Maiden Voyage: Day 3 on the Road

Saturday, 3 July 2010

Greetings from somewhere on I-80 in Nebraska.  We’re about 100 miles from North Platte, where we hope to replenish groceries before continuing onto Doniphan (near Grand Island) where we have reservations at the KOA for a 50-amp pull-through site.

Despite the whoosh-whoosh of the highway traffic, and the occasional toot-toot of passing trains, I fell into a deep slumber once I wrapped things up and went to bed last night.  At 4:00a, the sound of strong winds rattling the RV woke us up.  To be expected I suppose when you’re in the middle of vast, flat plains.  It was a little unnerving at first, but we soon got used to the noise and fell asleep again until the alarm sounded at 6:30a.

We took it easy this morning, getting a later start than we had initially planned.  But, the time was put to good use.  We got the internet code from the office and while I checked in with loved ones, Mui cleaned off the bug spatter on the windshield.  A thankless job, but it has to be done.

While we had wi-fi access, we also checked out towns about 500 miles [800 km] from Rawlins, Wyoming and then used our Woodall’s directory to find a campsite for tonight.  Having the CD version of the directory installed on the laptop has sure made finding a place to stay easy as pie.  That accomplished, we pulled up stakes, so to speak, and headed back onto I-80E.  It was 9:15a; the wind was blowing strong; the temp was 72F [22C].

We’re on I-80 all the way from Rawlins, Wyoming to Doniphan, Nebraska.

Our drive thus far has been through wide open spaces again.  We’re savoring these days as they will soon be but a distant memory.  The puffy white clouds dotting the blue sky have been a source of entertainment; as have the multitude of cattle grazing in the fields of both states.  Line after line of snowdrift barriers on the south side of the highway in Wyoming were a testament to the strong winds that we had a taste of in the wee hours of the morning.

Roadside scenery in Wyoming.

Snowdrift barriers are everywhere.

These granite rock formations near Laramie are named Vedauwoo.
(the name comes from Arapaho and means “Land of the Earthborn Spirit.”)

Wide open spaces and entertaining clouds.

We stopped for lunch at the Nebraska Welcome Center.  Up until now, we’ve not had to use the generator to power the A/C for our mid-day breaks, but the 98F [37C] temp today was a deal breaker.  We made quick work of our salad and sandwich lunch in order to squeeze in time for our grocery shopping at the Wal-Mart Super Center in North Platte.  Speaking of which … we’re about to take the exit into town.  But first, a few more photographs from this afternoon.

Roadside oil rig in Nebraska.

A grain elevator welcomes visitors to Chappell.
(population 878 in 2008)

More later ...

Later … Grand Island KOA

We were a bit later arriving at the campground than we had hoped, but all for a good reason.  Our groceries are replenished and we’re set for the rest of the trip.

After completing our shopping at Wal-Mart, we drove the remaining miles to Doniphan, near Grand Island.  About five miles out from the campground, we stopped to fill up, and more importantly, rid the windshield of the mess of bug spatter covering it.  This was our worse day for bugs committing suicide on our windshield — perhaps because of the cattle farms we passed en route.

The Grand Platte River Road Archway Monument
brings the “westward migration to life.”

What a mess!!!

When you don’t have a truck plaza handy, you have to be resourceful.

It was 9:15p when we pulled into the nearly-at-capacity Grand Island KOA.  A note above the after-hours registration box warned that there were no sites left that would accommodate big rigs, and that only pop-ups and tent campers were welcome at this time.  Having made reservations, this wasn’t a problem for us.  Within minutes we were parked in site 21.

There are 125 sites here, all shaded by mature trees.  The rather narrow pads are separated by grass strips.  At a nightly rate of $37 dollars, this is the most expensive campground of the trip yet.  I have to admit that my initial impression is not very positive.  Can’t quite put my finger on why.  Maybe it’s because the place seems very crowded.  Or maybe I’m just tired since this is our second late night arrival in a row.  In any event, it’s fine for a one night stay.

After setting up, we made short work of dinner — frozen entrees and some wine.  Then, we cranked up the laptop and took advantage of the free wi-fi to check in with family and friends.  Next, we pulled out the maps to figure out tomorrow night’s stop.  Adjusting our route to drive through Iowa before dropping into southern Illinois, we found a campground near Galesburg and made note of the phone number to call for a reservation tomorrow morning.

And so we’ve made it past 11:30p — another night without a chance to kick back and relax.  But we knew in advance this was likely going to be the case.  Pleasure RVing is just going to have to wait until next time.

A sunset shot to bid you goodnight.

We’re at the mid-point of our trip.  It’s been pretty smooth so far; keeping fingers crossed that it stays that way.

Start Odometer	End Odometer	Day’s Mileage
9631	10147	516 [826 km]

Statistics for Today

Next Up … Maiden Voyage: Day 4 on the Road

Maiden Voyage: Day 2 on the Road

Friday, 2 July 2010

Greetings from Utah!

Today is a three-state day on the road.  We’ve already traversed through Idaho and are now driving along the Willard Reservoir, which is part of the Great Salt Lake of Utah.  We’ll be crossing just a small portion of this state as we make our way to Wyoming for our next overnight stop.  We have tentative reservations for a 50-amp site at Warren AFB in Cheyenne, but we’re probably going to stop before then. (There’s about a 100-mile [160 km] discrepancy between what the Garmin is giving us as yet-to-be-driven miles and what the signs on the road are indicating.)  So, our new goal for the day is Rawlins.

Our Route from Boise, Idaho to Rawlins, Wyoming takes us on I-84 and I-80.

With another long day’s drive ahead of us, we didn’t waste time starting the second day of our cross-country journey.  At 8:00a, well rested after a good night’s sleep, we were pulling out of the RV park in Boise.  The park is well off the interstate, so it took us about 30 minutes of in-town driving to get on I-84E.

The temp was a breezy 62F [17C] when we left the campground this morning; the skies were clear with fair weather clouds adding interest.  As the day progressed, the skies remained clear, but the temps rose steadily.  By the time we stopped for lunch at the Juniper rest area at milepost 269 in Idaho (just shy of the Utah state line), the temp gauge was reading a hot 92F [33C].  Scrapping plans to eat at one of the picnic tables, we enjoyed our soup and salad lunch in the comfort of the Phaeton.

Typical scenery as we head from Idaho to Utah.
(the dashboard does make a good alternative to the dryer!)

On the menu … red pepper & tomato soup and green salad.

Western Kingbird at the Juniper rest area.
(thanks to empress ziti for the id)

The drive has been uneventful thus far … the best kind.  We passed through wide open flatlands, with little to no human population.  That’s going to change as we get closer to the eastern half of the US, so we’re savoring every moment. Once we hit Utah, the mountainous terrain added interest to our drive. 

amongst the amenities that Truck plazas offer …
fast diesel pumps and long handled squeegees.

“U” is for Utah!
(tip: look at the mountain on the left side)

One of the things we were concerned about when we were making plans for this cross-country trip was that we’d be doing it over the 4th of July.  What would the holiday traffic be like?  We certainly expected that it would pick up today, but that hasn’t been the case at all.  It’s been quite light all day.  Not that we’re complaining mind you.

That there was little construction to contend with along the way has been an additional boon — just a couple of patches, and even then, the single lane of eastbound traffic in those spots always moved at a steady pace.

We’re now on I-80, the second-longest interstate highway in the US (after I-90).  We’re also in our third and final state for the day.  We’ve been passing a steady stream of wind farms since we entered the state.  A lot of people don’t like these farms; they say the wind turbines spoil the scenery.  I disagree.  Besides, they’re a great source of eco-friendly power — how can anyone take issue with that?

Personally, I like the wind farms that dot the landscape.

The wind turbines look deceptively small from a distance …

… but just take a look at this propeller;
it’s one of three that is attached to a turbine.
(darn shutter lag!  I really did click before the truck passed us.)

The scenery is getting more and more interesting.  I’m going to stop blogging now and see what’s what around me.  More later …

Later … 50 miles from Rawlins on I-80

It’s 8:00p.  I’d hoped that we’d be at the RV park the next time I pulled out the laptop, but no can do.  Instead, we’re still on I-80, part of a long, long, long line of vehicles … so long, in fact that the vehicles ahead and behind us look like matchbox cars.  There’s no traffic moving in either direction.

The line up of big rigs behind us look like train cars.

Can you see the head of the line of vehicles ahead of us?
I certainly can’t!

The Phaeton waits patiently for the traffic to start moving again …

… and so do I!

We’ve been at a complete standstill, our engine turned off, for 30 minutes now. With all hopes of arriving at the campground in Rawlins before the office closes at 9:00p dashed, a few minutes ago we called and made a reservation to guarantee a site for the night.  Good thing we decided early on not to go all the way to Cheyenne!

Around us, people are walking dogs on the westbound lanes of the highway or entertaining kids that are putting up a fuss after a long day of driving.  As for us, we just finished eating dinner.  That’s the beauty of traveling in a self-contained unit.  Are we enjoying the delay in our travel plans?  No, but at least we feel like we’re getting things done while we helplessly await the re-opening of I-80.

I’m even going to use this time to get caught up on the blog from where I left off earlier.

After all the flatlands we’ve driven through, the rock formations of Utah and Wyoming were a nice change of pace.  Near Green River, we even had some red rocks from the very northern tip of Flaming Gorge adding color to the scenery.

From wide open spaces …

… to interesting formations …

… to layered rocks in the Green River area.

Tollgate Rock towers over I-80.

to the right of the Green River Tunnel entrance is Castle Rock.

I’m no Ansell Adams, but I like the B&W treatment of this photo.

Westbound traffic is starting to whiz by.  Granted there’s quite a bit of delay between seeing vehicles, but it looks like we might be on the move soon.  More later …

Later … Western Hills Campground

We’re set up for the night.  I’m too keyed up to go to bed, so I’ll relax a bit by finishing up this blog entry.

Around 8:15p, we started seeing vehicles coming down the westbound lanes of I-80.  With a couple more clicks of the shutter, I put the camera away and we settled into the cockpit to start driving again.

First vehicles heading west.  There’s hope that we’ll be moving soon.

I’m a sucker for sunset shots.

It was another 15 minutes before the traffic ahead of us had moved enough for us to start rolling.  Once we got going, we moved at a steady pace through the 14-mile [22 km] construction zone.  With the westbound traffic using one of the two lanes on our side of the highway, we were traveling slower than the posted speed limit, but at least we were moving.  From the time we started rolling to when we passed the last vehicle in the westbound queue was 30 minutes (we were averaging 50-55 mph; you do the math to calculate how far we were backed up).

It turns out that the cause of the back up was a jackknifed travel trailer.  With the westbound lanes of I-80 closed to traffic, it must have taken a small miracle to get emergency vehicles in there to reach the people in the vehicle and move the trailer and it’s tow-truck onto the grass median.  Personal belongings strewn about the side of the road were testament to the serious nature of the wreck.  Hopefully, the driver/passengers were not badly hurt .

I did say that I’m a sucker for sunsets; this one’s looking west.

We pulled into the Western Hills Campground around 9:45p.  With only 92 sites, this is a smaller campground than the one we stayed in last night.  It’s also much closer to the highway.  We’re in site 134 for $27/night.  It’s an all gravel, pull-through site with no concrete pads, trees, or other obstructions to present a challenge when maneuvering into the space.  In other words, ideal for a late night arrival.  That there’s 50-amp service is good as we needed to cool the interior of the coach down after a hot day on the road.

This is where we spent the night.
(photo taken on 3 July)

We were set up within 15 minutes, water and electricity hooked up, and all items on the arrival checklist taken care of.  Mui, who has the ability to just drift off to sleep once he sits down, went to bed almost immediately.  I don’t have that talent, so I stayed up to finish the blog and send a few emails.  The latter wasn’t meant to be.  Internet here requires an access code.  Unlike last night’s RV park, there was no after-hours packet waiting for us.  We’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning to get the code so we can let friends and family know that another day of traveling has been successfully concluded.  Luckily, I can write the blog offline.

Until tomorrow … goodnight!

Start Odometer	End Odometer	Day’s Mileage
9037	9631	594 [950 km]

Statistics for Today

Oh by the way … wildlife sightings today consisted of one chirping bird; and four deer, all victims of vehicular traffic.  To end on a positive note, though, we did see three deer grazing roadside just before we turned into the campground.

Next Up … Maiden Voyage: Day 3 on the Road