August 15, 2012

Last night we were only able to receive two channels, so I flipped back and forth between America’s Got Talent and Masterchef.  I was finding it hard to keep my eyes open past ten.  We woke up to the sounds of machines whirring at 5am.  I don’t know why I even bothered setting my alarm for 6!  By 6:30 we were out the door and headed to Dunkin Donuts.  Then we clicked on our gas buddy on our tablet and found a gas station that was only charging $3.75 for diesel.  There was a time not too long ago that we would have been horrified thinking $3.75 was a good price for gas.  The regular was almost $4.00. 

When we got back to Mor/Ryde I went into the lounge and started researching where our next stay will be.  I had thought we would go straight on to Yellowstone from here but looking at the map and seeing how close Mt Rushmore is going to be on our route, I changed our plans.  I had a lengthy conversation with a nice guy named Bob who has a place in Arcadia, Fl.  He has been traveling around for years.  Unfortunately his wife passed away last year but he is still traveling around by himself.  I don’t think I could do that.  Part of this wonderful journey is sharing it with Monte. 

We were treated to another wonderful lunch.  Yesterday we realized that our hitch was going to have to be raised up a couple of inches so we called around and found a place nearby that sells a kit to do that.  After the kit was installed by Sergio and we drove around the parking lot a couple of times it became obvious that we were going to have to raise the pin box because there was not enough clearance and if we hit a dip in the road while making a turn we might hit the rail of the truck.   Unfortunately, Sergio was leaving for the day so we will have to get up early again tomorrow morning for him to do the work. 

We had the choice of setting up in the parking lot or going back into the factory for the night.  I opted for the parking lot because we get better internet and tv reception. We had smelled propane earlier in the day coming from our rig but the tech checked everything out and couldn’t find any leak.  After we got set up in the parking lot, Monte inspected the propane tank and deducted that it was a propane pressure regulator gone bad that was causing the smell.  He called Keystone and they referred him to a dealer who could sell us that part.  But when Monte called he was told it would take two days for delivery.  Really—this is the RV capital of the world and it is going to take two days to get a part!!!  I looked on line and saw there was a Lowes nearby.  We took a drive there to see if they possibly could have the part.  They didn’t have exactly what we needed.  I have to give a shout out to Tyson from Lowes who went above and beyond to try to help us out.  He went on line and looked up RV parts dealers for and called at least 5 of them before I told him to give up.  What a nice guy.  Anyway, Monte bought a regular and thought he might be able to jury rig something until we get to Camping World in Madison, WI.  We had called them and they do have the part.  We passed a Burlington Coat Factory along the way.  Since we are headed for Oregon and don’t have warm enough jackets we stopped in and each bought a warm coat.  I hope we don’t need it but would like to have it just in case. 

Back home Monte worked on the propane regulator while I heated up leftovers for dinner and typed this blog.  Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.