Travels With Miranda

This morning, I walked across the village to the ‘post office’, which is a lean-to attached to someone’s house. You walk into the lean-to and there are some PO boxes, clutter, and a door with a bell. The sign outside said the counter hours were about 8:30 to 1:15, so being within those hours, I rang the bell.

A gentleman quickly answered, opening the top of the door, and apologized, saying the post master had stepped out. I wanted to get a PO box, mail two letters, and advise the post master that I had an Amazon package sent general delivery. He handed me a notepad on which to write my name and ‘address’ (legal land description plus descriptive description). I added a note about the incoming package and handed back the notepad and my two letters. My business was essentially done. I’ll try back Monday and see if there is a box ready for me.

It was a lovely stroll even though the sky was spitting. We’re in a grey stretch and power is becoming a concern. But once May is done, it’ll be endless sunshine into the fall, so I just need to hang in there.

Dang, I really should have packed up and moved yesterday, even though I was insanely busy. It’s been one of those mornings where I cranked up the furnace, went back to bed, and wished I could have stayed there all day.

With the wind chill, it feels like it’s below freezing out there. I’ll give it another couple of hours and then head out.

I was going to take on water, but have decided not to at this point to lighten the rig a little, something I have never felt I needed to do. I’m also going to dump the tanks for the same reason, although a good rinse of the black one will have to wait until Hankinson. I am keeping a few jugs of potable water on board for cleaning up.

I’m also going to wait as long as possible to get gas, again to reduce the load. It’s windy out there!

I’d like to be settled in Columbus by 3:00 p.m.ish so that I can catch a 4:00 p.m showing of Iron Man 3, which would let me get home early enough to make a good dinner as I need to start bringing down some of my stores.

I checked the rules for going back into Canada and I don’t think I will have any issues with anything on board (like pork chops and ham), but I am going to keep everything in original packages. Citrus is always tricky, so last night I juiced the rest of a big bag ‘o limes into some pretty dang tasty limeade.

It’s boggling that it’s May 4th and the weather is still like this, with no end in sight. Last year, spring sprung and stuck on April 23rd!

I just got off the phone with L in Wichita to confirm that I will be arriving tomorrow. He would like me to arrive mid-afternoon so that I can join him for his dinner plans, so that means I’ll pull out of here around 9:00 or 10:00.

The gas here is super cheap ($3.19) so I’m going to fill up before I leave. The gas station is awkward to get around, so I’ll do that before hooking up. Then, it’s off to a Flying J north of OK City that has propane. I checked it out with Google Streetview (what did we ever do before that?) and it looks like a good in and out even with a long rig. I’d also like to find a place to have air added to my tires. I checked the pressure in Dallas and it was on the low side of okay. I’m hoping that adding a little will help with the gas mileage a bit.

The big question mark tomorrow is the Kansas Turnpike. I checked out their toll calculator and as long as Miranda is a class 2 vehicle (ie. two-axle vehicle) despite her size and that combined with Moya the rig is class 4, I’m all set and will have my $4.25 in cash ready. That amount is not worth trying to detour around the turnpike!

I’ll be parked on the street in Wichita, hence why I want to arrive on a Friday as I’m less likely to be disturbed by The Law over a weekend. L says that there is at least one more rig parked on the street and that he gets along with his neighbors, so I should be fine. I am going to go into more of a stealth mode than I did in Dallas, leaving the curtains down to hopefully mask the fact that I am residing in the RV. I checked the Wichita ordinances and it looks like street parking an RV is okay, but living in one on the street is not okay, so stealth mode is definitely in order.

There are a number of good overnighting options north of Wichita, so I should be able do the ‘spend the day at a rest area, drive a short distance to an overnighting place’ routine for the rest of April until my budget resets itself. I’ve already borrowed way too much into May’s budget, so I really don’t want to put any more gas in the rig until the calendar changes. And with the weather being what it is, it’s good to have a reason to take it slow. May 7th is when I’ll put the pedal to the metal and drive decisively to the border.

Wow, I went almost five full years without having The Law tell me to move along!

Let me tell the story before y’all get up in arms!

I saw the code enforcement vehicle pull up this afternoon. I let the driver come out and show interest in the rig to make sure he was after me before going out to speak with him.

He was very polite and said that there have been changes to some city ordinances and that my motorhome is too big to be parked in a front yard in Dallas. That said, he’s cognizant of the fact that Dallas has no RV parks and that Walmarts only allow a night’s stay. So he usually let’s these violations go if the plate is from out of state and the person is obviously not staying long.

But a neighbour called and made a complaint! I can’t believe some people! How about going up to the very accessible motorhome (windows and door open during the day) and getting some intelligence on the person’s plans?

I told him that I had planned to leave this weekend or early in the week, but that I was packed and could be out and on the road within the hour. He gasped and said, “No, no! I don’t want to ruin your weekend! Just be gone by Tuesday night.”

My concern at this point was that Ms. Cinnamon was going to get a ticket. He said that if I hadn’t come out to speak to him, she would have likely received a hefty fine that she would have then had to contest. But since I was so agreeable, he could issue me a warning and essentially leave Ms. Cinnamon out of it.

So I’m now on record with the city of Dallas!

Ms. Cinnamon will disagree, but I do feel like I have overstayed in Dallas, so it’s good to have the fire lit under me even though I really did intend to leave this weekend. The only difference now is that I have actually figured out my next move.

Going west just isn’t going to happen. I don’t have the money for it. So I’m sticking with plan A and will be going northwest slooooowly. Weather can change very dramatically in a month!

Weather reports from Wichita are making me hopeful that spring has sprung there, so I feel comfortable heading in that direction. There is a rest area about 1.5 hours north of Dallas where I can stay for 24 hours. So I will leave Dallas late Sunday afternoon and arrive at the rest area for dinner.

Same thing Monday, except I’ll head to a Walmart just shy of OK City. Same thing Tuesday, only I’ll head to a casino in Shawnee to finish up the week as I should be able to stay a few nights.

Saturday or Sunday, I’ll head to Wichita. I’ll be on the street there, so I’ll really only have two or three nights. After that, it’s a long day to a city campground in Strombsburg NE that takes donations.

From there, I’ll be facing three days of hard driving (about 500KM per day) to get to my property. If the weather continues to clear up (the 14 day forecast for southern Saskatchewan is surprisingly encouraging), I may continue to inch my way northwest. Otherwise, I will looking for a four-day window of clear weather and just do a cannonball run.

The important thing by this point will be to get across the border. It won’t matter where. I just need to get there before the customs deadline. If I have to, I’ll go straight north into Manitoba. I would rather do the U.S. route for the gas savings, but if I end up shy of the property, I can just drop anchor where I am, catch my breath, earn some income, and then start working my way west for the seminar.

Wow, I really didn’t expect the mail to get here this week. I’m a little thrown off my kilter right now.

I’m too busy to leave tomorrow, so I’ll definitely be renewing to Friday noonish. I need to call Teri to see if she can set up that guided walk she suggested in a comment.

With the days being as long as they are now, I could easily leave mid-day and arrive in Dallas with daylight to spare. Google Maps puts the trip at being 4.25 hours. I think I could do it within 6, depending on traffic. It’s 288mi (464KM), so it’s definitely doable in one shot.

We just got tons more rain here, but Teri had nothing to say about the weather when she dropped off mail, so now that the sky is FINALLY clearing, I can relax about having to move to higher ground.

I’m down almost 60AH now, the lowest I have ever gone since getting the battery monitor calibrated. Knowing that I’ll have power in Dallas, I’m not concerned. Plus, I’ll get some charge in on the drive there.