The Twinge...

 

I mentioned that twinge in the stomach feeling I got as we were headed home from Phoenix... excited to be home.  I got that again today at the first sight of the Black Hills in the distance.  Yes, I am happy to be here.

The drive has been long and hot.  The a/c has been on high in the coach whenever we're down.  The dash air has been on any time the engine is running.  Today, for an hour or so, I was able to use the vent.  When we stopped for a potty break and to get Rufus a snack, it was quiet in the motorhome.  That's nice.

We left from Ogallala, NE, this morning before 8:00 - rain and thunderstorms predicted in the Black Hills after 2:00.  270 miles on this leg, so we had it timed to get there before 2:00.  As we got closer, the weather guessers moved the rain back to 4:00... then 5:00.

We ran into a couple road construction stops along the way, but our timing was pretty good; not too much of a wait to get behind the pilot car.  Loose gravel, so we kept our distance from the truck in front of us.

Yesterday was a run from east to west in Nebraska - from 1,600 feet above sea level to 3,200 feet elevation.  Nothing that looked like a hill, just a gradual incline so slight you don't notice.  Today, it was lots of hills.  And curves.  Two-lane road mostly.  I had mentioned a couple days ago that we have seen very few RVs on the road - that changed today: scads of RVs of all kinds coming at us on the two-lane.  Maybe they were saving up time off to get the 4th of July in the vacation.  RV parks we passed had plenty of open sites.  Hart Ranch, on the other hand, is full - every site in the "overflow area" is full.  They are putting in more sites, but those aren't going to be done for a while.

Today's drive:

 The start of the construction...

Rufus was on my lap during most of the drive...

At long last, driving into South Dakota...

That twinge when I could see the Black Hills getting closer...

We stopped for gas before rolling into Hart Ranch.  Everybody played nice.  The hills and a headwind cut my mpg into the 8s.

We checked in at the guard shack (Welcome Center) going into Hart Ranch.  I went into the Lodge and got us registered.  Then to our site.  I backed the cargo trailer to the site, then we turned it around by hand (easier to get the bikes out when the back of the trailer is facing the street).  I backed the coach in, Joan pulled in with the Equinox.  We are here!

Settling in: it took us a couple hours to get the coach set up, stuff unloaded from the car and cargo trailer.  Griddle and e-bike set up. The sites here at Hart Ranch are double width paved; grassy areas between the sites.

The last thing to do: get the bikes out of the trailer so we can set the interior of it to be our "portable garage" instead a bike hauler...

My ass was dragging - I didn't even take the bike around the block.  Plus, the sky was getting grayer.  Started the bikes just to move 'em back into the trailer.  

Shortly after coming into the coach, we got a phone call from Steph - I had sent her a text to let her know we were in and settled, so she knew it was a good time to visit.  Good to hear her voice and catch up both ways.

Rufus found a bag to crawl into - "Is this camping?"

He makes me smile... plus, he's a good boy.  ;-)