John and I both had a lack of sleep last night. I guess we were worrying about Melissa's car situation. A little after 5 a.m. we just got up. We are now in Central time which means it stays light later (nice) and the sun comes up later. In Arizona, it was light at 5:30 a.m., this morning it didn't get light until almost 7:30 a.m. Since we had been up for hours, we decided to just get going once it got light. The wind was suppose to be strong but it was out of the south so it wouldn't be an issue. Other than lots of big trucks, traffic was light and it was another good mpg day.
Yesterday, I called a RV Park in Dodge City, KS and was told that the nightly rate was $31, they offered no discounts, and they were "the nicest RV Park in Kansas". Really? Guess you won't be seeing us. Dodge City is marketed as "the crossroads of America's western history where millions of Texas longhorns met the railroads."
We opted to head to the town of Kinsley that is 40 miles east of Dodge City on Highway 50. Ah, a touch of home, as Highway 50 begins/ends (your choice) in Sacramento and is also known as the loneliest highway in America. Any whoo, back to Kinsley, after reading some good reviews and the RV Park is a Passport America park (half-price), we headed for the 4 Aces RV Park. For $12.50 a night, we have a paved site, full-hookups, and WIFI. What a nice gem we found. No cow manure smell but the requisite trains are nearby but is not too disturbing. Here is a picture of our site.
Behind us is a green belt and a creek which provides us with a lot of bird activity. We were setting up when I told John that I heard a Cardinal. He agreed that it sounded similar to the Pyrruloxia (Gray Cardinal) but wasn't sure. Later, we were sitting outside and you could hear the Cardinal's song. Soon enough, we both spotted him.
Here is a picture of the creek that runs behind the RV park.
Melissa update - her car is toast. The car simply is not worth putting a few thousand dollars into it to take the chance on a catastrophic failure. She is feeling a little sucker punched right now especially with her parents so far away. It is times like these when I'm sorry we didn't have a sibling for her or we were still living locally. She will get through this unexpected curve that life threw at her. We've all been there and it seems to be a right of passage.
