The Wheels Are Rolling West Again!

April 27, 2014

On March 21^st we returned to Maryland to visit and tend to family matters. What was to be a one to two week visit stretched into more than a month. We were finally able to head west again on April 23^rd. The blog went dark for that time and I will post a few photos, but suffice it to say that like many others who travel full time, life sometimes requires us to stay put and solve problems, or hold hands for a while.

The second week of our visit we traveled to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and checked into the Waves campground where we stayed for a week last April. We took a break from family matters, walked on the beach a few days, until the rain came in, and generally re-grouped.

Outer Banks Style soccer mom minivan

Lunch at the Outer Banks Brewing Station

The main road down the Banks. See the houses on the wrong side of the dune?

The path from our camp to the beach

The ocean is not so cold after your feet go numb...

Nice piney campsite

Back in Maryland, we jumped back in, determined to leave just after Easter with the family. The following Wednesday at 3:30 we finally drove away. We are still waiting to have the buyer close on the rental condo. We went ahead and signed on Monday. He is scheduled to sign tomorrow. Pop the bubbly! It's been a long haul to get the condo sold. Thus our last ties to owning real estate will be severed.

Visiting Sue and Ken, who generously shared their keg

Hello Kitty car in front of our dentist

Dinner with Steve and Margie at Chef Voltagio's new diner

Burger with fried egg, bacon, and side of duck-fat french fries

Our first afternoon and evening on the road took us to the Cabela's in Wheeling, WV. This was our first time dry camping at a Cabela's. They have a parking area set aside for RV's and trucks. In fact, all but one entrance is barricaded, so it keeps vehicles from randomly driving through the area. In the morning we filled up our water tank next to the dog and horse kennels they provide.

Thursday found us burning up the road across Ohio, Indiana and into Illinois. That night, before the storm front rolled in, we pulled into a Flying J truck stop in Effingham and parked in the area of the parking lot they provide for RV's to stay overnight. We were surrounded by pick-ups pulling shiny new travel trailers being transported to RV dealers across the country. The Flying J had a dump and water spigot, so we were ready for more dry camping.

Back on the road again Friday morning found us crossing Illinois, over the Mississippi at St. Louis and entering Missouri. Just west of St. Louis near Wentzville we pulled off I-70 to refuel. Greg went to the back of the rig and then rushed up into the cab in order to exit out the driver's door to pump the fuel. Going into the cab he didn't bend over enough to clear the overcab bed, and hit his head on the wooden underside. We both do that frequently, tall people in a confined space, but this time Greg hit a knob on the front of it that the previous owner had installed. We never knew what it was for, (to bump heads on?), and it has now been removed. Greg sat down quickly with blood pouring down his head, and I discovered a three to four inch gash in his scalp.

Crossing the Mississippi into St. Louis

Home doctoring wasn't going to do for this cut. Once we got the bleeding to slow down, we looked up an urgent care facility four miles away. Greg couldn't drive and keep applying pressure to his head, so I had to drive for the first time since I test drove the rig. Thankfully the salesman had insisted I do so, in case Greg was unable to. An hour later Greg had six shiny staples in his scalp, and we were back on the road. I drove most of the afternoon to give him a chance to recover. We hit Kansas City and the state line, at rush hour. Thankfully, Greg felt fine, so he drove through the city. I'm sure if I had to, I could have done it, but would have been a wreck with all the rush hour interstate lane changes.

Next problem - where to spend the night. Our information said that overnighting was allowed in Kansas rest areas. The stretch of I-70 heading out of Kansas City is a toll road with service areas. The first one we pulled into was a circus. Too much coming and going. The second one looked better, but as we came down the ramp there were big signs posted saying that fines would be issued to anyone parking longer than 90 minutes! Even the truckers were only stopping briefly.

Once I-70 separated from the toll road, as darkness was falling, we found a friendly truck stop way out in the Kansas countryside in Maple Hill. They provided a place around the side of a big gravel parking lot, for trucks and RV's. We pulled up along the far end next to green fields, a pond, and birds singing. As it got dark, the peepers started serenading. The nearby truckers turned off their engines for the night, instead of running them as most do, and the interstate noise faded away as the wind shifted. We slept peacefully in the quiet. Greg's head didn't bother him, and were both grateful to end the day.

Maple Hill truck stop, parked next to the pond full of noisy frogs

Saturday we filled up our water tank at the truck stop and drove back on the interstate. We decided we were bored to tears with it and had to find a back road. We had already traveled I-70 all the way from the Baltimore Beltway and were mostly concerned with getting as far west as we could, as fast as we could, due to the unpredictable weather this time of the year. We rode out a small storm front in Illinois and felt fortunate to only experience some downpours and strong wind while we slept. The next day was sunny and calm.
We found a local road that paralleled the interstate on the north, so we spent several hours driving through the Kansas countryside and small towns. We had lunch in the small town park in Bogue along the Solomon River valley. Wow! They had crazy, rusted out, dangerous old play equipment that apparently was still being used. Back East it would have been torn out years ago and replaced with the extra safe playgrounds found back home. Actually, it was the first see-saw I've seen in decades.

Bikers on a pretty road with a miserable Kansas crosswind

US 24

Bogue, Kansas town park

Rejoining I-70, we crossed into Colorado, and drove towards the Rockies. The weather report was starting to look bad. Rain showers, thunderstorms, and 65 mph winds for the next day. We found the Flagler Reservoir Wildlife Area not far off the interstate and decided to stay two nights. It's free and there is no one else crazy enough to be here with us! Last night was peaceful. Today is insane! Rain, thunderstorms, hail, sleet, snow, and 65 mph winds. We repositioned the rig so that we are sitting nose into the wind. We are still rocking and rolling, but not dangerously so. The temperature was near 90 degrees yesterday and it was sunny. Today it hasn't gotten above 44 degrees. We have been running the heat on and off, but mostly are wearing lots of layers.

On the road to Flagler Wildlife Area

Our free camp in the wildlife area

After checking the forecast we have decided to head southwest tomorrow and abandon the idea of crossing the Rockies on I-70. They are calling for snow the next several days. We are going to head to Pueblo and use our new Passport America membership to get half off at an RV park there. Time for a hookup so we can run the electric space heater, do some laundry, and take showers! Yay!!! Poor Greg can't wash his matted head yet, but I am more than ready for a real shower. Friday I get to take his staples out with the tool the urgent care gave me. He-he... Then we'll head west across the lower Rockies through Gunnison and over to Grand Junction to rejoin I-70. Utah, here we come! Rolling through the states!