Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma. Tomorrow, Texas.
How hard could it be?
We had to decide which road to take south. We could pop over to Interstate 29 or we could take Highway 75. Interstate 29 would take us right through Kansas City, Missouri. Big freeways and interchanges. Highway 75 goes through Topeka. We chose Topeka. Bad choice. Highway 75 through Eastern Nebraska is rough. It didn’t take much bouncing along on that before we decided to abandon the original plan and jump over to Interstate 29 in Iowa. Interstate 29 is on the other side of the Missouri River. We had to keep driving and wait for a bridge to come along. Our first opportunity was at Plattsmouth. There was a sign there that said the road was closed at the state line. Bridge work we guess. Next opportunity was at Nebraska City. That road was closed too. Must have had some high water that damaged the bridges. The road got worse. Old concrete now. I wish concrete highways had never been invented. At their absolute best, they’re okay. When they’re bad though, they’re horrendous. We ended up driving on the shoulder at 25mph with the blinkers on in an attempt to keep from getting beaten to death by the road. At Auburn the way east was closed too. We had to have a break from the pounding so we pulled over at a Pamida. We found a delivery truck driver and a store owner to talk to about the roads. They told us the problem is not with the bridges across the Missouri to get to the Interstate. The problem is with the Interstate. It’s closed. It got washed out by high water in the spring and it might be a couple more years before they finish the repairs. Who knew? Well, I guess a lot of people knew, but if it was on the news in our neighborhood, it didn’t make our radar. There wasn’t a better option than the current road. We puttered on. The road did get progressively better. By the time we crossed over into Kansas we were back up to 65mph. We stopped for the night south of Topeka at Pomona Lake. Another state park essentially empty except for us. How hard could it be? We just wanted to drive south. If you don’t like the road you’re on you can always just choose another one; right? If you’re tired of highways you can always take the Interstate; right? Sometimes you just have to suck it up and take what you get. Life on the road.
Can’t remember a damn thing
We have to write reminder notes. If we’re going to look something up on the computer, first we have to write down what we’re looking for in case we get distracted in the process and forget what it was we were going to do in the first place. Last week we needed to remember to take something out of the refrigerator when we went to Becky’s, so we put a yellow sticky above the door. That worked great. There didn’t need to be anything written on the sticky; just being there was reminder enough. On the way out the door, with the sack of cold food in hand, we thought of something else we needed to remember, so we just left the sticky where it was. The next morning we got up and rediscovered the yellow sticky over the door. We still can’t remember what it was for…
Sunday
Nebraska. Easy driving. Flat. Smooth roads.
Louisville State Recreation Area. The Platte River, forest, grass, and sandpit ponds.
It’s after Labor Day. Got to love the camping density of shoulder season.
When we first got here, there was a large picnic going on. They made us take food. We had an early dinner.
On the road again!
Almost.
We left St. Vrain State Park and brought the motorhome in to MHC Kenworth for a follow-up. It still does that shudder/flutter thing at 65mph. They were ready for us. They plugged into something in the front and did a timing recalibration with the engine running. They took a look at the exhaust brake to make sure it wasn’t sticking and causing the engine to run rough at speed. They checked the software for the new engine and downloaded the newest version.
That’s it. They can’t think of anything else to do. I can’t think of anything else to do. Caterpillar tech support can’t think of anything else to do. It was 5 o’clock on a Friday when they were done. Not a great time for a test drive on the freeway, so we just drove to the other end of the lot and parked for the night. Spent the evening with Matt and Lindsay at their house. We’ll give the rig a real test drive tomorrow, but driving from the service bay to our parking spot, it felt different. I think it’s running better. So, with that in mind, we’re leaving tomorrow morning. If the motorhome runs better, great. If it runs the same, okay. As long as it doesn’t run worse, that’s good enough for this trip. We’re off.
Our spot for the night: