Report From the Road

Well, we departed Hills Creek State Park bright and early on Friday ahead of what seems to have been some hellacious T-storms and high winds in the Northern and Southern Tiers. We did run into some heavy rains along I-80 in western PA but nothing too unusual.

Our first stop was in the Toledo, Ohio area and our next was in Kellogg Iowa. Our third (tonight's) was in Ogallala, Nebraska. We've made some good time and have had the benefit of crossing two time zone lines and gaining those hours on consecutive days. This has allowed us to go just a wee bit further than planned each of the last two days. As a result, Monday's travels will be a tad shorter than anticipated. We still plan on stopping in the Rock Springs/Green River area of Wyoming.

The Tundra is behaving admirably under the strain of towing the Vibe. However, it's getting only around 8 mpg which necessitates our stopping every 160 miles or so to get fuel. And the gas prices.... They were pretty damn high in Indiana and Illinois. And let us not mention the tolls in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The tolls in Ohio were higher than our campground fee. And the toll booths in Indiana are not manned. The result of that is a sizable delay if someone can't follow the directions on the board or has trouble swiping their credit card. (Like the trucker ahead of us.) How they work if you're paying cash, I haven't a clue.

The trailer is doing well also. Although there were a few instances where a screw wasn't tightened sufficiently and eventually came out (the shower door and where the drain pipe from the sink separated because it too wasn't tightened properly). Cushions and draws under the couch and bench seats seem to slide out with some of the rough roads and boxes in the pantry will have to be battened down a bit better, but other wise all systems (hot and cold water, electric, stove top, AC, etc.) are go. Oh, except for the grey water tank sensors. They don't seem to be registering a thing even after several instances of washing dishes, faces and hands. They should be reading something. Maybe after we both take showers tomorrow. The black water tank is reading 2/3 full so it's time to think about dumping that and what ever is in the grey tank. After all, we have some extra time I hadn't planned for.

I mentioned the exorbitant tolls.... Perhaps Illinois should use some of that money to repaint their rest area signs. Have of those blue signs are missing letters  or just plain look like crap. Maybe they could get one of their former governors to do something about them while they serve time.

And Nebraska should do something about the parking at most of its I-80 rest areas. Semi trucks and RVs must parallel park in about six or seven spots along the side of the entrance roads. We drove through two of them without stopping because there was no way. Both times we were following a tractor trailer whose driver came to the same conclusion. Only once, as we approached North Platte, did I see a rest area with a large enough truck/trailer parking area where vehicles could pull through and park on a diagonal.

The rains in western Nebraska must have been quite heavy last week The Platte River, noted for being a mile wide and an inch deep, was way over its normal channel flooding many corn field and pasture. The cows seem to like their new swimming holes, however.

Well, that's about all for now. I'll write when I'm able, bit you can also follow my scriblings on Facebook--which is a wee bit more iPhone friendly.