Nebraska, Sioux Falls, Nebraska (again), Colorado Springs

I arrived the New Horizons RV factory in Junction City, KS a few days before they had expected me, but I was fortunate enough to get all the critical work completed on my rig on Friday, the 2nd of September - right before the Labor Day weekend.  With their permission, I stayed there Friday and Saturday nights, then departed on Sunday, heading ultimately to Sioux Falls, SD to renew my drivers license, which now must be done in person.   I figured this might be a relatively low-traffic day, as it was the middle of a 3-day weekend, and in fact, there was pleasantly little traffic on my drive from Junction City, KS to the little town of Schuyler, NE.  It's a small farming town, but it has a very nice town park, and when I arrived about noon, in the middle of this 3-day holiday, there was just one site left open, way in the back, but I enjoyed it immensely, surrounded by woodlands with a stream wandering through it.  I had planned to stay there two days, but decided that if I left early enough on Monday, I might still be able to avoid the worst of the holiday returning traffic.

So Monday morning, I hit the road about 7:30, and arrived Brandon, SD, just outside Sioux Falls about 11:30 to find people still pulling out of the park (Jellystone).  This was fine with me, as it gave me the choice of several nice spots.  I lazed around the remainder of the day and did some minor tasks, such as fueling the truck, and checking for the best route to the Sioux Falls DMV office.  The DMV office opened the next morning at 7 AM, and I was on their doorstep at the appointed hour, along with about 8 other anxious people.  I had to wait through the processing of the people who were in line in front of me, but I had my new license within 30 minutes.   I then walked all the way to my mail forwarding service's office, which (conveniently) is right next door!  Waited a few minutes until they completed opening for the day, then picked up the mail they were holding for me, wished all a very good day, and drove back to the campground.  There, I placed the mail in a secure spot in the trailer, packed everything up, pulled in the slide, hooked up and was out of there by 9AM!

I was heading for Colorado Springs, CO, but en route, I planned to enjoy more of Nebraska.  Several years ago, I had toured the Sand Hills along Nebraska State Highway 2 from Grand Island northwest to Alliance, and was very impressed by the beauty, the desolation, and the immense size of the Sand Hills.  So I headed right back to Schuyler and its town park for another night.  This time, there was just one other camper in the park, and the only noise was from a construction crew that quit for the night at 4 PM.

The next day, I drove toward Grand Island, where I was planning to turn onto Highway 2, but first I wanted to check out the George Clayton Hall County Park, which was written up quite favorably in the DaysEnd Directory that I find so useful.   So I made a brief 3-mile detour to visit it, and driving through, I was so struck by it that I stopped at the first vacant site I found to stay the night.  Pleasant scattered trees provided welcome shade, well watered grass was deep green, birds were singing, and a paved bike path went right past the park.

Of the various sites, all had concrete pads and paved back-in, some as long as 60 feet, so large rigs were no problem.  All sites had 30/50 Amp power, but water and dump were at separate locations away from the camping area.

While there, I got on my bike for the first time in 2 months, and really felt it!  But still, it was a very pleasant ride along a prairie stream on the outskirts of this nice town.

The next day, I drove westward to Broken Bow, NE, then detoured south on State Highway 21 toward Oconto, NE to check out a State Wildlife Management Area that had been noted in the DaysEnd Directory back in 1993, with no confirming report since then.  I came across the Pressey State WMA about 16 miles south of Broken Bow, and it was wonderfully bucolic!  And FREE!

Sheltered in a wooded Sand Hills valley, with a nice stream running through it, it has five 30 Amp hookups, plus ample boondocking space for up to 25 more rigs, either in the open or under shade.  Also there is a small picnic shelter with 4 picnic tables and a total of 8 electrical (110 volt) plugs for lights, hot plates, etc., plus water, toilets, a small playground, and one security light.  I spent one very pleasant night here, listening to the night music of the crickets, katydids and such.

The next day, I drove back north to Highway 2, then west to Thedford, where I turned north on US Highway 83, toward Valentine, NE.  Along this 60 mile stretch of highway are a few pull-offs, and I found one about 17 miles south of Valentine, in or near the Valentine NWR, that permitted pulling off onto a section of the 'old' Highway 83 that was about 1000 feet long, with access from both ends.  And the entire length is shaded by immense cottonwoods along both sides of the old highway, plus there is one picnic table, one dumpster, and about 150 feet of level shoulder where one can pull out of the way of other travelers who might drive through this 2-lane pull-off.  And there is no signage prohibiting overnight resting.  The views are of fields and marshlands.

Once I got to Valentine, I turned west on US Highway 20 to Merriman, where I turned back south to travel the 67 miles back to Hyannis and Highway 2.  This is not a particulary attractive route.

Back on Highway 2, I drove west to Alliance, then south and west to Gering, just south of Scottsbluff, NE.  Immediately outside Gering is the Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area, where I camped for the night.

There are 4 or 5 camping sites there for RV's (caution - there's a tight turn in here), and I was alone all night long, save for a couple times when a patrol car would cruise through.  This was another peaceful and quiet campsite.

The next morning, I was back on the road by 8:30, and arrived back at the Elks Lodge in Colorado Springs by 1PM.  Back at my Home Base once more.  And just a few days later, we had SNOW on Pikes Peak!

I had a few appointments to meet friends, doctors, truck mechanics and such, and all went very well until I took my trailer in to get some new tires.  The 'new tires' part went well, but while working on this task, the mechanics found:
       1) a broken grease cap on one wheel,
       2) a cracked tire (!) on the same wheel, and
       3) all tires had badly worn brake pads!
Well, the cracked wheel was replaced immediately, but it took three days to find a source of the correct grease cap and brake pads.  Ultimately, I had to call the New Horizons factory and order them via UPS Overnight.  Expense was really not a consideration.

What really disturbed me, however, was the fact that the wheel bearings were checked and lubed while at the factory just a couple weeks ago, and I have suspicions concerning how the grease cap came to break off - to me, it seems it must have been over-torqued when being re-attached.  And the worn brake pads should have been obvious to a casual glance once the tires were off for the same lube job.  I can overlook their missing the cracked wheel, as the wheels were still covered with a thick layer of dust from Canada at that point.

But, all is coming together now, and I should be able to depart Colorado Springs by the end of this week.