More Problems, A Raging Storm, and Cool Weather We were up at daybreak, and neither of us slept well. As it became daylight, Donald crawled under the motorhome to inspect the freshwater tank and wiring. He noticed the wiring for the freshwater tank was loose, again, and repaired it, and also noticed the tank below the 1/3 level. We filled the tank to about ½ capacity, thinking it would resolve the pump problem. No such luck. It seems to be getting worse, and we need it fixed before Saturday when we camp at Custer State Park, WITHOUT WATER, having to use our freshwater tank for our needs. We departed shortly after 7 am, and Kay hurriedly made several calls to our emergency road service, our dealer, the motorhome manufacturer, and an RV dealership in Grand Island. We were able to get an impromptu appointment at the dealership to check out the water pump as it is still under warranty. After checking the pump and connections, the technician discovered the screen on one of the faucets had become stopped up with a calcium deposit. Seems like all new motor homes come with “water saver” screens which are really a washer with about a 1/8 inch hole to allow water to come out. Can you believe it? He removed these, and we gladly paid for the ½ hour of labor, and continued on our way. Shortly out of Grand Island, we were detoured onto a farm road around an entire section of land so the main highway (Husker Highway) could be repaved.
 Nebraska Farm Road |
After setting up, we showered, ate a salad, and headed to Rosebud Casino where Kay won a few dollars. It was too smoky for Donald. On the way, we saw a group of storm chasers, awaiting a possible tornado.
 Storm Chasers |
Kay’s TakeFriday morning Kay woke up almost before the crack of dawn, made the cappuccino and coffee and went out to check out the world. There was an amazing, incredible sunrise – salmon colored sky, streaks of pink, purple, blue, and salmon. It was still pretty muggy, not having cooled down much over night, but the birds in the resort were cavorting like crazy – a dance for the dawn perhaps. We both kept noticing that the water pump came on before we ever turned on the water and it ran way too long after we turned any water off. This was not normal and as we traveled we discussed what to do. We didn’t want our water pump to ‘die’ but it was definitely stressing about something. D said it was maintaining pressure in the lines. We decided to call the mechanical concierge with Family Motorcoach Assoc. He couldn’t figure it out either, but recommended some RV centers in Grand Island, Neb. or in Rapid City, Neb. Since it was the weekend before July 4th doings, we decided to stop in Grand Island at Rich’s RV Center. It was a huge RV place right off of Hwy. 281, where we we turning to go to Valentine, Neb. They were super nice and got us in right away. Calcium build up in the screens behind the faucet heads. Donald had just decided to start using a water filter from the outside faucets into the RV.
Well, we were back and running heading west and north. We did have an intimate encounter with a corn field on a muddy dirt farm road due to a construction ‘detour’ on a county road. Garmins (our GPS system) sometimes takes us on some back roads in a mission to find the straightest, shortest route from point A to point B. Hehehehe! We drove a scenic road Hwy. 2 that is called the ‘Sandhills Scenic Route’. It was beautiful and there were quaint little towns and farms along it. We turned north and finally drove into those sandhills and Kay thought that was even more scenic. We climbed about 1500 ft. in elevation and the wind picked up too. We were both getting tired and were glad when we pulled in at Fishberry Campground in Valentine, Neb. We had discussed early about going into town and eating but we were too tired. Kay made a salad and we had chicken salad in the refrig. So we ate those. The veggies were just what we needed. We both showered and cleaned up. Donald drove Kay 5 miles north just across the border into S. Dakota to the Rosebud Casino. Unfortunately, it was all ‘smoking’. Donald stayed outside because he is so allergic to smoke while Kay gambled. Forgive her Lord! She was thru after 30 min. – she played with $25 and came out of there with $37.25. Donald in the meantime drove back to the RV to get his camera because we had seen a line of storm chasers on a dirt road as we were going to the casino. He got a picture of them. Yes, bad weather was brewing, and it began raining as we came back to Mellie (our RV). Yes, Kay has pet names for many things! Enough said! Well, the wind picked up, the rain came down hard, and we sat in our motorhome as darkness from the storms increased. Here we were on a Nebraska plain with about 10 other RV travelers exposed to whatever elements mother nature could muster. Let me tell you, it was the worst storm either of us has sat out. I bet the winds were more than 70 miles per hour, we had hail, hard rain, and wall clouds all around us, plus lightening. We pulled in two of our slideouts to be more heavy and compact as we were rocking pretty good in the midst of the worst of the storm. Every one survived, don’t know if any tornadoes touched down near us, but we saw the radar after the storm went by and it was red and ugly! Unbelievably, as soon as the storm moved on, the sun came shining thru (it was 8:45) and there was a beautiful sunset.
Kay crawled into bed and passed out. Enough excitement ! Boredom is underrated!
One plus Sat. morn is that the temperatures are in the low 70’s – Praise the Lord! We’re kinda being slugs this morning – well, at least Kay is – and taking our time before we head out to Custer State Park just south of Rapid City, S. Dakota. We’ll be staying their 3 nights before we head into Montana. Lots of animals and hopefully some fishing. Cool weather to boot! Yahoo!
CampgroundFishberry RV Park in Valentine, NE. We stayed here in 2007, and it’s still just as nice. It sits in the middle of a working ranch. The pull-thru sites are gravel, and above average, and restrooms and showers are very clean. We’d definitely stay here again.
Special SitesRosebud Casino, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, SD
ProblemsThe water pump was not working properly; we stopped at Rich’s RV Sales & Service, Grand Island, NE, for a quick fix. Seems the screen on one of the faucets had become stopped up with a calcium deposit, and removing the screen solved the problem.
Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 9,834.5
Beginning Time: 7:15 am
Ending Milage: 10,197.4
Ending Time: 4:30 PM
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 362.9 (this is to be our second longest leg of the entire trip)
Gasoline Consumed: 29.54 gal @ 2.539/gal = $75.00
1.14 gal @ 2.599/gal = $2.96 @9807.2
30.68 gal (approx 8.8 mpg)
Expenses
Gasoline: $77.96
Water pump repair: $54.60
Campground: $26.85
TOTAL: $159.40
