Hello everybody! Today is July 2nd. We have driven through Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois,Missouri,Iowa, Nebraska and now we are in South Dakota! The first night we spent at Scotts Airforce Base in Illinois, courtesy of Captain Brandi Schuyler, my cousin who is traveling with us. She bought a cute little Jayco featherlight camper to come with us, which she is pulling with her Honda Pilot. She has never pulled anything before, and she is doing a great job. I don't think I would ever change lanes if I were pulling anything, but she has no fear! She has her son Alex as her copilot, but he and Courtney want to ride together as much as possible and watch movies and make fun of us!The kids are doing really well, the first day we left at 4am and drove 14 hours. We got to Scotts AFB while it was still light so the kids could run around and burn some energy. The campground was very clean, quiet and nature-friendly. There were bunnies hopping around, egrets on the pond. All very soothing. The the second day we drove about 10.5 hours. Everything was going great until, of course, we had a crisis. White smoke started billowing around our RV tires and we were waved off the road by a concerned corn husker. Of course, it was Sunday and not only was nothing open, there was nothing around to be open. Just a little Travel Mart that had one gas pump. So we pulled in. Mark and Alex put the camper up on blocks and were getting ready to change the tire, but it looked worn funny, not really peeling or flat. We decided to just call for roadside assistance. That is what we have it for. Brandi offered to take the kids and go on to the campground in SD, it was still 2 hours away. That made the wait so much better! We went and got ice cream, made some phone calls and the guy showed up in about an hour. We were back on the road in no time. The mechanic says it looks like our axle is out of alignment, causing friction on the tire. It has probably been like that since we got it last year. It is not an emergency, but something we definitely need to get looked at. We are deciding today if we should wait and have it looked at in Buffalo, Wy when we get there. I just don't want to have to be without the camper for a day or two, but if we do have to, at least we have some family there. We decided to take a day off of driving today and figure this out-we are at a very nice campground in Sioux Falls and there is lots to do around here. The weather is perfect-no humidity and nice and cool. Hopefully tomorrow we will be back on the road!
3 comments:
That's a whole lotta drivin' girlfren!! Good thing you got Mark to do it. It was nice to hear from you yesterday, even if it was because I was the only one home. Glad your first trial was a minor one. It is kinda fun seeing the whole country go by as you drive past, unless it's all corn. Now that you're in SD at least you can look at wheat fields for awhile. Keep the pictures rolling, good buddy, and watch out for bears on your six! (That's some midwest trucker CB talk).
Steve
Hello Happy Campers! Sounds like you're all having fun. That's a helluva long time to be driving in one day... 14 hours. Oh Vhey! Ellie has to pee every 2 hours. We would never make it. How is Carli doing with the bladder control?
I was just reading about a birding festival this past Spring in S. Dakota. There are some neat birds out there that that we don't have here. I should have given you my birding book so you could make a list of what you've seen. Then it's kind of like I am seeing them too. :)
I am going walking tomorrow (I think). Nothing else exciting is happening here. Have a great 4th of July! Miss You!
- C
So, do the De-luxe camper sites come with a personal valet and "trailer" service? I hope you have only made reservations at camp grounds that offer extensive spa services. After 14 hours on the road - you deserve a massage.
Enjoy your time together - and make a point to enjoy every aspect of the journey (even the time with the Liberty road-side assistance guy).
Keep your eyes and ears open ... you would not want to miss a thing!
Take good care of each other.
no.two
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