I need a vacation...

A short travel day.  Almost like having the boat on the Erie Canal... except this isn't a boat, there are no locks to go through, and we don't have a free city wall to tie up to.  Yesterday, we made it to the Black Hills; since our reservation at our summer destination doesn't start until today, we stopped about 7 miles south of here.  Then, the storm.

Today, we lounged about, took our time to get ready, then rolled out about 10:30, driving separate...

Wave to Joan in the CR-V back there; she has the cargo trailer behind the Honda.  All the sites at Hart Ranch are back-ins, so we knew we'd be unhooking.  With such a short drive, it was easy for me after we checked in to just pull right into our site.

On the way, one of us had some concerns: "Where's my Momma?"

"She's in the car behind us, Rufus - it's all good."

"OK, I will be the navigator..."

Check in is easy and efficient here.  As planned, I backed into our site.  With the coach in place, I backed the trailer in, then we spent some time rotating that by hand to get it situated where it will be the most handy.  Now, the real work begins: getting the motorhome set up for a lengthy stay, get stuff unloaded and rearranged in the cargo trailer, get the scoots unstrapped... kinda the reverse of all the work (except loading our things into the coach) we did to get to roll.

The resort is hoppin'.  Lots of families here... not sure how this plays out for "the holiday weekend," with the 4th of July being on Wednesday.  We are about as far away from the clubhouse, restaurant, swimming pool, and other activities as you can get... by choice.  We have a nice corner site; the RV sites here are larger than most RV parks; the utilities are laid out with modern RVs in mind.  We really like this place...

You may have notice that the sky is looking kinda gray in that photo above.  Yep, there is a chance of thunderstorms again today and this evening - but they are not predicted to be severe like some areas around here got yesterday.  We did keep an eye on that sky while we were getting set up... scurrying, actually.  Now, I could use some kick back time.

The forecast for the next 7 days sounds dry and warm... there will be some scooting!

Summer vacation...

Can retired folks take a vacation?  Isn't "vacation" for getting away from something?  Since we retired 12 years ago, we have spent some summers traveling by boat, some summers working on (and for Joan: around) boats, and some land traveling.  We enjoyed our "fun summer jobs," and last year we had a great time taking the motorhome to the Northeast and generally wandering around.  This year, we were looking for a "getaway" - someplace cooler than the Tropical Tip, AND (this is the important part) some great scooter roads.

The Black Hills have been rated by the motorcycle press, Harley Owners Group, and others as one of the best places to ride in this country.  We used to live there - we know this.  We also have an ownership/membership in my favorite RV resort ever.  So, that has been the plan since we started talking about "What do you want to do this summer?" - the Black Hills.

The motorhome will be our comfortable casita.  The resort is in the middle of the Black Hills, meaning good riding can be had in any direction.  We talked about doing some touring around on the way to and from the Black Hills, but Mother Nature messed with our plans with the rain and flooding in parts of the Rio Grande Valley.  We knew we could still make it a leisurely trip north, and not have to be "driven" (pun intended).

We left northwest Nebraska this morning, with less heat - the weasels are calling for a cool front to be meeting us head-on as we head north.  It was absolutely gorgeous out when we got ready to head out.  Road construction played a small part today: we got stopped a time or two, but nothing major...

For those who think of Nebraska as flatlands, a look at the far western reach of the Sandhills...

We ran the a/c today, but it didn't have to be blasting to stay comfortable.  Rufus napped a bit - even his morning coffee wasn't enough to perk him up...

Snuggle time...

With a short drive to go today, we stopped for a leisurely lunch in Chadron, NE.  Bellies full for all three of us, we had less than 90 minutes to go for the day.  One more state for Rufus to add to his map...

It is a day early for our reservation at the resort, so the plan is to stay near there at a commercial campground.  Coming over a hill, we got our first view of "the hills"...

They got their name similar to the way the Smoky Mountains got theirs: the Smokies look blue(ish) from a distance, resembling smoke.  The Black Hills look... well, black.  It is mostly due to the Ponderosa Pines.  I enjoy seeing this from a distance as we approach...

We rolled into today's campground around 2:00 - plenty of time to kick back and relax.  This is the first time that we have disconnected the car and cargo trailer from the motorhome since we left home.  The site we are in is big enough that we wouldn't have had to unhook... but, this will be easy when we roll into the resort tomorrow.

I'm anxious to get the scoots out, but not today... too much work to put it all away to drive less than 10 miles.  All in due time, my pretty.

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On edit: The driving day was uneventful.  Mother Nature decided to stir things up: severe thunderstorms, large damaging hail, wind gusts to 70 mph, and 3 reports of tornadoes in this part of the state.  For the record, we lived here for a couple decades, and I only remember one circumstance where a tornado touched down in the area during that time.

The weather alerts on TV kept us apprised.  Breaks during local programming to show where the large line of storms were heading: from well south of us to well north of us, in a solid line.  Joan pulled up radar on her iPad; watching things build, we decided to pull in the slideouts on the motorhome.  Not long after that, the first gust front hit.

That view is looking to the west, the directions the storms were coming from.  Radar looked ugly.  Reports on TV about wind damage and hail the size of tennis balls!  "Expect damage to roofs, vehicles, and crops - for your protection move to a secure area!"

And everyone knows that RVs are a good place to be in severe weather, right?  After the strong gust front hit (it shook the coach), the rain started.  Ominous large, thick drops.  More hail reports on TV.  More checking radar on our own... it looked like the line of storms was solid, but the part that would be moving over us was thinner (from front to back) than most.  Green, yellow, red, and purple returns on radar.  Pulling the slides in was a good move - the wind howled and the rain pounded; with the slides in, the awnings over those slides are protected.  Thunder, lightning, but we lucked out with only a few "thumps" of hail.

That line of storms passed, but there is another building behind it.  Looks like we may be living in a "skinny coach" for the evening.

How'd Rufus do with the storms?  Thanks for asking.  He looked out the window with me, then sat beside me at the dinette.  No fuss.  He did great.

On the bright side: the thunder is crackling as the next cell moves through, but with no rain coming down, we have a couple windows open... it smells good, and the light breeze is refreshingly cool.

Just north of us on I-90, the heavy hail looked like this...

For those familiar with the area, that photo above is by Piedmont.  Road crews brought out snow plows to clear the road!  (Photo above from the local NBC affiliate).

There must be a rainbow somewhere - sunshine behind this current cell that is bringing us rain and lightning...

Do you ever get lost?

Well, I have been told to do that.  From my pilot training: I never get lost... sometimes temporarily situationally confused.  The coach has a built-in infotainment center: AM/FM/SiriusXM/DVD, GPS mapping with a gazillion POI (Points of Interest), driver warning (curves, speed limit changes, exceeding the posted speed limit, camera monitor for rear and side cameras, bluetooth operation, a probably a few other things I don't remember.  We also use a portable Garmin GPS that has Voice Command, custom POI, and the usual GPS stuff - it gets moved between the coach and the CR-V.

With all that, it should be hard to miss a turn.  I somehow managed to do that today, and we took a short (7 1/2 hour... I'm kidding) round about.  Both GPS units wanted me to "make a U-turn"... to which I replied (yes, I talk back to them), "Have ya seen what I'm driving?"  Checking her phone, Joan determined that it would be better to continue the direction we were heading and not get caught on gravel roads.  Pretty much our excitement/diversion for the day.

Leaving from Liberal, Kansas this morning, the change of terrain is apparent; agriculture to the horizon...

I wondered what this was...

Joan said, "Check your blog from two years ago in October - you wondered the same thing back then."  I looked; didn't see it.  My guess is it is weather forecasting related.

There is still some oil production in Kansas, too...

We had a hardy breakfast this morning when we stopped at a Loves to fuel up and they had a Taco John's co-located.  Breakfast steak burrito... yummmm.  So, as it got close to noon, we weren't hungry, but we knew Rufus would be... we stopped at a truck stop to give him a chance to eat while we weren't moving.  I stepped outside to check the rig - the wind was blowing about 25, out of the south; hot and dry.  Check out this large flag...

It was really snapping in the wind.

The folks who run the RV park where we stayed last night asked about us double towing - they said that was only allowed in Kansas if the middle unit was a 5th wheel.  When I checked about the same situation in Arizona, it is because the authorities feel it is unsafe to tow a bumper hitch trailer behind a bumper hitch trailer.  With the SUV as the middle vehicle, it is as, or more, stable than with a 5th wheel.  Still, it made me wonder.  We had run this same rig through Kansas two years ago (on our way back from Friday Harbor) and had no issue.

Leaving Kansas...

Entering Nebraska...

Not long after, we saw a Highway Patrol vehicle.  I said, "Well, I guess we'll see if there is an issue with double towing in Kansas."

To which Joan replied, "We aren't in Kansas, anymore."  She did not call me Toto.  ;-)

We had a few east and west stretches of two lane, making for a rather direct crosswind.  Rarely was it directly behind us; more often quartering a bit.  Going through one town, there was a sign that read, "10 foot width limit ahead."  They lied.  We are 8 1/2 feet wide at our widest point (the cargo trailer)... of course, there was a "Wide Load" truck that came at us on that construction area on that bridge.  I slowed to a crawl... our trailer tire on the passenger side was just scuffing the concrete barrier, but the tire on the other side was just touching the yellow line in the middle... 10 foot width, my ass!  The wide load was on a trailer hauling those giant round hay bales... if our coach had been any wider, it would have scraped down the side of it.  I was surprised that there was no one to stop traffic to let a "Wide Load" vehicle pass through there.  I checked the trailer tire at the next possible stop... a light scuff, no gouges.

Other than the wind, the rest of the day's drive was uneventful.  We planned a gas and grocery stop at a Walmart before settling in for the day.  Joan went into the store while I gassed up.  I threaded my way around that tight parking lot to find a space long enough for us.  Rufus took advantage of Joan's absence by sitting in her seat...

"She didn't call 'Saved!' " the furry boy said.

"True, but I'm sure you will give it back to her when she returns, right?"

"Yeah... I suppose."

A short trip to this evening's RV park.  It is hot again (upper 90s), and we have the a/c going full blast.  The NBC on the park's cable is out of Denver - they were saying that Denver hit a record of 105º today.  Yep, hot.

Tomorrow, we will be running into a north wind as a cool front moves in.  The high where we should be on Saturday is forecast to be 70º... that will be a refreshing change!

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On edit:

Joan took these of Rufus today...

It was a long driving day (our longest this trip) - he is bushed...

Yes, this is the same cat (more awake, though)...

Are we there, yet??

Hot. Just hot.

Summer in northwest Texas.  It didn't take long for it to get into the 90s.

The built-in infotainment center in the motorhome alerted me to a "Curve Warning Ahead"...

Must have been way ahead.  I never saw it.  Did see some road construction, though...

And hills...

Into our third day of driving, and until about 3:00 this afternoon, we were still in Texas.  Rufus got some nap time in - he is feeling quite secure...

As we got close to lunch time, we looked ahead on the map.  The town of Paduca looked like it might be big enough for a lunch stop... nope.  It was small, and felt like we were in a time warp...

A 5 & 10¢ store (closed)...

I don't think that's a current first run...

I found us a semi-shady place to park; Rufus got fed, Joan made sandwiches for us.  I stretched my legs a bit...

The next town was a half hour away (Childress) and looked even smaller on the map.  It wasn't.  They had all kinds of fast food, a Pilot Travel Center, and a Walmart.  Well, too late since we already ate, but we found gas for $2.37 - about 50¢ per gallon less than we've been seeing.  I still had half a tank, but decided to fill 'er up.  A snug fit getting this rig in the gas station, I had to put it at an angle to the pump so we'd be able to get out...

More road construction...

We started seeing a bunch of these tanks (for compression pumping oil wells)...

Mid afternoon, I was ready for something cool and refreshing - we stopped at another town, and I ran across the street to a Sonic... chocolate shakes!

Tasty on this hot afternoon.  The outside air thermometer in the motorthome was reading 100º - that's what the weather weasels were predicting.

Finally, after 3:00, we came to the border with Oklahoma...

This would be a 3 state day, because we are passing through the narrow panhandle of Oklahoma...

While stopped at a light in Liberal, Kansas...

Yeah, it is hot.  Not 113º like this says (I'm sure the temperature probe was in the sun)... but it is hot.  We ran the generator the last half hour or so of driving so we could run the coach air to get the back of the motorhome cooled down a bit before stopping for the day.

A longer driving day today, but we did get an earlier start.  Looks like the heat will continue to follow us north.

Scenarios...

Rufus is a good travel cat.  For two days, while we were scurrying around the house getting things ready for loading, he was extremely anxious.  While I fully believe these fur babies understand our feelings and emotions, this was unusual behavior for him... he was downright clingy... he followed us everywhere in the house.  He cried when we went out the door.

Yes, I talked with him and told him we would be heading out for a trip, and that he was going to get to see lots of new scenery.  Little Izzy had been with us in about 35 states... so far, Rufus has only been in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.  But, I digress.

Here's my thoughts: he was reasonably healthy when we got him: muscular and not undernourished.  He had no fear of people, in fact just the opposite: lovey and vocal.  I can't believe he was a stray, so I'm thinking someone just abandoned him.  He wasn't neutered or chipped.  His looks are unique enough that the pound or shelter would connect the description.  His fur was thin and stuck to him, and he smelled terrible.  (Yes, sounds very desirable, huh?)

I think when he saw us packing, he was afraid he would get left behind again.  Yeah, this may all be in my head, but I do understand this boy - he and I communicate well.

On with today: we rolled out of the campground and were immediately into San Antonio traffic.  We've driven through here plenty of times, so it was pretty uneventful (just the way I like my city driving, especially running this rig).  San Antonio is a big city, not just in population, but also in square miles.

Joan kept Rufus on his tower or her lap while we drove through SA.  Once on the other side of the city, he was anxious to get in my lap...

We bailed off of I-10, driving north.  This is what a 75mph 2 lane looks like in Texas...

The most interesting views of the day were while driving through Fredricksburg...

With all the time we've spent in Texas, we have never been to Fredricksburg.  We considered stopping for a night, but it is hot - this is going to be a town best explored on foot.  So, we have put that on our list to visit; maybe on the way home.

Besides that, there was a lot of nothing out there...

Well, there was some road construction...

One small town we went through had a DQ - I stopped and brought us both back hot fudge malts.  Large was probably more than we needed, but it was cool and refreshing.

Rufus spent much of the day on my lap...

When traveling like this, we rarely make reservations ahead of the afternoon of our stop.  That would have been fine, had there been any phone coverage in this area.  Joan had various devices out, hoping for a signal...

When Verizon and AT&T advertise that they cover 95% of the country... this is the 5% where they don't.  We had tentatively planned on stopping in Abilene - didn't get phone reception until we were just south of city limits.  We stopped at a Sam's Club to gas up (Abilene has the highest gas prices we've come across so far), then called the closest campground...a KOA.  For full disclosure, we use KOA if there aren't other options as we travel.  They are generally more expensive than other local RV parks.  My main goal: a pull-through site so we don't have to unhook, and electric so we can run the air conditioner at full blast!  Did I mention: it's freakin' hot??!

I called the KOA and got: "It's a great day at KOA, this is Shawn.  Can you hold?"

Before I could just ask if they had a site available, he put me on hold (without waiting for my answer).  After a long wait, he came back on - I asked about a site for our length.  "Oh, I'll have to check to see.."  Yeah, he put me on hold again.  When he came back, he said, "Oh, I don't know... yeah, we have one site available."

"Can you hold that for me, we are 10 minutes away from you?"  Nope, he made us go through the whole registration process on the phone... and then still had to check in when we got there.  Shawn could use a refresher course in Customer Service.

Not exactly an upscale park...

We drove to our hot dusty site.  Not their fault it is hot.  We pulled in and got hooked up... yeah, looks like we got that last site...

Yeah, plenty of empty sites, almost all that would fit our length.  Shawn is a big ol' douchebag.  I know, that isn't a nice thing to say about douchebags.  After getting hooked up, a truck pulling a 5th wheel pulled up on the road behind us - he got out of his truck and started walking right towards me... "I guess they double-booked us in this site?" the guy said.

"Did Shawn wait on you?" I asked.

He said, "Yeah, this is pretty typical with him.  He worked at another KOA - he's a bit of a screw-up."

"A bit?"  The guy said, "No problem.  I'll walk back to the office and get another site - looks like they have plenty.  My rig won't be in your way there, will it?"  I guess I wasn't the only one (other than Shawn) who noticed that there were plenty of sites.

No matter.  We are down for the day.  We have glorious air conditioning.  (It was 96º when we pulled in.)  The hot weather is following us north.  I am hoping there won't be a clash of warm and cool systems along our route... hot is only an issue when you step out of the coach.  ;-)

Plus, I have a great cat who lowers my blood pressure when I have to deal with douchebags.