To preface this, last fall, K decided instead of pouring anti-freeze thru the water system in the RV, he would just drain it, and pour some anti-freeze in the drains.

So a couple of weeks ago, we took it up for a night to hear our favorite band. They had free camping and it was 60 miles away, so good chance to shake the winter out of it. Battery kept going dead, and the nut on the hose under the kitchen faucet was loose.

Next day, we got a new battery and K tightened the nut (being K, it would never occur to him to get a NEW nut and do some preventive maintenance!).

We were going to leave for the Dakotas on Wednesday last week, but we decided to take off on Tuesday right after we got back from the dentist. No time to post, or call my family (which I did from the road).

Ok, we leave at 6:30 p.m., figure we'll sleep on the road somewhere, at least we're on the way.

45 miles down the road, we eat at Mickey D's (cause we had coupons!) and he decides to gas up. Drives across the parking lot yakking about the price of gas. I'm looking at him, when I think I see something from the corner of my eye. I look down and just have time to think "that looks like a curb right beside us" when WHAM!! We run right over a big cement curb they have put in the middle of the lot to stop people from driving across it. Of course, you have to actually see it first! Now he has to finish driving across it to get us out.

He gets out and looks, everything looks OK. It did drive the generator exhaust pipe up where it belongs though, and the sewer cap has big drag marks across it. How it didn't do any damage, I don't know. That shook him up for quite a ways, that he didn't even see it there.

We spent the night in a travel plaza between some trucks (we feel much safer there than in a rest stop), somewhere around Bismarck.

Next day it is so windy K has to steer with two hands on the wheel at all times. I start hearing a strange noise, and I tell him I can see the awning pole shaking (the arm that supports it). The noise gets louder and after I b*tch for a while, he pulls over on an exit. The awning is unwinding and catching in the wind like a kite. We have to turn the RV around to get the wind in the right direction so we can re-roll it. K secures it (which he should have done before we left, but his middle name is Procrastinator). Back on the road.

Get to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, ND. It is so pretty there, and so many critters to see! We get in free (Golden passport, $10.00 for everyone 62 or over, free admittance into national parks and 1/2 price camping), and our spot (on the river!) is $5.00. Primitive, but we don't care, beautiful surroundings. Stay there two nights.

We do go to bed by 9 every night, cause it's dark and we don't want to run the noisy generator. We are up early every day, which is nice, more animals to see.

We leave for Little Big Horn Battlefield in MT on Friday. We're a bit worried about getting a camping space, because of Memorial Day, but figure it fell so early, it should work out. Most peeps still have kids in school, so they will probably not be too far from home.

That was neat to see, so now we take off for Devil's Tower in WY. Too tired to make it all the way, so we stop in Ranchester, WY in a real RV park, with cable, full hook-up, everything. K grumbles cause it's $25.00. I want TV for a night!

We hook up to city water...wrong move. We are watching TV, when all of a sudden we hear water whoosh out. K runs outside, looks at the hose on the hook-up, not there. He runs back in, looks in the tub, not there. I tell him to look under the kitchen sink, yep, it is gushing out. He yells what should I do, I yell disconnect the hose. He does, flood stops. We use all the bath towels mopping up. The manufacturer cleverly put the electric fuse box and converter under the sink. K is working on the hoses under the sink, all of a sudden we hear a huge pop and see a big flash. The water blew out the converter. This means that electricity will no longer charge the coach battery. Luckily, the cab running still will, so we will have power to run the lamps, etc., even when we're not plugged in as long as we are conservative.

We decide we should not be plugged into electricity, since it might start a fire in the converter. There goes my TV. K hooks a fan up that runs off the coach battery, to dry it out around the converter. In the middle of the night, the battery dies, so he starts the cab up so the water pump will work and we can flush the toilet.

A new nut under that sink would have prevented this. The bathroom faucet also decides to blow out. The next day, we get parts and he puts a new faucet in the bathroom. We have no hot water, though, cause when he shut off the kitchen faucet, that shut off the hot water in the bathroom. Luckily, this RV park had showers, so we availed ourselves of them.

He gets the stuff clamped off under the kitchen sink. Aha, water again.

We spend the night at Devil's Tower (amazingly, they have many spaces available on Saturday night of Memorial Day weekend). Guess everyone wanted to stay at the KOA instead of right by the tower. Free entry for us again, and $5.00 a night for a primitive spot.

Next night, we get into Custer State Park in SD. I ADORE this place. They have electric sites (I insist I want electric), and have one site left. $25.00, more grumbling. We are planning on the wild life loop when it begins to pour, thunder and lightning. We decided to just hunker down and hey, we can watch movies cause we have ELECTRICITY! So we watch O Brother Where Art Thou and Dances With Wolves. Next morning, we do the animal loop and head for the Badlands. I have never seen or heard so many meadowlarks. They sing constantly.

Badlands...free entry, you know the rest. Beautiful campsite, the surroundings are wonderful!

We came the 600 miles home Tuesday, got in at 10:45 p.m., tired but we both thought it was a nice trip...in spite of the problems! K has to get the converter fixed (and I will nag him until he does!) and do a few other things out there, but at least nothing ruined or stopped the trip (thankfully!)

All the problems (except the coach battery having to be replaced and the awning) are directly related to anti-freeze not being poured in the system. He had better do that this fall!

JoanMN