Catching Up

I first started this blog post  over 2 weeks ago, while on our way to Rendezvous 2010 in Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming.  I had hoped to write some each day up there, then post it all on my return.  That obviously didn’t happen.  It’s amazing how what seems like lazy days of vacation doing “nothing” can become so full of activity.

It is probably good, though, to point out – to myself, if not to anyone else – some of the obvious.   The day after I began writing this, we arrived at our destination.  Rendezvous is not held in, or even near, an organized campground.  For those of us who RV, what we were doing is called boondocking.  There’s no electrical hook up.  There’s no water nearby.  There’s no sewage lines to connect our RVs to.  We run what little we have by battery.  Each morning, I hook up a small (1000 Watt) generator and run it for a few hours for two purposes… to make coffee and to recharge the battery. 

Let’s start with what I initially entitled “Rendezvous – Day Minus Three” – referring to the fact that we were starting early, 3 days prior to the official start of the Rendezvous:

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Once again, August dawns hot and humid in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  And once again it is time for the Hays-Stroms and friends to begin our annual migration to Wyoming, and Rendezvous, Wyoming Equalities annual Pride celebration.

Scott and I, and Raymond Page, one of our good MCC Omaha friends decided this year to beat the rush… actually we just wanted to get away a few days early, so that we could enjoy a little peace and quiet, and also to make sure we got our favorite camp-site.  We succeeded!

We departed Omaha on Friday after I got off work, and were on the roads and out of the city before the worst of the Omaha rush-minute hit.  Picking up Ray in Gretna, NE, we got to Doniphan, NE a little before 7 p.m. and settled for a quiet and early evening.  Saturday, we were on the road again relatively early… at least for pulling a trailer.  The drive was really uneventful.  No rain.  No traffic…. well, almost no traffic.  At about mile marker 326 on Interstate 80 in Wyoming, we hit major traffic.  The road was down to one lane and traffic was stopped.  Ironically, our exit was at mile marker 323.  We got to it about a half hour later!

There’s a rest stop on I80 at mile 323 that sits a little above the freeway, and looks out over the mountains.  At this point on I80, the road takes a sudden downward plunge, at about a 5% grade… later it’ll grow to a nearly 10% grade as I80 enters Laramie, Wyoming.  There’s a huge bust of Abraham Lincoln at this stop.  And, it’s a good place to fill up on water… 50 gallons in the trailer’s tanks, and nearly 30 more in water bottles we bring along.  We’ll go through a lot of water up here, the 3 of us, and the two ladies who will join us in 24 hours.  Hey, we may be roughing it up here in the mountains with no electricity (except that which our generator produces) and no bathrooms (except in the trailer.)  But we guys gotta make sure we look FAaabulous for the couple hundred who attend Rendezvous!

This morning, we all drove back in to Cheyenne, WY, for groceries and more ice.  The propane refrigerator will only hold so much!  We were back by 1, and then I showered (I love showering outside up here! – behind our shower screen, of course!)  It was so hot today!  I think it got to 85! 

But as I write, a storm has moved in.  The temperature has dropped to somewhere in the 60s.  It’s raining!  And it’s fun!

We have a thermometer that we put on our window and it gives us the outside temp.  We put it in a drawer with a bottle of SuperGlue.  We left the bottle there through the winter.  It froze, and leaked, and now our thermometer, 3 plastic knives, a plastic spoon and a couple of other things are forever glued to the bottom of that drawer!

This probably won’t get posted until the end of our stay here.  So there may very well be lots of posts all at once!

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That was on Sunday, August 1.  The next day our friends Juline and Cindy arrived.  Juline and I would both rise very early, and sit around chatting, drinking coffee, until the rest awoke.  This could often be 3 hours later.  It was fun for me.  I enjoyed those early morning talks.  We talked about nearly everything you could think of.  Her life growing up in North Dakota.  Mine in Nebraska.  Our families.  Mom’s last days.  Dad’s situation.  Her Mom & Dad.  I actually went through withdrawal after coming down off our mountain.

Because Omaha is located somewhere around 1000 feet above sea level, and our week-long home in Wyoming is at 8,500 feet above sea level, the disparity in altitude caused us some problems.  We tired out much easier.  We dehydrated MUCH faster.  My lips were dry and chapped the entire time, yet by the time we’d gotten half way home, they were almost back to normal… because it’s so dry up there.  It was hot.  But not in the hellish way it is here in Council Bluffs.  It could get up close to 90, yet, find shade and a little breeze and one could actually feel almost chilled!  There is less atmosphere to dissipate the effect of the sun’s rays.

We didn’t do a lot.  Sitting, talking, cooking, eating, cleaning up, sitting, talking, sleeping… pretty much the pattern of life.  A good life.  One I’d love to continue forever, were it not for knowing work and responsibility are good for one.  Not to mention necessary in order to make such a good life possible.

We had some excitement of course, good and bad…. Bad in a relative sense, though.

For instance, at the half way point of our week away, on Wednesday the first official day of Rendezvous, I noticed our battery was not charging.  I’d turn off the generator, and the battery charge would not have changed.  It drained, and drained, until the alarm on the propane detector sounded.  It’s hard wired to the electrical system of the trailer, and once dead it’ll sound off.  The only way to stop the incessant chirping is to either plug in to a better electrical source, run the generator, recharge the battery, or disconnect everything.  When the generator failed, Cindy, Juline and I dashed off with the battery for Laramie, WY. 

We took it to the Wal-Mart, and asked if it could take a charge.  They assured me it could and to come back in an hour.  An hour later we returned to the Automotive desk and were told that they actually didn’t have the proper charging equipment for a Marine/RV battery.  It was now 6:30 p.m.  They suggested we take it to a car dealership.  Like that was going to happen at 6:30!  So, I decided to buckle down and buy a new battery.  Could they help me pick out the right one?  No.  I got 5 blank stares.  No clue what we needed.  They suggested Advanced Auto Parts or Checkers, supplied us with directions, and we were off.  The sun was setting, and we needed to get back.  Scott was waiting dinner for us.

We ran in to Advanced Auto and plopped the huge, heavy battery on the counter and explained our needs to a young man with a monstrous wad of chewing tobacco stuck between his outer lip and his teeth, spilling out over his mouth.  “I know JUST what you need.”  He disappeared to the back of the store and returned a moment later with a battery only about 3/4 the size of ours.  “This is our best RV battery.”

Now, I’ll tell you, I don’t have a clue about batteries.  I didn’t know what I needed.  But I did know the numbers on his battery were much smaller than those on ours, and it  was itself so much smaller.  Cindy piped up “Why is it so much smaller.”  Staring dumbfoundedly into the distance, the young man rubbed his chin and thought… an interminably long time… “Well… it’s just the casing, that’s all.”  I see.  I think.  “No,” I said, “This isn’t going to work.”  I move to pick up my battery and move off.

“Wait!”, the young man exclaimed, and headed off again, returning with another battery.  “This is an even better battery.”  It’s still smaller, but the numbers are getting closer.  Better than the best… hmmmm.  “I don’t think so, but thank you for your help,” I say smiling and turn for the door.

“Well, I do have one other, better battery.”  He describes something with “gel packs” or some other; near as I can tell it has a built in bathroom, kitchen and large screen television.  But it sounds big and that must be good, so I ask “How much?”  “225 dollars,” he responds.  We left.

Next stop is Checkers.  Only, there’s no Checkers where they described it should be.  But there IS an O’Reilly Auto Parts there.  So, I heave the old battery out of the truck, and step inside.  Another young man is behind the counter.  “Can I help you?” he asks.  Now, before proceeding I think it only fair to state that I DID leave Advanced Auto Parts a little more educated on batteries.  I think I know what I need, now.  So, I explain our story and make a bee-line for the battery display.  The young man swooped down on us, and helps me find a battery.  It’s about the same price as I paid for my old battery.  It’s the same dimensions as my old battery.  The numbers aren’t the same, but they’re close.  Close enough.  I buy it.

Turns out THIS young man is from Kearney.  “I went to college there… back in the day when it was Kearney State College” I say.  “My mom went there too.  Probably about the same time you did.”  Cheeky punk.  But he was nice.  And he actually seemed to KNOW what he was talking about, when it came to batteries… and Kearney.  We paid, and HE carried BOTH batteries back to my truck.  I didn’t trade my old one in… or exchange it or whatever you do with batteries.  The thing is, it’s only 5 months old!  I’m taking it back to where I bought it to see about warranties.

And, we had no further problems on our trip with batteries… in fact the thing never fell below 100% charged on our battery meter!

But, all in all, it was a great trip!

And I’m glad to be home with my critters and my job.