View of the day-That round flat thing behind the pickup is actually what is left of a bin the same size as the one that is standing. It got blown off it's base and flattened.
We had to take the pickup in to get the clutch safety switch replaced first thing in the morning. Because we only had one vehicle in Frederick, we had to get extra early to get the combine loaded and back into town before the pickup could get fixed. It only took 10 minutes for the mechanic to get the part put in...unfortunately, we found out later...that wasn't the problem.
After a 'real' breakfast of bacon and eggs at a local restaurant, a stop at the Case dealer to pick up a toy tractor and battening down the hatches on the camper, it was time to move north. Marilyn was draining the holding tanks on the camper and hooked up the in tank sprayer to fill it for a final cleaning. After going back into the camper to try and get the late blog organized, she realized, after looking at the water level indicator, that the tanks were full...she forgot about leaving the water on. Nothing like a "make work" project. The hose blew off the side of the black water tank, and since the holding tanks are enclosed and insulated...well...you get the picture. The good news was that it was 'clean' water that had gotten into the insulation.
We started the drive to Cherokee for the last time this season, kind of a bitter sweet feeling. It's kind of neat when we leave home to see the complete growing cycle of the wheat. From being seeded when we leave Canada, to sprouts, various heights of growth, to headed out, then turning color and finally golden waving fields of wheat...all within 5 days! The feeling of anticipation as you pull into a town that is just seeing the beginning of harvest, the testing, calibrating and all the preparations being made for what looks to be a bountiful crop. Within a week or more, everyone has loaded up and moved on, leaving the town to carry on with it's regular life, like we had never even been there, except to leave our mark on the cut fields.
Marilyn watched one day as the people came and went from the post office, picking up their mail and checking out the "transients" that had taken over their town for a couple of weeks. That's all we rated, just a friendly "good morning" and they were on their way...back to their life. That's Al's dream...to sit on the bench and watch the transients and traffic go by. Marilyn prefers to be the transient, wondering about the lives of the locals, seeing different faces in different towns, all going back to life in the slow lane...perhaps not so slow for them.
There weren't any combines running anywhere on the way up to Cherokee, but they were sitting in the fields along the way...getting serviced, cleaned and ready for action. We got to Cherokee and parked the camper, then searched through town for a place to park the big rigs to unload. That's one thing about only being in town once a year...you never know what has happened in town while you've been gone. We found a spot, parked then went back to the camper, where Marilyn got the dish aimed...we need the weather channel because we are in a tornado watch this evening. Marilyn then got to dismantle the holding tanks to repair her hose blow out. Good news...the fitting was still in the tank, it was just the hose clamp that had given way. After getting it all back together, except for the outside cover so the insulation could dry out, it was pretty much time to call it a day.
There weren't any combines running anywhere on the way up to Cherokee, but they were sitting in the fields along the way...getting serviced, cleaned and ready for action. We got to Cherokee and parked the camper, then searched through town for a place to park the big rigs to unload. That's one thing about only being in town once a year...you never know what has happened in town while you've been gone. We found a spot, parked then went back to the camper, where Marilyn got the dish aimed...we need the weather channel because we are in a tornado watch this evening. Marilyn then got to dismantle the holding tanks to repair her hose blow out. Good news...the fitting was still in the tank, it was just the hose clamp that had given way. After getting it all back together, except for the outside cover so the insulation could dry out, it was pretty much time to call it a day.
Two blogs to get done, and the best place for wireless seemed to be out by where the combine was parked, if memory served from last year...but meanwhile, back at the camper...
Internet service!!! Woo hoo!!! Who could ask for anything more...
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