The Adventures of Me & My Shadow #20 in NE, SD, WY &
MT 8/13/98
From Great Falls, MT, Hi Everyone! After the last letter was sent
I met with my old friends in Coleridge and added some more E-mail
addresses and met a new friend, a very interesting Englishman
from Whales. He tried to pass himself off as an American, when
I noticed his accent I asked where he was from, he named off a
lot of places in the U.S. where he had worked. He finally admitted
that he had served in the RAF in his younger days and had retired
from a career spent in the USA. David Brooks met and married Janice
Anderson (a Coleridge girl) in Phoenix, AZ. They are now retired
and living in Coleridge. Also met some new friends from Maine
that camped next to me in the park the day before I left, Louie
is retired Army and they have been full timing in a 5th wheel
trailer for three years, he has a hotmail e-mail address so we
can keep in touch and see if our paths cross again.
Had my defibrillator checked in Sioux Falls, every thing was OK,
Will have it checked in Salisbury, MD next time. My computer has
been sick since I came up from Texas, I checked and found the
vent fan for the power supply was not running. I went to a computer
junk yard in Sioux Falls and found a fan for $7 that will work
till I can find a more powerful one. Came home and installed it
and got the computer doing what it is supposed to do. Next day
I went out to the shop were I used to work and changed the oil
and greased my Shado, I got a starter solenoid & fuel filter
when on the way to Sioux Falls and planed to put them on but decided
to wait till after I talk it over with the experts at the next
Motorhome convention.
Started this trip with a short leg to my cousin Elno & Barb
Kinkaid's place (Elno is brother to the Texas Comish. and the
Space Shuttle toilet engineer). Before I got there the motorhome
got very sick and complained loudly. It acted and sounded like
the transmission was slipping the loud noise was caused when the
left muffler came off the header. It didn't want to run fast or
clime hills so I knew it was sick. Got to Elno's OK and he took
me into Wausa, NE and I talked to a shop about removing the tranny
and sending it to a tranny shop in Norfolk for rebuilding, said
it could cost me $1,000 to $2,000. I talked to the shop in Norfolk
about driving it there, If I had to, I figured I could drive it
in second gear. They advised towing it or have a local shop remove
the tranny and deliver it to them. No one could work on it right
away so it looked like my trip to Edmonton, AB Canada was off.
I spent the night at Elno's and they taught me a new card game
called "Sequence", even let me win a couple times.
Next day I carefully drove my Shado into Wausa where Don &
Elaine Wakeley live and told them they were going to have to put
up with me for a week or more. I spent a week with them a year
ago last February, Don was my driver when I had my defibrillator
implanted and we came home in a blizzard, got to his place and
had to wait for the roads to be opened before going further. Next
day I drove the left wheels of my Shado up on the curb, got down
in the gutter and installed a new muffler that I had with me,
also installed the new fuel filter. Road tested it and now that
it was quiet I was able to concentrate and was watching the tachometer
and was very happy to see that the transmission was not slipping
but the new fuel filter didn't do a thing for the ailment effecting
my Shadow, she was still sick and would not run fast or pull hard.
I found the problem when I opened the distributor and found the
mechanical advance was stuck. I had used WD40 to free it and lubricate
it not too long ago at Jeff & Alexis' place so I guess WD
40 is not a good lube for the distributor. I worked some GP oil
into it and freed it, road tested it and now she again likes to
run fast and pull hard. When I get back to MD next month I'll
take the distributor apart and lubricate it with some high temp.
grease that I use. The trip to Edmonton was back on, I e-mailed
Hank & Remmy And he advised me that they were having a family
reunion and would be available to visit after the 18th so that
is where I plan to be. Will have time for a short visit before
checking into the motorhome convention at Hope, BC Canada on the
24rd.
Told Gus to plan the trip to Ellsworth AFB near Rapid City, SD,
the fast way took me 40 miles out of the way so I asked for the
shortest way. These short ways can be quite an adventure and that
is what this one was, one short stretch of local road in NE would
be a disaster if it rained. Got on a local road in SD and I was
about to cuss Gus when I started to notice the birds. The road
was terrible, had to go slow and this turned out to be an enjoyable
trip. This local road was in range country and I saw birds that
I thought were extinct since chemicals were introduced in the
farming country were I lived. I saw Hawks and Falcons and Meadowlarks
by the hundreds. If I had been driving fast I would have killed
some of them as they flew up right in front of my Shado. There
was no other traffic, for 30 miles I was all alone. This would
be a bird watchers paradise. Thanks Gus for this adventure. Just
think, all of you people out there who don't use GPS navigation,
you never get to see these roads, they are not on your maps.
Got to Ellsworth AFB and checked into a very nice RV Park. On
the way up here I thought about the Air Born Museum in Texas when
I saw signs telling me to see the South Dakota Air & Space
Museum they didn't say just what kind of air was on display and
who wants to set and stare at space. Well the museum was on the
left just before I come through the AFB gate. Saw lots of aircraft
& rockets so will have to take it in, looks like the air &
space is all occupied. Met a lot of interesting people in the
RV park, I would just ask a couple questions, then set back and
listen to the stories. I joined the USAF Frequent Camper Club
and now have a book that lists all Military Posts that have RV
Parks. I can spend two days for the low price of one day.
Got up early 8/12/98 and headed to Helena, MT to see if I could
locate an old Navy friend from 1943/44, I had last visited him
several years ago. On the way I picked up two different interesting
hitch hikers. The first one was out in the middle of nowhere in
Wyoming, he was about my age, from somewhere in Europe, I never
could make out the name of the country he was from. He gave up
trying to get me to understand his name, he finally said "complicated"
so that is what I called him. He was seeing the USA for the first
time and asked me lots of questions about what he was seeing.
I found out he had been in the Merchant Marine in his younger
days and was retired from the construction trade, had two children,
one was in the USA the other was in Europe. He was with me for
about a 150 miles and then said "I take break now, here".
We were again in the middle of nowhere, but I let him out and
went on. I guess he couldn't take it all in through the windshield.
The other hitchhiker was at an entrance ramp on I 90 in Montana,
said he had been there for three days, wanted to go to Sioux Falls
but wanted me to take him west to a truck stop to try his luck
there. Russ had lots of stories to tell, had been an alcoholic
but hadn't had a drink in ten years, had also been homeless for
ten years. Said he told a cop yesterday that he wished he could
lay down right there an die. Maybe I'll have room in another letter
to tell you the sad stories he told about living without a home.
I gave him a few bucks when I let him out and wished him well.
Couldn't find my buddy in Helena so headed on up to Malmstrom
Air Force Base RV Park checked in for two days for $8. Looked
in the phone book for Don & Elaine's daughter here in Great
Falls, MT but didn't find it, should had gotten her phone no.
from them. I'll get on the net here at the library and contact
them to get it and send this letter then head for Canada.
Till next time, Dallas or Dad if it fits. 8/13/98