PTParaD TRs and Shenanigans

[Part-Time Paradise]

So it begins. Today we are packing up and heading west. DW has a swim meet this morning. After that, we're on the road again. I'm excited. The kids are not excited for the drive.

 

[Teamubr]

Safe travels! Have a great trip and post pics as you can.

j

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Day 1 - we made it to an overnight stop in Gothenburg, NE. Cute city park with 50A and water for $25 a night.

A big storm rolled just south last night. It was pretty crazy. Fortunately all we got was a light show and some sprinkles.


Waking up this morning it's windy as a system is passing to the south again. Need to get on the road soon, but not excited to drive into a 30mph headwind.

 

[friendofeeyore]

Safe travels! Can't wait to see your pictures!

 

[friendofeeyore]

WoW! This might be the storm we are suppose to have rain & temps in the mid 90's starting Monday thru Thursday. If this happens, we will feel as a cold front came thru. Our temps have been 105 + high heat factors. Safe travels - high wind is not fun pulling a RV.

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Day 2 so far - we got moving around 9 from Lafayette Park.

Site 23. Pull through. A little difficult to get level, but nothing crazy.

After a stop at the dump station (boondocking tonight... empty as possible) we were on the road. We stopped for fuel and lunch in Ogallala at a local chain called Runza. They have sandwiches that are similar to bierocks. Tasty.


The sandwiches are really good, but the scratch made ranch almost steals the show. Midwest gem.

As I type, we're sitting in a Walmart parking lot in Sidney, NE. We needed to stretch the legs and get some supplies we couldn't find at our home store. I've never seen so many trucks in a WM lot before. It's nuts.


We're about 150 miles from Laramie and our spot for the night.

 

[Teamubr]

Nebraska is a wide state. So monotonous, we stopped taking I-80 when we were racing out west and took I-70 to Denver and up to Cheyenne.

j

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Made it to Laramie in Medicine Bow Natl Forest. Here's the view looking out the passenger side of the camper.

Not Shabby. It's about 60 degrees and the wind is moving pretty well. Supposed to be 39 when we wake up in the morning. Sounds better than the heat index of 105 back home.

Heading into town for dinner tonight with some friends that live here.

More to report, but I'll pull the computer out tonight or in the morning.

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Nebraska is a wide state. So monotonous, we stopped taking I-80 when we were racing out west and took I-70 to Denver and up to Cheyenne.

j

Yes, it was a looooong straight stretch at 60 mph with the wind clawing at the trailer all day

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

The Rest of Day 2.

We started yesterday at 2500' in western NE. As we drove we slowly gained elevation and then once we got into WY we gained a lot. Then as we approached Laramie we gained 2000' almost instantly. We are currently at 8660'. When we neared 7500' there was a loud pop in the truck. My mind raced to tires, threw a belt, ran over something...WHAT? It was a bag of Cheetos in the snack bag that the glue gave up on holding the pressure. DD decided that the tortilla chips would not fare the same fate and she cradled them like a baby until we stopped.


I scouted some spots in Medicine Bow Natl Forest (we've stayed here before, but in a smaller rig) and selected a forest road just off I-80 about 5 miles from Laramie. We drove in about 1.5 miles in on that forest road to find our spot.

Walked forward to scout a bit since the road was looking a bit sketchy. Fortunately our haven for the evening is immediately to my left from where I took this picture.

Once we set up I walked around a bit to admire the sights.

If you look to the upper right of the photo you can see Maddie Montana peeking around the trees.


A storm was blowing south of us, hence the dark clouds. The wind started whipping and I retreated back to Maddie and some cards with the family.

We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon in the camper and sharing a meal with friends in Laramie as previously reported. She's in the middle of radiation recovering from cancer and had a bit of a bad day, so the visit was unfortunately short, but great to catch up with friends we hadn't seen in two years (PS her prognosis is great, she was and is miserable, but radiation is done in a few weeks )

We were greeted with this as we arrived back from dinner:


Looks good right? But the wind was still relentless and the sky was so cloudy. The moon set at 5pm last night. We are over 8000' with almost zero light pollution. It was planned to be an amazing night of stargazing.

For that, this evening is now known as Anakin.

Start of Day 3. I didn't sleep so hot. Couldn't get comfortable and it was chilly. I had the furnace set at 58 just to keep it bearable through the night, but save battery and propane. Woke up to this:


I've since turned the furnace up and I'll fire up the generator in a bit to juice up the batteries for the drive today. We'll probably get going soon. Have another 5-6 hours of driving for another overnight stop on the road to Grand Teton.

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

End day 3.

So at last update it was the morning calm. As we were tearing down and hooking up, DD was running in a slide and saw something was wonky. I climbed up and found that one of the cables had somehow wiggled its nut off the threads. I don't know how the physics come together that an inch long nut works itself loose off three inch long stud, but it happened. From a few minutes of complete confusion it all came together. I found the nut on top of the slide outside and the nut was back on and tightened it down. We were back in business.

The drive was fairly tame. We stopped at Rawlins, WY for diesel and made lunch in the parking lot. The best thing was the weather. It was a "debilitating" 70 degrees most of the day. So sitting in the trailer for lunch it was quite comfortable.

Truck stop grilled cheese is muy delicioso.

After our little pit stop, we finally got off the interstate and headed out into the boonies. The drive on US-278 is interesting. It has the feeling of southern Utah, Colorado, and Southwest deserts.

We landed for the evening in Dubois, WY at the KOA. We anticipated swimming in the pool and relaxing, but evidently the pool fixer upper guy hasn't showed up in 3 months and the pool is empty. We made lemonade out of a crappy situation and enjoyed a quiet afternoon fishing, enjoying cool weather, playing cornhole

Tomorrow we finally hit Grand Teton. We're excited.

 

[Teamubr]

Look at those sweatshirts.

Brrrrr.

Have a great time. We are enjoying the TR.

j

 

[Sjm9911]

Hit the nut with some nail posish. That will fix it.

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

In the words of Lloyd Christmas, "we're there, man!"

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Hit the nut with some nail posish. That will fix it.

High gloss or matte? Any colors better?

I'll show myself out

 

[Teamubr]

High gloss or matte? Any colors better?

I'll show myself out

Personally, I like red.


Even Kansas in the Summer isn't hot enough to break this.

And then there is silver, like we used on the race cars. This might even hold up to a Kansas tornado.



I prefer the matte. Glossy is a little too much for my tastes.

Your pics look amazing.

j

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Day 4 summary.

We got to the park around 1100. We stopped at the Willow Flat overlook for lunch, the pic I posted with the rig in front of Mt Moran. Checked in to our site right at noon in Colter Bay RV park. The roads to get into the CG are tight, but the site is probably 80 feet long.

After lunch we took a hike around Two Oceans Lake. DS seems to be fighting altitude sickness, so the hike was cut short at 1.25 miles.




After the hike we headed back to camp and got dinner going. The kids played a little and DS complained a little more. While we were finishing dinner DS got and our evening plans jostled around a bit.

He showered and everyone else cleaned up. He got out of the shower and felt better. So we headed out to fish on Jackson Lake. We fished for a bit and DS started feeling crummy again. So DW and DS returned to camp. DD and I stayed. She caught one.


Later, DD and I left a dozing DS and mama bear to go explore more. We drove to the top of Signal Mountain and got some pics and we also stayed until the stars started coming out. She couldn't hang until past astronomical twilight, so we didn't get to see a totally dark sky, but we still had fun getting some time together.









DS is acting peppier this morning. Hopefully we're getting past the sickness and we can get into it today.

 

[Teamubr]

Hopefully DS is feeling better. If it is altitude, make him drink water. You know this, but kids are notorious for not staying hydrated.

Amazing pics.

j

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Hopefully DS is feeling better. If it is altitude, make him drink water. You know this, but kids are notorious for not staying hydrated.

Amazing pics.

j

Trying to shove liquids in him as fast as his nausea will allow. I think we're over the hump though

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Day 5

We kept a pretty low profile for DS. His stomach is still an adventure and we didn't want to push too hard.

Around midmorning we left the CG for the day's activities. First stop was top of Signal Mountain so DS and DW could get a look at it. DS got a little lightheaded walking a short trail to the outlook. Oh bother.

Back down on the valley floor, we headed to the Trapper Grill at Signal Mountain Lodge. The well known dish is the Signal Mountain of Nachos. This is the half order DW and I split:


This is how it ended up:


After a nap back at the rig the kids knocked out their Junior Ranger requirements and added their 47th Jr Ranger badge to their collection.


Some of us are getting too cool for it, but we'll keep asking for the books until there is a revolt.

After they were sworn in, we headed down to the beach for a dip. The kids were super fired up until their toes touched the 55° water. DD managed to completely submerge and DS made it to his waist before coming out. They then played at the waterline half in and out of the water for about an hour.


Soon after we finished dinner at the rig, it started raining. We spent the rest of the evening inside laying low.

We move to a new campground with in Teton tomorrow. Talk at you then.