2020 Trip To South Dakota

[JEBar]

apparently the weather gods didn't get the message this morning .... shortly after daylight an unexpected thunder storm rolled in and the updated forecast said it would depart our area and be replaced by mostly sunny sky by 9AM .... well, its almost 11AM, the sky is still dark, over us and to the west thunder is still rumbling, and rain is still coming down .... it had gotten pretty dry and more rain has fallen this morning than at any other time since we arrived here in June .... with a beautiful corn crop filling the ears, this morning's rain is a major blessing

[JEBar]

its hard to believe that only 9 days from now we are scheduled to head back home .... with recharging one of our water softeners and getting it ready for storage, our slow process of breaking camp has begun .... plans for tomorrow include trap shooting and a family goodby gathering with some of my wife's family

[markiver54]

Are you not going to KC ?

[JEBar]

Are you not going to KC ?

absolutely .... our plan is to head south on Monday after next (the 17th) and get to KC on the 18th .... we should be there shooting on the 19th & 20th before heading St Louis on the 21st for a shooting on the 22nd

[markiver54]

OK...when you said head back home, I figured that included a stop in KC. Just wanted to know if it was still part of your route. ...enjoy!!!

[JEBar]

COVID and some other things have understandably reduced our number for the gathering .... Evan and I still plan to meet, shoot and enjoy some fine KC BBQ

[RanchRoper]

Have a cold one for me, and BBQ sounds good.

[markiver54]

COVID and some other things have understandably reduced our number for the gathering .... Evan and I still plan to meet, shoot and enjoy some fine KC BBQ

Regret that I can't join you guys...

[JEBar]

it would be great to have a bunch of folks .... as can be seen in Evan's thread, he's just developed some complications from his hip replacement .... for him to turn things around is our first priority

[markiver54]

it would be great to have a bunch of folks .... as can be seen in Evan's thread, he's just developed some complications from his hip replacement .... for him to turn things around is our first priority

Please keep us informed...Evans' health is paramount!

[JEBar]

this morning we found out that the 40 lb propane tank we've operated on since our last couple of weeks in Texas in March is empty .... as best we can remember that tank lasted much longer than usual .... I'm certain the reason for the longevity is we no longer use propane for our grill .... we've switched to our second 40 pounder and have no plan to fill the empty tank until after we get back home

[markiver54]

this morning we found out that the 40 lb propane tank we've operated on since our last couple of weeks in Texas in March is empty .... as best we can remember that tank lasted much longer than usual .... I'm certain the reason for the longevity is we no longer use propane for our grill .... we've switched to our second 40 pounder and have no plan to fill the empty tank until after we get back home

That's great gas mileage !

[JEBar]

I've said it before and will no doubt say it again but I never cease to be amazed at how quickly time passes while we are on the road .... 5 days from right now we should be ready to pull out and head back home .... while things are moving along pretty well here, as seems to always be the case, we are once again having to deal with a problem that just developed back home .... this time the house AC isn't working .... with the temps back home, the thermometer in house shows it was 92 degrees in there yesterday afternoon .... we no longer get as concerned about such things as we used to .... thankfully one of our kids is able to meet a repair person about noon today .... hopefully the issue will turn out to be a minor one

[markiver54]

Hope everything works out and you arrive at a nice COOL home!
Safe travels!

[JEBar]

our campground in Estelline has been booked solid for over a month .... yesterday two sites came one and another one earlier today .... some of Maureen's relatives have booked one of the sites and will be setting up in a little while .... its going to really be nice to camp with them during our last weekend here .... checking off items on our pre-trip checklist has begun ===>

one water softener tank, recharged, cleaned and stored

flag taken down and disconnected from the flagpole .... flagpole stored .... flag brought into the camper for cleaning and mending

space made to haul new Pathway antenna and pellet buckets in the truck for the return tip

dusk to dawn light control unplugged and stored along with its power cord


our goal is to have the vast majority of our non last-minute things taken care of between now and noon Sunday

[Team Roper]

our campground in Estelline has been booked solid for over a month .... yesterday two sites came one and another one earlier today .... some of Maureen's relatives have booked one of the sites and will be setting up in a little while .... its going to really be nice to camp with them during our last weekend here .... checking off items on our pre-trip checklist has begun ===>

one water softener tank, recharged, cleaned and stored

flag taken down and disconnected from the flagpole .... flagpole stored .... flag brought into the camper for cleaning and mending

space made to haul new Pathway antenna and pellet buckets in the truck for the return tip

dusk to dawn light control unplugged and stored along with its power cord


our goal is to have the vast majority of our non last-minute things taken care of between now and noon Sunday

That sounds like a lot of work. I thought you were on vacation. You had me wore out just going over that list.
When we broke camp, the wife rolled up the sleeping bags and I tore down the tent, done. Oh and we burned the dishes.
No seriously. Sounds like you guys are having a great time to remember but please have a safe trip back home.

[JEBar]

we've setup and taken down our camper so many times that we really don't think about it .... for us to leave on Monday, weather permitting, most of the work will done sometime on Sunday

[JEBar]

well, procrastination is no longer possible .... with us less than 48 hours from breaking camp and beginning our drive back home, I have to get serious about the process ... following a 10:30 breakfast gathering of Maureen's family, much of the morning will (no doubt) be spent visiting .... items to be dealt with this afternoon consist of ====>

cleaning, disassembling, storing my fishing gear

taking down, cleaning, and packing our outside cooking gear and cooking table

greasing our hitch and pin

cleaning the water filtration box and filter housings that have been sitting outside, exposed to the elements, since our arrival

cleaning inside of our 180 qt Yeti cooler

[JEBar]

as is our norm, the plans we make seldom go as planned .... as noted above,

greasing our hitch and pin

cleaning the water filtration box and filter housings that have been sitting outside, exposed to the elements, since our arrival

were on our list for today but they will now have to wait tomorrow ....

in their place we took down and stored our deck for travel and secured our 5' step stool to the camper's ladder .... in addition to the above, tomorrow

we need to clean our camper's black tank

clean our Pathway antenna

recharge our second water softener, clean its exterior, and store it for travel

activate our tire pressure monitoring system and check the pressure in all 10 tires

if we complete these things, Monday morning will be left to take care of last minute items

[markiver54]

I have to admire your perseverance Jim. I know it's all worth it!