A Three State Day...

 

Haven't had one of those in a while: being in 3 different states in one day.  Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa... the heartland of America.

 

The rural countryside...

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The saga of the power being out: power came back around 10:30 last night.  Joan thought we might hear a cheer from the campers in the park to let us know... nope, a street light was the tell-tale.  I think a good portion of those camping here packed up and went home (seems these county parks get mostly local folks).  I had given up on the power returning, and started the motor around 10:00 pm to juice up the lithium batteries - we already had it nice and cool in the van.  13.1 volts is as low as it got, which put us at 40% battery remaining.  In about 20 minutes of running the motor (and under hood generator), we were back up to 99% (with the a/c running).  But, before starting the motor, we were sweating - literally and figuratively; we had turned off the a/c to conserve battery power.  To this point, we have not truly tested the limits of the lithium system.

With power back on, we plugged in all our devices (laptop, iPads, phones, watches, AirPods, etc).  Minimalism is not our thing - this van and those in it require power.  That said, it isn't quite like the brochures that show these vans in the most beautiful remote settings, with the occupants sitting outside with a cup of coffee, on their laptops, and maybe a faithful dog by their side.  Enjoying a sunset.  Maybe it's a sunrise?

The brochures don't show the daily ritual of moving cushions from the beds to the front cab and back.  You need the cushions for using the space as your lounge; and then the cushions have to go somewhere so you can sleep on the beds.  Likewise, the brochures don't show cat toys, cat beds, and cat cushions filling any available space.

The folks on my RoadTrek group chuckled at the photo of our van parked next to the big coach a couple nights ago... they were feeling sorry for those people in the big coach (and, yes, there are some former big coach owners in the group besides us) because of having to deal with all that extra "stuff."  A couple extra feet to make room for a permanent dinette would be nice.  And a walk-in shower.  And a nice J-lounge couch.  A washer/dryer.  A full-width wardrobe.  Huge underneath storage.  And then you are back to 40+ feet, and limited on where you can park.  Or maneuver.  Compromises.

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We should be to my brother-in-law's house in a couple hours. 

My County 'Tis of Thee...

 

If you said, "You left out the 'R'," you get a bonus point (1) for being a good proof-reader.  If you asked, "Are you in a county park?" you get 10 bonus points.  For those keeping track: casino, Love's RV Stop, fairgrounds, casino, and now in a county park.  So far, not in a typical RV park this trip.  County or City parks that have RV sites can be good: generally less expensive than a commercial RV park; and often a bit more "rustic."  We have our own amenities with us, so all we're looking for these days is a place to plug in our electric.

"I thought you could do without a plug-in with your fancy-schmancy lithium batteries and solar," you ask.  Back in the midwest, it is warm and humid.  And parked under some trees for the shade, the solar panels aren't doing much.  We could go a yet-to-be-determined amount of time on just the batteries, but in this brutal humidity, I have concerns about how long we could go without being plugged in.  I have been told an overnight while running a/c should be doable... but I don't want to get a low battery alarm at 3:00am - I already have cats to wake me at that time.

That said, we are down in this park and plugged in...

 And then the power at the pedestal went out.  So, we may find out just how long we can go on just the batteries.  I overheard a woman asking someone from the park about the power... he said, "It isn't just the park - the power company is reporting outages in the area."

Murphy and Stella are enjoying this different environment: there are birds that need to be watched...

 And plenty of window vantage points in the RoadTrek.

Speaking of room: the Stowaway2 cargo carrier has room for our outdoor stuff... and, my Emerald X7 guitar...

 I would never do that with a wood guitar - the heat and humidty would kill it.  So far, my carbon fiber Emerald is doing just fine.  And we all enjoy some music most evenings (yes, the cats enjoy being sung to).

 The Stowaway in use...

 It has been working out great this trip.

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A guy from the county came by just a few minutes ago: the power company told him the power will be back on "late tonight."  He had no idea what constitutes "late," but getting power back at some point is hopeful.  To conserve battery, we turned the a/c off.  Drastic?  Just being conservative.

There is one guy on the far side of the shower house (far enough that we don't hear this) running an inexpensive generator.  I have no idea if there are rules here about generator use (that is the case in some parks, but if you are expecting to have electricity and it goes out, I'd say those rules are off.  Most of the rigs here are smaller travel trailers, most of which don't come with a generator.  I believe this guy may be the envy of his neighbors.

Our RoadTrek comes standard with an "under hood generator," which is essentially a powerful auxiliary alternator.  It will charge our lithium batteries faster than being plugged in.  If it comes down to that... just start the motor on the van and let that UHG do its job.  Typically, it is generating juice any time we are driving.  It will generate power for the batteries even when idling.  That said, the rooftop a/c is a big draw and will pull most of the juice that would go for charging.  For now, this is a good test.

It has definitely warmed up in the van without the a/c running, but the sun is down.  We can run the exhaust fan to pull breeze through. 

 

It isn't the heat, it's...

 

... the humidity.  We ran the air conditioning last night, to take the humidity out of the air.

For those of you who may be worried about how Murphy and Stella are doing: we were treated to front row seats of the Cat Olympics around 3:00 am.  Relay races, high jump, long jump, steeplechase and mixed weight class wrestling.  The final tally: Murphy received 3 Gold Medals, 1 Silver, and 2 Bronze.  Stella was close with 2 Gold Medals, 2 Silver, and 1 Bronze.   The media, however, have declared Stella the "new young rising star" of these activities.

"Well, Chet, there's a new kid in town and she has certainly made her mark on these games.  She actually jumped over Murphy at one point!"

"Yes, Bob, the odds-makers were saying that Murphy would dominate these games, but this little silver-striped new-comer has given the veteran some serious competition.  Did you see the crowd reaction?"

"If you meant the blurry eyes and shuffling trip to the bathroom, then yes, the competition between these two felines has made quite the impact on the home crowd."

That's how it was playing out in my head.

We were up, cleaned up, and out earlier than the past 3 days, leaving the fairgrounds just after 8:00.  Except for the cat antics, it was a quiet night.  Surprising to me, considering that the RV sites at the fairgrounds were sold out.

 I mentioned the soggy conditions in yesterday's post...

 This rig pulled next to us just after sunset last night...

 

If you notice the direction of the light, that coach blocked the sun from our windows this morning (a good thing).

We did not use the restroom or showers at the fairgrounds - it would be over-stating to call it "rustic"...

 The "facilities" in our RoadTrek are more compact, but way nicer.  ;-)

I requested a breakfast stop at Taco John's this morning.  Joan seconded it with, "Just this once."  That's enough for me.  Tasty!  And since I didn't get any internetting time (our terminology) this morning, Joan took over the driving so I could surf and get this blog post going...

 After the soggy morning (the rug we put outside by the door) was wet, we made a reservation for tonight.  325 miles down the road, at a casino, with paved sites and full hook-ups.  If everything goes according to the plan, we'll have some kickback time.  And, can put the rug outside to dry.

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We made it to the casino, picked out a site at the RV park, got set up, then off to the casino (they provide s shuttle to take you from the RV park to the casino) for a late lunch/early supper (lupper?).  The food was good; time for some gaming.  Joan picked out a poker machine for me, then went off in search of a machine to try her luck.

An hour and a half later, I was feeling pretty good about myself for coming out $10 ahead.  Well, until Joan found me and told me she was $175 ahead!  She is my Sugar Momma!  That will take care of lunch, the RV site, a tank of gas, and have enough for breakfast tomorrow.  Murphy and Stella won't have to stand on the corner with a sign saying "Will be cute for food."

He and Stella were better with the traveling today.  Certainly not looking forward to the drive, but not hiding out the whole time.  We got these photos of Murph when we returned from the casino...

Below: getting a belly rub and a look of pure contentment...

 

 

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So, what's with all the casino stops?  Are you two developing a gambling habit?  No, but thanks for asking.  Over the years of RVing, we have found that some casinos have RV parks on their property (Don Laughlin taught the rest of the gaming world about making it easy for RVers to spend time and money in your gaming establishment.  And, most often, the price is better than commercial RV parks.  And, some casinos allow overnight parking (dry camping) if they don't have an RV park.

This place we are in tonight was a stop over for us about 25 years ago when heading back north after a winter in Texas.  It was all brand new back then.  It still looks great today.  Both the casino and the RV park have grown; and been well kept up.

That said, we are traveling towards Iowa.  As you may know, early summer thunderstorms are the norm across the midwest, and we have been doing our best to dodge the bad weather.  There are severe weather warnings (thunderstorms, possible hail, and tornados) north of us... so we check weather and plan.  And look for a good place to be for the night.  The trip overall is to see how we all do with 2 cats, making miles, and no firm plans.  In the snug space of this RoadTrek campervan.

 

 

From the mountains to the plains...

 

Is this some patriotic song, Jim?  Probably, but no bonus points.

We were in a Love's RV Stop last night.  This one is separate from the Travel Center (across the street), and Joan booked us a site to the back, so it was very quiet.  Nothing notable about the stay, other than getting a Godfather's Pizza to take back to the van.  This is my idea of camping!

We cleaned up in the van (didn't use the showers at the RV Stop) and hit the road.  Going north on I-25, we had the Rocky Mountains to the west of us.  And...

 No, we are not going that far on I-25.  We turned east just before Colorado Springs and said good-bye to the mountain views from the van...

 A couple shots with the camera on the Oakleys today...

 The views outside the van quickly turned to rolling prairie and farms...

 Stella hid out much of the morning, then on Joan's lap in the carrier again...

 Keeping the day to just over 300 miles, we decided to try a night at a fairgrounds (they often have RV sites), and into another state...

 Joan said, "I'm guessing you will be reminiscing about your band rat days in Kansas?"  She knows me well.

We stopped for the night in Colby, Kansas.  Fueling up before heading to the fairgrounds, we paid almost a dollar less per gallon than the Colorado fuel prices.  Pulling up at the fairgrounds, we were surprised to see that there was a shade over set up by the entrance, checking in campers.  We had read that there would be stock car races this weekend, but this is for a bluegrass festival being held at the fairground for the next 3 nights.  We got the second to the last site available.  Only $5 more than their usual price because of the festival.  ;-)

They had rain here yesterday, and the grass site we are in was a bit soft.  And lumpy.  It took us a while to find the most level spot on this site and still needed to use our leveling ramps.  First time this trip.

 

The couple at the check-in invited us to "join in on the jam tonight"... no idea how loud or long that will be, but we are in a site near the entrance... I think things will be going on further into the fairgrounds.

Stella and Murphy were happy to be down for the day.  Little Stella was having trouble keeping her eyes open...

 Murphy is just chillin'...

 

I'm hoping we'll all sleep good tonight.

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Joan sent me these photos:

Murphy and Stella taking turns looking out the screen at the sliding door...

 A sign for a Space Force Base...

 

I had no idea what Space Force does.  I had to look it up, since I didn't want to give an opinion based on the comedy series (now cancelled) that starred Steve Carell.  Space Force was established on December 20, 2019. Operating under the Department of the Air Force, its core mission is to protect U.S. and allied interests in, from, and to space, maintaining space superiority and providing space capabilities to joint forces.  So, now you know. 

 

 

Staying Flexible...

 

You?  And your achy old bones?  Yes, but I am not referring to that.  The original plan had us heading toward Amarillo after leaving Albuquerque... similar mileage, but better weather if we turn north instead.  New destination for today: somewhere just south of Pueblo, Colorado.  In the great circle routing, either way works.  It has been a long time since we've been up the east side of New Mexico and over Raton Pass.

I learned that Albuquerque drivers are just as bad as El Paso drivers.  For the decades that we went through El Paso to get to Phoenix from the Tropical Tip, I dreaded that 40 mile stretch of road.  Albuquerque this morning was an excrement show, with lane-jumping, no turn signals, and people completely ignoring the speed limit.  I was relieved to get through there in one piece.

Yeah, yeah, crazy drivers... what about the cats?  Thanks for asking.  They have not completely settled in.  Stella hid out for most of the morning, then laid in her carrier on Joan's lap for the afternoon...

 Murphy took up residence in the driver's side door foot well...

 Rolling into Albuquerque from the west...

 Traffic was very heavy, but thinned out when we got north of the city...

 Vegas, baby!  We stopped in Las Vegas for lunch - no, not that Las Vegas; the one in New Mexico...

 There were some pretty areas as we climbed in elevation...

 We were close to 8,000' elevation when we cross Raton Pass.  Joan was aghast at a couple exits on the downhill side, with a 10 and a 15 mph exit speed on steep curves...

 Welcome to Colorado...

 Since this was a change in itinerary, we checked out overnights along the way - settled on a Love's RV Stop, booked a site on-line, and looked forward to Godfather's Pizza (in the Love's Travel Center) for supper.

This RV Stop is across the road from the Love's Travel Center; Joan picked a site that puts us away from the trucks coming and going on that road.  Lots of empty sites here...

 We were off the road about 4 hours earlier than yesterday.  Time to chill.

 

Last Minute Scurrying...

 

Stella and Murphy know something is up: Mom and Dad are up early and carrying stuff out the door.  The Stowaway2 cargo carrier is loaded on the back of the van - and stuff is in that pod...

 I had backed the van in to get the pod mounted into the receiver hitch and then filled with all the stuff that was "test fit" over the last two days.  Then, rotated the van again so we had close access to the slider door for the rest of the interior loading.

We are close. 

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We got out mid-morning.  An ambitious first day plan: make it to the Route 66 Casino RV Park, just west of Albuquerque.  Spoiler alert: it was a long driving day, but we made it.  The details...

Murphy cried like a baby.  For several hours.  Stella stayed in her carrier and let out a peep.  Murph has been through this before, so we knew what to expect with the "first day."  Stella may turn out to be a good little traveler.  But, as we settle in for the evening, she is back to her behavior when she first came to live with us: growling and hissing.  But, during the drive, she was curious...

 Joan took some photos while I was driving...

And, some scenery...

 Crossing the state border...

 I took some photos with my DJI Action 4...

I was looking forward to soaking in the hot tub at this RV park... nope, the hot tub is not currently working.  Boo, hiss.