Days 72 and 73 - North Dakota to Wyoming, and a heat wave

Day 72 -Monday - retracing our steps

We pack up and head out of Medora, ND.  First stop Dickinson to return the truck.  We bought a full tank of gas when we rented it, and are supposed to return it empty.  I, of course, interpret this to mean return it running on fumes.  We used the only gas station in Medora a couple of times - a throwback in time as you have to go into the convenience store and give them cash or a card before you can use the pump.  When you're finished, you go inside to get the card processed unless you just paid a set dollar amount.  This is a great system for creating long line-ups, and is one reason why, as I drive along I-94, I'm getting worried that even the fumes may not get us back to the rental office.

Fortunately said fumes do their job.  I reconnect with Vicky and the catsin the RV and we (Vicky and I, not Quill or Cosette) share the driving down US85 to Bowman getting re-acquainted with Lorella in the same park we stayed at on the way north.

Day 73 - Tuesday - 3 States in One Day

After breakfast we stock up on fly traps and fruit, and continue south as far as Belle Fourche, SD - it's difficult to stay awake on a road without turns and relatively unchanging scenery, but I make it.  Quill, as usual, does the sleeping for us, while the copilot has Cosette in her lap for much of the journey.

We could have gone straight down to Spearfish and taken I-90 due west to Gillette, Wyoming, but that would be a sure cure for the insomnia we don't have.  So we head west from Belle Fourche, revisit the town of Aladdin where 50% of the population is out and about, and drive past Devil's Tower for a second time.  Eventually, at Moorcroft, we have no choice but to take the interstate the rest of the way, driving through the ranch country. 

It's been hot all day and is close to 100 degrees F as we approach Gillette.  We're here for the FMCA Convention next week, but have come early as I have to prepare for my "Dress Rehearsal" as a Virtual Instructor, which requires using an H&R Block office.  We also have the RV booked for service on Wednesday.  The plan was to spend tonight in a Walmart parking lot and Tuesday night in the service shop's lot.  But if we do that we can't use the air conditioner because: (a) we're worried turning it on will cause problems and (2) we can't use the generator in either of those places.

So we look for, and find a hotel where the manager, despite a sign saying "no pets" agrees to find us a room and let us share it with the cats.  He even gives us a 2 room suite.  Of course Quill and Cosette aren't happy about being put into their carriers, but once in the large, air-conditioned suite with lots of space to run, they're in heaven.  They both claim the king size bed, staking out opposite corners so as to be as far apart as possible.

Although the hotel is fairly basic, it feels like a 5 star resort to all of us after 3 weeks in an RV without a/c.