Found a gem, and had an embarrassing moment

When I battled the winds, and came off of the highway on Saturday, little did I know that Sunday would be even worse.  I wasn’t about to attempt to drive the rig anywhere.  Holy buckets!  I’m surprised that Emma has any hair left on her, and that I wasn’t stripped of any apparel as I took her out for her walks.  Needless to say, we stayed another day within spitting distance of I-29.

It was 28* when I got up this morning, but the winds had pretty much calmed.  Time to head out!  I had chosen a destination a little over 200 miles south in Nebraska City, NE.  I-29 hugs the western border of Iowa, and ten miles before the Missouri state line, I snuck four miles west into Nebraska.

I found Victorian Acres on the RV Park Reviews site, and decided to give it a try.  It had nice ratings, but you never know about those.  What a gem it turned out to be.  I paid $31.45 for a full hookup site with 50 amps, but it’s 100 times better than the KOA that I stayed at in Sioux City for $47 in the spring on the way up to Tamarac. 

I have a large pull-through site, the owners are super friendly, and I was led to my site.  I always appreciate that.  After getting set up, the owner returned to chat a bit about my rig and the Ford Focus toad.  During the conversation, he noticed that I had a rear engine and a heat pump (part of the residential central heating and air conditioning unit).  He then politely suggested I might want to clean the fins on the heat pump thingy.  Eek!  How embarrassing.  I had noticed that the heat pump was switching over to propane lately before I thought it was cold enough out to warrant that.  I just never made the connection.  I do try to keep the fins clean, but my only excuse is that I’ve been so upset about the fridge crap, that it has slipped my mind.

You can bet that I was out there shortly afterwards to get that little square black area under the back slide cleaned out with my handy whiskbroom.  Amongst the pine needles, pollen, and dust, I also dislodged about three dozen of those nasty Asian beetles.    Shame on me for waiting so long to do this.  I was thrilled to notice that within minutes, the heating switched back to the heat pump rather than the propane furnace. 

Emma and I went on a leisurely walk around the campground this afternoon, and really enjoyed all of the fall decorations and plantings throughout the park.  This is really a pleasant place to stay, and I’ll be sure to stop here again on my way north next spring.

After our walk, I checked the weather for tomorrow, and it looks like another ‘Alberta Clipper’ is due to hit overnight.  That means the forecast calls for winds in the 20-30 mph range again tomorrow.  Nuts!  That gave me the incentive to investigate what I might like to see in the area while I once again wait for the winds to abate.  It turns out that the Missouri River Basin Lewis and Clark Interpretive Trail and Visitor Center run by the National Park Service is near by.  Seems like I should take advantage of a visit there. 

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m retired.  If I want to stay another day to visit things in the area, I’m going to do it.  I had already told the folks at Bayou Cocodrie NWR in Louisiana that it would probably take me two weeks to get there.  I’m old, and travel slowly. 

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy