June 2, 2013

View of the day-Making the last few curves on the detour at Taylor, NE.  Fortunately, we only met one vehicle on the winding road.

Camper packed up and ready to go first thing this morning...not much work when you don't unhook from the pickup.  We went over and got the General started so it could air up, then went over to grab our usual Hot Stuff breakfast burrito, egg croissant,V8 juice and coffee.  Once our fuel tank was full, we were on the road again.

There was hardly any wind for the better part of the day and what there was, was very light.  we weren't getting the big push, but it wasn't a struggle, either.  The cooler temps helped with the drive, as well.

We took a break to get the Dodge fueled up in Springview, NE and grab some lunch for the long stretch of nothing through Nebraska.  Not that that is a bad thing...straight roads with no traffic is great, for the first half of the state at least.  

We passed through Sargent, NE and finally the timing was right.  There is a sign in town that advertises the annual Sargent Fair & Chokecherry Jamboree and we have never seen any sign of it...except this year.  The town was hopping and that meant lots of traffic.  We didn't stop to see the "pit spitting" contest or the Little Miss Chokecherry pageant...we had a detour to deal with.

On we drove to Taylor, NE where we had encountered the detour on the last trip down...good news, they had finished the side they were working on. Bad news, they were on the other side, so it was still a "no-go"...time to hit the dusty trail again.

We made it through, stopped to check that everything was intact...it wasn't. We had a ratchet strap that had sprung open and gotten wrecked, so we grabbed a new one from the shop trailer, got it tied down, then carried on our merry way.

It wasn't too much further down the road that Marilyn came upon some signs laying in the ditch...construction signs that she couldn't quite read, until she came upon the one that said "Bridge Repair Ahead". Not again.  Same width restriction, same last minute warning, same lack of detour, but this time they hadn't started the construction, hence the signs laying down, so we were safe to go through.

Once we got a little ways past the bridge, Marilyn saw the back of a lighted sign on the other side of the highway which stated the construction was due to start June 4.  Looks like we will be finding a scenic route to get back to South Dakota next month.

No breaks from driving for us.  We were deciding whether to go all the way to LaCross, KS or just stop in Stockton again.  Marilyn remembered there was a town park that we had camped in several years ago, so we figured 400 miles was far enough for one day, so Stockton it was.

We got the General parked, then went to find something to eat.  We found a little ice cream/hamburger joint...they are always so neat in these small towns...and chowed down.  It was the Sunday Chicken Special, so there were several local senior citizens taking advantage of it.  As usual when you walk into one of these places, you are given the once over, because everyone knows everyone...and about everyone.  Unfortunately, our young waitress was admonished by one of the elderly ladies because "you know I don't like too much ice in my tea". Ahhh...dealing with the public.

Al went out to get some fuel in the slip tank for the General, and when he went to transfer it to the Big Gen, he inspected the revolving warning light on the roof.  We had issues with only one bulb of the two working and were completely surprised to see that we had lost the amber cover of it completely.  It was in the picture at the detour, so it was sometime after that. Guess we go shopping for a light.

Our love affair with the wind stops tomorrow. There is a dirty south wind in the forecast...