Into and across much of Nebraska today. Coming across the border from Kansas, the road goes from smooth to thumpy... the thumpy road surface wears on you. Wind out of the southeast to start, so a quartering tailwind while heading north, then a different angle quartering tailwind while heading west. I-80 in Nebraska has stretches of smooth road, then back to the thumpy stuff again.
Rufus does not like the thumpy stuff. He is not alone in that. But, today, at one point, he stood in my lap, but his paws on my shoulders and screamed, "Make it stop!" in my face. I decided it was time for a rest area break. Most of the rest areas across Nebraska in this stretch are small, without the rows of truck parking - just one side of the area for big rigs. I got out and did a walk-around after getting Ruf a snack, and Joan put together snacks for the humans. Then, back at it.
The sky looked like this most of the day...
Ruf looked like this much of the day...
Not sure what this was all about...
That is his "I'm not happy face," but that white thing in the steering wheel is one of his big rear feet. This may have been his way of saying "Kiss my ass!" but probably not... because he is a good boy. The drive was tiring today though, a combination of the road conditions and the gusty wind.
We were off the road around 2:00. A lengthy stop at the nearby Walmart to gas up... quite a crowd around their gas station, and I managed to pick a pump that was running really slow. It took over 20 minutes to pump 35 gallons, and that was after waiting for a pump to open up.
We checked in at the RV park. It's one we stay at most of the time when we come and go from the Black Hills. We've seen several owners over the years. Last year, it was bought by some people who made it into a KOA, along with a significant price increase. In the past, the park has been quite full when we've stopped here... not the case today. Might be the price, but Joan and I both noticed fewer RVs on the road today, as well.
Joan suggested a treat was in order. After the short run into town to find a Post Office, we stopped at the Dairy Queen on the way back to the RV park. I have been very diligent about watching my sugar intake; even the doctor told me it was OK to have a "splurge" once in a while. This was the first in a very long time... a Peanut Buster Parfait for each of us hit the spot.
About 5:00 this afternoon, an employee from the KOA office came by our coach and knocked on the door. He told us that there was a possibility of a thunderstorm, including a chance of hail, and pointed out the shower house as a shelter, if we felt the need. We had already been monitoring radar, and it looked like the storms would pass north and south of our location (which they did). Still it was good that the staff here is letting people know of the possibility.
The wind got a bit gusty and the sky was dark to the north and south of us, but, as the predictive weather radar had shown, it missed us.
When the wind settled down a bit, I took Rufus for a walk. He had rested up after the drive and was ready to look around... we walked for quite a while, while he stopped to sniff each tree...
"This one smells like Christmas!"
A look back at our site...
They have certainly done some changing here - it used to be grassy areas between each site. Now there is an artificial turf patio area, and mostly gravel. I used to have to be careful where Ruf and I walked because of the cockleburrs in the grass - no sign of that this evening. They have also put some patio furniture, grills, and private dog runs on some of the sites... we have seen this at other KOAs. This has always been an overnight stop for us, so we didn't need any of that, but these "upgrades" cost money, and those sites with the extra amenities come with an extra cost. This is a convenient stop for us - we know it is a reasonable one-day drive to Hart Ranch from here. And, as I recall, the roads (mostly two-lane) are better than along much of Interstate 80.
One day from our summer destination.
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