MAY 30 - JUNE 3: Westward Travels and Repairs

Wednesday, May 30: We left the Cedar River Campground near Tipton, IA about 11:30 A.M. for the two hour drive on I-80 to just north of Des Moines, IA. We were lucky to get a prime campsite in the popular Bob Shetler Recreation Area Campground for two nights. With our America the Beautiful Senior Pass, the cost was only $11 per night.  Our site had a 50 amp electric hookup, a concrete pad and water nearby if needed and it was right beside the Des Moines River just below the spillway from Saylorville Lake.






 This scenic area draws lots of fishermen  hoping for a catch in the rapidly moving water.



On the way to Des Moines, we stopped at a rest area for lunch. With temperatures in the 90's, Hank tried to start our generator so we could use our coach A/C, but the generator wouldn't start. Wednesday evening, Hank phoned a Cummins repair faciity in Des Moines about 20 minutes from the campground and was told to come in on Thursday for work.

Thursday, we drove to the Cummins shop. The first diagnosis was a bad starter, and one was ordered to arrive on Friday. They offered to let us stay overnight with a 50 amp electric hookup just outside of the service bays. We decided to do that we wouldn't have to drive back  to the campground in a hot coach, and to be on the premises when the part arrived. It also gave us a front row seat to watch as they worked on semi's, school buses, etc.



Friday, the new starter was installed, but unfortunately that didn't fix the problem. A new inverter, a much more expensive replacement, fixed the problem. We also had them do some routine maintenance work. By the time all was finished, it was 4 P.M. and again the temperature was in the mid-90's.  Hank found an available site with electric at the Acorn Valley Recreation area just a few miles north of Bob Shetler's, again for $11 a night with our Senior Pass. We drove to Acorn Valley with the dash air on, and with the generator and coach A/C on to test the repairs, and arrived with a somewhat cooled-down coach for a relaxing night in the woods. Luckily, the predicted severe weather overnight modified before it reached us.

Saturday morning dawned bright and cool. We left Acorn Valley about 10:30 a.m for the 4 hour drive
via I-80, I--680, I-29 and various state roads to Pender, NE and the Blue Ox Factory.





Blue Ox is the brand of towing equipment and auxillary braking system we have. They have a nice campground with full hookups, they offer service at your site, and give factory tours. With service, you can stay at the campground at no charge. Pender is a small village of about 1000 people in far east Nebraska,  surrounded by large corn-raising farms, and a nearby Indian reservation. We've been told the closest grocery store is at least 20 miles away. There is good Verizon coverage and reception from several TV stations in Souix City, Iowa. We expect to be here for the next week.