We were glad we had planned a stay in Rawlins because I-80 was closed to high profile vehicles and campers weighing less than 20,000 lbs between Rawlins and Laramie due to high winds. After we parked we experienced one gust that REALLY buffeted the trailer. It was more than the light shaking we took at the Love's - but the winds have died down this evening. 

Before we left Meeker I had a lovely chat with the wife of the couple who were spending the night next to us. She was looking for a cover for their bikes and so I shared why I loved the one we have been using for three years or so. Then we chatted a bit about future travel plans, Thousand Trails memberships, and events at The Sphere in Nevada. That is home base for the couple and they are going to a multisensory experience of The Wizard of Oz there. I shared that I am hoping to add Nevada to our state sticker collection next summer with a trip to The Sphere to see Kenny Chesney. 

However, during our visit the town was experiencing high levels of smoke due to two wildfires burning nearby. We still enjoyed briefly exploring the area and a sitting out by the river. 

On a side note, we did wind up taking Kerry to a vet. The Gunnison Valley Veterinary Clinic was amazing. They were able to give us a same day appointment and Dr. Suarez was wonderful with Kerry who wanted nothing to do with her. The good news was there were no breaks or abcesses or anything like that so just a sprain that will take time to heal. The bad news was that Kerry suffers from hyperthyroid, a common ailment in older kitties, so she is now on daily meds for that. 

During the drive, we saw a new road sign we haven't seen before. I wasn't fast enough to catch a picture, but the big orange sign said, "Road Damage Ahead." What exactly does that mean? I am not sure. We had been on rough, potholed highway for several miles already so it was concerning. However, we didn't notice any road that was any more "damaged" than what we had been driving on, so we are still mystified and slightly bemused by the sign. Speaking of signs, I would like to start a campaign to change all "Do Not Pass" signs to "You Shall Not Pass" signs. What do you think? Who's with me!?

We stayed in another "close to the interstate" RV park with few frills but tons of convenience. Our drive took us through the quintessential "great plains" so I took a few road shots to share. We also started a Jack Reacher audio book which helped to engage our tired brains during the long drive. A win!

Finally got all cleaned up and we settled in for some relaxation. After dinner I decided to indulge in a drink to pamper myself; plus, I have an excellent bartender on staff. Because we don't fully set up the trailer for a single night, I have been using the 5 gallon bucket I keep cat litter in as a side table. I went to pick up my drink, knocked it off, and spilled the entire thing on the floor. Commence round two of cleaning up a mess and wet mopping. 

After this, you would think we would be home free, but remember that bad things come in threes. We headed to bed a little bit early because we knew we had our longest day of driving the next day and at 3:30 AM we were bolted awake by Kerry having a pitched battle with something. Ken hit the lights and the floor in time to see a body with a long tail disappear under the stairs. We thought it was Kerry, so he spent some time trying to cajole her out, then I found her hiding behind my recliner chair with no interest in coming out. Ken went outside to check the bay while I grabbed the broom and prepared to defend my sweet kitty against whatever mayhem might come boiling up out of the bay. It turns out, we forgot to close the wet bay before retiring and a stray cat climbed inside and then found its way into the trailer, presumably lured by the smell of Kerry's cat food. Kerry is definitely showing the effects of her traumatic experience and is a bit lame in her right hind leg so a vet stop may be in our future. 

Just to show the entire day wasn't traumatic, here are some shots of the rolling hills of Kansas.

Most of our drive today was on US Highway 50 and we remarked how relaxing it is on the US Highway system. The road follows the contours of the land, you see hamlets and towns you wouldn't see otherwise, and there are fewer trucks and people in a rush. We really felt the sentiment of Cars today. Instead of rest stops the highway had "Roadside Parks" which were just small pullover spaces with a picnic table or two, but still a nice place to pause if you wanted to stretch your legs. 

Lost Valley Lake RV Resort is really lovely. There are technically two lakes, Lost Valley Lake and Rialta Lake, boats to rent, horses to ride, two pools to swim in - on indoor and one outdoor, a library, a market and grill, the list goes on. We also learned they have propane filling on site which was great because we used up most of our propane in the "Great Chill Down" at Beggs Berry World. 

Because it was a Harvest Host site we didn't have any hookups so we were boondocking for the first time in a while. It is nice to not have to do the outside setup, but... it was 96 degrees when we arrived and with just the generator we could only run one air conditioner at a time. We got the trailer cooled off slightly - from 99 down to 88 - and then went out to dinner. We had a wonderful dinner at a little family run restaurant called La Lunada. Our food was delivered by the owner who stopped and chatted with us for a few minutes after we finished our meal. He said Benton is a quiet little town with good people and from what we saw, we would agree! 

The rest of the evening was spent at the trailer with the A/C running and just chill time. We cooled the bedroom off as far as we could, down to 68 at bedtime and by the time we woke up it was already 90 again! But, we loaded up and headed out with a little extra sweat equity. Then, I experienced the worst 15 minutes of my retired life; I had NO CELL SERVICE! Generally, I am not attached to my phone but I rely on it for the RV Life navigation app on travel days. Fortunately I remembered that I had downloaded the written directions and saved them in my Google Drive with offline access, so I was able to recover quickly. Hahaha!

On a side note, I feel like this leg of our journey (since leaving Maryland) has taken us on a plethora of skinny, winding, backroads and I am grateful that Ken doesn't mind doing all the driving. 

We spent one afternoon in Memphis. For the first time, we loaded the bike rack and bikes on the back of the Beast (my name for our dually pickup) and took them with us. Memphis has the only pedestrian/bike bridge across the Mississippi River, so we put those ebikes to work and rode across. It was pretty neat and not many other people were out, probably because it was REALLY hot and humid. One of the times we stopped to take pictures another biker stopped to admire our ebikes and to chat. Frank gave us some great advice about where to eat on Beale Street and advice about other things that are must sees in Memphis. We did wander around Beale Street, although my feet sadly remained firmly on the ground, not ten feet off, and had a great lunch at the Blues City Cafe, per Frank's advice - thanks, Frank! One regret is that we didn't go to the Bass Pro Shop pyramid and take in the view from the top. Something for next time...

We had a little excitement when we arrived. The park is HUGE and after finally navigating our way to our site we started the unhooking and setup process. I was in the fifth wheel putting out the slides so I could move the cat in when Ken appears in the doorway. "Do you have your truck keys on you?" No, no I do not. Turns out that while we were out of the truck taking care of things, Kerry locked herself in the truck. She was fine and comfortable having AC and water - all the comforts of home - while we were in a 90 degree fifth wheel with one cell phone which apparently did not have any useful apps on it such as Ram Connect or Good Sam. Our Ram roadside assistance dispatched someone to help who cancelled the job after 40 minutes. We contacted Good Sam at that point but while we were waiting for them to find someone Ram was able to secure another tech for us. A wonderful gentleman from Above All Towing showed up about 40 minutes later and had the car open in under two minutes. Our new policy on travel days is to leave my set of truck keys in the trailer. :)

One of the things we are learning about ourselves as full-timers is that we are not driven to "see everything" as we travel. Some places we go we intentionally choose to hang out at the campground and pool and only leave for shopping. This was not one of those stops. Ken discovered that the oldest distillery in Lawrence County, TN was a short distance away from us, so we went in search of Gobbler Springs Distillery. We found it at the end of a long dirt/gravel, single lane road after fording a stream in our truck. We arrived just as a 70th birthday party was breaking up, so we had the chance to sit and chat with John, the owner/operator. They make sweet mash whiskey, gin, vodka, and moonshine - of course! - on site. I am usually not a gin drinker but I tried their signature drink, the Bee's Knees and really enjoyed it! If you ever find yourself in Lawrence County we highly recommend making the trip to Gobbler Springs Distillery. 

The Diamond Caverns Golf and RV Resort is surrounded by the Mammoth Cave National Park so there's a bit of a drive for groceries, etc.,  but the scenery is gorgeous!

The lost sea is an underground lake in a cavern room that is 800 feet by 200 feet and the equivalent of 14 stories underground. They do guided tours and then you get to take a boat ride on the lake before climbing all that elevation out again. But it was worth it! 

Our drive today took us through the Blue Ridge Mountains and the trees, mountains, rivers, etc. made for a scenic drive. I love all the little mountain communities you can see from the road. We also saw deer right along the highway multiple times but thankfully they stayed away from the road so we could enjoy looking at them and not have to worry about dodging them. 

We have decided that Kerry is just really stressed out by travelling. Today we tried just giving her water in the morning, and she still threw up in the car. Oh well. She does settle down after some initial anxiety so we will cope with the kitty drama at our outset. 

After that we cobbled together a route using the nav software in the truck and the RV life app. All things considered, we feel like it worked out all right and was a good test of our flexibility and problem solving skills. I am proud to say there were no tears on my part which is pretty darn good. I also want to give kudos to RV Life. I reported the problem we had with navigation and heard back from them within 24 hours asking if there was anything they could do and offering insight into bridge heights. We are members with them and it is one of our most used RVing tools. 

This was a quiet week for us. The high heat and humidity kept us indoors much of the time but we did run a few errands including driving up to Lynchburg for cat litter. We have had some humdinger thunderstorms in the evening and Kerry is NOT a fan. The heavy rain and thunder is too loud for her in the trailer. She seems to feel safest on the floor between the island and the stove. I am considering buying her a kitty cave to hide in - don't tell Ken!

Speaking of Ken, he is taking some drone pics of our current location, so I should have those pics to share. Also, when we left, I abandoned Basil, my basil plant. I was gifted Basil by a lovely lady at Lazydays RV whose husband would not let her take two basil plants home. I was not a good parent to Basil. He was constantly droopy and faded looking. I left him on the picnic table in the hopes that the people behind us with the thriving chrysanthemums would take him. So now I am back to just trying to keep Alfred alive.