The Adventures of Me & My Shadow #14 in CA,NV,UT,CO,KS,MO,IA,NE
& SD 4/24/98
Hi Everyone! The trip east from Petaluma, CA started out 4/18/98
with perfect weather. Because of El Nino the roads were a little
bit worse than they should be, we always have some chuck holes
in the spring. I was a little bit worried about Donner Pass on
I80 but we went over it in high gear on dry roads, I can see that
it could be a problem if it snowed as there was a long stretch
with snow on both sides of the road and several ups & downs.
Slept a little in NV and pulled into Les & Adele's place in
western CO at Carbondale, CO by noon 4/19/98. I enjoyed the visit
with them and went to a music concert in the evening at the private
school where Adele is the administrator.
Talked to Jenny on the phone and she reminded me to get the Discover
card bill paid that was due on the 21st. Headed to Denver on the
20th and soon found out that it was a mistake to have stopped
on the 19th when the sun was out and the road was dry. Had not
gone very far
and it was snowing, the road was slushy. They had signs up saying
"chains or snow tires required" I had neither. Several
grades were so steep that I was in 2nd gear with the peddle to
the metal doing 25 MPH wondering when I would find the slick stuff,
it was just slush. Didn't want to run out of fuel so stopped and
put some $1.34 gas in knowing I could get it for less than a buck
in Denver. Finally made it to Eizenhower Tunnel and rejoiced thinking
there would be no snow on the other side of the mountain, wrong,
it was snowing almost all the way down. Those steep grades cost
me a lot. my average MPG was 9 for a long time, after those long
grades at 25 MPH it had dropped to 8.5. It is back up to 9 and
if I would hold my speed down it would be close to 10.
Went about a mile into Denver to a Sears store to make a $900.00
Payment on the Discover card to keep them off my back and let
me keep charging on it. As I headed east of Denver the weather
was again perfect, I would have welcomed a good hard rain to wash
all the crud off the motorhome. I 70 east of Denver was under
reconstruction with single lanes for several miles, some stretches
were done and more needs to be done. The toll road I avoided last
time only cost me $2.50, it's worth that. I Shut down in front
of Geralds house about 3:00 AM., would have made it sooner but
when I turned the heater on I didn't notice the rectifier for
the computer had moved over in front of a heat vent, got too hot
and shut down. The computer battery went dead shutting down Gus
so when I pulled into KC, MO I was on my own and got lost. I finally
found a place to pull off and get Gus up and running to find the
way.
It turned out that it was Gerald's birthday, he thought I drove
all night to get there for his birthday and I had to tell him
otherwise. Had a nice visit and took him & Evon out to dinner
for his birthday. Came home and I copied the last trip update
to a floppy disk to put in his computer to send via e-mail. It
didn't work so Evon sat down and retyped the letter onto the e-mail
form and we got it sent, thanks to Evon. Next day Gerald got a
hose out and I washed the motorhome (first time in two years).
The next night Evon, through the bank where she works was invited
to a big blowout at the KC Royals Clubhouse, Gerald and I went
along. Got some chow and drinks and every one that came, took
home a KC Royals bat. My grandson Cody will have a new bat
when I get there in May.
On the 23rd I drove up to Gordon & Heather's place in the
bluffs north of Council Bluffs, IA. As I got there shortly after
noon, I met them on their way into town. They said they would
return about 4:30. While waiting for them, I plugged in and got
started on this letter. If I had a chain saw I could have spent
some time (about two weeks) cutting up trees that had been brought
down by a storm some time ago. Had a nice visit and enjoyed all
the birds that feed at all the bird feeders they have. Spent the
night and headed north to Sioux City, IA after lunch on the 24th.
Had a strong tail wind all the way to Sioux City, my average MPG
went up to 10. The price of fuel is very good except for the gas
I bought in CO just to make sure I wouldn't run out in the snow
storm. Had a nice visit and Dinner with My cousin Arlene in Sioux
City before going to my niece Kris & Bob's place where I spent
the night. I loaded a Juno program into their computer the next
day so I can send this letter to them via e-mail and save postage.
Had lunch with them before heading to Coleridge, NE (my old home
town).
The city park here in Coleridge has free electrical hookups for
two RVs and a dump station so I'm all set till it's time to go
to Sioux Falls, SD on the 4th. Had a nice visit with Marv &
Jackie, the next morning we played the numbers game at the cafe
to see who would by the coffee. There were six guys in the game
and the preacher guessed the winning number and had to pay the
bill. I remember him winning several times before I left last
summer so he was due. Sunday noon I went to the Cafe for a buffet
lunch, it was good and I met some more old friends there. The
Cafe had closed before I left last summer and some new owners
had just reopened it. I hope they make a go of it. I had planned
to change oil and grease the motorhome while here but it was too
cold to do that now so I went over to Elno & Barb's. Had a
nice visit and good chow, spent the night went into town the next
morning for free coffee provided by Don, my cousin Elaine's husband,
he was my driver when I went to Sioux Falls to get my defibrillator.
When we were coming home during a blizzard we got as far as his
place and could go no further so I ended up as a freeloader for
a week till the roads were opened. After lunch with Elno &
Barb I went into town to Elaine & Don's place to be a freeloader
again for a couple days. Enjoyed a birthday dinner and card games
with several of Don's family. After some more good chow and a
nice visit, I even connected my computer to his phone line to
get on the net but had a problem and was unable to do it.
Came back to Coleridge on 4/31 found some mail had caught up with
me so paid a bill and worked on the roof vent fan. It started
acting up in Las Vegas, didn't really need it yet but I hope the
hot weather will soon find me. Found a dirty switch, cleaned it
and now the fan runs like it is supposed to. On 5/1 I borrowed
a key from Marv and went out to the Dehy plant to service the
motorhome. The Dehy crew were all out sowing alfalfa so I had
the shop all to myself. I changed the oil and greased it, serviced
the coach battery and checked every thing, fixed a few minor problems
so now I can relax an not worry as I drive it. Worked on the door
latch and got it working like it is supposed to.
After I returned to the park the city cop came calling, no, he
didn't threaten to lock me up or run me out of town. I have known
him since he was in diapers, he had been hired by the city after
I had left. He is now six foot six inches tall and had to hunch
over a little while in the
motorhome. When I was a kid his granddad gave me my first job
$15.00 per month + room & board, worked from daylight to dark
and sometimes half the night. I enjoyed every minute of it and
learned a lot of valuable lessons. We always fixed every thing
that broke and after we fixed it, it was better than new. When
an animal needed a vet, we were the vet. I remember some of the
trouble the cops dad and his brothers & I used to get into.
One time the hired girl was going to a dance, we decided to play
a prank on her. There was an arch over the house yard gate, there
was a bell on the arch that was rung to let the boss know that
he had a phone call. After the hired girl went to the dance, we
turned the bell upside down, filled it with water and tied a wire
from it to the gate. We were in bed and heard the bell ring and
a scream, we laughed till we heard the voice that went with the
scream, it was the boys mother, we were in trouble. The hired
girl had the last laugh the next morning when she found out what
had happened.
Till next time, Dallas or Dad if it fits.