What a day! Started off with the retracting stairs refusing
to come out. At least, we were lucky that it was not out all the way and then
refusing to retract. That would have made it impossible for us to drive any
further. Tested all known fuses and all seemed ok. So every time we stopped to
fuel up, I had to use a small footstool to get in and out of the RV.
It was tedious driving across I-90 for long straight
stretches, with nothing to break the scenery (if you can call it that), except
for the huge billboards dotting either side of the highway. With nothing to
break the vast open fields, the cross winds were pretty strong, gusting up to
at least 40 mph at times.
Still it was not bad until the awning came lose when we were
about 30 miles east of Rapid City. We pulled over to the side of the road and
tried to get it back up again – but the wind was not helping us. A very kindly
state trooper stopped and helped us out. It took the 3 of us about 30 minutes –
John had to go up on the roof and cut the awning out (as it had half ripped)
and then remove the long pole around which it would normally be rolled over. We
then shoved the pole through the front window all the way into the vehicle. It
now sits on the floor along the length of the vehicle – a 5-inch diameter 8 ft
long metal pole.
So now we have a mal functioning stair and no awning to
contend with. We got into the campsite just outside Rapid City around 2:30 pm
and had barely set up camp, when the thunderstorms rolled in . Boy, was it
impressive! Luckily it lasted just about a half hour.
Campsite is nice and people very friendly. Tomorrow we are off to see
the 4 Presidents.
Before you left, you had talked about going to the Badlands. Did you stop there or just drive by them?
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