Day Five on the Road - Memory Triggers

Walmart, Liberal, Kansas

It was an early 5:15 when Gibbs woke Bill on Thursday, Oct. 26^th to go out. It was wet with some early rain but not a downpour. Bill wanted to get on the road early just to beat some Columbia traffic so just stayed downstairs in his recliner to catch a few more minutes of rest. 😊 I don’t know when he came to bed last night but by 9:30, I was done and went up to bed and to sleep, which came quickly.

the start of our day - top picture
by noon - bottom picture

by mid-afternoon,
we were looking goooood!

We were washed, fed, watered and drained (as Bill says) by 7 and packed up and pulling out at 7:15. Gibbs ate his breakfast like there was no tomorrow after a big supper last night so that’s good. He’s not too upset! Yesterday, he was good but did a lot of sitting and panting throughout the day. It was hot but I also wondered if his little coat (thunder jacket or otherwise) really does help to calm him. So, I put it on him this morning.

Black Beauty turned over to
111111.1 today but we missed it by 2 miles
Still a bit of colour on our trip

It is 7:25 and he is curled up in his bed already. We’ll see how the day goes. ♥ It is looking like rain all along our route today and looking back, it seems everyone else may be getting the same. We had planned a shorter day, quite a bit shorter but only because we don’t have a sticker on our map for an overnight stay in Kansas yet. If the rain stops, we’ll go as far as possible – another long one?

Cute water towers
One puts me in mind of my friend, Rufus. 👀

We made a rest area stop around 9:30 where luckily the rain had stopped long enough for us to walk in to the washrooms without getting wet. 😊 Sometime around 10, we crossed into the state of Kansas. We were too busy watching the roads through the rain, catching the I-435 bypass around Kansas City, MO that we missed the sign. Oh well, we are in Kansas.

A beautiful Presbyterian church
Must be a Mrs. Oil Rig (it's so pretty!)

It was pretty easy driving (except for the rain) and we passed a serious accident on the northbound I-435 lanes. They were backed up for miles and of course, all traffic on our side had to bunk up to rubber-neck. LOL Once back on I-35S/W the rain finally moved off to the north and east making it nicer for Bill. We stopped for fuel at a Shell and it was $4.59 which was cheaper than any we’d seen today so far.

Memory of the Ridge with the turbines
Memory of Daddy with the sunflowers and a tune I heard on the radio today.

We didn’t realize that I-35S became a toll road but Bill’s newly updated GPS veered us off onto US-50. That’s what we asked it to do so although it confused us for a while, we trusted her. 😊 (Ps-the GPS is a female, Jim, I know you’re paying attention!) This route is quite elevated so our mileage, which is usually around 9 or 10 mpg average, is more like 8.5. Oh well, it is a different journey and we’re enjoying it.

Trains for Dad.
He'd have liked the middle pix
An engine in the middle of a long line
of cars, puffing its heart out.

One more stop for fuel, Black Beauty is thirsty and we’re pushing her farther each day than original plans. What a gorgeous day! It is 85F/29C, all clouds have disappeared by 2:30 and Bill is driving with his window down. The fresh air feels great. We’ll drop to 38F/4C so you can see how quickly things change. We might need our Blue Flame heater on tonight after not needing it since Monday.

Someone is knackered

We arrived at our destination for the night at 5:30 and even though a long drive, we are all feeling good about forging on. It was an easier day than we first thought it would be with the rain. ♥ We have the absolute perfect spot in their large lot. 😊

Coming out of the store, see how far
back we are? (top photo)
Getting closer, just two rigs so far.

We backed into the only separate cement pad
and made ourselves 'kind of' at home.
After supper, another rig joined us. It's why Bill parked
the way he did. He likes to share. 😂

I went inside for bread so we could have grilled cheese for supper and apples for a snack on the road. Well, there were bananas and peanuts in the bag as well. Our supper was quick and Bill cleaned up the dishes while I took Gibbs out. I made our sandwiches for tomorrow, mentally planning what else to put in the cooler bag. It will be another early night for this ole gal! Bill’s blog has the route we took and total day’s trip.

A change of pace for supper. I need to start
slowing down on the bread though! LOL
Good night!

(PS - Don from Oklahama. Bill has responded to you on your comment on his blog. If you can meet us there, it would be nice to meet you!)

Thank you for stopping in!