August 2017

Camping in Dodge City, KS tonight. Nice RV campground, named “Gunsmoke.” Roads in the campground are named Chester Avenue, Matt Dillon Drive, Miss Kitty Lane, among others, taking us back several decades to the TV series by the same name. Nostalgic,to say the least.

We have had good weather and minimal delays for road work the last two days on our route. Tomorrow, we will be heading into Colorado where the forecast is for possible rain and thunderstorms, but we have traveled through those earlier on the journey with no ill effects. Still having fun, relaxing and enjoying life on the road.

The scenic drive continued today crossing nearly half of Nebraska on Interstate 80 Westbound. Of course, there was the usual pastoral scenery, but we also transited through Lincoln, the state capitol. Traffic wasn’t bad and we quickly were back in the boonies.

The weather today was agreeable and sunny and the forecast for tomorrow’s route as we head south is for the same. Unlike Arizona, however, it is not a dry heat in the prairie states. Humidity indicator hovering at between 50 and 70 percent in the RV since we left Wyoming last week.

We will be camping in Kansas tomorrow night. I just called and got the reservation confirmed. We will be in the famous old western shoot-em-up town of Dodge City. All that shooting stuff actually happened, give or take a lie or two.

We decided to take a shorter drive today than originally planned. It will add a day to our trip, but a shorter drive will relieve the fatigue from a six-plus hour drive and keep us happier on the road.

We crossed western Iowa on I-80 and saw corn. Lots of corn. We have been seeing corn since we left Wyoming last week heading into the farm belt. Don’t get me wrong, there are other crops – sunflowers, barley, soy beans and so on. There are also places with horses and cattle. We did see one small herd of bison in North Dakota a few days ago.

We also saw dozens of rivers and creeks along the way. Yesterday we were next to the Mississippi in Dubuque, IA and this afternoon, we crossed the Missouri going from Iowa into Nebraska. I didn’t realize it, but the Missouri is the longest river in North America. I had assumed that title belonged to the Mississippi, but that isn’t correct.

We have another short scenic drive tomorrow and should be posting from Kearney, NE after we arrive there. Thereafter, we will be enjoying more adventures in the few days left on our trip. It has been great fun and a wonderful experience.

Our journey today terminates in Kellogg, Iowa. We started off heading east and got as far as the Mississippi River in Dubuque, IA and then headed back south and west to where we are near Interstate 80.

The little RV campground is pretty full tonight. Maybe I should say crampground, since the spaces are so close together. It is a nice camp otherwise and inexpensive.

Tomorrow, we’re headed out of Iowa and into Eastern Nebraska, planning to camp near Omaha. The travels remaining on our itinerary are taking us through Nebraska, Kansas, back into Colorado, New Mexico and finally Arizona. We’re having a great time.

We have met our Waterloo – not in the Napoleonic sense, but we are camped in Waterloo, Iowa this evening. We drove from Spirit Lake, IA today and stopped here on our way to visit points east and the Mighty Mississippi River at Dubuque tomorrow.

Damsel and I enjoyed our Sunday dinner here this afternoon with Steak and Salad on the menu. We relaxed, showered and are now settled in watching a baseball game on the satellite TV. Actually, we’re enjoying all the comforts of home while on the road.

After Dubuque tomorrow, we will be turned around and headed westward again. Eastern Iowa is the farthest away from home that we will be on this trip. We have some more interesting places to visit on the return trip, so tomorrow’s destinations won’t be anticlimactic for us.

Create Your Own Visited States Map

Well, it is now official that I have set foot in all fifty states. Damsel and I arrived at the campground near Spirit Lake, Iowa, today, and are camping here tonight.

We will be exploring the “Duh State” over the next few days. You know, Duh Buque and Duh Moines (Damsel’s joke), before heading back toward Arizona with several more interesting places to stop along the way. We have plans for visiting several of the cities here including the two mentioned above.

“All Fifty States” has been on my bucket list since retirement several years ago. On this trip, I have blacked out three bucket listers including the all fifty, driving the “Million Dollar Highway,” and the Great American Total Eclipse of the Sun.

Damsel and I are working on more items for the bucket list. We think the next item will be to go and see our third great grandchild, a boy, who will be born close to Thanksgiving Day 2017. We’re looking forward to that excursion too.