The Scenic Route to Vegas 2009

Day 1 - July 30, 2009
Marshalltown, IA to Dodge City, KS

It always takes longer to finish up the last minute packing and loading the van than I expect. BJ was down shortly after 7. His first job was to get his car in the garage. Unfortunately the old truck was parked in front of the door and it did not want to start. He finally dragged the battery charger out and got it juiced up enough to turn the engine. Then he had to jockey vehicles around again so that the car was in the garage and the truck was in front of the garage.

Then it was time to haul out all the absolutely essential and necessary stuff we would need to survive two weeks away from home. The medical equipment alone was mind-boggling: an oxygen concentrater, a portable unit with 2 additional tanks, a bag with the nebulizer and bipap machine... We looked at the pile of stuff left in the driveway and shook our heads. Now I really understand how the pioneers felt when they had to lighten their loads on the way west. We gave up the water and pop boxes, but we managed to get everything else tucked away. Tomorrow will be easier because we know where everything needs to go!

Marv has a new wheelchair - sort of a recliner on wheels, a very BIG recliner on wheels - and it was the first time we tried transferring him from it to the front seat. That didn't go well at all. He was really pooped from a late afternoon orientation session for one of his new aides. I must remember to thank them ...

Finally, at 9am, we were ready to hit the road. Gypsy, our faithful GPS, was very confused and miffed when we made our first rest stop in southern Iowa. Recalculating, recalculating, recalculating!

We didn't see the "Welcome to Missouri" sign in time and decided we could walk back across the bridge to get a photo. (We are going to be tourists with a capital T!) It was a lot further than it looked especially with all the cars and trucks whizzing past us at 75+ mph! But, BJ and I got our pictures.

The fireworks stands in Missouri always amuse us. We talked about the times we'd gone down to buy fireworks and the lake where we shot them off. We were going to do that again this summer but, once we decided to make the treck to Vegas, we decided to save our money.

The trip got more interesting when we stopped to fill up with gas. Time to switch drivers! BJ pulled out onto the highway and the van died. He started it up again, drove about 5 feet and the van died. We were all in a panic. Being the mature, responsible driver that I am, I shoved him out of the way and started the van. I drove about 10 feet and it died. This was not acceptable. I'm not sure what my thinking was but I decided it was going to go ... or else. I made a very poor 3-point turn, killed it at each point, and then gunned it when I got it going in the right direction. It hiccuped badly and shuddered for several long miles and even longer minutes. Finally it decided to behave.

We made it through Missouri and road construction and through Kansas City and road construction. Whoops - there went the "Welcome to Kansas" sign! This time there was no chance of backing up - too much traffic and road construction. Luckily BJ was able to get some footage with his new video camera.

Sorry, Kansas, but your state - at least on the road we were on - is boring. Where are the sunflowers? I was expecting to see them everywhere! We saw grass and rocks and cows. We liked the Flint Hills; they were kind of cool. We started keeping track of all the different states' license plates on the highway. Then we read signs. And got excited for curves; they were a change of pace.

Maybe the van needs something for gerd. The same hiccuping thing happened when we filled up with gas the next time. It wasn't quite as bad and it didn't last quite as long, but it's still a concern. And, of course, now that we are in Dodge City, it chose to behave when I took it out for a test drive.

By the time we got here and got checked in, it was too late to do much of anything but eat and watch tv. And, now, I think it's time for bed.