FINALLY, some notes from the road

And so, last Tuesday, May 2nd, at the crack of dawn, Lenny and I finally began our extended road trip to Western Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina and several points North. But before I get way too ahead of myself, I should explain the reasons for our delayed departure from Sheridan.

Newbie mistake NUMBER ONE. Never leave a lithium battery attached to your camper all winter long, especially during a bitter cold Wyoming winter season. Dumb mistake and so, when I went to do the post winter equipment check.......the battery was kaput. Of course, none of the local auto parts stores, nor the RV service centers stock Lithium batteries, therefore, Amazon to the rescue. However, that was the beginning of delay number one and a very costly mistake I might add.

Newbie mistake NUMBER TWO. When flushing out the anti-freeze from the water system and before turning on the water pump, open all faucets to prevent excessive pressure buildup. Another costly mistake and so the faucet in the bathroom had to be replaced. Could have been much worse, I suppose. The good news is the folks at Dalton's RV center jumped right on it and completed the repairs first thing the day before we blasted off.

Lessons learned from previous camper excursions.......reduce the amount of STUFF you take and scale things down. Finally managed to accomplish this after several trail and errors. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks, just takes a few times.

A very old, dear friend of mine from high school has made several comments to me over the years, that many of my photos appear like movie sets. So on this trip, I thought I would supply her with several REAL movie sets. Hell's Half Acre was the location for the movie "Starship Troopers" and is located just outside of Casper. Of course, this is not on Mary's top list of memorable movies, however, the location is unique and worth a look if you are ever in this area of Wyoming. The movie, well, NOT SO MUCH.

My curiosity got the best of me with this second stop in Western Wyoming. Back in 2007, a couple from La Barge made the monumental decision to rescue, relocate, and refurbish an iconic eatery from downtown NYC to the small town of La Barge. The Moondance diner has been featured in several television shows and movies over the years. The back story to this remarkable transformation is nothing less than remarkable.

Unfortunately, the dream and the diner have fallen on hard times once again and it currently sits idle and in disrepair. The building up for sale but to date, no takers.

Would have made a great success story and a made for TV movie.

After spending the night in a beautiful campground, just South of La Barge, I continued my journey heading towards Nevada. However, I passed through the town of Kemmerer and remembered that this is the location where JC Penney got it's start. The "MOTHER STORE". Founded in 1902, there are still some 600 stores in operation throughout the USA. But there's only ONE MOTHER STORE.

Next stop........you guessed it.........Lenny and I are headed for the mysterious and forbidden Area 51. Next chapter soon.