Travel Notes

Heading North

You know you are in cattle country when cowboys (or should I say cowpersons?) enter WalMart without taking off their spurs. 

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday we drove from Henderson to North Platte, Nebraska. This town of 24,000 hosts the largest train yard in the world.  During World War II, The North Platte Canteen served six  
  million service men and women who traveled through North Platte. 

 

 

 

 

 

Several years ago the citizens of North Platte built a memorial to honor all those who served their country during the 20th Century and the members of the North Platte Canteen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both Wednesday and Thursday we traveled along Interstate 80 passing large cattle ranches and farms until Ogallala, where we turned north on US 26.    Although travelling along the Interstate is easy, it was great to get on a secondary road.  Almost no trucks and the traffic was light.

 

 

 

Our route took us through small towns like Oshkosh

and along the North Platte River, swollen   from recent heavy rainfall .   

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Oregon Trail follows this part of the North Platte.  Pioneers traveled this route from 1841 to 1869, in their journey to Utah, Oregon and California in search of a new life. It was a tough journey.   During the twenty five years the trail was actively used, 65,000 people died trying to get out  west, roughly ten percent of those starting the trip. When the transcontinental railroad was finished in 1869, it replaced travel on the Oregon Trail.   

  Chimney Rock was an important landmark along the Oregon Trail

 

 

 

 

After unhitching our rig in Gering, we went out to the Wildcat Hills Nature Center & Recreation Area.  With a name like that we thought it must be exciting.  Other than a few finches we saw at a bird feeder, there wasn't much action at Wildcat Hills. After refueling the truck,  we went in search of the Five Rocks Amphitheater, thought to be close to the RV Park.  We went down a dirt road.   The entrance to the Amphitheater was on the left only two or three hundred yards from the intersection.   Our attention was on the right where there was a large cemetery, with buttes in the distance.  We missed the entrance to the Amphitheater.  We continued driving along the dirt road for several miles,  out into the country.  Finally we concluded we must have missed the Amphitheater and turned around.  

 

 

Along the road we saw a variety of birds and a nasty looking snake cooling himself off in the mud. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Margie has been studying animal tracking for a couple of years.  She was fascinated by a variety of animal tracks we found in a muddy stream bed next to the road.  All in all, the dusty dirt road was the highlight of our day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are experiencing heavy winds as I write this.  On top of the slides are small awnings that protect the slides from the sun and debris.  When the winds blow like this, the awnings flap.  So we pulled the slides in to reduce the noise and possible damage from the winds.

As a final note, today I celebrated 70 years in this world.  Here is a photo Margie took this afternoon just to prove I'm still alive and kicking, and full of mischief as always!

On The Road Again

On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been.
Seein' things that I may never see again

And I can't wait to get on the road again ...Willie Nelson

 

We finally left Junction City this morning, after getting the slide repaired. 

 

While in Mountain Home  one fellow assured us all we needed to do was take a link out of the chain driving the slide and all would be well.  Another thought if we replaced the motor driving the chain, the problem would be fixed.  Not happy with either of these suggestions we headed for Junction City, Kansas and the New Horizons factory.  Although the factory has quite a backlog of work, they fit us in on short notice.  Nice folks at New Horizons.

 

There is an inch or two clearance at the top of the slide.  Enough room to be able to lift the slide with a hydraulic jack so they could look under it.  The slide moves in and out on a teflon strip.  What they found was a  black sticky, gooey substance at each end  of the teflon strip that was restricting movement.  Hence our problem.  They cleaned off the substance and voila, the slide moved better than it has ever moved.  The consensus is there was some substance, perhaps undercoating, that got onto the teflon when the unit was built.  Whatever the cause, the problem is resolved.  They also repaired the cabinet that had been badly damaged when the slide failed to open properly and fixed a couple of other minor problems.  We took advantage of being at the factory to pick up a couple of extra tires for our trip north. The 85R 16 G's we use on this rig are not easy to find.  So, good as new, we're on the road again!

 

The decision to go to Junction City was the right decision.  Otherwise, we no doubt would have spent money fixing the chain or replacing the motor, without fixing the problem. The 2400 mile side trip was worth it.

 

Over the weekend there were incredible hail storms along Interstate 80 in Nebraska, with hail reported the size of softballs.  A New Horizons owner called the factory yesterday to report that the hail had not only broken several windows both on his truck and his fifth wheel, but had also cracked the roof of his fifth wheel.  He also reported one or two holes in the roof.  It was quite a storm.  We checked the weather report before leaving Kansas this morning. The storm seems to have moved further east.  Apart from a small amount of rain near Salina, we enjoyed great weather all day. I haven't looked at the weather in Wyoming and Montana yet, but I heard on the weather report they had unseasonal snowfall this past weekend.   Sounds like the Sierras.  We'll worry about  the roads through Wyoming and Montana tomorrow night when we get to North Platt.

 

I guess if the weather turns bad up north, we could always turn south and head for Arizona.  Except I heard they aren't letting folks from California into Arizona anymore. Some form of counter embargo. I heard that because of the counter em bargo the Mayor of Los Angeles was filing a complaint against  Arizona with the U.N.  Security Council. I guess we'll continue driving north whatever the weather!

 

We are currently at an RV Park near Henderson, Nebraska. This Mennonite farming community was established in 1886, as part of the Mennonite migration from Southern Russia in the mid-1870's, following the death of Catherine the Great. My father's family immigrated to the United States in 1876, as part of that movement. This afternoon we drove into Henderson to restock our larder.  We found it much as you would expect.  Wide streets and well kept yards.  The folks in the one market in town were friendly, interested in our travels. We both had a sense of traveling four or five decades back in time , when life was simpler. While crossing the street, we saw a young woman in her teens riding her bicycle and pulling a lawn mower.  Quite a feat.  Then she got off her bike and cut the grass in one of the public areas of the town.

 

We plan to spend Wednesday night in North Platt.  On Thursday we will turn north west on U.S. Highway 26 into Wyoming.  We are both looking forward to leaving the plains.

Kansas...Watch out for the rabbit holes.

No wonder you're late. Why, this watch is exactly two days slow.! The Mad Hatter

Maybe that's our problem. Our watch is two days slow. Hmmm...

Our last post was from Ogden, where we spent three days waiting for the weather to improve.  We finally left early Thursday, on a beautiful day.  We quickly climbed to the high Wyoming plateau.  Interesting country. 

 
We saw many herds of antelope and a few elk along the road.  There was still a fair amount of snow left on the ground from the snow storm.  Thursday night we stopped in Laramie. On Friday we crossed much of Nebraska, stopping in North Platte for the night. In Western Nebraska a fellow at a rest stop told us they had eight inches of snow earlier in the week.  We were smart to wait in Ogden, despite a severe case of "rig" fever after a day or so.  We had such a strong urge to "git her on the road!" However, after checking the web cams along Interstate 80 and the weather reports, it made more sense to wait in Ogden.

 Along the road the scenery changed from wide open spaces to cattle land and then farms.  And lots of windmills! The ever changing landscape of America.

Margie took a lot of photos along the way.  Taking photos through the window of our pickup isn't easy, but she took some great images.

 
By Saturday night we were in Salina, Kansas, just a few miles from Junction City. We pulled into the factory Sunday morning and found a spot with hook ups for electricity and water. What more could we ask for?

I'm scheduled to go to Geneva on Tuesday.  Hope we don't have a repeat of ash Wednesday in Europe.  I expect to be back late Friday.

 

 

It looks like the rig will be worked on Wednesday and Thursday.  We will hang around over the weekend and have the front end of the rig painted with Scorpion Liner, a product similar to Rhino Liner.  During our last trip the fiberglass on the front end of the rig started pitting,  caused by rocks and gravel on the highway.  The Scorpion Liner should solve that problem. 

If all goes well we expect to be out of here Tuesday, heading north!  Finally.  

 

One lesson learned on the race  to Kansas is we need to slow down our pace.  Instead of driving six to seven hours each day, we are looking to reduce driving time to four hours.  We are reviewing our schedule to see how the reduced number of hours will impact our schedule. 

 

 

 

P.S to Joyce and Dave...I found this tractor alongthe road in Kansas.  We could probably pick it up for a good price.    With a little paint it should do just fine!

  

 

 

 

If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does. The Duchess (In which case we just might all fall off.  :-)

Ogden

If it's Ogden, it must be Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday or...

The drive down from Mountain Home yesterday was easy.  While there were serious looking rain squalls off in the distance,  along interstate 84 there was very little rain.  However, shortly after arriving in Ogden it started to pour, and it has been raining ever since.

Ogden is located at the base of the Wasatch Mountains.  The peaks were capped with snow when we drove in yesterday.  I suspect they have even more snow now, but they are lost in the clouds.

We went to Winco yesterday to restock our larder.  I don't recall seeing a store quite like this.  It must be the size of a football field.  You can buy individual products or by the case load.  Prices are excellent, but they don't accept credit cards.

Ogdenites don't seem to accept cold and rainy days.  With the temperature in the 50's, they were out and about in t-shirts and shorts.  Brrrrr....

I think the storm must have come direct from Nevada County.   Slow moving, it is bringing snow to interstate 80 in Wyoming, just across the Utah border and not far from here.  Reports are they will receive six to twelve inches of snow in the next forty eight hours, so we are hanging out in Ogden until the storm moves on.   We will check the weather Wednesday morning.  If it is clearing, we'll head out.  Otherwise, we'll wait until Thursday. 

Here is the rally gang visiting the 391st Fighter Squadron at Mountain Home AFB. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heading for Kansas...

Monday morning...Mountain Home.

The rally is over.  We finished Friday evening.  We spent Saturday and Sunday sleeping in and taking care of a few chores.   So, what is a rally?  Several  have asked.  It's a gathering organized by the owners of New Horizons RV's.  Other RV brands have similar groups.  We get together every eighteen months for fellow ship and exchange information about a variety of topics.  Presentations are made by vehicle owners.   Topics this year included tire safety and maintenance,  use of solar panels,  internet and cell phone communications and plumbing.  All exciting stuff :-)!   But critical pulling a rig like this and depending on all of these systems.

In addition, we plan visits to local places of interest.  This year we spent a day at Mountain Home Air Force Base, visiting the 391st Fighter Squadron.   The 391st flies F-15E Strike Eagle fighters.  Pretty amazing aircraft that have dominated the skies for over three decades.  During our visit to the base we were also given a demonstration by the canine security team.  In addition to providing security for this base, these dogs and their handlers are deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Near the RV park's entrance we found a nest of a pair of red tail hawks.  They were very skittish, but yesterday I was able to get close enough to take a few photos.  These photos, together with photos from our visit to Mountain Home AFB can be found at  

http://fbuhler.smugmug.com/Travel/New-Horizons-Rally-2010/11967383_9EpWC#861725355_Yej5a

We are still working on building the photo blog, but this page should work.

The news on our damaged slide isn't good.  Since we haven't been able to figure out how to fix it with resources available in Idaho,  we will head for the factory in Junction City, Kansas.  That will add 2400 exciting miles to our journey!  We will drive to Ogden today, and then decide whether to go through Denver or Cheyenne.  Weather reports project snow around Denver and rain and thunderstorms around Cheyenne.  Neither sounds attractive, but the grades along I-80 through Cheyenne are easier to handle.  We'll make a decision tonight when we get to Ogden.

Our appointment at the factory is for next Monday, so we'll take a slow drive.  Hopefully we can get everything squared away next week, and get back on the road for Alaska.

Mountain Home, Idaho

 
We last posted from Boomtown, just after discovering our kitchen slide would not open.  

Saturday we drove to Winnemucca where we spent the night.  A decent watering hole in the middle of the Nevada desert, mining continues to drive the economy. On Sunday we drove to Mountain Home, Idaho. Unless you drive north to Oregon, it seems you can't leave California without crossing the desert.  Imagine what it was like when my family emigrated to California a hundred years ago.  They would have traveled by train, riding in a wooden carriage pulled by a locomotive with a boiler burning wood or perhaps coal.  My first trip across the desert was in 1947 in a black '47 Chevrolet  pulling a seventeen foot house trailer.  With my parents and two sisters, all five of us lived in the trailer during that trip.  There were canvas water bags hanging off the front bumper to be used when the radiator over heated.  I say "when" because over heating was a common occurrence in the desert.  We scheduled our trip so that we crossed the Mojave Desert at night to avoid the heat.  Now we travel in our Ford F-350 land yacht in air-conditioned splendor listening to Fox News or Blumberg on satellite radio. We are pulling a 31 foot fifth wheel equipped with television and a computer linked to the internet providing us with email and access to worldwide news.  Life has changed!

After heading north from Winnemucca we traveled through cattle country on highway 95.  There were snow capped mountains in the distance.  We drove through Boise.  This was our first trip to Idaho.  I was surprised by the extensive agriculture including large acreage of fruit trees.

And here we are in Mountain Home!  We'll spend five days attending a New Horizons RV rally before heading for Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.  Gathering every eighteen months, this  is an opportunity to get toghether with other New Horzons owners to socialize and compare notes, and maybe figure out what's going on with our slide out!  On our first night we listened to a two hour presentation on driving to Alaska. Useful information.

We are still working on the problem with our slide.  We hope to reach a conclusion tomorrow on what to do about it.