Day 32 - Casper, Wyoming

What a difference daylight makes even if it is pre sunrise. The mountains were blocking the sun but there was the glow of dawn to light the way. I went out looking for the dumpster to get rid of our trash, and couldn't find it. Came back and realized I was looking at the campground map backwards. So I went out the other way and still didn't find the dumpster but I found a trash can so that is where I put it.

I put the MDX through all its gears, then neutral and then rehooked the brake system up. Turned it off then DH unhooked the battery.

I have to say something about the Apple autocorrect. It always wants to and does substitute words with different meanings from what I am trying to say. Most times I catch it, and fix the error, but last nights post had several changes that were not meant to be.

As we were leaving the campground this morning I saw the dumpsters that I couldn't find earlier. We have reservations this coming weekend at the Rapid City KOA which we have stayed at twice before. Once in 1998 and 2002. It closes for the season on October 15th. The Mount Rushmore KOA has always been full every time we have made the Black Hills a travel stop. This time it closed for the season on October 4th. The very first time we were there in 1998, they had the most amazing tacos served on Indian bread. Which reminds me that I didn't get any Indian Bread while we were in Arizona.

As we were traveling East on I-80, through a pass between a mountain range we came upon a cloud just lying on the road. Once in it, it was like pea soup. We watched tractor trailers disappear into it. No mention of it on any of my weather apps. We came out of that cloud and on the other side of the mountain was another cloud but that one wasn't as dense.

We stopped at a Walmart to get supplies, plus MIL and I both bought jeans. DH said that I should have taken photos of MIL shopping there. DH bought motor oil and a funnel which was too short so while we were shopping he called me to pick up a long stemmed funnel. He opened the trap door and in my opinion it is really awkward to put the oil in the motorhome engine. First it is up high and then the funnel is at an angle when the oil is poured in, it falls out the side of the funnel all over the outside of the motorhome. I was doing the pouring as DH can't lift a gallon due to two bad shoulders. DH also made fried matzo for brunch which was tasty.

I apparently picked up a virus in my travels and developed a cough. My voice is also raspy. So with two days of getting up early and last night I stayed up until midnight working on my blog I was feeling run down mid morning. DH said why don't you trade spaces with MIL. To his surprise I said good idea. So I traded spaces with her and went to sleep. I woke up to the XM radio talking about Hurricane Mathew's impending impact on Florida. Feeling better I traded spots with MIL again.

We stopped at a vacant lot where the people across the way we're setting off fireworks. They also were selling Fireworks too. Otherwise there were no other in habitants. We had lunch there and I might add that the lot we were in had huge craters filled with water, so DH tried to maneuver around them the best he could but our back tires fell into one and it felt like we fell in the Grand Canyon! I said please tell me we're not going to be stuck?!

We passed the Continental Divide twice in one day on different roads. Obviously it isn't a straight line.

Once we turned Northeast on State Highway 220 the flat grasslands had Ricky hills and distant mountains. We also saw deer and antelope thanks to DH's keen eyesight. MIL and I sang Home on the Range! This was the first time I saw a wild antelope. At one point there was a whole herd. We also didn't have phone service most of the way. The Gremlin uses date light GPS so it works when normal devices don't. While drive in non service areas I put my phone on Airplane Mode so the phone doesn't constantly search using up our data plan with no benefit.

As we were traveling we went through a snow burst! It was just flurries thankfully. Motorhomes and snow are not perfect together! We also were driving up to a rest stop and I noticed they had a dump station which we pulled in and DH dumped our tanks.

Since it is off season many of the campgrounds that are open close their offices early so one needs to call before 5 to get a spot. Through the Gremlin we were able to locate a  Campground but we couldn't call as we had no phone service. So we had no idea if it was even open or not?

DH saw a phone antenna and asked me if I had service so I quickly checked and I did. So I called for reservations and mid way through giving her my credit card number I lost the call. It was a good 10 minutes before I had service again and was able to complete the reservations.
Our map and reservation was on the clipboard by the door when we arrived. Of course when we arrived at our site there was a car with plates from Alabama parked in it. I had to go knock on the door of the trailer next door to see if it was their car? It was. We the young man opened the door, I asked him if the car belonged to them. He looked like he just woke up, but he said he would move the car. While talking to me there were two dogs. One was barking its head off and the other one was a puppy was so cute. I told DH he had to get dressed. Within a few minutes he emerged and moved his car.

We then pulled in and set up camp. DH and I had spaghetti with sausages for dinner. We have 250 miles to go to Rapid City, South Dakota tomorrow. We plan on going to Custer State Park, Drive through the Needles rock formations, see Mount Rushmore, all places MIL has never seen.

There is one thing you don't want to hear on your TV in a tornado prone area is the Emergency Broadcast System alert. Fortunately it was only a test.