In maintenance news, I put a new Air Filter on the truck ($21) and fixed a very annoying intermittent loss of signal on the coax to the Satellite.
Turns out the dang center conductor on the OEM cable end was 'just' too short to reliably make contact.
I've probably spent 16 hours debugging this since Feb.
The 'fix' was a needle nose to pull out the center conductor a bit, so that it fits down in the female part of the coax jack.
As say, very frustrating, but very simple fix. Argh.
We are leaving Spearfish tomorrow for Sioux Falls SD.
It was a great week.
Today we drove up the Spearfish Canyon Byway to Roughlock Falls.
It was 12 miles up 14A, almost to Lead SD, then a mile in to the Falls on a hard dirt road.
Very pretty little Creek with the water rushing down:
Did laundry today, and some light maintenance. Got the entry door lubed, and removed a metric ton of bugs from the truck tow mirrors.
I also discovered one of the two rubber draw latches for the front rock guard Lexan window is starting to come apart at the rubber bell that engages the coupling. So I'll need to order a pair of those from the Airstream parts guys ($12 EA).
Tomorrow is a long run, almost 400 miles East on I90 to the Campground, so we are planning a fuel / lunch stop.
We are two days in Sioux Falls, mainly to make a Costco run.
We've decided to try and visit family in Ontario before it gets cold, so we'll only be doing some quick 1-3 day stops on our way through Minnesota and Michigan at this point.
Last edited by RJ; 09-18-2017 at 10:32 PM.
Arrived safely in Sioux Falls. No picture as there are too damn many mosquitos buzzing around.
The run was 392 miles, 11.2 mpg overall due to the long steady climbs, and a 30 mph cross wind most of the way. I could really feel it in the truck. But my ProPride pivot-point projection Hitch worked extremely well; I had no induced sway, at all.
We had breakfast at Wall Drug in Wall SD. What a tourist trap.
I loved it.
Coffee was a nickel, and the pecan swirl roll was excellent.
Really interesting animals though:
Never have seen a Jackalope in the flesh, as it were.
I90 was uneventful; but we did see a herd of Bison grazing near Humboldt SD. Very cool. South Dakota is BIG; we drove 400 miles today and are still in it lol.
After setting up the coach, we ate dinner at a nearby local BBQ joint; it was surprisingly good.
This RV Park is not that great, but ok for a couple nights.
Last edited by RJ; 09-19-2017 at 07:39 PM. Reason: Add stuff/typo
Short run today to our camp here in La Crosse Wisconsin.
Something like 294 miles, essentially East on I90 from Sioux Falls. MN's part of I90 SUCKED as the road undulated and bucked pretty much the hole way. A Southeastery headwind and rolling hills gave me 12.5 mpg. Not bad.
We are not unhooking the rig; this is a one night deal. The site is up the hill from the nearby lake, which is very pretty (we're near West Salem WI actually.
Not sure which direction we go from here but generally North and East now headed for Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. We plan a week or so in the UP before heading into Canada for our family visit.
Somewhere around 4 Oct we start to meander south, visiting Jackson Center OH (Airstream Factory Tour) with a 'possible' side trip to see the Cummins engine plant in Columbus Indiana.
My wife took a better picture of the trees; they are starting to turn:
Urgh- I've forgotten what fall looks like during the last 15 years in Texas.
Last edited by holmes168; 09-21-2017 at 05:21 PM.
This country needs an enema- Blues approved sig line
Location update: After a forgettable night at a local campground in Gladstone MI we arrived today at St Ignace MI.
We're two nights here exploring the area, staying at the Kewadin Casino (chiefly for the $15 rate.)
Pretty drive across the UP today with views of Lake Michigan:
Note the waves lol. I'm always impressed by how big the Great Lakes are.
Great updates, Rich. That pecan roll looks amazing, and who doesn't like nickel coffee? As always, thanks for sharing.
Tomorrow we are off to our overnight stop near Frankenmuth MI.
We had a quiet day. The constant 300-350 mile days caught up to both of us. We needed a day off Activities.
I got the "B" tank filled with Propane ($14), checked oil in the truck (ok) and debugged (literally) the mirrors and front grille.
We did go to Straights State Park and saw the impressive Mackinac Bridge:
We are crossing over that tomorrow.
I did have one of the local food items, a Beef filled 'Pasty'.
Rich,
Was wondering if you had run into any of these folks in your RV travels....
MEET THE CAMPERFORCE, AMAZON'S NOMADIC RETIREE ARMY
https://www.wired.com/story/meet-cam...-retiree-army/
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