Monday, April 24, 2006
True to the reports we woke up this morning with snow on the ground. At least an inch or so must have fallen during the night. Some of the grass was covered but most of it was not. Len and Rose had left early this morning to catch 2 National Parks that we had already been to. They made it to the first one and were advised that the road to the second one was impassable because of the snow. They called us and asked us if we'd wait for them right where we were, and we agreed. Sharon was still in bed sleeping anyway, and we were right on their way out of here.
By 9:30 they were back and we got back on the road together. It was still snowing slightly but the roads were only wet and not icy. We drove about 40 miles to "Carhenge." America's answer to England's Stonehenge. Cars that were painted Grey and stacked on one another to look like the famous landmark. By this time the weather was really turning rotten. The wind was blowing up a gale and the snow was falling sideways. By the time we stopped for lunch at Rushville we debated whether or not we should continue on. The roads were still not icy so we thought the last 100 miles to Valentine would be easy. We were wrong. Because we had no good place to stop we just drove on after the snow really started to get ugly. Eventually about 30 from Valentine the snow was now covering the road and it was glare ice. We drove about 30 miles an hour behind a couple of other vehicles and limped into Valentine and found our campground. By this time there was at least 4-5 inches of snow on the ground and it was still coming down.
We settled into our campsites and at least had electricity for the night so our furnaces could run at will. A bonus was cable TV for the night. I got the dish to come in but it was skipping because of the snow and Prison Break and "24" were on tonight. Sharon thawed out some pre-grilled Bratwurst for supper tonight and threw in some baked beans and we had a wonderful change of pace meal.
We were celebrating with Len just making it to this campground and I guess I must have set sail with Captain Morgan one too many times and paid for it in the middle of the night, worshiping at the porcelain altar. I slept the rest of the night quite nicely. I believe we'll be stranded here another day but we won't know until tomorrow afternoon. It's supposed warm up tomorrow but if the roads aren't cleared we won't be going anywhere soon.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
We got up this morning not intending anything earthshaking to happen. I could hear the ice chunks melting and dropping off the motorhome as I sat and typed my Journal. It was a little overcast at that time and any melting that was going on was without the sun's help.
We got a leisurely start this morning having only to go to Niobrara National Scenic River National Park Site today. This cancellation stamp would put us up to 300 National Parks that Sharon and I have been to. Quite a feat since there are only 388 sites in the whole system and we haven't been to Alaska, Washington, Oregon or Hawaii, states that are heavily laden with National Park Sites. We drove around the town of Valentine for about an hour looking for the absent Ranger when we stumbled onto the stamp at the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. Rose and I got our cancellation and we drove back to he Motorhomes. Without having located the Ranger we couldn't visit the Visitor's Center and check out the exhibits, of which we understand there weren't any anyway. We were happy to just have the stamp.
Since the roads were clear and dry we decided that after lunch would be a good time to take off and head east. We went north 9 miles and hit the South Dakota Border. From there it was clear sailing on the Interstate until we stopped to publish my Journal to the website. We were on an extended phone network and couldn't get the right signal to upload the information to the web. After bout 15 minutes I had published and checked e-mail and downloaded those 29 messages, mostly junk. We were back on the road again in a flash. We had intended to drive as far as the Mitchell Wal-Mart tonight. Mitchell is the home of the Corn Palace, a place that we've been to many times.
Our campsite was waiting for us and we left to go into the store for Supper tonight. We picked up the 8 piece Chicken Dinner for $4.88 and came back home to enjoy it. Wal-Mart has very tasty Fried Chicken and you can't beat the price.
After Dinner I fixed my windshield wipers that I found broken this morning. I had lost a screw in the motor mount and it was all jammed up and not working. I found it broken this morning after yesterday's ordeal with the weather. Man, what a break it didn't act up yesterday.
We settled in for TV and I worked on the Newsletter since it's got to be done in the next couple of days. I only have a couple of stories left to write and I think I'll get them done tomorrow morning. At least I hope I will.
We stayed up until 11 to catch all our shows before falling into bed in a coma. I'll be sleeping on Sharon's side of the bed tonight cause she doesn't want to put the bedroom slide out, and it's easier for me to get up in the middle of the night from her side. Nite, nite.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
We left early this morning on our journey east. There were no stops to make today except for gas in Sioux Falls, so it would be just drive as far as Onalaska, Wisconsin which is right near LaCrosse. We stopped for lunch just outside Albert Lea, Minnesota and I printed up one copy of the Newsletter. It's the copy that Sharon reads to check for spelling and grammatical errors. I had two this month. That's about average.
We were eating lunch when we got a visit from Len and Rose. They had decided that they were not stopping at Onalaska but going straight home from here. The had decided that stopping at their daughter's in Sheboygan at this time was not feasible. We gave our hugs and said our good-byes and they were on their way. It had been "fun" traveling with them.
After lunch we were on our way again. After crossing the border we looked for the Wal-Mart but couldn't readily find it so we stopped in another huge parking lot. It was so big and empty we wondered why it was even built in the first place. We settled in and I started printing the Newsletter. I had to fill my black cartridge twice to get it finished. It seemed like this month took up an inordinate amount of ink, aside from the fact it was 4 pages.
While I did the Newsletter, Sharon spotted a Fazzoli's across the parking lot. We had never eaten there before but Sharon wanted to try it, and who was I to argue. We disconnected the car and she went over to pick up some Lasagna, Ravioli, Spiced Sausage and Garlic Bread Sticks. They were all quite good along with the bottle of wine that she had selected from an outside compartment of the motorhome. We were intending to go out with Len and Rose tonight since this would have been our last night together, but that didn't happen.
We settled in for TV tonight and we actually both made it until 10. We're back on Central Standard Time and have been for a couple of days now, so our TV comes on at the "regular" time now.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
We got up this morning without coffee. Sharon had broken the pot last night when she was shifting the dishes in the sink. Sometimes Sh- - just happens. We decided that we'd eat Breakfast from Mickey D's and Sharon drove over to pick it up while I got the coach ready for travel.
We were on the road by 9:30 and in no particular hurry today. We knew that we would be at my sister's this afternoon and it didn't really matter if we were there early or late. As a matter of fact we rolled into their yard in Racine, Wisconsin about 2 and settled in for some catch-up conversation. We hadn't seen them since November when we came through on our way south and west. And of course, we always like to stop on the way home again. It's nice to have a day or so built into our schedule that makes us more flexible to stop on the weekend at Stephanie and Sean's. Since all four of them are working, the weekend is the best for stopping there.
We had a Pork Chop Casserole for Supper tonight along with a Pea Salad that was very good and Banana Split Dessert. Yummm! I think we got carried away a bit with our conversation because the casserole was a little dark. No matter, it was still good.
My Niece Jeanne stopped over for a few minutes to visit while we were here and it was very nice to see her again. It had been a couple of years I'm sure since we had seen her. She said she still had work to do tonight so she didn't stay long.
After Dinner we went out and put the jacks down, and the bedroom slide out, on the motorhome before it got dark. We plugged it in and turned the furnace on for the night. We went back in for the annual fleecing of the out-of-towners. Sharon turned the tables on the home team tonight. She won 2 games of Gin 13 and came away with all the cash. It was about $4.71. I don't think we'll be invited back very soon.
We came out to the motorhome and fell into bed. Even though it had been a short day we were still bushed. Of course staying up until 11 took it's toll on us also. We went immediately to bed and had a peaceful sleep throughout the night. Nobody banging on the side of the motorhome and no traffic. What more could a person want.
Friday, April 28, 2006
We slept very well last night and went for coffee about 8:30 and the Kringle was already on the table waiting. They certainly didn't have to wait on us for Breakfast as we never know what time we'll get up, here. After 11 days of concentrated traveling it's just nice to be able to sit down and relax finally.
We just sat around most of the morning after Breakfast and chatted. May Niece LuAnn stopped over for lunch today. We usually see her every year on our way home. She stops over for lunch on a weekday that we're here and then she flies back to work again. Another brief but very nice visit.
This afternoon Marge wanted to go for a ride like she always does and we took off and headed for everywhere. We were game because I usually get to drive on our excursions, and this time I just got to ride. Rubber-necking is one of my specialties, and when I'm driving, it's severely curtailed. We drove around for a couple of hours and finally ended up at Burger King for Supper. We went over there for the 2 for one special. Wouldn't you know it that the Fish Sandwich that we wanted wasn't on the special. No matter Wally sprung for the price of Dinner which he certainly didn't have to do, but we certainly appreciated it.
After Dinner we came home and sat and talked for awhile and waited for George and Pat Terry to arrive. We know Wally's brother very well and we always try to stop and see he and Pat when we're out in Arizona. It hasn't worked out in the last couple of years for us to see them out there, but we always manage to see them while we're here.
The card game started shortly after their arrival and by the time we got done with two more games of Gin 13 Sharon had fleeced the group again. Not so much tonight because her "heavy load" of a husband was dragging her down to the tune of $1.94 in lost money.
We sat around and talked after the card games and when George and Pat left we came out to the motorhome and hit the rack. Sharon said she had to get up early tomorrow to go to Breakfast. Breakfast is at 9. Ho-Hum. I'd have been up for 2½ hours by that time.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
We were up and ready this morning by 8:15 and headed to the Gateway Restaurant for our annual meeting with Marge and Wally and their friends. They meet every Saturday for Breakfast and we've become acquainted with them over the years on the days that we've been here. We're usually here on Saturday because it's best to visit with Sean and Stephanie in West Bend on the Weekends because they all work.
After Breakfast we were on the road at about 10:30 and it would be about a 90 minute drive to West Bend. We had to make one stop on the way at the Flying J to refuel. It was our most expensive fuel stop all the way home at $200.22. Although we hopefully will be using the remainder of the gas we have in our tank to drive to our campouts for the rest of the summer.
We arrived at Sean's at about noon and the street outside of his house was the perfect place to park for the night. We ran a couple of extension cords and we were settled. We went in to see our little Darlin' Katelin. She was much more used to us this time than she was in November. She's a little older now and more active to say the least. She was kissing and hugging and even talking to us. It was very nice.
About 5 Mark stopped over with the 3 girls Briana, Olivia and Alexis. They seem to also be growing up fast. Briana is such a little lady, we can't get over it. Stef came over after work and Sean and Julie set out to figure out what we would be having for Dinner tonight. They finally decided on pizzas from Pizza Hut with some Hot Wings and Breadsticks. It went down very well as the girls are all crazy about pizza. And for the adults there were plenty of nectars to wash them all down. We ate our fill and still had some of everything left over.
We sat around talking and drinking for most of the night. Me not so much drinking and Sharon was willing to tell me about it. Stef and Mark and the girls left about midnight, with Mark carrying all the sleeping bodies out to the car. We came out to the motorhome and caved. It had been a long day even though we only drove 90 minutes or so. We'll probably get on the road early tomorrow but it won't be until after we've said our good-byes and gotten leisurely ready.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
It was raining again this morning and had been since last night. Sean's unseeded lawn was a quagmire and we moved the motorhome so we could get out onto the concrete street.
We were up and on the road this morning by 9 after saying our good-byes to Sean, Julie and Katelin. We thought we would eat something on the road and then decided that we would stop at Lambeau Field and Curly's Pub and have lunch. We got there about 11 and parked the motorhome and went in. The special of the day was California Burgers. How ironic since we're just in from California. We were done eating and back on the road by 1 PM and headed north of the frozen tundra.
We got back on the road and had trouble again with the windshield wipers. I stopped about halfway home and tightened them up again and drove most of the rest of the way without wipers. It wasn't raining hard enough to make a difference so I decided they could wait until we got home for the final fix and adjustment.
We pulled in to the yard about 2:30 after stopping at my mother's and checking on her before coming home. It had been wonderful winter.
Phil Bach from Martinez, California called this afternoon right after we parked the motorhome. We exchanged some niceties and then said good-bye. We'll see each other again next winter in California, hopefully, and keep in touch with e-mail until then.
We'll be sleeping in the motorhome tonight because the gas company didn't turn on our gas and we have no heat today and tomorrow. We managed to get everything else turned on except the gas. This is 2 years in a row for them.
