We got up about 7 AM but it was still dark and I don't like to drive in the dark so I decided to make a coffee/tea and waste 15 or 20 minutes before hitting the road. We usually drive for a couple of hours and then stop for breakfast. I started the "Jenny ", plugged in the coffee pot and the tea kettle and waited. After a couple of minutes the noise from the Jenny changed and I noticed that the coffee pot had tripped off , so I realized that the breaker for the Jenny must have tripped. Not to worry, I turned on the Inverter and we had our coffee and tea. At that time , I did not realize this was an "Oman" for the day.
We pulled out of Wal-Mart heading due west on I-90 thinking we could reach Gillette, WY by 6 PM. If you have never drove on I-90 across South Dakota ( SD ) ", it is an excellent Hwy, straight as a die for the most part and as interesting as 1942 newspaper. The scenery is Corn, Beans and Cattle.
However, Carroll spotted a sign that advertised the "Corn Place" in Mitchell, SD . The "Corn Place" is an "Events" building ( Nothing more Nothing less ) but the front Facade is covered with corn cobs that has been painted with a shadow Mural with the liking of Wille Nelson and I believe it to be Elvis. We actually drove by the front of the building 16 years ago , snapped a few photos and drove on.
But this time Carroll just had to go into the building to see what was inside. When we arrived in Mitchell we followed the signs to the Corn Place which actually wormed its' way there the town until we reached a large parking lot. As we approached the Corn Place there was many large pieces of farm equipment so we assumed there was an agriculture show. Actually there was 1 guy in the building handing out brochure , otherwise the building was empty because there was a Rodeo on Friday evening. It is actually a Basketball Arena. What a let down. The guy in the building did say that this was the third building that was called the Corn Place, because the other two building where destroyed by fire. This whole escapade took one hour out of my life that I will never get back. So if you are driving on I-90 in SD and you see the sign that advertises the Corn Place.... Keep driving.
We stopped for breakfast at Perkins in town and then I vowed to make up time and stop only for fuel. We have been on the road for 53 days and I am getting weary of driving. I don't know how the truckers can do.
About 2 hours down the road , motoring along at 65 MPH I could smell "antifreeze " and I knew that was not good. At the same instant the " Low Water Light " came on along with the buzzer that tells me, we got a problem. Luckily , I-90 has a 9 foot shoulder so I pulled over. As I got out of the MH I could see the antifreeze pouring out of the cargo area, which told me the problem was with the heating system. As I opened the cargo door I could see the antifreeze " Pissing " out of a 3/4 inch heater hose. Bear in mind that the temperature of the antifreeze is about 185 F. The leak was right at the end of the hose where it joins onto a connector. So I undid the clamps , cut an inch off the hose and reconnected it , all while using some word you will see in the Bible because the antifreeze was burning my hand . I finally got the leak down to a drip, which I could live with. All while this was happening Carroll got me some plastic containers so I could salvage some of the antifreeze. I always carry a gallon of antifreeze with me but it was not enough to fill the reservoir so we can't go anywhere until I can get more antifreeze.
Our only choice was to disconnect the tow car from the Dolly and find a place where we could purchase some antifreeze. It is not wise to add water to the cooling system of a diesel so we had to find some 50/50 antifreeze. About 15 miles down the we found a gas station that had some 50/50 antifreeze but not the quality I wanted. However beggars can't be choosers so I bought 5 gallons and returned to the MH. I dumped 2 1/2 gallons in the reservoir and it was full so I now had some for a spare. After a 10 minute test run of the engine to ensure that the coolant level was good we were back on the road. I stopped at a few Rest Areas along the way, to check the level; and all was good.
Our schedule to reach Gillette, WY today was now a dream. We reached Rapid City about 5 PM and decided to stop for the night at a truck stop but it was a small Stop and RV's were not allowed to stay overnight. So we moved on to Sturgis where I refueled and we found a large parking lot at a food store so I ask if we could stay for the evening but they refused but told us that there was a Wal-Mat down the Hwy about 10 miles. We stopped at the Wal-Mart but where advised that there was a city ordinance which did not allow overnight parking. We were now back on the road and by this time it is getting dark. The next town is Spear-Fish and as we drove into town Carroll's eagle eye noticed a Church yard. A great place to spend the night so we pulled in and parked. After a few shots of Crown Royal for medicinal purposes , we went to restaurant across the street , had a great meal and then called it a night. It was certainly an exciting day. Cheers
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