As usual, I woke up and did some work. Then I felt a change in the air and a shift in the wind. I got out of the van and saw dark clouds approaching from the west, a sign of rainy weather approaching. So I packed up and got an earlier start than I’d planned to get back to pavement, and out of the grass at Windmill Acres, before the rain hit. I succeeded.
This is where I slow my pace down a bit. I’m staying off the interstate, but that doesn’t slow me down much because roads like this are still posted at 65 mph, which is the fastest I go when I’m towing anyway. Today’s drive was just over two hours to Grove Lake Wildlife Management Area and a free campground that I found on iOverlander. With a rig as large as mine, I have to be careful about which sites from iOverlander I try, because some are too small or difficult to get into for me. This one, however, worked out perfectly.
It’s a small campground right on the south side of Grove Lake in Royal, Nebraska (another new state for me). It’s free with a 14-day limit. I arrived in the early afternoon, just as the sun came out, and several campsites were still available for the weekend. The one I chose is perfect. It’s right on the water, has a clear view north for Starlink (there’s no cell service here), with partial shade in the afternoon, but still enough sun for my solar panels to charge up my batteries. I set up my tarp awning to give me a little more shade without having to detach the trailer to use as an anchor point.
I spent the rest of the afternoon doing absolutely nothing and enjoying it. I’ve been on the go and getting things done constantly since leaving Arizona in February. I’ve been on the move constantly since free campgrounds like this are rare in the east. Even my longer stays in Florida and New England were busy getting things done. I’ll stay here for at least a couple of days before moving on to South Dakota.
Lister seems quite happy to return to less busy places where he can roam freely. The only problem is the flies. I need to get some kind of magnetic screen I can stick to the side door opening to try and keep them out. Lister is napping on the job of eating the sky raisins.
I woke up to the sound of loud children very close to my van. I looked out the window to find a group of them fishing at my campsite. I asked them to leave repeatedly. They ignored me, but eventually wandered off on their own. The parents were either not paying attention or simply didn’t care. They’ve been loud and obnoxious the whole time I’ve been here, which is fine as long as they stay over there. I may leave sooner than planned if this continues, which is the beauty of having a home on wheels and not having paid to stay here.
I turned on Starlink, and soon my phone was abuzz with the news of a fatality at the New England Forest Rally. I volunteered at this event and worked Stage 5 many times in the past, including soon after my van journey began. I didn’t know Erin well, but she and her driver, TJ, were one of those teams that was always there at pretty much every event, flogging that ordinary-looking Subaru Outback Sport for all it was worth. I can’t imagine them not being there. It doesn’t help that if I hadn’t been on a travel schedule, I would’ve been working at this stage when it happened. Crashes are common, particularly in this difficult stage which I know rather well. But injuries are rare, and this almost never happens.
Rally on, Erin.
Smokey Da Van 