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21 August…have been wary carrying gas in the back of the van for the generator…I’m now using one of my 2 gallon Rotopax units mounted to the rear ladder…really nice bracket and locking Rotopax mount…simple and elegant…like me 🙂

I do have propane in the van for the cooktop but it’s in a heavy steel cylinder…I may change to an induction cooktop later.

26 August….second night on the road tonight…spent last night at a Cracker Barrel in Dothan AL…tonight it’s a Walmart in Greenwood MS…it’s hot…stopped around 3 and I expect the generator will run about 6 hours before I shut her off…very light traffic so far…mostly back roads and State Highways…Interstate to get out of FL…first planned destination is Rocky’s place in OK…always good to see the way above average family 🙂

Guess I was blessed last night 🙂

29 August 0430…the last 4 days on the road has been hot, hot, hot…yesterday I decided to bite the bullet and grab a spot at a nice RV park in Enid OK…plugged in and all is good…the AC is humming along quite well…my body temperature is dropping and the little Honda EU2200i is happy to take a break…will be a Rocky’s place today…hope to change the oil in the Honda…Walmart for a quart of oil and a few bars of Zest soap…it rinses clean and leaves no pretty scented residue on my smooth, baby like skin :).

$30 a night here at the High Point RV Park (N36.4242 W97.8924)…very good…had nice shower and my spot is nice and shady.

Will probably leave Rocky’s casa Monday morning…plan is to head north through Kansas and Nebraska into South Dakota…Looking forward to boondocking at a nice place overlooking the Badlands National Park near Wall SD for a few days…temps there are forecast to be in the mid 50’s at night and the upper 70’s during the day…nice…I love the Badlands area…so beautiful.

This is not my photo but shows where I’ll be camped overlooking the BNP.

A few photos along the way…

31 August…0800 mountain time…another beautiful night at a Walmart…no, really…I’m not kidding…yesterday was a 590 mile day from Enid OK to Salida CO…was gonna stop earlier but the temps on the eastern slope of CO were out of control…100 degrees coming through Pueblo…the engine water temp got up to 225 degrees (still ok) and oil temp hit 250 degrees at one point for a minute or so as I was coming through town…cooled back down when I headed out of town.

The drive along Hwy 50 to Salida is beautiful…didn’t take any still photos but did shoot nice bit of video along the way…I’ll try to up load a short vid on my Youtube channel soon…I’m shooting hand held with my Go Pro Hero 9 as I go along…lots of fun…the van is averaging right at 19 mpg overall for the trip…all good…highest price for diesel so far has been $3.59 per gallon…lowest was in OK at $2.89 a gallon.

Gonna head up to the Antero Reservoir to boondock for a few days…it’s off Hwy 285 north of Salida…found it on iOverlander…love that app…the camping area looks like level gravel with lots of views.

Trouble’s Traveling Cup is now in Colorado!

I love going through small towns…took a break in Ford OK on the way into Colorado.

Well I stopped by the Reservoir…pretty…pretty crowded and as soon as I stopped some kind of mosquitos or water bugs literally covered the van…guess they like the smell of sugar cause I’m so sweet :)…on I went…I hate bugs.

On I went…pulled off the road at a little overlook along Hwy 40…really nice…nobody here but me…perfect for a peanut butter samich and a banana.

Up and over Hoosier Pass at 11,500 feet

Headed in the general direction of Steamboat Springs…as I climbed towards the summit of Rabbit Ears Pass on CO Hwy 40 I saw a sign for the Meadows NF Campground…the road in looked nice…grabbed site #14…beautiful and level…will have plenty of sun for about two hours each day…plenty to top off the batteries with the 400 watts of solar.

N40.37380° W106.72450°

I like taking pictures of my van 🙂 BTW I named the van Petunia cause my niece likes that name…I call her Petunia too 🙂

1 September 1145…I’ve cried maybe 4 times in my whole life…this morning is the 5th…my mother’ sister, my Aunt Charlene, passed this morning at 1140.

A prayer from me is waiting for her in Heaven. It will wrap it’s arms around her, gently pull her close, and whisper in her ear that all is ok and she can now breath slowly and easy for the rest of eternity…I will see her again one day.

I’m 2500 miles away but am holding my mother close. I love her with all my heart.

I can’t say any more.

16:23…Sitting in the van during a good rainstorm is magical…I love it…I’m right at 10,000 feet in elevation, the pines surrounding me smell great…I knew the rains were coming and I timed my afternoon coffee perfectly…I have the window on the sliding door open…listening to the rain and having a cuppa makes my day a bit better.

This morning I moved from site 14 to site 8…8 is at the back of the campground way away from the camp host’s site…why…cause he ran his loud ass generator from 3 in the afternoon till after 8 last night…couldn’t sit outside after dinner in peace and quiet…tonight will be MUCH better.

I’ll probably extend my stay here at the Meadows Campground…I can stay up to 14 days if I like…plus… with my Senior Golden Age Pass it only cost my $5 a night…good cause I’m pretty cheap 🙂

Site 8…I took two good walks this morning and another after lunch…finally getting some much needed exercise…see my chair…that’s where I spent most of the afternoon…life is good.

2 September…love my spot here…I paid for another 3 nights so I’ll be pulling out Sunday morning headed up into Wyoming…don’t have a clue where I’ll be staying….need to be in Fort Benton Montana by the 16th.

The new solar setup is working perfect…I’ve been here for three overcast days…have not been trying to conserve power to see how the setup handles everything…in a nutshell…absolutely perfect…after three days the batts were only down to 81%…the sun has finally come out and the panels are pumping over 350 watts into the batteries…should be fully charged back up in about 30 minutes…so pleased.

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