On Our Way With a clean house, towels, and sheets, we opted to spend last night in the motorhome, awakening early with excitement of the impending trip. We departed at 6:20 am, and had an uneventful trip, except for having to use the auxiliary batteries (coach batteries) to start the motorhome each time we stopped, which was about every 2 to 3 hours. We had been concerned with our motorhome weight and weighed it about an hour north of Springfield, MO. We were 30 pounds under maximum! After several more hours of driving, we checked the chassis battery, and discovered 5 of the 6 cells very low of water. We filled those with distilled water, drove another 3 hours, arriving at Victorian Acres RV Park and Campground at 3:30 pm.
 Our Campsite at Victorian Acres |
 Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, Neb... |
Wal Mart found the battery to be DEAD, and we purchased a new one, quickly installed by Donald—and surprise—it worked! He decided to fill the coach batteries with water, and it was a complete debacle, with battery acid going everywhere. We neutralized the acid as much as we could with our refrigerator baking soda, and will assess the damage in a couple of days. Also, our water pump is malfunctioning, and won’t quit running. We have very little pressure. Hopefully, filling the tank tomorrow am will resolve this problem. Despite these setbacks, we realize how blessed we are to be able to take a trip to Alaska, and financially afford most misfortunes. Kay’s Take Man, getting the house ready for guests was kind of like working in a lodge or hotel! Getting the RV ready for a 3-month trip was a snap! Doctor’s appts., social security applying, 3 mos. worth of medicines, dentist appts., etc. Goodness, we sound like Old People! Hehehe! It’s incredible how our schedules manage us sometimes instead of the other way around.
Another plus was sleeping on the new mattress in the motorhome before we left the next morning. That way we could change the bed sheets in our master bedroom and also the towels. It will be a joy to come back home in the shape we left our house. Yes, we will have houseguests, but the rule of thumb is to leave the house as good as you found it! We definitely decided we need a new mattress set for our master bedroom. We love our new RV bed! Room darkening shades help also.
On Thursday, Donald had to start the RV with the auxiliary batteries. We have a ‘battery’ for the RV engine and also two batteries under the coach to power lights, etc. Luckily we can use the ‘house’ batteries to start the engine, if we need to. When we got to our destination at Nebraska City just across the border of Missouri, Nebraska & Iowa, Donald discovered that the engine battery was very low on water. They can apparently do that if not kept charged enough – driving it, etc. But he has had a battery minder/charger on it all the time we’re not Rving. Anyway, good old Wal-marte` checked the battery and it was not recoverable. We bought a new one, and a few other odds and ends and before we headed back to the campground we drove around the older historic area of the town. Really beautiful old buildings, courthouse, homes, and old, old trees. Three of the churches were the first of their denomination to be built in Nebraska. Lots of tradition and history there. We crashed and burned pretty quickly and settled down for the night.
CampgroundVictorian Acres RV Park & Campground in Nebraska City, NE. We stayed here in 2007, and there have been vast improvements. The pull-thru sites are slightly above average, but the restrooms and showers were immaculate—2nd best of all we have seen. We’d definitely stay here again.
Special SitesThe Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center @ Nebraska City, NE, was small by most museum standards, but very well done. Of special interest were replicas of the boats used in their expedition (see photos).
Nebraska City, NE – Quaint Missouri River frontier town with several historic houses, churches, courthouse, and brick streets—well worth a stop and short tour.
ProblemsWe replaced chassis battery at Nebraska City, NE, and added water to coach batteries, spilling acid everywhere.
Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 9391.5
Beginning Time: 6:20 AM
Ending Milage: 9834.5
Ending Time: 3:30 PM
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 443 (this is to be our longest leg of the entire trip)
Gasoline Consumed: 10.89 gal @ 2.499/gal = $27.21
29.30 gal @ 2.559/gal = $75.00
5.50 gal @ 2.559/gal = $13.58 @9807.2
45.69 gal (approx 9.4 mpg)
Expenses
Gasoline: $115.79
Entrance to Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center: $9.00
New battery: $80.00
Campground: $23.87
TOTAL: $228.66
Weight: Front Axle = 4240 lbs
Rear Axle = 9780 lbs
Total MH = 14020 lbs (Capacity is 14050)
Saturn = 2980 lbs
