Driving in the rain - Part 2

7:17 am - Tuesday - October 16th - Grayson, KY - 43º F, 93% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the south.......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 58º F.

Since we left Fontana, CA back on April 17th we have studiously avoided driving in the rain, and for 6 months we were 100% successful until this past Sunday, and then again on Monday.  We're kind of in a bind time wise as there is rain forecast in Campbellsville on Friday & Saturday, so we do not want to arrive in the rain, meaning we needed to drive Monday to get to Grayson, KY where we are going to stay 2 days at a small RV park where we will dump our tanks, take a break from the daily moving, and then head into Lexington, KY where we will overnight at a Cabela's which happens to be right next door to a COSTCO, and not that far from a Trader Joe's!  From there we will make the final 100 run into Campbellsville, KY where we will sit still for 2 months.

But, I get ahead of myself.  We awoke to threatening skies, but at least it was already in the 60's temp wise.  We knew we only had about 69 miles to travel Monday to get us to a small RV park in Grayson, KY, about 20 miles west of the West Virginia border.  We haven't had full hookups, or 50 amp service for several weeks, and thought it would be nice to have a couple of days with both before we continue our run to Campbellsville.

I started putting away the small generator around 9 am, and just as I finished it began to sprinkle.  By the time we turned over the big Detroit Diesel 6v92 it had begun to rain, and by the time we were merging onto I-64 it was coming down pretty hard.  On the plus side the road was pretty flat, so I just set the cruise control and held onto the steering wheel.

The time passed pretty quickly, and within 50 minutes we were crossing into Kentucky......

......when we were just 3 miles from our off ramp I saw a sign for a rest area.....perfect!  We were going to arrive in the rain, and I was still wearing my pajama bottoms and slippers, so a quick wardrobe change was in order.  We pulled in, used the bathroom, then changed clothes.  Within 15 minutes we were parked in the entry drive and walking over to the office to register.  There was no one in, so I self registered for two nights in one of the pull through sites, paid my $60 ($30/night) and then drove to the site we had chosen.......

This little RV park is called Valley Breeze RV Campground.....we are in the spot with the vertical red line drawn through it

.......within a few minutes I had connected our shore power cord to the 50 amp outlet, and we were in business.  I waited to connect the sewer hose and city water line until it stopped raining, or at least slowed down a little.  There was only one other RV in this little park when we arrived, and by nightfall there was one more.....very quiet, and peaceful little place!

Over the past few days of dry camping we had missed a few of our favorite shows, which would normally have been recorded by our DVR, but since we turn off our inverter when we go to bed, they didn't record.  Fortunately, we have a ROKU TV and can now stream shows we miss, and that is what we did to while away the rainy afternoon.....suweet!  We watched 'Hell's Kitchen', 'Last Ship', and 'NCIS: Los Angeles'.

It seems our 5 week odyssey to Campbellville is just about over.  We have covered just over 1,200 miles visiting 11 states checking off State #48 along the way.  This time next week we will begin our two month sojourn of work at Amazon.

One last thing......I forgot to mention in yesterday's missive that we 'paid the rent' on Sunday.  We were down to less than a quarter tank of diesel, and had traveled nearly 1,000 miles on the current tank, so TLE went online as we were moving and found a very, very convenient EXXON fuel station just off the Interstate.....about as easy off/on as they get!  We paid the highest per gallon so far on our 6 month odyssey....$3.35/gallon, and took on about 120 gallons.  We'll top off the tank in Lexington, KY, where diesel is much more reasonable at $2.99/gallon, one more time before we drive the last 100 miles into Campbellsville.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Driving in the rain.......

7:21 am - Monday - October 15th - Cross Lane, WV - 60º F, 97% humidity, wind 2 mph out of the south by southwest.....heavy cloud cover....rained most of the night.  Forecast high for today is 70º F....a big improvement.

It is never our intent to drive the Newell in the rain.  It is not because we cannot, but because we wish not to drive in the rain.  Our air operated windwhield wipers work quite well, we have plenty of tread on our tires, and the Newell handles just fine in rain, or snow.....we have never had a loss of control because of snow, or rain.  Whenever we are traveling to a destination we always give ourselves enough days to layover a day here and there if it is extremely windy, or rain is forecast for our driving route.  I am quite regular about checking weather conditions each morning prior to our departure, and I did so on Sunday........

......but within minutes of merging onto I-79 it began to rain, and that was most of the story for the 146 miles we covered through the West Virginia mountains.....rain, rain, and more rain.  The weather guessers guessed wrong Sunday.  For the first 40 miles the terrain was remarkably flatish.....hence I am remarking.   That is, it was mostly flat until after our first rest stop, then the Interstate reverted to form with a vengeance.  Up down, up down, up down for the next 100+ miles into Cross Lanes, WV.  Why Cross Lanes, WV you ask?  Well, there was a Walmart Supercenter right off the Interstate, plus a Lowe's, and also a large casino/racetrack with an enormous parking lot.  We figured one of them might work for us.  

We arrived in Cross Lanes about 1:30 pm, in the rain, to find the Walmart parking lot quite full, and signs everywhere advising "No overnight, or long term RV, or Truck Parking".....TLE had checked online prior to our departure from Fairmont, WV, and there was no mention of no parking at this Walmart, but it was quite crowded anyway, so we moved on down the hill to the Mardi Gras Casino & Resort which has, as I mentioned previously, a very, very large parking lot, most of which is empty most of the time.  We quickly found an isolated spot in the far corner of the lot, parked, and then leveled.  There are no 'NO OVERNIGHT PARKING' signs to be seen.....perfect!

 Our parking spot for the night

On our way into the casino parking lot we noticed 'La Roca Mexican Grill' at the top of the hill, so we set our minds to visit them later in the afternoon for an early dinner.  It was about 1/2 mile walk back up the steep hill on a road with no shoulder, and we did not want to be walking that road after dark.

We left for our walk up the hill about 4:30 pm, and arrived 15 minutes later.......

.....we were promptly shown to a table, at which time we ordered two 'Jumbo Texas Margaritas'.....a nice reward for me after two grueling driving days in the West Virginia mountains......

......the chips and salsa were wonderful!  TLE ordered their Quesadilla Texana, which she loved, and I ordered their 2 tacos/1 beef enchilada combo plate.  My dish was fine, but did not have that 'WOW' factor.  Overall I enjoyed our experience at La Roca.  Yelp does give them 4 stars on 43 reviews....I would be more in the 3 star range.....passable for West Virginia.

We were back home by 5:40 pm relaxing, and watching game 2 of the ALSC between the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox.  Houston won game one, and the Red Sox ended up winning game two by a score of 7-5, so both the NLCS and ALCS series are tied at one game apiece as they go into game three of the their best 4 out of 7 series.

We were in bed by 10 pm listening to the pitter patter of a light rain on our roof.....thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.

The ups and the downs.......

7:35 am - Sunday - October 14th - Fairmont, WV - 44º F, 83% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the west by northwest......heavy cloud cover, but no rain in the forecast....at least during the day.  High for today in Fairmont will be 59º F.  We roll our wheels in 2 hours!

Having only 156 miles to cover on Saturday we were in no hurry to depart the Walmart Supercenter in Hagerstown, and TLE wanted to get a pedicure.  The 'nail' place opened at 10 am, and TLE was there at 10....she was back at the coach a little after 11 am, and we were rolling our wheels shortly thereafter.

We have driven the Newell through northwestern Maryland, and northeastern West Virginia before, and I was not looking forward to doing it again.  Why?  Well, it is very mountainous, and for the 156 miles we traveled Saturday it was continuously up 5-6% grades and then down 5-6% grades, one after the other, all day long.  It is mentally exhausting as one is having to watch downhill speeds, shifting down one gear after another to climb each 1-3 mile grade, remembering to turn on one's hazard lights when the speed dips below 50 mph.....remembering to turn them off again when you get back over 50 mph....continually having to move into the truck lane on the long climbs, and then moving back to the left when the lane disappears after the latest climb.....all the while monitoring the temps of the coolant, oil and transmission.  Repeat this process about 60 times and you kind of get what I am trying to convey.  You can never just hold onto the steering wheel and let the cruise control push you down the highway.  It is, simply put, a 'knock down drag out' experience.

While I was busy keeping us on the road, and safe TLE was taking a plethora of pictures.....

 A little to add a little something extra to the mix

 A much needed Rest Area

 The Maryland sign at the West Virginia border.....first one of these I've see in 7 years

......for most of the drive we were traversing northeastern Maryland, only dipping into West Virginia without about 14 miles to at the end of the day.  We made two rest stops, one being at a regular Rest Area, and the second at at Pilot Truck Stop as there were no rest areas on the horizon.  We took about a 30 minute break at each.  Our highest elevation was just over 2,700', and we now sit at just over 1,000' elevation in Fairmont, WV.

We began our day with a brief stint in I-81, then back to I-70, eventually hitting I-68, and finishing on I-78 in Fairmont, WV.  Why Fairmont, WV?  Well, there happens to be a Cracker Barrel there right off the Interstate with RV parking.  We haven't visited a Cracker Barrel in a long time....

....we arrived at the Cracker Barrel around 3:30 pm, found a suitable spot in which to park our 62', and then just relaxed for about a hour and a half before venturing inside to have dinner around 5 pm.  It was nice to just sit drinking a few cups of coffee and enjoying a great dinner.  We finally paid our check around 6:30 and headed back to the Newell for the evening.  

My L.A. Dodgers were playing the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS (National Leage Championship Series) for the chance to get to the World Series again.  They lost their first game in Milwaukee on Friday night, but were successful Saturday night coming from behind to win 4-3 on a 2 run Justin Turner homerun.  A nice way to finish the evening.   

We were in bed by 10 pm, not looking forward to another 140+ miles of West Virginia mountain driving!  By the way, a good friend commented on Facebook I should be taking my zinc tablets at the first sign of a scratchy throat....doh!  I started taking them Saturday morning, and I feel much, much better......thank you  Lee Lisman, and thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.