Dateline: 30 June 2025
Keenesburg, Colorado
Well, our 6 weeks of time here are nearly all gone! We got to see needed doctors, even more needed friends, saw a movie (F1: 99/100 tomatoes), made repairs—see accompanying video on the blog!—and a host of other fun stuff.
One of those much-needed modifications was this…(Pardon the misspelled word in the title!)
Making more sense of the space….
Thanks to the generosity of our next-door-neighbor, who had an RV pad set up, we didn't have to barge in on our renters. That said, they are a nice couple, with a couple of kids and dogs, who were more than happy to let us stay there. Next Summer, we likely will.
We will still visit, every June(ish) for the same routine, and during Xmas (the ONLY time I wanna see winter, on purpose!)
July 11
We arrived in Omaha—Papillion, to be exact—to stay a few days, visit Renee’s sister and BiL, and to tale in some sights..
One was the Joslyn, a truly amazing art museum, right in downtown Omaha. It was nice to be reminded of when gazillionaires felt a duty to invest in things like this museum…invest they did! Part of that commitment is, it's always free to visit The Joslyn.
A beautiful 2-year restoration and new addition made it even better.
Museums are magical places: they are history books, they are time machines, they are castles, full of stories and mysteries ands wonders. I am always moved, I always exit a bit smarter, a bit less parochial for the time invested.
Tips, tricks, and mysteries!
At the nearly 7-month mark, these are just a few of the mysteries: some of these were hard-earned, but most were common sense, or at least what passes for it.
In no particular order..
- NEVER leave your RV with the awning deployed: in all but the lightest of winds, it becomes a large sail, not terribly-well fastened to the fragile side panels. Lack of adherence to this simple rule can result in a VERY bad experience.
- When packing up, two sets of eyeballs is always better! Ofttimes, I’ve missed one of the myriad steps to which an RVer *must* adhere. ALWAYS walk around your rig two more times after you think you’ve gotten all the steps complete, and your partner is an invaluable resource to help.
- as far as possible, ALWAYS poop in someone else’s toilet. The reasons are likely obvious…😄
- When at a source of water and a dump station, ALWAYS do a massive rinse of the tanks. One might think this step is only for the black tanks, but…you’d be wrong. Gray tanks, left long enough, become, if not black tanks, stinky dark gray tanks.
- It’s really best to not drive more than four, maybe five hours, tops. In our case, we are piloting a 63-foot long, 30,000 pound rig, and it ain't just a leisure drive: it takes full and constant attention to mirrors, gauges, and other activities of towing.
Passing other vehicles takes special consideration, and there is, quite literally, no room for error. Not to mention, part of why we’re RVing isn't to increase the speed at which we go places: it’s to savor the joy in going slowly, taking time to stop and take photos, to visit those roadside historical markers, to stretch our legs and see this wondrous country, so full of grandeur. Driving ‘blue highways” is also part of the adventure: in a future essay, I’ll address this one in depth.
- Be open to ever-changing weather, and unexpected changes in scheduling.
If you plan ahead—and you must do so—be prepared to make last-minute additions or subtractions to your list.
For example, early on, we wanted to say an extra day at a destination, which was all well and good, BUT, we forgot we had reservations at a RV park down the road, and we couldn't get a refund on our monies. All lost! Which leads me to...
- Do keep a spreadsheet, just for this purpose. It makes it easy to scan your travels days, and spot those places, in your future, where you've made reservations, and, if you extend your stay at any given place, it gives you the room to do so, without having drama.
- HAVE FUN!
A poem by Joe Henry sums it all up, for us..
Eagle Feathers
Bound in Wax
Wont bring us to the Sun.
The dream’s the thing, our Holy Wings
Our journey
Just begun.