Mosely, We’re Not In Kansas Anymore

I’m somewhere in Missouri now, but let me back track through Kansas to catch you up.  As stated, I left the Denver area and headed East on I-70 toward Stratton and Bernie’s RV Service Center.  Thanks to the Nuvi, I drove right up to the thriving establishment (photo to follow) and Bernie pulled up not 5 minutes after me.  It took him less than a minute, literally, to determine that I was a moron.  He could not have been nicer saying that it could have happened to anyone etc.  Turns out, one of the many valves pertaining to the water system had gotten turned off (who knows how) which prevented water from flowing anywhere in Dora.  What a relief.  Somewhat embarrassing, but a relief nonetheless since no new water pump was needed.  It reminded me of when I have whined and complained about an appliance or computer or some such thing not working only to be asked if it was plugged in and to find that it wasn’t.  Whatever.  You know the deal.   Anyway, after the fiasco with the dog meds, it was surely a relief to be on my way so easily.

Here is Bernie’s RV Sales & Service, and yes, that is a confederate flag.

Driving on the interstate across Kansas wasn’t bad at all.  I thought Kansas was flat with nothing but corn to see, but that’s not the case.  Kansas undulates nicely and, while there are certainly corn fields galore, there are also hills and trees and silos and farm houses and barns, and cows, etc.  In Central Kansas, the larger fields of corn, soybeans, and hay give way to beautiful ranches and then beautiful prairie.  It’s quite nice.  Maybe it’s Nebraska that is flat with nothing but corn to see for miles and miles. Who knows.  I’m completely ignorant when it comes to these middle States.

Here are some shots I took out the window while heading down the highway.

I saw these grain depots every 20 miles or so.  Notice the train pulled up to the right.

And here is a windmill farm.  Sorry its a bit off center.

Another thing, besides the undulating scenery, that helps pass the time is NPR.  Now that I’m in a more civilized part of the country, I can get something besides Christian radio on the radio.  Yesterday, Click and Clack had me cracking up on Car Talk and today it was A Prairie Home Companion.  It was nice to catch up on some news too.  Who loves Public Radio?  I do.  I do.

And when did Rest Areas get so nice?  I remember when you felt like you were risking your life or at least your virtue to stop at a rest area, but that has surely not been the case on I-70.  They are very nice, with well groomed grounds complete with covered picnic tables and grills actually being used by traveling families and couples.   Most have large shade trees and some sort of Historical Marker board explaining some tidbit of history.  Some have had wireless internet, and I just noticed today, that many have RV dump stations.  How ‘bout that?  AND, there is usually a geocache to boot.  What more could you want?

Since all I’m doing for the next several days is bookin’ down the interstate at high speed, I decided that the whole Wal-Mart thing makes sense, so after about 300 miles, I pulled into my second Wal-Mart in two days.  This one was quite popular with the larger RV’s as there were already 5 present when I pulled in and two more came in after me AND this Wal-Mart didn’t get any of my money.  After claiming my spot for the night, I used my Nuvi to locate a pizza delivery place and ordered up a small pizza with pepperoni, green peppers, and onions.  When asked for my address, I told them the Wal-Mart parking lot, the RV in the southeast corner with the Alaska tags.  20 minutes later a nice young man knocked on my door and I had my dinner.  Yum.

Today, I drove another 300 or so miles and am somewhere in Missouri, east of Kansas City at a tiny little country Wal-Mart (3 for 3) all on my own, where it has finally cooled down from the 96 degrees it was for most of the day.  The dogs have finally stopped panting and looking at me with eyes that could only be saying, “can’t you do something about the heat?”

Before we got here, however, we had a bit of a situation in Topeka where I stopped to get a resupply of Misty’s dog food (location also found on my Nuvi).  Turns out, I am now in need of an RV body shop for Dora.  Poor thing.  It seems a bollard decided to jump out and scrape down her pristine side for no particular reason whatsoever.   I don’t want to talk about it.  But if anyone knows of a good body shop in the Asheville area, please let me know.

Tomorrow it’s off to Paducah.  That’s in Kentucky.  Stay tuned.