Travel Day - South Dakota to Buffalo, Wyoming

Wednesday evening (Independence Day) we sat outside at the Camp America RV Park. We stayed there Tuesday and Wednesday nights. We watched the sun go down and stayed out until the little black bugs drove us inside. 

We heard a few fireworks in the distance but could not see them or determine where they were coming from. It was a nice peaceful evening.

Thursday was a longish day for us to travel. Especially since we do not have to be in a hurry. Hurrying is a hard habit for us to break. We left Salem, South Dakota and ended up in Buffalo, Wyoming. We are parked at Indian RV Park. We have never stayed here before but we had plans to stay one time and had to cancel... More about that later.

South Dakota is a beautiful state and unlike a lot of states they still have plenty of rest areas!

 

Well, most parts of it are beautiful...
This part below was a little ugly...

We knew there was a suitable RV park available in Buffalo but we had really considered stopping in the Rapid City/Keystone/Mt. Rushmore/Crazy Horse/Custer State Park area. It is a great area that we love to visit and we haven't spent any time there since fall of 2007. 


On that trip we had my parents with us and we spent two days roaming around. That was a trip of a lifetime. I can not find any pictures on the website from Keystone area but HERE is a link to a few pictures of the same trip while we were in Montana.

Most of the parks in that area that had available sites this week that are big enough for us were close to I-90 but far from the places we love so we just kept driving.

As I said, South Dakota is a beautiful state. Kelly Jo and I love to watch the dramatic change in scenery as we travel. In South Dakota there is a dramatic change in geography at the Missouri River. On the east side for 100 miles or more it is beautiful farm land as far as you can see.

Then I-90 approaches the river.

And immediately on the west side of the river the farm land is gone and its filled with bluffs, hills, canyons and valleys. It reminds me of Kentucky without any trees. I could not capture it well on my phone but here is my best shot.

It is amazing to see. Then after a while it changes back to farm land again.

On the west end of South Dakota we ran smack into storms..

We had just passed the last RV park that we knew had a space for us and the rain and high winds started in earnest.

We hit cell after cell  for nearly 200 miles and it was downright scary at times. The wind was whipping from every direction it seemed and it even hailed briefly. It immediately reminded us of the last time we drove through Montana. 

Yes, the last time we drove through Montana we had reservations at Indian RV Park in Buffalo, Wyoming. We were headed north that day on I-25 when we drove through a storm that we thought would pass behind us.

Although we did not see it, that storm had a tornado on the ground in our area. As we were trying to find a place to pull off the wind ripped an awning loose on the driver's side of the BoggsMobile. You can read the whole story HERE.

Needless to say we canceled our reservation at Indian RV Park that day in 2010. There were a few moments Thursday when we were not sure if we were going to make it here. But we made it safely through the storm and we are thankful to God for it. 

We may have to think about where to stay the next time we drive through Montana in the BoggsMobile.

On the plus side, the BoggsMobile and trailer are almost spotless. I just need to clean the tires and wheels and we will be set.

Hope you have a great day...

Davy

Travel Day and Shaving the Roof!

Check out yesterday's Post... And don't miss the pictures at the end of this post..

I had quite a bit to do Monday in order to be ready to leave. Plus it was forecast to be over 100 degrees and I do not like to travel in the day time when it is much over 90. The heat effects so many things including tires, engine temps and me! So we waited until Monday evening to leave Miami, Oklahoma.

I was hoping to drive to between Kansans City and Omaha and pull into a truck stop, rest area or Walmart and sleep a few hours. That would have been about 350 miles. The short night on Sunday and the hard day on Monday combined to make me give in at about 220 miles. We started looking for a place to stop. The previous rest areas were nearly empty so we did not think finding a resting place would be difficult. 

The next rest area was closed. The next rest area was closed. The next rest area was closed. The next rest area was full. The next exit with truck stops was full. The one Walmart we found was too far off the interstate on too many secondary for me to pull off and investigate a "maybe" chance to park. 

So we kept rolling until we found a rest area some where near Missouri Valley, Iowa. I had driven 150 miles since I decided to stop. My back, shoulders and legs were cramping like crazy. In fact, I was so tired I knew I could not relax enough to go to sleep. Isn't that crazy? I laid down on the couch for a while until my muscles settled down and then slipped into bed a few hours.

Monday


I was aiming for I-90 in South Dakota on Tuesday. It was supposed to be very hot there in the afternoon so we got up early and beat the heat to Salem, South Dakota. It was about 89 when we arrived but it did hit nearly 100 which must be pretty unusual to hear these folks talk.

We only drove 191 miles so it was not a bad day at all. We did not stop at all until we arrived at an RV park about 1 mile off the road. It is difficult to find a park that is big enough for me to pull the bus and trailer in but I had scoped this one out ahead of time. It came highly recommended as "Big Rig Friendly" but it was still very tight pulling into. Kelly Jo did a great job as usual. Pulling out looks a whole lot better.

Tuesday

After the BoggsMobile was set up, I cleaned up and went to bed for the afternoon. They had some electrical problems in the RV park and that was a hassle but it was a good day. I am always thankful for a day of travel with no major difficulties. Praise God for His help.

It is a good thing that I took Kelly Jo to Lambert's Cafe on Sunday to celebrate her birthday because there is NOthing in Salem, South Dakota. I think she ate peanut butter and jelly on her birthday. Shame on me...

I promised yesterday that I would post pictures of a near miss on the blog today. When we left Miami on Monday evening we headed north on 69 Hwy toward Quapaw, Oklahoma and then up through Pittsburg, Kansas toward Kansas City. We have been up this road numerous times with our truck and fifth wheels and in the BoggsMobile.

The Hitchhiker fifth wheel was short. The Kountry Star fifth wheel was 13'1". The BoggsMobile is less than 12'6" so I never even thought about the railroad trestle on 69 Hwy that is posted at 13"8 until I had no where to go but under it or back up a LONG way on a busy two lane highway.

The trailer appears to be close to a foot taller than the bus. I do not know its exact height but I know it is dangerously close to 13'8"!!!

We stopped in the road and I put Kelly Jo in the drivers seat while I climbed to the top of the hill and talked her through on the phone. It was way too close for comfort but we did make it. We made by the skin of our teeth or the plastic fibers on that brand new AC cover!

Now you know why my muscles were so tense when I stopped about 7 hours later. Thank God we cleared it.

The funny part is that with all the traffic stopped behind me and the thought of ripping the roof off or having to back up against traffic I was pretty pumped up. With all that adrenaline I climbed right to the top of that hill with no problem. Once the bus and trailer were clear I started down and it was almost STRAIGHT down. 

I thought for a moment that I was stuck like a cat up a tree. I could not stand the thought of the fire department coming to rescue me. I pity the guy that had to carry me down the ladder! lol  Obviously I made it down...

So tune in next time friends and neighbors for more adventures....

God bless,

Davy

July 4th, Weekend Update - Lambert's and Allen Church

We hope you have a great July 4th today. We plan to stay put in this RV park near Salem, South Dakota and give the holiday revelers time to clear out. Most everything within 300-500 miles west of here is filled up  until after the 4th so we would be hard pressed to find a place to park if we moved on today. We are truly in the middle of nowhere so I doubt we will be watching any fireworks. That is OK since we are normally in camp meeting or revival some where and miss the big fireworks shows on a regular basis.

We did have a great 4th back in 2010 in Montana and it made for an interesting blog post. It was 42 in the morning and in the 60s while watching fireworks. You can read about it HERE. It was a super day.

There is news about our weekend below but in honor of the 4th you might want to hear this. Simply awesome singing by some of our favorite folks. Hat tip to Odie for the link.



This last Sunday morning we stayed over at Miami for Sunday School and morning worship. Pastor Mike Stephens preached great and we enjoyed the service and fellowship very much.

We did not stay for lunch because we had a goal in mind. We had to drive within about 15 minutes of Lambert's in Ozark so we wanted to eat lunch there for Kelly Jo's birthday since we new we would be traveling on the 3rd. We made it to Lambert's and had a great meal. Here are some pictures to prove it...

You see the pure joy on Odie's face at the thought of all that good food? That girl has learned from her Daddy well.

I have ordered just about everything on the menu at Lambert's through the years and though it is all good, I had never found the one thing that just kept pulling me in but I think I have found it now. Twice I have ordered the hamburger steak with onions, mushrooms and gravy on top and american cheese inside. Wow! It is delicious....

Odie and Kelly Jo had the Summer Special of smoked pork loin and smoked beef tri-tip. I know the tri-tip was good....

After a great meal we made our way down west of Branson to Allen Pentecostal Church. Long time readers of our  website know that we have been going to Allen Church for a long time. We have been having great services, revivals and wonderful fellowship with these folks dating way back to our Wichita days.

The church is in a beautiful country setting and we have always enjoyed parking there and preaching to these fine folks. It was so good to be back for one service on Sunday night. We had a great time and God moved in a really good prayer line. We are expecting to hear some testimonies from that meeting.

I wish we could have stayed and went out to eat with a bunch of them that were going. We always enjoy the great fellowship but we had a long way to drive to Miami. I was wore out when we arrived back at the BoggsMobile and had a big day in front of us on Monday.

In tomorrow's post I will try to give you the details of our last two travel days and share pictures of a near miss as well. Tune in next time...lol

Davy

Pictures from Allen Church

Happy Birthday, Kelly Jo!

Four days after I married that beautiful 16 year old girl she turned 17. So four days after every anniversary it is time for a birthday. That's almost too easy isn't it?

I love you, Kelly Jo. I want you to have a great birthday.

We left Miami, Oklahoma at 6:45 Monday evening and traveled late. It is time for bed. We are at a rest area some where in Iowa on I-29.

Davy

And The Winner Is....

Wow! You all can sure comment when you take a notion too! Thanks for all of the comments on Saturday. That was a lot of fun. The name of every person that left a comment Saturday was put into a container. If you commented 5 times then your name was in there 5 times. At 1:00 this morning Odie drew out a name. We captured it on camera...

This is Odie's best Rory imitation. If you have ever been to a Gaither concert then you know what I mean. Odie is hilarious!

I told you that you could trust Odie. She closes her eyes and for added protection she turns her face...

She carefully draws a name at random...

And opens it up...

And the Winner is......

Michael Jordan? I didn't know that Michael Jordan left a comment on Boggsblogs...

Oh! Not Michael Jordan?

OK, OK,  it is Michael Johnson!

The Winner is Pastor Michael Johnson from Goshen, Indiana!

Congratulations Bro. Johnson!

I will contact you to see if you want a copy of our live CD, Havin' Church in California. If you already have that CD and do NOT want another one under ANY circumstances then we will send you a different CD or a gift card for $15.

Thanks to every one that participated. We will have to try that again some time.

Sunday was a great day. We will try to post more details later.

God bless,

Davy

Here are some pictures we have on file of Pastor Michael Johnson from 2009.

The first he is wearing my suit coat...

The second he is making a face...

The third he is posing with his wife..