Ok, we’re going to church here in a little bit…fair warning. But first, I want to share something cool that happened. As I settled in TOW-Wanda last night after a fun-filled day with the family, I heard the soft hoot of an owl. A Great Horned Owl, to be precise. I jumped up and quietly opened the camper door only to see a pair of huge owls sitting in the tree about 50-60 feet away from where I stood…in awe, I might add. This is not something one sees ordinarily. Not in the daylight and not in a large urban area. I wish Little could have been here…she is really into Harry Potter right now. She would have loved to see the owls.

Dear God in Heaven…thank you for bringing this small human into my life! She and her sister are the delights of my life. Yesterday was our semi-annual “Nana and Little’s Day of Fun!” Each grandchild gets to pick and choose what they want to do with Nana, where and what they want to eat, and how the day and night will play out. Big is thirteen now so we pretty much go shopping and have lunch although last summer she did want to go to the Denver Aquarium with me. Little is only ten and she is still all about the fun we can have. Her day is always centered around shopping, doing a craft or baking, and a sleepover in TOW-Wanda. She told everyone at the mall what the significance of the day was and what we’ve done and what we’re going to do. She’s like me…gregarious, funny, creative. Her sister is the thinker, brilliant, caring…strong and tender.

While traveling in a camper, one must stay on top of housekeeping tasks or things soon spiral out of control. Living in a small space requires planning and organization…both monumental tasks for this poor Gemini mind of mine. I would just as soon drop everything and chase butterflies, but the pile of dishes in the sink and the basket of laundry in the corner were calling my name yesterday. Actually, I don’t really mind a day of puttering around the “house”. It gives me ample time to visit, contemplate, plan, and write. There are some things I’ve wanted to research online the last week or so and this little bit of down time allowed me to do that.

There’s nothing like feeling really good after feeling really bad. I was so miserable Wednesday…too tired, too much junk food, too much altitude, not enough water and I was laid low. Nancy, one of my Colorado readers, sent me a message yesterday first thing and suggested I try to find some “Altitude Adjustment”…a nutritional supplement that helps your body adjust to the changes our bodies go through at elevation. I don’t know the science behind it, but if they told me twirling a chicken over my head would have made me feel better, I’d have been heading to the nearest barnyard. I was willing to try anything because I didn’t want to spend another day miserable. Nancy even offered to meet me halfway to deliver some if I needed her to. I called the number on the back of the package from the picture she sent and got the name of the nearest store that carried Altitude Adjustment and took it right away. I drank three bottles of water. My son-in-law’s mom insisted I eat something and made me an egg sandwich. And within an hour, I felt great. I spent the day out with my daughter and grandchildren and last night we all got together to celebrate birthdays and an anniversary. It was a great day!

I ran an errand yesterday morning. I didn’t have much of an appetite. I had my coffee. I snapped the picture of the odometer to show you how much I drove in one week. The cloud cover was grey and threatened thunderstorms all day. And soon…my mood matched the grey skies and I retreated to TOW-Wanda to figure out what was going on. First off…I’m flat out exhausted. Pulling this big of a camper is harder than pulling little TOW-Wanda. I’m more convinced than ever that she’s going south to storage and be used as our winter refuge as snowbirds. Second…much as I was hoping not to, the altitude is still an adjustment. I’m just smart enough this time not to go higher and exercise till I acclimate. Third…I’m still healing from my concussion. Fourth…I did not eat right as I traveled. Fifth…I miss Mr. FixIt and he won’t be here till next week. And Sixth….ahhhhh, Sixth. Grief caught up with me yesterday…not only by my surroundings, but also by these damn Facebook Memories. Damn. Damn, damn, damn. I know I tell you often…“You don’t ‘get over’ grief…you get through it”. And yes…that is SO true. And maybe if the first five things weren’t in play, and if FB hadn’t decided to smack me up the side of the head with pictures of Mr. Virgo’s grave, it wouldn’t have hit me so hard. But, they were there, and I am here. Colorado. This is where Mr. Virgo “lives”. Well, the memories of him. They are strong…and yesterday, I was weak.

OMGosh! I thought it was going to take forever to get here. With the long drive day on Monday, I was sure hoping today would go better. My good friend Diane called me Monday night and said, “I’m waiting to read about the fun part in this. Why on earth are you doing this if it’s so miserable?” And, my answer depends on when you ask. If you would have asked me Monday evening, I’d be hard pressed to come up with a good reason. But, if you asked me Thursday and Friday when I was camping with my gal pals, I’d tell you that’s the best. And if you ask me right this minute while TOW-Wanda is tucked in the shade at Ben and Sue’s house and my grandkids are here, I’d tell you this is the best. And, on the 24th, when Mr. FixIt and I head to the high country to camp for a week, I’ll tell you that’s the best. I will tell you this…the very worst day pulling a camper cross-country through Kansas in July at 103 degrees with no air conditioning STILL beats the very best day at work…hands down!

When I hooked up my camper Sunday night at the Kan-Do Kampground in Montgomery City, Missouri, the temp was in the 90’s and I was hot and tired. However, no matter what I tried, the air conditioning in TOW-Wanda would not come on. Therefore, the only things I had to cool me off were two fans and the exhaust fan in the bathroom. That drew the heat out somewhat, but still, I didn’t get to sleep till around midnight. I woke up at 2:30 yesterday morning and try as I might, further sleep eluded me. I laid there till the sky started to lighten around 5:00 then I got up and started putting stuff away, got dressed, closed the windows, and unhooked the camper from the water and electric. I pulled out at 6:15 and headed east in the cool of the day…73 degrees. It was rather windy on the plains so my top speed was 55 most of the day. Gas/pit stops were brief and I finally pulled into a rest area around 12:30 to stretch out for a 30 minute power nap. Only problem was…it was 92 degrees by then and the camper was stifling. All of a sudden, I had a brilliant idea. Gail, one of the Girl Campers had a little fan she let me borrow the second night at Beaver Creek State Park when I didn’t have electricity. The fan had a small drawer that you put ice in and the air cooled as it blew over it. I went to my freezer in my camper, took out two frozen bottles of water and a frozen cooler insert and sat them in front of my battery powered fan. It worked like a charm and offered me about 30 minutes of cool air which was delightful. Once I started losing the chill, I popped everything back in the freezer, put the fan away, and got back on the road. I drove till 4:30pm and just didn’t have it in me to go another five hours from Hays, Kansas to the Denver suburbs. I pulled into a name-brand hotel, negotiated my best deal, parked the camper, and was safely ensconced in my room by 5:00…a bubble bath drawn. The temperature was a staggering 100 degrees and I refused to take the chance of finding a campsite and not having AC. The campsites aren’t great out here anyway. I brought some food in from the kitchen in the camper and wrote this early so I could roost with the chickens. Today is another day. I’ll get there rested instead of having to sleep all day. Today is Daughter #1’s birthday!!! The truck and camper did fine yesterday, but I had forgotten how much work this big camper is to pull. I’m looking forward to having the little vintage camper refurbished and I can take it instead of this big one. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow! Thank you, Lord…for the travel mercies thus far. ❤️

This is the part of the trip where I’m always ready to be there yet I have a long way to go. It would be one thing if I were just meandering along without an agenda, but I’ve got grandbabies to see and I’m ready to be there NOW! Between not being able to drive over 60 (you shouldn’t drive over 65 while towing anyway!) and all the construction zones at 45-55mph, this trip feels like it takes forever. I always stop every four hours, stretch, get a bite to eat, use the facilities, and stretch out on the bed for a power nap of 30 minutes or so. When I stopped at 5:30 yesterday, I walked around to the passenger side of the camper and about a third of the trim over the wheel well was flapping in the breeze. I took it off then went to Walmart for a package of nuts and bolts to screw it back on securely. By the time I was done with all that, it was after 8:00. I started watching for signs for campgrounds and before long I had a site secured in Kan-Do Kampground. I really enjoyed speaking with the owner at checkin…she was a hoot!

I had to say goodbye for now to my Girl Camper friends yesterday morning. I hit the road about 8:30 after enjoying coffee and breakfast burritos with the early birds. Hookup was easy and after doing my safety check and checking the air in my tires (thank you Jeremy and Stephany of RV Family Travel Atlas!) I was on the road in no time. I did find this new truck can’t tow nearly as fast or stable as the ole one. It must have something to do with that rear axle ration. It was still a little windy yesterday so that might have been a contributing factor. I can’t drive much over 60mph with this truck but then again, you shouldn’t tow over 65 anyway so it’s probably just as well. Maybe I’ll look at trucks in Colorado. The 373 rear axle ratio is much more available out there.

Traveling on a cross-country road trip, you must be flexible whenever possible. Yesterday’s forecast had severe thunderstorm warnings off and on all day with winds predicted to top 50mph. I don’t know if you have ever driven in winds like that or not, but it is ill-advised to do so while towing a camper. I figured if I was going to be overtaken by severe storms, I would just as soon be in a campground with a bunch of girls I know so I stayed put another night. Today is another day. As it turns out, I would have driven right through those bad storms as they were right along the way I would have been traveling so it’s a good thing I stayed where I was.