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Day 100 (Monday, 26 July): 80's, Sunny. Troy, MT - Hardin, MT (577 miles)
We were up at 6am, had breakfast, and arrived at Doctor D's RV Repair in
Troy at 9am when they opened. Three hours later, we had a new
black water ands a new gray water valve. Then, we were on the road
for a long day across Montana. Up at 7am and on the road. If you've not yet noticed, I've been putting the hammer down since we got off the ferry in Prince Rupert, Canada. I ran at 65 all the way through Canada to the US where we had the RV's black and gray water valves replaced. Since then I've had the cruise control set on 70 from Troy, Montana to where we are today, Mitchell, South Dakota. Yep, interstate all the way, something we've not done until now while on this trip. That's 2,278 miles in 4 days, driving only during daylight hours (& that includes sitting for 3 hours while mechanics repaired the RV). Today, we crossed the remainder of Montana, the top corner of Wyoming, and most of South Dakota.
You know, being back in the continental US makes one realize that,
though Alaska is our 49th state, its actually a foreign country, more
akin to the third world country next to it than to the rest of the
US. For example, Alaskans and Canadians just accept poor telephone
service, poor cable TV service, poor road conditions, unusually high
prices for gas and other necessary products. Most everywhere we
stayed in Alaska and Canada, the cable TV reception was terrible.
But, last night in Hardin and tonight in Mitchell, its great! Our
telephone didn't work most of the time; heck, it didn't work for the
last 2 weeks. Since way back around Libby, Montana, its been as
clear as it should be! Roads in Alaska and Canada, while better
than our last trip, are still terrible when compared to the interstates
we've traveled the last 2 days. Well, after touring the corn palace, we headed out. But, I've gotta tell you, the corn palace was more than we expected. I've seen photos of it since I was a kid in school studying Social Science. Every year since 1892 there's been a different one; this is the third building that's been the palace. Inside its a basketball court auditorium. Outside, its decorated with over 250,000 ears of corn, different grains and grasses.
Then, we ran for Alabama. By the time we decided to stop, it was late. So, we just pulled into a Walmart for the night. Day 103 (Thursday,
29 July): Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then home before dinner! What a trip. 13,041 miles on the RV, about 5,000 on the MG; and no problems to speak about! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. However, now we've got lots of things to do around the house pruning trees and bushes, and just generally putting everything back in order.
Who knows what our next adventure will be?
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