Chevelle_Nut
Shop Foreman
It is time to open up this thread 
We left hot NC on Saturday May 21st for points to the West in our 2005 Ford Excursion 6.0L diesel with 183,000 miles on it pulling our 36' Surveyor travel trailer. We left home heading West on I-40. After a quick lug nut an bolt torque check on the newly upgraded suspension we exited I-40 towards Mt Airy, NC on US 52 picking up I-74 and I-77 towards Virginia. We pulled the legendary Fancy Gap on I-77 and the engine enjoyed the long down hills to cool down. We continued up I-77 after merging with I-81. We went thru 2 tunnels and entered the WV Turnpike.
The West Virginia Turnpike is hilly but the grades are not too bad and there is a slow lane, I never dropped t0 45, we jus kept going up. Cost for turnpike, $20. WV is such a beautiful state. We found we had to make an emergency Hobby Lobby stop for art supplies forgotten at home and we needed fuel. We went down the road and found there were no stations that could fit our rig plus the gassers would not let me get to the diesel pump. We got back on the Interstate towards Kentucky, entered Kentucky and found a Pilot station where some guy was parked in front of the RV pumps with a pickup. We were able to us the normal lanes. After another stop at McDonalds we were off and running. Continuing West on I-64, up and down the KY hills the temperature out was 90+, the Excursions A/C was not keeping up but we kept on that long trek eventually approaching Lexington. Funny how things catch your eye, a store I bought my Turbo from was right off the Interstate, Thoroughbred Diesel. Anyway, the weather was getting dark and we ran into some rain.
We exited I-64 for I-65 in Louisville, the road was under construction and beat the snot out of us. Eventually we went into a tunnel, came out and crossed the Ohio River into Indiana. This was a toll bridge, I haven't seen the EZ-Pass charge yet.
The storms were brewing and as we continued up I-65 the wind was really pushing, I made the decision to pull off into a parking lot to wait it out. We tried calling our KOA stop, no answer. We sat in that lot for 30 minutes, the gusts passed and we continued North. We could see tree damage and signs down. We got to our exit, traffic lights were out on the road to the campground. To our surprise this area of Nashville, Indiana is very hilly. At the campground the power was out, not what Lisa wanted to hear after a 600 mile day. Within 30 minutes it was on and we rested up from day 1.
Day 2 stared early, we left the campground, found fuel and got back on I-65. We saw a tractor trailer blown into the median on its side, trees snapped and signs down, they had 2 tornados roll through. Best decision was to stop and wait the day before. We rounded Indianapolis, headed West on I-74 into Illinois. We decided to stop for lunch at a rest area. I had been fighting cross winds the whole day but my Pro-Pride hitch kept me from swaying. At the rest area a drawer had popped open and the slide caught it ripping inside fascia off. I had it repaired in 20 minutes and we were off again after a bite to eat.
We got off on US 34 and headed West towards Iowa crossing the Mississippi in Burlington, IA. We kept on 34, realizing the scenery had changed and so had the roads, they bounced us like crazy. I took a wrong turn at Ottumwa and ended up on rural roads, I so enjoy seeing the real US. Anyway we bounced our way towards Des Moines. I wanted to see the Statehouse so we drove the rig into the city, went by the Gold laden building and then went to Walnut Woods State Park in West Des Moines. It is a small campground with a pretty walk to the river. Another almost 600 mile day.
We packed up for day 3. We left Iowa on I-80 towards Nebraska, turning north on I-29. We saw windmills and the terrain became more arid. We exited I-29 and crossed the Missouri into Nebraska. We found our way to NE 51, a 65 MPH 2 lane road through farm country. After 40-50 miles we turned north on US 275/20 for 200+ miles enter in the NE Sandhills. We were in the West. Except for driving nothing eventful happened except for a rock smacking the windshield BUT I have yet to find where it hit. It was raining when we fueled in Valentine, NE. The distance between stations was a lot more and we are sticking to our 1/2 tank rule. It is strange being on 2 lanes and no other cars are around.
Our campsite for the night was 29 miles south of Valentine at Merritt Reservoir State Recreation area. We came down a long road to the recreation area and could not find where to go. Ashlyn and I were trying to keep Lisa calm. We pulled into one loop, not the correct one. Roads are sand, my Excursion is 2WD. It made it out and we turned, missing our loop, fortunately I found a turnaround on the road, called the park. Learned the campground was a mile back and water fill 3 miles before that. We filled with water, found the campground and set up for the night. It was cold and raining. Another 600 mile day. It is a cool morning, we are barely in Mountain Time, slightly overcast. Today we go to BadLands and Mt Rushmore. Finally a site seeing day.
We left hot NC on Saturday May 21st for points to the West in our 2005 Ford Excursion 6.0L diesel with 183,000 miles on it pulling our 36' Surveyor travel trailer. We left home heading West on I-40. After a quick lug nut an bolt torque check on the newly upgraded suspension we exited I-40 towards Mt Airy, NC on US 52 picking up I-74 and I-77 towards Virginia. We pulled the legendary Fancy Gap on I-77 and the engine enjoyed the long down hills to cool down. We continued up I-77 after merging with I-81. We went thru 2 tunnels and entered the WV Turnpike.
The West Virginia Turnpike is hilly but the grades are not too bad and there is a slow lane, I never dropped t0 45, we jus kept going up. Cost for turnpike, $20. WV is such a beautiful state. We found we had to make an emergency Hobby Lobby stop for art supplies forgotten at home and we needed fuel. We went down the road and found there were no stations that could fit our rig plus the gassers would not let me get to the diesel pump. We got back on the Interstate towards Kentucky, entered Kentucky and found a Pilot station where some guy was parked in front of the RV pumps with a pickup. We were able to us the normal lanes. After another stop at McDonalds we were off and running. Continuing West on I-64, up and down the KY hills the temperature out was 90+, the Excursions A/C was not keeping up but we kept on that long trek eventually approaching Lexington. Funny how things catch your eye, a store I bought my Turbo from was right off the Interstate, Thoroughbred Diesel. Anyway, the weather was getting dark and we ran into some rain.
We exited I-64 for I-65 in Louisville, the road was under construction and beat the snot out of us. Eventually we went into a tunnel, came out and crossed the Ohio River into Indiana. This was a toll bridge, I haven't seen the EZ-Pass charge yet.
The storms were brewing and as we continued up I-65 the wind was really pushing, I made the decision to pull off into a parking lot to wait it out. We tried calling our KOA stop, no answer. We sat in that lot for 30 minutes, the gusts passed and we continued North. We could see tree damage and signs down. We got to our exit, traffic lights were out on the road to the campground. To our surprise this area of Nashville, Indiana is very hilly. At the campground the power was out, not what Lisa wanted to hear after a 600 mile day. Within 30 minutes it was on and we rested up from day 1.
Day 2 stared early, we left the campground, found fuel and got back on I-65. We saw a tractor trailer blown into the median on its side, trees snapped and signs down, they had 2 tornados roll through. Best decision was to stop and wait the day before. We rounded Indianapolis, headed West on I-74 into Illinois. We decided to stop for lunch at a rest area. I had been fighting cross winds the whole day but my Pro-Pride hitch kept me from swaying. At the rest area a drawer had popped open and the slide caught it ripping inside fascia off. I had it repaired in 20 minutes and we were off again after a bite to eat.
We got off on US 34 and headed West towards Iowa crossing the Mississippi in Burlington, IA. We kept on 34, realizing the scenery had changed and so had the roads, they bounced us like crazy. I took a wrong turn at Ottumwa and ended up on rural roads, I so enjoy seeing the real US. Anyway we bounced our way towards Des Moines. I wanted to see the Statehouse so we drove the rig into the city, went by the Gold laden building and then went to Walnut Woods State Park in West Des Moines. It is a small campground with a pretty walk to the river. Another almost 600 mile day.
We packed up for day 3. We left Iowa on I-80 towards Nebraska, turning north on I-29. We saw windmills and the terrain became more arid. We exited I-29 and crossed the Missouri into Nebraska. We found our way to NE 51, a 65 MPH 2 lane road through farm country. After 40-50 miles we turned north on US 275/20 for 200+ miles enter in the NE Sandhills. We were in the West. Except for driving nothing eventful happened except for a rock smacking the windshield BUT I have yet to find where it hit. It was raining when we fueled in Valentine, NE. The distance between stations was a lot more and we are sticking to our 1/2 tank rule. It is strange being on 2 lanes and no other cars are around.
Our campsite for the night was 29 miles south of Valentine at Merritt Reservoir State Recreation area. We came down a long road to the recreation area and could not find where to go. Ashlyn and I were trying to keep Lisa calm. We pulled into one loop, not the correct one. Roads are sand, my Excursion is 2WD. It made it out and we turned, missing our loop, fortunately I found a turnaround on the road, called the park. Learned the campground was a mile back and water fill 3 miles before that. We filled with water, found the campground and set up for the night. It was cold and raining. Another 600 mile day. It is a cool morning, we are barely in Mountain Time, slightly overcast. Today we go to BadLands and Mt Rushmore. Finally a site seeing day.
