Pucker Factor

We enjoy having new experiences in our travels in the Journey.  We look forward to the next great thing around the corner.

Last night, not so much.  In fact, it is one experience we hope to never have again.

We were in the Passport America campground near Cape Girardeau, MO.  The campground was a real dive, I already told you about the mud in yesterday’s post.  It was way, way out in the sticks and it was a barely improved place to stay, lots of rutted roads, overhanging trees and bushes jutting out in the roads that we eased slowly by trying not to scratch the sides of the Journey.

It was no wonder we were the only ones there.  It was almost like we were the only survivors on Earth after some cataclysmic event.

When we checked in to the ramshackle office/bar down the road, the lady was very nice and gave us her cell phone number in case we needed anything.

After setting up and dealing with the sewer hose split, we ate supper and relaxed.  Because of the trees, there was no satellite signal possible from our rooftop dome and with the now falling rain, there was no way I was going to venture out and set up the potable dish.

Internet was spotty, so I read on my Kindle while Marti played some games on her iPad.  The rain started coming down so heavily, we could barely hear each other talk as the drops drummed on the roof.

Then…

Marti’s iPhone beep a warning.  A tornado was in the vicinity and we were advised to take shelter immediately.

Knowing that trailers (and motorhomes by association) are tornado magnets, we wondered where there was any kind of a shelter.  Marti called the campground lady and was told there was no shelter, but not to worry, they never had been hit with a tornado before.

 Comforting words.

I told Marti that we’d have to sit tight, we had nowhere to go and wait it out.  I tried to alleviate her fears that as long as there was no hail falling while the thunder and lightning crashed right on top of us, we’d be okay.

I tuned in the weather radio and got no encouraging news.  Tornado activity was happening right where we were.  Finally getting on the Internet, the weather radar showed we were right in the box for tornadoes. 

Then the hail started. Enter the pucker factor.

Now, on to Plan B.  Decisions.  Should we stay in the Journey, or should we go out in the storm and lay down in a nearby ditch.

I decided the ditch idea was out because that’s where all the sewage washed down to from our sewer hose.  A tornado may be coming, but I still had my dignity and didn’t want to end up in Oz smelling like a… well, use your imagination.

Of course, we were in a pull thru and I hadn’t disconnected the car so driving somewhere was out, we could just as easily drive into a tornado in the dark.

So we waited it out.  We watched amazing lightning crash all around us.  It was a long couple of hours until the danger passed.  As you can see, we survived, intact.  We never saw or heard any tornado.

As I was sitting there staring out the window at the storm, I kept thinking, “Just my luck.  I finally get the perfect mattress in the Journey and now it’s going to be blown to who knows where?”   

We finally went to bed with rain still falling but not very hard.  This morning we got up real early and pulled out of the campground, having to drive through some streams washing across the campground roads.  Marti said to me “I’ll never complain about stopping at a Walmart again!”

The sun is shining this morning and we’ve stopped at a truck stop for some breakfast.  It’s very, very windy and hopefully the wind will die down.  We’ve only got another couple of hours of driving to get to our destination.  Never a dull moment.  ;c)

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Can Rocks Fly?

Rolling out this morning, I was very glad the Journey was not a sailboat.  With an extremely strong headwind, a sailboat would have to tack back and forth to make any headway.  As it was, the wind was so strong, I watched my mpg slide down further and further.  Some days you can’t win and have to press on regardless.  It is certainly better than the alternative…working for a living! 

We decided to stop along the way at a casino to have lunch.  We knew we’d have no trouble parking the Journey and toad so we pulled into the Lady Luck casino.

Well, somebody forgot to tell the lady that we needed luck because our luck ran out immediately, they had no buffet (that most casinos do have), so we had to settle for their restaurant.  The service was incredible, so bad it was incredible.  With a very light crowd, we waited over a half hour for our food (a burger and a BLT).  Umm, we’re not stopping here again,  And we didn’t even put so much as a quarter in a slot machine, have to save all my quarters for diesel fuel.

Heading back out on the wind blown highway, with no cars or trucks anywhere near us, we heard a “CRACK!!!” and a chip appeared at the top of the driver’s side windshield.  We couldn’t figure out how we got hit up there, over 10 feet off the ground, with nothing around to have dropped or bounced a rock up that high.

We determined either rocks can fly, or we got hit with a bug wearing a crash helmet.  :cD

It’s a lousy picture, but if you look at the tree in the picture,the white spot the middle of it is the chip, about the size of a quarter.

I’m not upset at all, because the windshield already has a crack and we’re getting it replaced at the Winnebago factory service center in May.  Class A motorhome windshields are rock magnets.

We decided to again use our Passport America membership and find a participating campground for the night.  After getting lost from the poor directions and driving 20 miles out of our way, our monetary savings went out the window.  But we finally made it, and found a nice pull through FHU site, surrounded by…

Mud.  Thick, ooey, gooey mud.

The mud turned into a blessing.  When I went to dump the black tank, our Rhino Flex sewer hose split open!  Gak!!!

Fortunately I was able to close the black tank valve immediately, then I opened the gray tank valve for a moment to flush the hose.  The mud sucked up the mess, so with just a little water wash down with a hose, there was no sign of any spillage.  Phew!  No P-U…

Who’d have ever thought I’d be happy to have a campsite in the mud?

Just another wonderful day on the road, despite the challenges, we wouldn’t trade this life for anything. We’re Happy, Happy, Happy!  :c)

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Off And Rolling Down The Road

It was not an April Fool’s Day joke, we really did leave (sniff) the J. Strom Thurmond COE Project on 1 April.  It was a bunch of work to get packed up after six months.  Before we pulled out, we loaded the car with some winter clothing and our leftover firewood to take to our daughter’s house.

I washed the Journey to get the dust off and shined up my new tires.

We enjoyed one last sunset from our campsite.

This was the nicest campsite we’ve ever had.  Even better than Disney World.

We had to say goodbye to Mike and Terri, we sure enjoyed being neighbors for six months.  We hope to be neighbors again.

We went to the Visitor Center to turn in our volunteer vests and name tags.

A bunch of the rangers and staff all came to say goodbye, it was very much appreciated by us.  I guess they will let us come back in the fall.  ;c)

We even got a chance to take a silly “selfie” with Ranger Pepper, whom we’ve done a bunch of pin hunting for.

 

Then we were off.  We planned a short driving day, I know it’s a disappointment to my PDD fans, but I had a major maintenance task to get done.  The Journey needed an oil change.  We stopped at a Speedco shop outside of Atlanta, GA to get it done.

It didn’t take 30 minutes, they were swamped.  I got in the shortest line.

After two hours, my turn came.

An hour later, the Journey had a lube job, fresh oil and fuel filters.  It worked out well, it was perfect timing for us to hit the Atlanta rush hour.

Some 215 miles later, we pulled in to a Walmart for the night.  We got permission to to stay and only spent $24!  A cheap night at Walmart for a change.

Today we did another short day, stopping for a $200 fuel fill up and later for lunch.  We decided to take advantage of our Passport America membership and booked into an RV campground for the night in Tennessee, another short driving day, 225 miles. 

If we keep driving these short days, I’m starting to worry that my PDD club membership will be revoked!  :c)

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