October 20 - Burleston Tx

After a 43 minute delay getting through Ft Worth Tx due to a combination of construction and police clearing up an accident we finally made it to Jellystone Rustic Ranch.

Cam - you know those pictures of Texas freeways, with 5 or 6 different levels of flyways flowing massive amounts of traffic in every which direction?  Now picture the chaos when it's construction time, and everything is on the ground, with traffic repeatedly merging into a single lane, and huge rush hour traffic flows trying to move through the maze.  That was Fort Worth.  Drivers were becoming hugely frustrated with the delays, like the guy in the 1/2 ton, who, once the traffic finally got moving, floored it, and darted out to pass, directly into the end of the line of concrete lane dividers.  They had 6 feet of impact plastic on the end, but he still shortened up the drivers side headlight area of his Dodge about 3 - 4 feet; ricocheted off of a 1/2 ton pulling an empty stock trailer beside him, and spun fluid and debris several hundred feet down the highway.  Miraculously, he was still standing, holding his head, and examining his truck when we crawled past.  We traversed the construction unscathed, largely due to helpful and timely comments from Nancy, offering advice and suggestions on my driving skills.

We had not yet completed the hurdles of the day because, as we rounded the bend to our campsite within Jellystone, workers had dropped a 25 ft pine across our path.  With nowhere to go we accepted our fate of having to wait while the park gathered enough staff and power saws to clear the way.  Cam mixed a drink, I practiced my Español with some of the park staff, and management went looking for another site for us.

"I think I could make the leap"

The park is having a live Zombie hunt this weekend.  You ride in this wagon and shoot.  I think we know a lot of people who would like one of these!  I guess young hires are the unfortunates on the receiving end of this.

Paint gun huntin' - sit and fire

521 Km.

October 19th - South Haven KS

469 Km.

Camped in the Oasis campground which is a bit of a misnomer unless you consider a place to pull off the freeway an Oasis.  Basically a farmers field with services.  They used to have the internet but not anymore so this will be our last stay here.

October 18th - Stromsberg, NE

358 Km.

We have left Fall behind and entered late summer here in Stromsberg, Nebraska.  We have stayed in Buckley Park before and enjoy this little town.  They ask that you make a donation rather than charging for the camping.  Roses and mums are blooming and the trees are still mostly green.  Kirk and I put on just under 5 Km.  

October 17th - Sioux Falls, SD

Yep, Sioux Falls, again.

The miles roll by with the familiarity wrought of past treks across this landscape.  Campgrounds, rest stops, towns we have stayed in, all viewed from this new height and perspective of the panoramic Class A windows.  The I29, were we to do the speed limit, we would have to speed up significantly. There will be no dineros for smoky from us.  Large flocks of blackbirds, geese and ducks migrating with us.  The colours of fall touching the grasses and trees with wisps of burnished orange, bronze, and red flames mixed with gray, beige, brown and green.  We travelled through sugar beet country, very active now with trucks and workers in the fields and swelling the numbers of rigs in the campgrounds.  Muddy tires making the roads and unfortunately our rig filthy.  Vast acres of corn and angus cows spread out like a menu from The Keg.

Oh Yes, there are Pokemon in these vast northern U.S. plains and Kirk and I have already bagged many and put on a few miles resulting in windburn.  (I scratch at these pages in the hopes of making it at least a bit interesting for you blog followers.)  There are a lot of campers going the wrong way towards the north?!?!???? perhaps they know Trump will get in.  

440 Km.

October 3rd - New Sunscreen

When the Brave is parked on our spot in La Peñita, it faces south, and doesn't have much shade, so it's important to have a windshield cover to keep out the sun and the heat.  A windshield sunscreen is made of mesh, so you can see out during the day, and still have some privacy (you close the inside windshield curtain at night).  It attaches on the outside of the windshield with twist grommets.  I found a company in Arizona that makes sunscreens, but they said due to the parcel size and shape, UPS was the only option for shipping, but with charges in excess of $100 US, and an uncertain time line of delivery.  Continental US shipping was $10 US, and brother Bruce had a shipping address in Pembina, ND, so I had it manufactured and shipped there.  The parcel pickup business was out at the airport in Pembina.

Bruce and I took a run south to pick it up, then I took the Brave to Stylings RV to have it mounted (drill/screw the twist grommets into the appropriate locations).

It's funny, Pembina is only an hour south of Winnipeg, but there's no doubt it's America...

October 16th - Pleasant Surprises

I got an email late Saturday night, from Ed, at Styling's RV, saying that he was at a friend's social, but that since it was an emergency, he could have a look at our problem the next day (Sunday!!), if I wanted.  And so it happened.  I was there at 10, and by 11, the leak was repaired, the hydraulic reservoir refilled, and the Brave was ready for action.  I cannot say enough about how good the service is at Styling's RV.  They always go the extra mile to ensure that the job is well done; do yourself a favour, and take your RV there for service.

Nancy & Kirk showed up in the CRV, we hooked up, and by 11:30, we were rolling down the road.

Trip start mileage - 88,424 Km.

We had a brief chat with a border agent for an agricultural survey, and we were into the US.  We had contemplated shooting for a destination of Dakota Magic Casino, but our late start, combined with an ever increasing crosswind, had us lowering our sights to Fargo, and finally to Hillsboro, where we are for the night.  The campground office is closed (self-registration), but luckily they haven't changed the wifi password, so all of our devices remembered it from our stay here on our way north in the spring.  We de-winterized our water, and are enjoying a thunderstorm/rain for the evening.

355 Km.

October 15th - Departure's eve

The past week has been spent running a zillion details, preparing to leave the house, occupy the Brave, and generally run life by remote control for 6 months.  But we're finally there.  Clothes, food, fridge is live, everything you can think of and more are loaded into the Brave pending departure in the morning

And we're not leaving in the morning after all.

Went out to hook up the CRV to head south at first light, when Nancy noticed a puddle under the Brave, red, like hydraulic fluid. We have a hose leaking. Over to Stylings RV first thing Monday morning, I guess, and hope it's something easy to fix. Better in the yard than Guadalajara, I suppose....

I left a phone message and email at Stylings RV, detailing our woes, and requesting a Monday morning priority look-see and fix