Day 4

Friday was Mt. Rushmore and a drive on 85 through the Black Hills before reconnecting with I-90. Spending the night in Buffalo Wyoming tonight. We will make Yellowstone on Saturday and spend two days there.

Day 3

We drove through heavy storms in South Dakota on Thursday. Spent the night in the Badlands and toured them despite the storms. Saw lots of wildlife including sheep and antelope.

Day 2

We are in Chamberlain South Dakota on the Missouri River. The kids caught a couple white bass and one walleye from the pier. Have pics but having trouble posting them. I will get it figured out. They are on a separate device. Mt. Rushmore tomorrow. Thanks for reading...

Day 1

Put in a 12 hour day, including breaks. Staying the night in Des Moines Iowa. On to South Dakota tomorrow.

Eight Hours

Roughly 8 hours from lift off.  Today was hectic.  Felt like a squirrel in the fall, rushing around burying nuts (yeah that sounds bad) but seemingly getting nowhere.  The truck is loaded. The trailer is loaded.  Intend on grabbing a few hours of sleep and leaving before sunrise.  Thanks for reading.....

Two Days Out!

Most in law enforcement are familiar with the concept of "you have to get there safely in order to help someone" or some variation thereof.  In that vain, Saturday morning was spent on the truck.  I suspected the dealership was using some crappy oil and bought supplies to change it myself, which I hadn't done in years.  Luckily, a buddy learned of my plans and invited me to swing by and use his garage and his expertise.

To say Rick is equipped is akin to saying Mt. Everest is "sorta big."  Anyone who owns a lift that can crank up a 22' diesel truck, not to mention a race "car" (rocket ship?) that gets from zero to eighty in 1.1 seconds knows his stuff.  Anyway, judging by what came out of the crankcase, I was right about the dealership.  It wasn't oil.  More like water.  Rick was aghast.  Long story short, 12 quarts of some good stuff was put in the big Dodge (Rotella-T if your interested).  All the tires were removed, balanced, and checked for proper inflation.  The truck is purring like a kitten.  In fact, it seems to run better when I even drive by Rick's place.  Guess it has found its new mother-ship.  Can't thank my friend enough!!

Monday will be busy with last second preparation and then the big day! Thanks for reading.....

Five Days Away

Turns out, no matter how prepared one thinks he/she is to depart, you're not nor will you be!  The accumulation of "gear" has been on-going, such as torque wrenches, impact wrench, inverter generator, air compressor, extra fuel containers.....the list goes on.  But, everything we have acquired will be used for other applications and trips, which takes the sting out of it.

We have finally thrown in the towel somewhat and whatever else we need we will get along the way.

We have also checked out all the trailer systems and everything is working great so far!