CONCORDIA TO DODGE CITY KANSAS & YEP WE’LL BE A ‘GITTIN OUGHTA DODGE IN THE MORNIN’

HEADIN WEST:))

First thing I did this morning after reading last night’s blog comments was look out our rear window to see if our Jeep was still there.  Mike from TIN TEPEE/LOG CABIN said, “Make sure your jeep is locked on tight!! That's the park where someone tried to steal our jeep a couple years ago in the middle of the night.”…… I do remember when that happened Mike & yes we do have the Jeep locked on.

OUR NAVIGATOR FELL ASLEEP TODAY & WE WERE LOST FOR 3 HOURS

Realized how lucky we were this morning when we checked our computer weather map.  Looks like the area we went through around Des Moines Iowa may be having freezing rain & snow.  Dodged a bullet there for sure.  Today we will continue southwestward into even warmer temps.  Noticed it was not as freezing cold this morning as the past couple mornings.  Think we will try angling down some secondary roads towards Santa Fe New Mexico. And thanks to readers for keeping me on the straight & narrow with a few geographical errors I have made.  Real live Geography learning first hand sure beats sitting in a classroom with a book & pictures.

SOME OF TONIGHT’S PHOTOS MAY BE A LITTLE SKETCHY AGAIN BUT THEY WERE TAKEN ON THE MOVE

Wrote the above paragraph this morning so here’s the update.  It was already getting light when we packed up the rig for travel.  Other folks in the Park were still asleep so we tippy toed quietly on our way.  First stop was to dump our gray & black tanks on the way out of the Park.  First dump with the new rig & all did not go well.  No messy spills but I sure turned the air a royal color of blue cussing Winnebago for their location of Winnie’s sewer pipe connection.  Was not impressed with having to pump the gray water tank with a macerator pump either.  Took a lot longer than a simple swoosh dump.  That was a first.  And another first was trying to get the sewer hose out of the stupid rear bumper.  It had all bunched up in the middle & I had to get a long handled squeegee to shove & poke it towards the end & then reach way in with my arm to pull it out.  Then try to get that dumb rubber bumper cap hammered back in.  And it got hammered alright!!  The storage location of the hose is going to have to change!!  Anyway, despite me nearly having to jump up & down on my hat we did get the job done eventually.  Ok, well I did take my coat off & throw it on the ground!!  Boy, I sure don’t gotta a lot of patience for dumb stuff.  Know what’s most worsest about getting mad at dumb stuff….it’s getting mad at yourself for getting mad at dumb stuff.   Luckily we got out of there before the whole damn Concordia Kansas Swat Team arrived………………..

I THINK THIS OLD WINDMILL HAS SOME PRETTY STIFF COMPETITION THESE DAYS

Second stop was a couple minutes later across the road at Walmart.  A few groceries & a new toaster.  A quick trip back across the road to the Park again to retrieve an electrical cord (dog bone) I had left laying on top of the power box & we were on our way towards Salina Kansas.  Watched a big Kansas sunrise out my driver’s side window.  Been through Salina before so no need to go through again & we swung onto I-70 west of the city & peddled our way further westward.  It was on I-70 just east of Salina on our second year out in 07 that we had a nasty Kansas cross wind rip our side awning out on the Damon Motor Home.  NOT NICE!!  BIG KANSAS CROSSWIND GRABS OUR AWNING ON I-70

KANSAS SUNRISE HEADING EAST ON 81 NORTH OF SALINA

West of Salina we hauled ourselves off the Interstate & pointed Winnie’s nose down highway 56 heading south down through Ellsworth. How nice to be on a quiet two lane highway again.  Gentle rolling grassy hill country.  Nice scenery but don’t think I would want to live in these parts.  No trees:((  Took a wrong turn in Great Bend & stumbled our way down highway 281 to highway 50 going west.  No problem, hardly a car on 281 & that’s the way I like it.

 

Stayed on 50 west & rolled ourselves into historic Dodge City Kansas somewhere shortly after high noon.  Home to Wyatt Erp & a host of other nefarious characters back in the 1800’s.  Course Dodge City isn’t looking anything like it’s former natural self so we weren’t too interested in any replica stuff or museums.  I’m sure it’s interesting to many folks but not us so much.  A few years back we searched out & found some of the ‘real western towns’ in southeastern Arizona so touristy commercialized replicas don’t peak our interest.  Instead we headed out to the West end of Dodge a few miles & pulled into the Boot Hill Casino.  No, we have no interest in gambling etc but figured we would just hole up here for the rest of the day & haul ourselves out of Dodge in the morning.  Nice spot here at the Casino & lots of room with green grass for Pheebs to run around on.  Temperature this afternoon at 3 p.m. was 70F under sunny skies:))  We weren’t here long when an old familiar western Desperado dropped around to welcome us back to the West.  That sly & foxy devil himself, the big Northwest Wind.  Oh how familiar a feel it was to us to have the coach rocking back & forth again.  And all those familiar sounds were back as wind gusts ripped away at square corners, awnings, & awning arms.  Yep, we were back in the big windswept West alright.  And yes, I have once again traded in my baseball hat for my big 22 10-4 Cowboy hat:))  And I threatened that wily & windy Desperado if he blew my hat off one more time there was going to be some very mighty big trouble!!

 

YEP IT WAS WINDY ALRIGHT

We did walk ourselves into the Casino around 4:30 because we knew they would probably have some cheap eats.  They did.  Couple hunks of Meat Loaf, a whack of Corn Bread & a smash of assorted Veggies.  Only $5 apiece.  A quick walk through the Casino again reminded us of why we are not Casino people.

 

Noticed a couple fellow RV Bloggers have their rigs for sale.  Life’s always changing as we move through our various year by year phases & stages.  Steve over at HOUNDS & RV'S is selling his 2003 Class C Coachmen.  William & Mary Ann are also selling their 2011 Keystone Fuzion Fifth Wheel toy hauler & you can see it here on Craigslist.  TOY HAULER.

 

THIS IS ALL VERY TYPICAL RURAL WEST KANSAS SCENERY

We’re having quite a time getting used to our smaller living space in the Winnie.  The shower is fine if you keep your feet together, your elbows tucked in & your mouth shut.  And if you have a pair of Prince Charles ears you are going to be in trouble for sure.  Bathroom sink is pretty small so ya kinda gotta wash one hand at a time almost.  It’s quite an unsightly performance I go through getting myself out of my over the cab tree house every morning too.  Started out sitting on the right side of the loveseat for a couple days but this morning we switched sides & I will try the left side out.  Need room for my cameras when downloading pics to blog etc.   The sooner I can get my mind switched over to our new environment and make the necessary head adjustments the better I will feel!!

And another Friend Connection tonight.  Wendy from WENDY'S CREATIVE CONNECTION somehow found our blog & has joined us on our travels.  Welcome aboard Wendy & nice to have you along:)) 

Saddened to hear a fellow RV’er & friend from our 5 Seasons Park in Bayfield has passed away.  Gerald Horton & wife Kathryn had spent many years traveling the highways & bi-ways of North America in many of their RVing rigs.  Gerald loved to wheel & deal RV’s & it was always hard to keep pace with what those Horton folks were traveling in at any given time.  Thinking of you Katherine……………….. 

I have some emails here from readers with various questions about things & will try to get an answer out to you folks once we arrive in Congress.  I’m still in a slight state of organizational muddle here with things.  Guess I am missing some kind of routine or something.  Oh there’s that dreaded ‘routine’ word again.  Gotta be a little more careful how I use that word……………..

WITH ACER NETBOOK ON HER LAP KELLY CHECKS HER BLACKAPPLE, ER BLACKCURRENT, NO, BLACKPLUM, UMMMMM………BLACKBERRY:))

No idea how far we’ll get Wednesday but you can bet your biscuits my eyes will be glued to the western horizon scanning for the first hint of a mountain top rising out of the haze:))  And before I forget……my posts will be appearing later than usual as we cross time zones from East to West.

PHEEBS LOVES THIS GRASS AT DODGE CITY’S BOOT HILL CASINO

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Texan's guide to life………

-Never squat with yer spurs on.
-There's two theories to arguin' with a woman; neither one works.
-Don't worry about bitin' off more than you can chew, your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger'n you think.
-If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
-Never smack a man who's chewin' tobacco.
-It don't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.
-Never ask a barber if he thinks you need a haircut.
-Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
-Always drink upstream from the herd.
-If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.
-Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back in.
-Finally, never miss a good chance to shut up.

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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.