Two Good Days
Day 4 started out in Springfield, MO. The night-time temperature was pretty warm, but it cooled down some by morning. A railroad was just outside the campground road. Many freight trains blew their whistles during the night. The campground was very quiet as we had breakfast and packed up.
Our usual morning break was a bit different – we stopped at a Pilot truck stop for gas and coffee.
We found a county park in Platte City, MO, for a picnic lunch.
It was hot all day long – 97 deg. We stopped at a McDonald’s in the afternoon. I didn’t bother to take a picture.
We arrived at our campground late in the afternoon.
After setting up, we went to Walmart for a few groceries and some wine. Back at the campground we took showers and a dip in the pool while the wine cooled. I was too tired to create a blog post, so I sent out an email explaining my lack of ambition.
During dinner the very dark clouds to the northwest moved in closer. We switched into rain-preparation mode, which entails taking almost everything into the tent and covering the refrigerator with the plastic tarp. The rain didn’t hit until just after we crawled into bed and turned out the lights. It didn’t rain for long, but it was a hard rain. There were no leaks in the tent.
Day 5 started in West Omaha, NE.
There were a couple of bunnies living in the bushes beside the campsites. One of them came out to enjoy some freshly washed breakfast grass.
We started packing up after breakfast. Some rain hit us and we had to hurry to get the trailer packed and closed.
We had overcast skies all morning with occasional showers and drizzle. We got gas at a Casey’s…
and coffee at McDonald’s.
The temperature was in the mid-70s in the morning, but that changed as the skies cleared.
There was a park along the highway for our lunch venue.
We found a coffee and ice cream shop for our afternoon break.
We sat down with a guy who lost his right arm in an accident. He misses riding. Interestingly, the state endorsed his license with “no manual transmission,” but did not remove his motorcycle endorsement.
We’re staying in a hotel in Mordo, SD. No need for a picture. Beth warmed up left over chili and made a salad for dinner.
My observation: the Nebraska roads have a lot of concrete pavements. Many of the slabs are broken or tilted making for a very rough ride.
Statistics:
Day 4 – 389 miles, 10-hours
Day 5 – 378 miles, 9-1/2 hours.
Well it looked like fun .
It’s all fun, even the breakdowns. We could be sitting at home watching Nextflix, which is fun, but not this much fun.
Great to see you and Beth out on the road. Ride safe friend.
See you in a month!
Chris
Yep, we’re on the road and in and out of the shop. See you…
Every time we go that direction we stay in Murdo, usually coming in on 90 from the east. Last time just for something different I went across hwy20 through Iowa and Nebraska until we got to the road that goes north to Murdo. Shortly after crossing into South Dakota, and not far from Murdo, we come across a guy on the side of the road with a stop sign in his hand?? “Uh, road’s closed” “construction, big rain last night, been trying to make it passible all day”. We chat with him for a bit, only alternative paved roads are almost 50 miles east or west, and he’s telling us the road ahead is dirt and challenging on a good day. “I let a car go through a bit ago, and they haven’t come back, but I don’t know if going on a motorcycle is a good idea’ Obviously he didn’t know me well….
We forged ahead, the road was indeed dirt, for like 8 miles, they had replaced a bridge and straightened the road either side of it. Interesting ride for sure, like riding on a sponge, or worse, most of the way, more than a couple foul words from both seats. We made it, and slept well in the same motel you just stayed at. The diner just up the street is worth visiting when you are tired and hungry.
So glad we didn’t have that construction delay. Beth had a bad accident in ’22 in a construction zone. Thanks for the story with a happier ending.