Keegan's Windy Wild West

Here we are ready to begin our big adventure.  Everyone was up by 5 (even Keegan).  However, we did not want to leave until 7:30 so we took our time packing up what little bit was left.  Our neighbor, Donna, was good enough to come over and snap this picture of the happy trio before we pulled out of the driveway at 7:30.  First stop was Iowa 80 a world-famous truck stop at Walcott, Iowa.  We filled up with gas at $4.23 a gallon which seemed like a bargain because gas is selling for $4.69 a gallon in Illinois.  Across the street from this truck stop, gas was $4.19 a gallon.  It cost $148 to fill up.  Last year the same amount was $115.  We think we will have to pay about $30 more per fill-up.

We stopped at 11:15 and spent about two hours eating and exploring the truck stop.  Back on the road and we discovered a strong south wind blowing against the side of the motorhome.  Yikes!  Carol's left shoulder really got a workout trying to keep the motorhome on the road.  The wind caused the cover on the driver's side slide to bang against the camper.  At first we did not know what the banging was so we pulled into a rest area to see if something on the top of the camper was loose.  Seeing nothing, we pulled back on the road and the banging continued.  Again, we pulled off and then noticed that the awning on the slide was loose.  We remembered that we had this problem another time so we kept on driving finally making it to the KOA on the west side of Des Moines around 4:30.  It is a nice KOA with only a few other campers.  According to weather forecast, this wind will lessen later this evening.  We could get some strong thunderstorms later tonight.

 
Keegan is a good helper.  Here they are hooking up the water to the motorhome.

 Keegan enjoyed swimming, playing basketball, and jumping on the jumping pillow.  He had been shut up in the motorhome all day so it was good for him to stretch his muscles.  

It has taken a long time getting my pictures downloaded.  I always seem to forget the necessary steps to downloading pictures after a few months.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be easier.  Tomorrow we should be camped outside Mitchell, South Dakota.  I think it will also be cooler.