Dakota, and noticed a change in the farms....

Dairy has been replaced by beef operations and the grasslands are much drier.  The farmers here are frugal and hay the grass strips along the highway as well as their fields.  

We arrived in Sioux Falls SD near 1PM, and fueled at Flying J, then showered before dumping, filling water, and hitting the road again for the hour's drive to Mitchell.  We parked first in Walmart, had dinner (Welsh rarebit and salad...delicious...we had to eat SOME of that cheese!) then moved to Cabelas for overnight.  No joy on net connection in either place.....   I met a couple from MA in an RV who were debating staying here to hunt pheasant, or moving right on to Yellowstone to fish trout...such HARD decisions!  :-)  Wind came up strong in the night...we closed all windows, and set the weather radio to detect alarms for the local area... we should have done that before!  It was a quiet night with no other disturbances.

Wednesday August 31:

Morning came sunny, with the Cabelas lawn sprinklers running full blast.  I am happy I'm not somebody's prize puppy confined in these kennels while my owner shopped....

They definitely get DRENCHED.  We got a start before 9AM, stopping at the Mitchell info center (to get email by WiFi) before getting on I-90.  The Super 8 Motel there has free WiFi, as do many Holiday Inns.  Comfort Inn seems to require an access code to log on.  The drive went fast, before we knew it we had crossed the Missouri River.

We decided to skip plans to stop in Rapid City SD, and continue on to Devils Tower National Monument today.  Soon we passed through Sturgis SD, home of the famed Bike Week every August.  We were late for that this year, (perhaps NEXT year?) and there was not a lot of activity in the streets as we looked from the highway down on Junction Ave.

It doesn't appear the motel is very busy either.  I'm sure it was a little different a couple weeks ago....  :-)  We gained an hour by passing into mountain time, and fortunately so, as we arrived at the Devil's Tower National Monument via the "scenic route", a mistake in navigation on my part;  I misidentified the location of the park from the park's website map, and added 40 miles of hard hilly driving to Claire's shift.  The drive was pretty, but we are trying to stretch gas to reach Gillette without filling, and the hills on the scenic route consumed more than planned.  Our first peek at Devil's Tower was impressive as we climbed over a hill.

We decided to bike from the campground to the visitors center at the base of the tower, and did not realize the extent of the climb to get there.  I stopped on the way to get my bike to drop into lowest gear....that helped, but it was a hard climb.  Some of the views of the tower on the way were worth it though!  

Claire decided to go back and prepare dinner instead. At the visitors center I learned the tower was important to some Indian tribes who consider it sacred, and to rock climbers who view it as a challenge to climb it.  There is a strong difference of opinion between these two groups as to what activity should be permitted here; right now the park service requests that climbers voluntarily refrain from climbing during  June, the month when the Indians perform their most sacred ceremonies, and requests that visitors not invade the privacy of Indians engaged in ceremonies, nor disturb their prayer bundles tied in trees....   The tower is magnificent from the visitors center.

The way the rocks are crystallized and fracturing off makes me wonder why someone would choose to climb it...

Perhaps I lack a sense of adventure?  The ride back to the campground was a FAST coast all the way...possibly exceeding the posted 25 mph speed limit...but who can say for sure?  I refused to look at the GPS which would have revealed all.  :-)  Dinner was a thick pasta soup...very good indeed!  Claire turned in early while I worked on the computer a bit before turning in, and closed up completely as it felt like it was cooling a lot.

Thursday September 1:

I was decidedly cool inside at 4AM, and heavier blankets are in order.  I used the fleece "snow suit" when I got up, and wanted HOT water.  :-)  The outside temperature under the RV was 42 degrees…..and Yellowstone is having some nights below freezing now...brrrrr!  We got an early start and drove up the hill to tower, then hiked the "1.3" mile trail around it...making a touch over two miles.  :-)  The tower top is 867 feet above the visitors center today,  and is still emerging as erosion of softer layers surrounding it exposes more of the hard rock tower core. We walk around to the far side where climbers are hard at work high above us.

The authorities here assure us large pieces very rarely fall off, in fact no large rocks or columns have been recorded falling since the park was established in 1906, but "small" rocks do fall more frequently.  I do not envy those climbers!  Note that the bottom column they are standing on has fallen against an adjoining one for support.....  This is a nice hike, but I am still not at all eager to climb it.  Some things can just "be there" to admire.  :-)  The tower was first climbed in 1893, using iron stakes hammered into a crack to form a ladder.  Remnants of that ladder are said to be visible, but even with pointing aids put in by the park service, we could not see it.   Devils tower is a NICE place...I'm glad we came!  On the way out we stopped to see the prairie dogs.  

Some were quite cooperative ...  perhaps because they've learned to expect the "forbidden food"?  :-)  We drove toward Gillette, stopping at a rest stop to change oil; it went easily, and we continued, past the large open pit coal mine we hope to tour.

The huge machines look like toys from the highway...but I'm sure they look BIG up close!  We were in Gillette fueling before 1PM.  Flying J was at $2.659, but across the street the Exxon was $2.609...so we took Exxon!  The street was crowded with traffic, and by the time we turned and pulled to the pump, the sign was showing $2.659.....HUH?  I asked the man pumping ahead of us...it was still showing $2.609 on the pump.  I had to restart the pump three times to fill the 69 gallons we needed...but it stayed at the lower price throughout.  We looked unsuccessfully at Home Depot and Ace Hardware for a U channel to fix our sliding pantry door, then drove to the library for WiFi Internet.  Dinner was a buffet at Golden Corral...we avoided TOO much overeating...  :-))  We then drove to the Walmart lot near sundown, but it was still HOT in the sun.  It cooled nicely by dusk.  Sometime in the night we closed the overhead vents and needed quilts....

PLANS:  We finish this 3 weeks late on Saturday 9/24/05, in Longview WA, after coming inland to see Mt St Helens yesterday, about to cross the Columbia river into Oregon.  Longview has only analog cell connections, so it will be WiFi or nothing today to upload this.  We will return to US 101 today, to continue down the pacific coast at least until we reach San Francisco, unless weather forces us elsewhere.  Until the next update...

ENJOY!   We are!