2018/07/13 - Friday - Vacation - Day 22 - Ghost Town

We left early, a little after 8:30.

First stop was for gas.

When I went through town I took the wrong turn.  So I had to back track a very short distance.  Amanda called a few more RV campground and finally found a place that had an open spot for tonight.

There was construction at Mono Lake, we had to wait about 5 to 10 minutes for our turn to pass.

We made it to the campground at 1. We setup camp then headed over to the Cafe for lunch.

We headed to Bodie for the afternoon. but before heading up the hill, I filled up the van with gas.

For dinner we headed to Virginia Creek Settlement Restaurant.

When we returned, Turquoise had issues and peed in our bed.  So we bagged all the bedding up.

Remainder of the evening was relaxing.

2018/07/12 - Thursday - Vacation - Day 21 - Drive and Hot Tires

We left our friends a little after 9.

We stopped for gas.

We stopped for lunch at a rest stop - but it was not much of one, it was at the top of a pass and it only had a pit toilet, it was basically on an off-ramp.

Stopped for more gas.

it was getting later in the day, and I started checking the temperatures of the tires.  I noticed the driver inside dually was at 170, so I slowed down form 60 to 55.  That did bring down the temperature to 168.  About  30 minutes later the tire was back up at 170, so I pulled off to cool down the tires.  We looked and found a campground in the town so we drove to check it out.

At the campground nobody was at the 'store front' but they had a way to register and pay, so we did.

Drove the van back into town to get dinner and try to find a laundry mat, but they all close to early to be able to do any loads. 

We had dinner and then back to the RV to relax.  While at dinner, I made a phone call to the location where we were going to stay but they are full, so now I am not sure where we will stay for the night tomorrow.  I guess we will wait and see.

2018/07/11 - Wednesday - Vacation - Day 20 - Spiral and Tire

Today was an exploration day.  We got moving after 10.

We headed to Spiral Jetty.  Before turning off toward Golden Spike road, we stopped for lunch.

It was about 11 miles of dirt roads, and Waze had it incorrect, it had a ranch road instead of the intended road to the location, so that will need to be fixed.  When we got to the parking location, I can hear air escaping from someplace.  Well it turned out to be our friends Jeep tire got a leak.  While almost everybody else went exploring the spiral, we worked on the tire.  We could not get the three of the lugs to loosen up.  So I had a can of fix-a-flat, so when it was time to leave we tried to use it, we got more of the stuff outside the can then what went into the tire.

We started back and the tire looked like we had just aired it down for off-roading.  We made it back to Golden Spike parking lot and we need to put more air in.  I used our little pump.  Then the pump stopped working.  It appears the pump died. So now we have a tire not up to the proper pressure.

We drove to the next town and found a place what would patch it and they did it for free.  When they took the lugs off, the air gun did not even indicate that it was on very tight.

Back at home, we finally agreed on where to go to dinner. Yummm. And we thanked our friends for treating us.

We chit-chatted outside until late into the night - said our good-byes to several of them.

2018/07/10 - Tuesday - Vacation - Day 19 - New Tread and Friends

We got moving a little early - 8:45.

Our first stop was a rest area for the necessary bathroom break.

So because we were getting into Salt Lake early, I made a decision to stop at Discount Tire first.  We got there at about noon.  We replaced three RV tires (the one that bubbled, the one that blew and the spare that we put on that looked to have the start of dry rot)  two of them was covered under the cert, the third one I got tread/mileage credit.  Looking at the tow-dolly they needed replaced, so I went ahead and got both of those replaced.  That took a little over two hours.

We finally made it to our dear long-time friends.  I got the RV down the very tight driveway.

We all went and we treated them to dinner at Black Bear Dinner.

Amanda and Mom M and two of the kids (adults.....) went to go see a movie.

2018/07/09 - Monday - Vacation - Day 18 - Kaboom - Messy

We got moving by 8:40, on my way, I noticed that was below quarter of a tank.  The next gas was in Cheyenne, well I put in 50+ gallons, so I was getting very low.

Next stop was lunch at a rest area.

The next stop was unplanned, we had to stop because the driver side, outside dually exploded (and de-lamenated).  When it did that it also disconnected the sewer connections.  So when I first stopped I had fluids flowing out.  And because it was the driver side, I did not want to change it on the highway.  I drove VERY slowly on the shoulder for the next two miles to get to a ramp.  We changed the tire and headed to camp

We stopped again for the necessary gas for the RV, the parking lot was very small for all the RVs that were there at that time.

We made it to the Rock Springs / Green River KOA, they did not have full hookups.  I worked on the sewer connections and nothing was broken, it was just pulled apart, so I was able to put those back together.  But the metal box is now all messed up and that will require a lot more work.

We headed out and stopped at several more stores for projects that Amanda and Mom M wanted to work on.  We finally had dinner and after dinner they wanted yogurt.

Back at the RV, they worked on the projects.  

2018/07/08 - Sunday - Vacation - Day 17 - Chimney and Fossils

We started a little late, but we were waiting for Cheryl's co-worker to be done with what they had planned for the morning.

A little after noon, we headed out to Chimney Rock NHS.  This is not ran by the NPS, so no JR Ranger program for Amanda to do here.

Next stop was a lonely drive north. And we did not have cell coverage out there.  Amanda was able to get her 82nd and 83rd Jr Ranger Program at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, the other was for Paleontology.

Back into town for dinner and some more great conversation with Cheyl's co-worker and family.

After dinner we went back to Wal-Mart for more shopping and then headed back to camp.

The rest of the evening was relaxing and getting ready for tomorrow all day drive.

2018/07/07 - Saturday - Vacation - Day 16 - Bluffs

Cheryl and I did an hour and half bike ride on a converted rail bed to bike/walking path.

We left camp about 10:00 and stopped in town for gas before getting going.

I did stop at a park to let Turquoise have a break, he was pestering us.

At Carhenge we walked around and then back at the RV had lunch.

We made to Scottsbluff a little bit after two (we did change time zones.)

After unloading the van, we headed for Scottsbluff National Monument.  Amanda got her 81st Jr Ranger badge.

We were going to head to another park, but it was going to close so we drove around the old part of town which gave us more time to find a place to eat.

After dinner we went to Walmart and spend way to much money.

Back at camp, we did talk with Cheryl's co-worker that is here also.

2018/07/06 - Friday - Vacation - Day 15 - River Drive

We got up late, because we knew it would be relatively short drive, got on the road about 10:45.  I almost got a speeding ticket but pulled the guy next to me over instead. 

Stopped for Gas and just outside of the town we then stopped for lunch. 

We made it to our destination about 3:30 and setup camp.

We visited the Niobrara National Scenic River Visitor Center and Amanda got the JR ranger booklet so she could work on it.

We then took a drive down the river, stopping at two different water falls.  A lot of the road was dirt and you could tell when it wet, the van would not have done good.

Back in town we stopped for dinner.

Now back at the RV relaxing.

2018/07/05 - Thursday - Vacation - Day 14 - Short and Drive

We started about 9.  I did not spin the tires getting out of our camp spot.  I thought I was going to but not having the van on the tow-dolly most likely helped.  I put the van on the dolly out on the street where it was dry.

We stopped for the necessary gas for the RV.

We stopped for the day at noon - so an extremely early stop for the day.

We unloaded the van and headed into town for lunch.

After lunch we went for a long drive.  We stopped at 4 different places up and down the Missouri River.  We did the Nebraska side and then returned on the South Dakota side.

Before returning to the RV we stopped for gas for the van and dinner for us.

When we returned to the RV, Turquoise was not happy with the fireworks that have been going off near the campground and messed up our bed.  So I had to do laundry - I was not expecting to do the bed stuff also.  That took about 3 hours -  6 loads - they only have 4 machines.

So a late night.  Tomorrow is also going to be a short day.  So I am planning to sleep in a little bit.

2018/07/04 - Wednesday - Vacation - Day 13 - Wet and Pipes

We hit the road a little after 9.

Next stop was for gas.

An hour later, we stopped for lunch at a rest area just before leaving Iowa.

While driving we did drive through a major rain storm for about an hour.

We made it to Pipestone National Monument and Amanda go her 80th Jr Ranger Badge.

The Campground we are at is just outside of the monument.  They only have power and water available for us.  The ground is very soggy so we will see if I can not be stuck in the morning when it is time to leave.

I did unload the Van so we could go into town and get dinner. As we were leaving the diner, it started to rain.

It has been raining of and on for the rest of the night.

I did not load the van back onto the dolly tonight, I will do that on more solid ground tomorrow.

2018/07/03 - Tuesday - Vacation - Day 12 - Pikes Peak and Family

I got up early and did a ten mile bike ride. 

We got going and stopped for drinks, donuts, and gas before heading over to B.G. place.

We headed out to go see P.B., but we took some dirt roads to get there and we stopped at the store before getting there.

She feed us lunch and had a great time chit-chatting.

Our next stop was and Pikes Peak to go see Bridal Veil Falls.  Amanda took several pictures.

We were going to have dinner in Clayton but they did not have a full menu, so we returned to Elkader (via dirt roads :) ) and ate at Fennellys' Irish Pub & Restaurant.

I dropped of Mom M and Cheryl at B.G. place and Amanda and I returned to the RV to check on Turquoise.

We returned to B.G. and spent the rest of the evening working on things and some great talking.

Of course we returned late to RV.

2018/07/02 - Monday - Vacation - Day 11 - Mounds and Family

When the alarm went off, I did not hit snooze... so we got up a little later then we wanted to.

We went and picked up B.G. and headed towards Effagy Mounds National Monument.  But it was lunch time, so we crossed the Mississippi river and had lunch in Prairie du Chien.

Amanda got Jr Ranger number 79.  We also walked to the top to the overlook.

We headed back and dropped off B.G. and we went back to the RV.

I washed the pillows but man those machines were expensive 3.50 for one load and the machines were very small.

We went back to B.G. and had dinner with him.  G&N stopped by and we chatted.

2018/07/01 - Sunday - Vacation - Day 10 - Drive, Tire, and Family

It rained in the early hours and by the time I got up it had stopped.  We left about 9:15 heading North East. 

First stop was for Gas.

Next stop was for lunch at a rest area.

As we were heading around Des Moines, I started to noticed a vibration, so I stopped at a gore point and sure enough the passenger inside tire had a elongated bubble.  So I drove to the next exit and pulled into the truck parking lot of Flying J's.  We changed the tire in about 35 minutes.

On the way to our next destination I had to drive through some flood water that going over the road.

Getting close to our destination for the next three nights, I noticed that it appears there is no flooding in this region.

We setup camp and headed on over to family.  He (B.G.) fed us dinner and we spent the rest of the night there chit-chatting.