Strolling Amok

Pops goes on tour.

14 Sep 2013
2 Comments

Uh-Oh. Adventure!

That's the paved road yesterday evening.

That’s the paved road yesterday evening.

Things were interesting early in the evening yesterday. I’m hoping that they don’t get even more interesting this afternoon. I was cooking pasta for supper yesterday after a heavy, high-wind thunderstorm and heard a faint fan-like hiss. That made me wonder if I’d left some electrical circuit on, and something was running that shouldn’t be. Hmm, nope. After a while of wondering, I looked out through the foggy window and spotted what appeared to be the paved road near the trailer moving downhill. Huh? A couple of wipes to the window showed it to be a cascade of water from the mountain slopes surging along in waves, carrying rocks and debris along with it. It was moving with enough depth and speed that I was concerned that it might breach the deep gullies on each side of the road, or that a separate stream might be forming on the ground approaching the truck and trailer. No, some typical rivulets were forming, but that’s about it. And the berms were holding.

It seems that the two deep gullies were carrying stormwater down from the slopes, and that the road beside the trailer just happened to have a bit less crown than usual, so the two streams temporarily joined there and delivered a goodly mix of gravel and hefty-sized rocks on the pavement. It was over in minutes, but not before reshaping the gullies. Some areas are shallower, and some, like at the entry to my campsite, are deeper. Further down, it’s cavernous. That wouldn’t pose a big problem once the soft dirt dries out. Part of the entry is still negotiable by the trailer, if I’m willing to turn in the wrong direction and go up the long slope to a turnaround area up there.

The issue is that Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Daily Life and tagged
13 Sep 2013
2 Comments

A Change of Plan!

Head 'em up, move 'em out! Club organizers give up and break camp...for now.

Head ’em up, move ’em out! Club organizers give up and break camp…for now.

It rained again last night, some 3/4-inches I’m told. The above photo was taken at the Speedway entry point, where club organizers have been camped for longer than I have. The good fortune in this for me was that I arduously biked the sweaty 5-1/2 miles against a headwind to get there just in time. I was out for “a little exercise” and found that the published distance was shorter than reality. Wheeze. If I’d been 2 minutes later, I’d have never been informed by the group that they were giving up for now, but had the flexibility to reschedule again for this coming Thursday Sept 19th. Hey, I can do that! And, I’ll save fuel money by being planted in one spot until the BLM throws me out! From Monday on, it should be nothing but sun, so it has a chance. All this is really funky, because driving past the Great Salt Lake in Salt Lake City showed it to be well on its way to drying up.

You may not be able to see it, but dead center in this picture is the tire they'd originally placed on the shoreline. It's now nearly submerged. That's not good.

You may not be able to see it, but dead center in this picture is the tire they’d originally placed on the shoreline. It’s now nearly submerged. That’s not good.

While I was staying in Marengo, some guy in a biplane was practicing aerobatics overhead nearly every afternoon. Here near Wendover, a couple of fighter jets fly around at a very considerable Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Tourista! and tagged
13 Sep 2013
4 Comments

Bonneville Today

Heavy overnight downpours actually made the salt track deeper underwater!

Heavy overnight downpours actually made the salt track deeper underwater!

Well, a couple of overnight thunderstorms with strong winds sure didn’t do the track much good, and with more rain on the way, it doesn’t look good for getting in any runs anytime soon. I like it here though, since the temps have been in the mid-70s and the surrounding area is certainly nice enough on its own. I’m told that it’s normally much hotter this time of year, but I assume that the consistent cloud cover has had its effect.

In the distance is I-80, with the "track" being closer in. It's under about 8 inches of water.

In the distance is I-80, with the “track” being closer in. It’s under about 8 inches of water.

Today was errand day for fly paper, laundry and a minor food shop, but I also explored some back roads in the F-250 before I did anything else. I held the errands off for a day because I’d called the sole local hardware store and found that flypaper was out of stock but expected at the end of the day. I dived off the paved route at a dirt path labeled a “Scenic Byway”. Having virtually no traffic, it was smooth dirt with a few rocks, except for a few washes that crossed it. One was especially deep, and with the recent rain, I got out and made sure Read more…

Posted in Tourista! and tagged
11 Sep 2013
7 Comments

Bonneville Salt Flats Marina!

Uhhh, isn't this supposed to be dry about now?

Uhhh, isn’t this supposed to be dry about now?

What you’re looking at in the photo above is the famed Bonneville Salt Flats under several inches of water! It seems that several heavy rainstorms hit last week, wiping out the fabled Bonneville Speed Week that I was lamenting that I couldn’t get to in time. Next up: the Top Speed Shootout, which is a separate club event, by invitation only, for the heavy hitters that go for international records. These are the guys that get the press coverage when a land speed record is broken.

Considering that rain was possible late today, I decided to combine drive times for the last two legs (5 hours total) and get to the salt flats a day early to set up camp before it could hit. There are acres and acres of dirt that turn to mud, some of it state-owned and some BLM, and I wanted to scout the location to see if there was a legal camping location that had a chance of drainage on a relatively firm surface. I arrived at the final speedway entry point, some 5 miles from I-80, with some dismay. Nothing but water as far as the eye could see! It was a lake!

There was one canopy and a few campers at the salt surface entry, and it turned out to be Read more…

Posted in Travelin' Man and tagged
09 Sep 2013
3 Comments

Green River, Wyoming

Driving in Wyoming can visually be as good as it gets.

Driving in Wyoming can visually be as good as it gets.

I was a little iffy on stopping at Wild Horse Canyon Road in Green River, Wyoming because the description I’d read was, “Steep but manageable climb. IT IS MUDDY AND SLIPPERY WHEN WET!!!” I’d been driving through intermittent rain all the way there today, naturally. I can tell you, it doesn’t take much of a grade with a 7,000-pound trailer to make a pickup truck’s rear tires get unhappy as they try to move a combined 16,000 pounds on sand or gravel. If conditions looked bad, I had a rather boring Plan B stop in Little America’s parking lot.

This is near Sweetwater, Wy. It's hard for me to take these traveling views for granted.

This is near Sweetwater, Wy. It’s hard for me to take these traveling views for granted.

Fortunately for me, the last 20 miles seemed to clear away the rain. The exit I needed was closed for a rebuild, so I got off early and the GPS easily got me to Wild Horse Canyon Road. It’s mostly hardpack dirt, with some areas graveled over. The dirt looked like clay, which really Read more…

Posted in Tourista!, Travelin' Man and tagged
09 Sep 2013
10 Comments

Parting Shots

An overcast morning view out the dining table window.

An overcast morning view out the dining table window.

In taking the half hour to wobble down the washboard road, I took some time to stop and take a few more pictures in Medicine Bow National Forest:

What gets me about this place is the nature of the rocks. They often look stacked.

What gets me about this place is the nature of the rocks. They often look stacked.

Read more…

Posted in Tourista!, Travelin' Man and tagged
09 Sep 2013

Medicine Bow National Forest

Life is not particularly hard for an RVer at the Medicine Bow National Forest.

Life is not particularly hard for an RVer at the Medicine Bow National Forest.

This is an overnight stop only, on my way to the Bonneville Salt Flats. I could have pulled over at a rest stop, but I wanted to check out the adaptability of this national forest for future reference. It’s possible to stay here for up to 14 days, and I certainly would, but duty calls. Wow. Despite the severe washboard gravel road that got me up here, this place is big-rig friendly, with ample turn-around spots along the way. Many gigantic boulders are strewn about, and many more form spires. Along with the pine trees, the effect is arresting. The 8,203′ elevation means much cooler temps, too. I hate to think what winter is like up here, since many interchanges have gates, and there are frequent signs with lights saying Read more…

Posted in Tourista!, Travelin' Man and tagged | Leave a comment
07 Sep 2013
8 Comments

Stromsburg Time Warp

Like the peculiar name spellings, Stromsburg is an unusual town. Even the company that laid in some sidewalk similarly scrawled their name into an end panel.

Like the peculiar name spellings, Stromsburg is an unusual town. Even the company that laid in some sidewalk similarly scrawled their name into an end panel.

Stromsburg today has about the same population it did when it crossed into the big time in 1888 at 1,000 people. It is reportedly the largest of four towns in the county. Want to see what a small town looks like without Walgreens and McDonalds and Wal-Marts? It looks clean, cohesive, and still has people standing about the sidewalks talking. Everyone except the farmers lives right in town and walks to where they need to go. Women walking strollers abound. The postal clerk knows everybody by name.  As a tourist in the stores, you are instantly recognized as such, in kind of a “Oh! That’s odd. I don’t know you!” kind of way. Yes, it loses a lot of its young people, and has trimmed its population slightly in the last decade, but I can tell you, it still has plenty of suds compared to Read more…

Posted in Tourista! and tagged
05 Sep 2013
6 Comments

Stromsburg Heaven

The entrance to Buckley Park, Stromsburg, Nebraska.

The entrance to Buckley Park, Stromsburg, Nebraska.

“Town park campgrounds are like a box of choc-lits…”, and Mr. Gump would have been impressed with this one. Stromsburg, Nebraska is about 20 miles north of I-80, which violates my fuel usage rule for distance out of the way. “Don’t save $5 on fees by burning $10 worth of fuel to get there.” But the call of this one was irresistable: Free for up to 7 days, with an electrical hookup included in that price. Yes, you read that right. With the office battery pack down 25% and the ability to run A/C, I can stay cool and recharge whatever I like with my 8-amp plug-in charger. This camp is especially good because a heat wave is moving in, and my next stop, North Platte, is supposed to hit 100 degrees tomorrow, with 99 to follow. My next stop, Buford, Wyoming, is at 8,000′ elevation and will be in the 70s. Stops after that are warmer because Read more…

Posted in Travelin' Man and tagged
04 Sep 2013
6 Comments

Problems! …Resolved Nicely

How do they transport those huge wind turbine blades? Very carefully.

How do they transport those huge wind turbine blades? Very carefully.

I snapped the above photo at the I-80 Truck Stop in Iowa, minutes before I left. I’ve seen several, and am always amazed at the sheer size of them. Wow.

About an hour after starting out for a town park in Casey, Iowa my Garmin Nuvi started throwing alarms about stopped traffic ahead and rerouted me onto old U.S. highways. Then it complained about severe traffic backups and closed roads, and routed me tens of miles perpendicular to where I was wanting to go. That costs serious money in fuel. I turned around and headed back to I-80, finding that, in the end, it was all bogus. I ignored its dire predictions of closed roads, and barreled westward. Everything was fine, and I’d lost maybe 20 miles and $8 in wasted fuel on the multiple detours.

I pulled in to Casey and found their town park, and was not impressed. The $5 boondocking fee had changed to $10 and said to check in with the nonexistent attendant. I felt uncomfortable there, and decided to press on toward tomorrow’s stop, some 200+ miles away. It would mean an arrival time of 7 PM, which I was okay with. Lo and behold, there was a rest stop a few miles down on I-80, complete with washrooms, and Wi-Fi, which is what I’m posting this with. I suspect there’s enough signal strength and bandwidth that I’ll be able to enjoy my repast while watching Netflix this evening! Is this awesome or what?

Maybe this is a defective turbine blade here at the rest stop. I can't figure out how such a costly item wound up here.

Maybe this is a defective turbine blade here at the rest stop. I can’t figure out how such a costly item wound up here.

So, I’m enjoying my afternoon drinky-poo while typing this at the desktop computer, and am looking forward to an evening’s entertainment perusing the atlases and watching a movie or documentary. Maybe something esoteric and intellectual, like Larry the Cable Guy. Iowa’s rest areas are awesome!

Posted in Travelin' Man and tagged

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