It's a Brand New Day and We're On Our Way

As you read in my previous post, we still need to get our license plates, etc., and our deadline is July 7. It’s a brand new day, and we are on our way!

It was June 25th when we headed north. For part of this distance across Texas, we retraced our route. From Livingston, Texas, we got on 59, bypassed Corrigan taking their outer loop. As we cut across country, we took 287 to Crockett to Elkhart, then 84 to Fairfield and Mexia, and 171 back to Hillsboro, where we had spent one night at the Walmart on our way south.

What?  No Overnight Parking Here This Time!

There was a sign in their parking lot that said no truck parking, but according to the app we used, RV overnight parking was ok. It was after 8:30 PM when someone knocked at our door. The new manager at this Walmart had called a wrecker service to remove all trucks and campers from the lot because the trucks were tearing up their asphalt.

Remember, we still have no clearance lights at this point. The sun had gone down. It was dark. However, we had no choice but to get in gear, turn on our headlights (and tail lights) and move on. Our closest overnight alternative was the TA truck stop off I-35, where we parked among the big semi trucks, and listened to the hum of generators during the night.

Cutting across country, we continued on 22 out of Hillsboro to Meridian, 6 to Hico, Dublin, and Eastland. Somewhere before we left Texas, we crossed Lake Whitney, where the flood waters were still very high as we crossed the Corp of Engineers dam site.

Flood waters were very high as we crossed the Corp of Engineers dam at Lake Whitney.

Search Continues for Place to get a Wheel Alignment

As we drove across country, we continued to search for a place that could do a wheel alignment on the motorhome. A place in Breckenridge that worked on semis said they could do it. We made an appointment for the next morning and spent the night in the dirt lot adjacent to the Walmart Parking Lot where we had parked prior to getting the manifold repairs done on our way south. It was obvious the next morning when they had us drive in their alignment bay, all flat surface, that they did not know what it took to align a Chevy P30 chassis. It was not until they got their tool out and got down to look at the wheel that they realized they were not equipped to do an alignment for us. It was here we decided to wait until we got to Rapid City, South Dakota.

Time to Sit Back and Enjoy the Drive...

We were following 183 to 283. From Breckenridge, we headed north to Vernon, and into Oklahoma on June 27 where we stayed in the Altus Walmart parking lot for the night.

Oklahoma welcome sign

June 28, we followed 6 North and were surprised to see mountains in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma 6 and mountain where our route veered right

According to the map, the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, NWR, had Baker Peak at a height of 2,423 feet. After we turned left on 152 East and North at Sayre on 283 North, nearly half way up the state, we saw on the map that the Washita National Wildlife Refuge was located east of us. After stopping for a quick sandwich in Shattuck, OK, we continued to Dodge City, Kansas, where we boondocked at the Walmart.

While there, we noticed that the right trailer tire was low. The next morning we had it checked at the Walmart Tire Lube Express. They discovered the rim had a hole in it which caused the low tire. They did not have any rims to fit the trailer, so we asked them to put on the spare, and added replacing the rim to our list for South Dakota.

By the way, I guess we got what we paid for. The rims with tires on them were purchased on the internet for $50 per tire and rim.  If you have been following my blog, you know we already replaced both tires when we came through Casa Grande, AZ. Thinking back, I think we were fortunate to get this far without a problem.

June 29, we traveled north on 283 from Dodge City, Kansas. Opportunities to take a variety of miscellaneous photos were everywhere along the way. First there was the windmill farm. The dark part of the photo in the foreground is a cornfield after it has been harvested.

Windmill Farm

As we entered Jetmore, there was the white granary silos.

White granary silos at Jetmore, Kansas

Then there was more farming country, with bales of wheat straw.

Bales of Wheat Straw

Ness City was one of the small towns we drove through with an interesting building where the sign at the door said Ness City Bank.

Ness City street scene

Ness City Bank

Remember you can click on any of the photos to see an enlarged version, and 'x' out of it to come back to the blog.

Then came the scenic area before we got to Wakeeney with Cedar Bluff Reservoir and State Park.

Scenic rocky area

After passing the rocky mounds on the roadside, we came upon a rocky building, which could have been a church or school. It had no markings identifying it.

Scenic rocky mounds on roadside

Deserted rock/brick building with no identifying sign

Coming up on our left was a white country church.

White country church located between rural towns

We knew we were in more farming area when we saw a red combine in the field and met two huge combines on the two-lane highway. Back in the day when I was growing up, we used to have a combine, but it was not self-propelled like these. My dad pulled it with a tractor.

Combine harvesting in farm field

Two huge combines we met on our route

Closer view of combine bringing up the rear

Overall, trees in the landscape were scarce. Corner fence posts constructed of concrete and supported with concrete were a common scene between the fields. We saw a couple John Deere tractors. They had tall wheels on the rear with the two in front as far apart as the rear ones. Even when I grew up on a farm in northern Indiana, I do not remember ever seeing any John Deere tractors like these.

This was the second John Deere of this type we saw on our route.

We met this John Deere tractor just after we passed through Norton, Kansas. We also saw Black Angus cattle grazing in the fields.

Black Angus cattle

When we entered the town of Norton, we went west, left on 36; at that point, 9 and 383 were detoured and routed with 36. We turned right/north at Oberlin on 83.  I almost missed the sign when this Nebraska welcome sign appeared. (Sorry about it being a little blurry.)

Nebraska welcome sign

Free tourist camp courtesy of the city of McCook, Nebraska 

What a pleasant surprise to find a free tourist camp. This one in McCook was in memory of Dr. Frederick Merrill Karrer who served the city council from 1956 to 1965 and also as mayor. The camp had a dump station, seven sites with electric, and a nice building for showers.

Free tourist camp

In memory of Dr. Frederick Merrill Karrer

We had the pleasure of meeting another traveler, Rick LaValley. and sharing conversation. He shared a watermelon, very tasty. Later we invited him to heat his supper in our microwave and we ended up sharing great conversation until 10:30 p.m., when we said our good-byes.

Here we are parked at one of the sites.

Stress Cracks on a Bracket Supporting the Solar Panels

This was the first opportunity since we left Dodge City that I had to photograph the solar panels after John had to strap them to keep them in place, so we did not do any more damage. Too much uneven pavement with ups and downs caused a stress crack that eventually broke the brackets on one side of the trailer holding the solar panels.

Solar panels with the red straps John added before we left Dodge City, Kansas

We left McCook via Route 34 on June 30th. Many places had three or more rows of pine trees on a minimum of three sides of their buildings. Since we experienced some wind gusts, we figured the trees were a protection from strong winds.

We followed 6 to 61 as we closed the gap to Ogallala, Nebraska, then 26 along the North Platte River. This was a beautiful drive, but as we continued, views of the river were fewer and farther between. As the road turned, corn, and more pine trees appeared. The next scene looks off in the distance toward Lake McConaughy, and some scenic rock on the farthest side.

Looking toward Lake McConaughy; scenic rock in distance.

The North Platte River came into view only a few times from high spots spots in the road. Train tracks followed along the highway. Cars full of coal were eastbound.

Eastbound train with cars full of coal

We took 385 at Northport. As we got closer to Chadron, we saw evidence of a forest fire.

We were 19 miles from South Dakota when we boondocked overnight at the Walmart in Chadron. We were hoping for a red sunset, with the sky over Walmart. Too many dark clouds appeared, so I settled for a nice view of Walmart at 7:29 pm after lights came on in the parking lot and their sign lit up on the front of the building.

Evening Skies over Walmart in Chadron, Nebraska

We stayed a second night, July 1st, at this location, to give the rain a chance to let up. We were 85 miles from Box Elder, South Dakota. In the next post, we are welcomed at Americas Mailbox!

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