Trip to Sedalia

Day 5: Last night was a quiet night. The day started a little earlier than normal, we needed to go to Flying J and dump before we march smartly on to Pratt KS.

Dumping first thing in the morning sure builds an appetite, we headed in to get, and enjoy breakfast before scurrying down the highway. You can scratch “scurry”. Within the first 2 miles out the gate, traffic was stopped for road construction on a two-lane highway. Kind of reminded me of the anticipation of moving through Los Angeles on I-5 during rush hour. Now that we made it through that, we can begin to enjoy our whirlwind drive through four states, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, stopping in Kansas. Another thing I noticed, the designer for 54 must have been left handed or missing one side of their brain, all the rest areas on my side of the highway, I always have to turn left into them.

The weather started out over cast and later sunny. Cross winds wreaked havoc from Dalhart TX to Pratt KS, but the rig handled very nicely. Route 54 was in pretty good condition for the most part, there was some other road construction/repairs going on, but it only slowed, not stopped. I will admit that there were a few areas in Texas and Kansas that were less that exciting … zzzzzzzz. If you wish to get off 54 from time to time there are sites to see, such as the Dalton Gang hide out. Carol was excited when she thought she saw some very large white sheep grazing together in the distance, as we got closer it became obvious they were … rolled hay bales (lol).Before we got to Haviland we saw what looked like huge yellow caterpillars, they were actually raw cotton rolled banded in yellow fabric.

           Other than the high from six hours of cross winds, there was a (only) gas station in Haviland KS., they were almost full service, pumping fuel and cleaning windshields. Finding the hook-ups was and adventure at the ELKS lodge. We drove around the lodge several times without finding the hook-ups. We spoke with a member who was not sure, so we decided to go to Walmart and shop. We returned and another rig showed up and together we figured out where the 30amp receptacles were. Total victory for Escapees, both of us are heading for Escapades. It appears tomorrows adventure is going to start in a different direction.

Day 6: The drive and weather were pretty good. We did have a couple of delays due to road work. We are adapting to what retired life can be, we chose to stay the night at the Blue Springs ELKS lodge and enjoy Taco Tuesday.

The biggest thrill on the drive this afternoon was seeing a train cutting through what seemed like five hundred million acres of corn, grass, and turned under fields. Unlike California, there was a lot of greenery. We arrived at the ELKS lodge in time for tacos. We hooked up in the first site, closest to the building so we didn’t have to walk far for food, drink, and entertainment. They are a two-story lodge built 12 years ago, and the members are a friendly lot willing to share their time with visitors.

Day 7: Final leg to Sedalia MO and the ESCAPADES rally. The ELKS were kind enough to wash our rig, well part of the rig before we left. They decided to do this while I was unhooking electrical, water, and raise the jacks. If you have not guessed, the sprinklers came on. After the first round of showers, I asked Carol to protect me with an umbrella so I could finish without further soaking. Before hitting the highway, we stopped at Walmart to pick-up some groceries and water. There was no problem with finding space parking (we were there around 8:00am). The Walmart in Blue Springs must be an exception, they didn’t have a low clearance metal arch to keep RVs out.

 The weather was sunny, warm/hot, and humid, I felt a better understanding for clams being steamed. We made it. Getting to the fairgrounds and parked went well. While setting up the RV I went from feeling like a steamed clam to a boiled lobster, I forgot how humid the mid-west can get. Alas, the RV is set up (50amps no less), and Carol has both ACs running on high to cool the RV.

Now let’s talk registration. What sounds easy, can seem a challenge to someone tired and sweaty. We needed to walk somewhere around 12 miles to get to the registration office (not really, just seemed that long), the reward was worth it … AIR CONDITIONING. You see, we needed to arrive early because we volunteered to be on staff this year with the ESCAPADES as part of the Customer Service team. The rest of the day was meetings, familiarization, and happy hour. For those not Escapee members, we are like a large Italian family, we love to socialize. Enough said, off to bed, tomorrow is showtime.