Day 2: The High Plains

Good morning! After a fairly good night's rest, we rolled out of bed at 7:00 AM to prepare for the day's travel.  Papa Bear stayed snuggled in the den while I started a breakfast of fresh made banana nut muffins, coffee and juice.  The new stove works beautifully, and, for now at least, I don't think I need a pizza stone to help with even heating.

After a leisurely breakfast, I started clean up while Papa Bear put on some work clothes and went under the coach to make some adjustments to the front sway bar.  One of the major upgrades we did to the coach was adding after market suspension elements that have dramatically changed the way this coach handles. Stabilizers and sway bars were designed by a third party company and then manufactured by RoadMaster. Along with new Bilstein shocks all the way around, the mechanical modifications have both softened the bumps and stiffened the ride, eliminated "duck walking" and improved steering.  Everything we've read and heard indicated that these are some of the best features you could spend money on when refitting this coach. Without doubt, that has all proven to be true.

Our route today takes us north on Highway 83 starting in Childress, Texas through the Oklahoma panhandle and into the wide open plains of Kansas. At Oakley, Kansas we will hit I-70 and turn west. The last leg of today's journey will have us crossing over the Kansas - Colorado border and ending up at the CODOT Rest Area in Burlington, Colorado.  The entire trip today is approximately 473 miles. Even though it is more miles than yesterday, the open plains and decent roads made the trip seem easier in some ways.

The area we are traversing today is called the "High Plains" and is a subsection of the Great Plains of the American mid-west. From what I have seen on our trip today the primary economy of the region is based on oil and gas, corn, soybeans and sorghum crops, wind energy and cattle farming. Wide open fields are a combination of lush green soybean plants, and the early golden hue of ripening corn and sorghum. My guess is we are actually in the second crop of the season. Some of the fields have already been harvested and are lying fallow until the next planting cycle. It's a patchwork quilt of emerald green and goldenrod across the tri-state area.

The terrain is also quite varied. As you approach the Texas - Oklahoma border you are entering an escarpment area and I was surprised by some tall buttes. I had not expected to see those particular formations in this part of the state. (Apologies for the smudges in the photos below.  Farm land means bugs and they have made a mess of the windshield.)  There really isn't a lot to see on this route other than the scenery, and no roadside attractions that made sense for us to deviate from the main highway to see. If you travel this section with kids, have coloring books or movies ready to keep them entertained. Internet was surprisingly good even in areas that looked like they were just now discovering dial up.

 

Contrary to the song from the popular Rogers and Hammerstein musical, we actually had less wind coming across the plains in Oklahoma than we did in either Texas or Kansas today. But it is still a windswept area - a situation that they have harnessed and put to good use generating electricity. We saw several miles of wind turbine farms as we cut across the Oklahoma panhandle.

We crossed in and out of Oklahoma in almost exactly 30 minutes. We originally wanted to stop at a picnic area for lunch, but there wasn't really any place that I could find on our route. So instead, we stopped at the Love's travel station in Liberal, Kansas.  I made pasta salad last night, and only needed to add some chopped turkey to it before serving with some excellent salt and pepper kettle chips and sweet ice cold cantaloupe for lunch. I have to say that I am enjoying my own lunches better than the burger and fries that are the typical noontime fare.

 

Papa Bear and I were both feeling a little sleepy after lunch, and since we were on no particular timeline, and had been making excellent time today, we decided to take a nap.  That, overall, was an excellent idea and we both felt refreshed after a light snooze. We were back on the road at 2:30, with only one other stop scheduled on our route to the overnight destination. The intent is to fuel up just prior to each end of day, that way there is plenty diesel for running the generator at night and for the next day's journey.

We made a short stop in Oakley, Kansas to load up on fuel and clean all the bugs off the windshield before making the final push of 87 miles to Burlington. And of course, the gremlin had to make another appearance. Just shortly down I-70 we started to get an insistent chirping warning sound. We immediately started looking at gauges and instrument clusters, and decided to pull off at the next exit to start troubleshooting.  There was no indicator on the dash to give us visual cues as to what was wrong, so it was a process of elimination.  Ultimately, we determined that the transmission was getting hot and was alerting us. With the outside air temp nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit, altitude of over 4100 feet and some hills, the load was a bit much for the RPM's we were running.  We were still within the safe operation range, but we slowed our roll and cruised into our spot for the night. 

Originally, I had planned to stay at the Burlington Colorado Rest Area, but after discussing with Papa Bear it was decided that if I could find an easily accessible overnight RV location that cost $25 or less (with at least electricity and water) that would negate the cost of the diesel that we would burn keeping the air conditioner on all night.  I pulled out the laptop and did a quick search on Campendium, finding three potential places that fit the bill exactly. I ended up selecting a small locally owned park that received very good reviews. 

We arrived at the Burlington RV Park around 6:30, pulled into space number 7 and settled in for the night. Dinner came together quickly thanks to a P.F. Chang's beef and broccoli frozen dinner along with some lo mein noodles and some egg rolls. I realized that I'd forgotten sweet and sour sauce, so had to improvise with a ketchup, brown sugar and lemon concoction. Heated in the microwave until the sugar melted, it came together actually quite well and tasted like a passable S&S sauce. Not too shabby. After dinner, we took a walk down to the conveniently located Dollar General for some ice and a couple of odds and ends. The cool evening actually made it quite pleasant and allowed us to stretch our legs after a long day of driving.

Since we had full hook ups (electricity, water, and sewer) I decided this would be a hair washing night. I know, maybe TMI or kind of an odd thing to blog about. However, for anyone that has long hair that needs frequent washing, and when on a trip where you don't have those amenities every night, you have to make the most of those times you do. When connected to all the utilities, I can afford to take a longer, hotter shower and not worry about filling up the grey water tank. I also did a load of laundry to keep that all in check. I have to admit Papa Bear was right about the washer and dryer. Thanks honey!

The plan for tomorrow is to get a slightly earlier start so we are through the Mile High City (Denver) and Fort Collins well before the late day heat. We should be well into the Cheyenne, Wyoming area by mid-afternoon, with air temps that will be much cooler and easier on the engine and transmission. We did some reading en-route and know how to troubleshoot the issue should it happen again. Fingers crossed that we don't have any more issues with that. All going well, and with an early start, we should be able to park the RV and squeeze in a side trip of the Casper, Wyoming area.

With that prelude to Day 3, we're going to sign off! Good night everyone!