Category: Uncategorized

For several days I’ve been heading towards Oklahoma City without ever reaching it.

Monday night I got as close as Perry, Oklahoma, where I saw the food bank truck.

Tuesday morning I started out intending to drive through OKC that day. I made it two exits down the Interstate. I was tired from listening to trains the night before and the winds were stronger than I thought they’d be so I pulled into and RV park where I could plug in my heater at night, dump my tanks so I wouldn’t worry about them filling up, and catch up (sort of) on some computer stuff.

Lately the winds have been the determining factor as to whether today is a go or not. I check the weather in the evening and it says winds 10-16 mph tomorrow. So I decide to go. Then I get up in the morning and they’ve added gusts up to 24 mph. I can handle up to 20 but 24 is uncomfortable–I hold the steering wheel so tight my fingers go to sleep.

So I stayed two nights at that RV park.

Then this morning the forecast said gusts up to 23 mph but they would be tail winds. Tomorrow they will be head winds. So I decided to go. But by the time I did a dump and fill it was nearly 11:00. And I hadn’t had breakfast. And I was running out of my brand of caffeine. And my RV wanted diesel.

They guy in the office told me where I could get diesel that was not biodiesel. So that was my first stop. The station had a small grocery store and they had a carton of Diet Dr Pepper and my favorite snack for sale so now my grocery shopping was less urgent.

That meant it was time to eat breakfast. OK brunch for those of you who are paying attention to the clock. Pizza Hut works for me. I get a large pizza and put much of it in a go box to eat later. Now grocery shopping is even less urgent.

So, I’m finally back on the freeway. At 1:00 pm. Hey, I never said I was an early bird.

And I drive. And drive. And drive. Apparently having a tailwind makes it easier. I take much fewer breaks than usual.

About 5:30 I decide it is supper time and look at that will you? A Cracker Barrel! So I go in and eat and bring half my meal back for later. Grocery shopping is now even less urgent.

And the sun is setting. So I’ll stay here tonight.

But, I’m past Oklahoma City. I’m all the way down into Texas. Where the weather forecast for tomorrow is just OK. But it says rain the day after. So, tomorrow I’ll see if I can get all the way to somewhere I can hole up for several days.

However many days that turns out to be. Before I once again decide it is time to go.

TTYL,

Linda

As I was getting dressed this morning I heard a truck engine sounding awfully close to me. When I uncovered my back windows I saw this:

 

Zooming in on the cab got this:

This truck advertises a regional food bank serving the hungry. Across the driveway behind that truck is a Pizza Hut. Which I’m guessing is donating to this food program.

It’s a big truck:

 

Heading on its way to do its job.

 

I’m Linda Sand and I approve this message.

TTYL,

Linda

 

Every now and then my GPS decides it has worked hard enough for now so it takes a break. As in refuses to turn on. Or, if it is already on, it turns itself off. Today it decided not to turn on when I was ready to leave the rest stop just before KCMO and KCK.

For those of you who didn’t grow up listening to Midwest radio stations, that’s Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas. Another set of twin cities separated mostly by attitude.

As places go, that was not a bad place for it to decide to take a break. All I had to do was follow the signs to stay on I-35 all the way through the metro area, out the other side, and about halfway to Emporia, Kansas. I could do that with my eyes closed. OK, not really. It is hazardous to drive with your eyes closed. But you know what I mean. I’ve been down this route  enough to not panic about my GPS taking a break.

So about 5:00 I pulled into a Corps of Engineers park. I was thrilled to see the gates to the campground be open. But surprised to see the registration fees were only applicable through September 30th. OK, likely that means no water. I did not expect it to mean no electricity either. But I have a level, pull-through spot overlooking Malvern Lake and it’s late and I’m tired of driving.

The wifi signal here is weak but plugging in my antenna brought it up to acceptable speed so I can compute.

My batteries are 100% charged so I can reheat lunch leftovers in the microwave for supper and charge electronics when their batteries get low.

It is 83° in here. The forecast low tonight is 37°. That’s nearly 40°, right? It should stay warm in here until at least bedtime, right? Then I can run my furnace until it goes haywire (which appears to be about 5 hours) then have enough residual heat to get me through the night, right?

I sure hope so, because I am staying. I need a break.

TTYL,

Linda

I didn’t get to decide when to leave Minneapolis. I wasn’t actually ready to go. I hadn’t done my typical route planning.

All I knew was Mason City, Iowa, was probably going to be my first night’s stop and I should buy diesel before crossing the border into Iowa since they are big on bio-diesel there and I can’t put more than 5% bio in my tank without risking damage to my engine.

So I left mid-day Thursday, bought 5% biodiesel in Albert Lea, Minnesota, and drove to the Walmart in Mason City as planned. Then I started looking at routes from there.

I could so southeast from there to my hometown to visit my Dad and share with him some old pictures that just came into my possession. That would also put me en route to the original Lambert’s restaurant which I’ve just learned is managed by a nephew I haven’t seen since he was about three years old. One of my cousins was in town last weekend and he told me he always stops there when in the area. Calling first means my nephew rounds up his mom so I could visit with her, too, if I went that way. That route would also put me going through Little Rock, Arkansas, where I could probably meet up with Carolyn of http://amigoingsomeplace.blogspot.com. That sounds like a great trip, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, my RV had a different plan. My furnace has decided it does not have to listen to its thermostat. Turn the furnace on and it runs just fine. And runs. And runs. I woke up in the middle of the night to discover it was 78° in here! No wonder I was tossing off covers! The only way to cool it back down was to turn off the furnace. Which worked really well. I woke up shivering.

So, again I don’t get to make the decision. I must move south where I won’t need the furnace until I can get that thermostat fixed. Bummer!

In the meantime, no more Walmart overnights. I need power to plug in my electric heater. Sure hope IT work right tonight.

TTYL,

Linda

The leaves here in the Minneapolis Metro Area are beautiful colors. Which means we have been having warm days with cool nights.

The forecast for the next few days have the temperatures dropping some more with most DAYS being good sleeping temperature while continuing to have at least some rain. Which means my solar panels are getting not quite fully charged every day.

No, I’m not living in my RV yet but I have been stocking the freezer in preparation for departure and my refrigerator draws its energy from my solar panels.

The freezer in my 7 cubic foot refrigerator has one shelf. On it are two bags of frozen fruit for making smoothies and two trays of ice cubes. Below the shelf I have placed two double retainer bars making a cage of the lower section. That section is full of precooked meats in individual serving size packages and I doubt I could get much more food into that freezer.

The forecast last night said our liquid sunshine could turn into the white flaky stuff Saturday night.

Tomorrow the rain here is  supposed to start in the afternoon. The rain in Mason City, Iowa, is not supposed to start until evening. So I should be able to drive at least that far tomorrow without having to drive in rain.

It is time to go.

TTYL,

Linda