Divermarv

This time, heading back home from the glorious out west 2026 extravaganza.

I have to tell you. I am kind of anxious to get home. Now that the Colorado/Wyoming adventure is closed, it’s just driving. And driving is… not that much fun. If I had someone to share witty banter with, it might be better. But for this trip it’s been listening to music and audiobook. The audiobook is Tiamat’s Wrath by James S. A. Cory. I have watched the Expanse series through several times, but this is my first time going through the books. I am really enjoying the differences between the show and the books. I like both, as they both have their strengths. In this book I did tear up a couple of times. Oh boy. Big plot twists and character things.

Maybe I’ll start doing reviews of media that move me. Good title for the series of posts. I’ll think about that.

For now though let’s talk about Leaving Wyoming.

Terry Bison Ranch, and the open road

First and foremost I need to say that my children are awesome and amazing human beings. And kind and loving. With my injury (see On Somersaults and Excitable Things), they decided to come up and help me strike camp. Meaning take Stella the big beefy lady down. With my sore ribs there’s no way I could have done that. At least not without lots of breaks and plenty of cussin’.

But they turned too, and got it done. It was great to watch them take care of it. They did a great job. Me, as the supervisor, well, I skipped a step and we had to improvise, but all good. My plan was to sleep in the popup the last night, so I could roll out early the next morning. Good plan. It worked.

Speaking of the next morning, I stopped right outside Cheyenne and gassed up, then had some tasty breakfast at Denny’s. So in a way I gassed up twice. (Yeah I wrote that.)

Nebraska Environs

Odd thing. I saw “NEBR” on several road signs. I would see “Nebraska” spelled out, and other instances of the NEBR. I asked a local, who shrugged and said, “Nebraska I guess.”

The stay in the Nebraska campground was not so pleasant. I was sore from the snare incident, and absolutely knackered from my adventures*. When I arrived at the campsite, around 6pm, it was still 91 degrees, and the sun was relentless. My campsite had my popup facing west. I tried my best to cool things down, but that was fruitless. Finally around 9pm (still 88 degrees) I climbed in the popup and had my battery-powered fan on 11. I was a filmy sweaty mess. And every movement tweaked my injured ribs. I somehow drifted off to sleep, but was restless. Until around 10:30 or so, when I heard thunder and the patter of big fat drops of rain pelting the popup. Didn’t take long to cool down. Sometime in the night I actually covered up a bit. All ended well. Except the next morning was muggy, clear, and hot by 6:30am. Oy!

*I have since figured out that I had to have been suffering from altitude issues. I was fatigued the whole time in the mountains. Even in the lower elevation of Fort Collins and Cheyenne.

I hit the road fairly early. I stopped at Taco John’s for breakfast. I’ve never been and really wanted to try it. The breakfast was quite good. Enjoyed it in the parking lot. (Engine running and AC set at 68. I’m no dummy.)

On the way out west, when nearing the Nebraska campground I saw a sign for the Missouri River Basin – Lewis & Clark Visitor Center. I made a mental note to check it out when heading east. Which I did. It was a great little overview of the Corps of Discovery Expedition. I enjoy thinking about what life was like in the past, and how rigorous that journey must have been. Here are some pictures of the place.

The trip to Missouri went well. Oh, previously I wrote that Nebraska was under construction. Well, Missouri is too. Horrible. And those big trucks speed through those tortuous construction zones.

But arriving at my campsite just outside St. Louis was spectacular. I was afraid my campsite was treeless, but nay I say, it treed and the shade was like a welcoming angel. By the time I arrived, I think I had recovered from the altitude issues and I had a ton of energy. I’m going to have to find some pointers for counteracting the altitude problems next time I go out. I do drink a lot of water, so more than that.

I think this will do it for this segment of the journey, there’s still Kentucky and Tennessee to go, so stay tuned.

Peace and love…
Marv