Day 8: 4/29/19 Sterling, NE to Denver (Pat & Wendy's)

Woke up early after a good night's sleep, and walked down to see what the Super 8 had out for breakfast... not so super if you're trying to eat a little lower carb.  Ended up having a couple containers of yogurt and calling it good.

Today was a relatively short travel day, and I had about 45 miles to travel to the fast charger in the Walmart parking lot.  Pulling up to the fast charger, I was the only one there, and multiple stations were available.  Charger was easy to navigate if you followed the instructions.  Once going, I headed inside to maybe find coffee/espresso.  No luck there, so I just hung out for about 40 minutes while I got to an 80% charge.

Now I have plenty to make it to Denver easily (can even use the heat).  Still looking for coffee, I found a Starbucks a few miles from where I charged... headed there to work on my blog and enjoy a good espresso!!

I made it to Pat and Wendy's "Little Dig" about noon.  Pat was there (Wendy was toiling away at work)… went for a good 5 mile walk around their subdivision and nature area near their house.  Again, good to stretch my legs!  After Wendy got home, we went out to Famous Dave's for supper... then more studying the Mueller Report in the later evening.

Day 7: 4/28/19 Kearney to Sterling, CO

Sherlock's GOM this morning remembers the tough day against the wind yesterday, and only promises 197 miles (more realistic, given the high winds).  After picking up my car in Kearney, Pam took me out for breakfast and she drove Sherlock around the block to get a little idea of how she handles.  Then we said our goodbyes, and I headed west.  My original intent was to camp tonight in Ogallala, Nebraska's McConaughy Lake area.  But it remained cold and storms were coming.

I stopped in a little town (Gothenburg) to see an original Pony Express station.  I was surprised to learn the Pony Express was only in existence for 18 months.

After 150 miles with a SE crosswind, I pulled into Ogallala having 47 miles on the GOM (pretty good!).  I charged at the downtown police station for a couple of hours, and took the opportunity to walk around and stretch my legs.  I thought about breaking the bike out, but it was too cold and windy for my taste.  Since it's Sunday, there's not much open except for restaurants and gas stations... was hoping to visit the local library, but closed.  From this spot, it's about 240 miles to get to Wendy and Pat's in Denver.  My plan has shifted from camping to a hotel.

While walking about in Ogallala, I took in a tour of the downtown area, neighborhood streets, and ended up in a museum near where I was parked.  Found a pictures of Samuel and Harriet Gast, who ran the Ogallala House (hotel and restaurant) in 1876.  Not sure if they are relatives or not...

From here, I continued west 44  miles to find a fast charger.  The charger was off the beaten path a bit, and powered by a wind turbine.  Unfortunately, the gentleman's (Jeff's) turbine had been broken since last fall, so he asked for $20 to cover the charging.  Happy to do it (for you mileage nerds reading this, it would been worth about $12 at a conventional fast charger run by Electrify America or ChargePoint).  In the picture below, you can see the turbine on its side in the field.  Jeff came out and chatted with me for a bit before going in to make his supper, and I had mine (cold pea soup... thank you Marybeth).

 

All around me, clouds were gathering and it still windy and getting colder.  I was increasingly glad I had decided not to make a tent my home for the night.  From starting my charge with 83 miles on the GOM, and charged up to 80% of my battery's capacity in about an hour.  At 4:30, I left for Sterling, CO (~50 miles) where Barb had reserved a room for me at the Super 8.

The motel was warm and pleasant enough.  I took a drive downtown and walked about the town for about an hour, taking in the local sites... then paused at a library to read another few pages of the Mueller Report.  Yes, I am trying to slog my way through that report... on about page 130 of about 400+ of Part I.  Eeek!

My thought was that I would charge at an RV park in the morning, enough to carry me the last 100 miles to Pat and Wendy's.  Here's where I discovered a mistake that I made.  When filtering results on my PlugShare app, which I use to find charging stations, I had mistakenly been filtering out charging stations that cost $$ to charge (though several of the ones I've used have required remuneration). Once I saw that, I flipped it back on to find that there was a fast charger in Fort Morgan, about 45 miles from Sterling located in a Walmart Superstore parking lot.  Yippee!  I'm headed to Walmart in the morning (I don't say that every day)!

Day 6: 4/27/19 Lincoln to Kearney (Cousin Pam's)

This day started out great, with a good breakfast, followed by picking up the car at the Nissan dealer.  The wind had started to pick up when we left Uncle Rollie's, but by the time I got on the road about 9, I think it could have flipped a semi over if it was cross ways to the wind.  You guessed it, wind directly out of the west!!  Right where I was heading!

This wind, up to 50 mph, really affects battery performance... even though I was only going about 57-60 mph.  Speed Limit is 75 on I-80, so I did stay in the right lane.....  Not safe to draft behind semi's, so I just plodded along, and headed to Aurora, NE, where there was a charger by a museum.  Much to my delight, the museum was a great find, and I spent about an hour exploring the Plainsman Museum... the museum creates an old "town" on the inside perimeter of the building, and had lots of antiques (but not as many as my sis Donna had) in the various "buildings."  Similar to a movie set.

This is an old cheese slicer

After grabbing my charge there, I headed to Kearney (again, I could have made it without the supplemental charge, but not by much).  When I got to the charging station I thought I would use, the entire parking lot was blocked off for an event... it is Saturday, after all.  Since there were three options for charging in Kearney, I headed for the trusty HyVee store, and all six charging stations were available.  Pam met me here, and we went out for a quick supper and then back to her house on the lake.

We walked around the lake to stretch our legs when we got back to her house, and continued our "cousin conversations" that we always easily pick up.  One of the highlights of the day for me was seeing an osprey dive in the lake for a fish, right outside Pam's picture window.  I thought initially it was an eagle, until we did some more looking at it closer up when it came back a few minutes later and hovered above the lake quite a bit... amazing bird to watch.  It was unsuccessful in its hunt... at least what we could see, but that's only the second time I've seen an osprey dive.  Pretty cool!

Day 5: 4/26/19 Mozingo Lake, MO to Lincoln, NE (Uncle Rollie)

It was a restless night in the tent... watched an episode of Queer Eye I had downloaded on my phone at 4am.  Rained periodically, but at least the wind had died down.  Putting up the tent in the wind yesterday was an adventure in itself!  Also a good thing I warmed up some water for my "hot water bottle" before going to bed... it was in the low 40's overnight.

After doing a little stretching for my sore back in the morning, I got up, took down the tent, packed up and headed out.  From here, I was heading to Uncle Rollie and Aunt Mary's house in Lincoln,NE.  I stopped at a HyVee store for a 2-hr  electron "boost" before going the last 73 miles to Lincoln.  There were several detours along the way due to the horrific flooding that was in this part of the country.  I crossed the Platte river at Plattsmouth, where flooding was still evident... a lot of farmland and some buildings under water... ugh!

Ended up with a total of 172 miles for the day.  I wouldn't have needed the "boost," but better safe than sorry... especially with the prairie wind that seems to always be headed toward me!

I parked at Sid Dillon Nissan for an overnight charge.  I called ahead, and they were so nice and accommodating!  Uncle Rollie picked me up to go back to their house for the evening.  We went out to dinner with my cousin Sue and husband Kevin Moore.,. nice evening catching up.  My cousin Sue's daughter is playing Fantine in the traveling Les Miserables production (my favorite musical), coming to Chicago in June... may have to see that.

Day 4: 4/25/19 Sturgeon, MO to Mozingo Lake, MO (camping)

About 8:30 am, I started out with 264 mi on the GOM, due to traveling with the wind on the previous leg.  Today, I headed predominantly north, and while the wind was originally 3 mph out of the east, it soon changed to against a stiff 11-20 mph out of the north.  No way I was going to come close to that mileage!

The roads around here are very hilly... sometimes letting me coast down the hill until gravity catches up on the upside.  I stopped in St. Joseph, MO for  at a fast charger.  That cost me about $0.25/minute, but got me up to 174 miles (approx. 80% charge) in 30 minutes.  

From here, I headed north to Maryville, MO.  The weather was looking a little dicey, and I had decided I would look for a hotel instead of camping tonight, rather than endure bad weather... However, the clouds moved off, and the forecast was good for the next 24 hours.  

Before I left home, I had purchased an adapter that would let me plug into a 50 amp outlet commonly used in RV parks.  Since all RV park outlets aren't all the same, I had been trying to reach someone at Mozingo Park (outside Maryville), to determine the type of outlet they had, and pre-arrange for my camping/charging spot.  The RV park office sent me a quick picture, and I confirmed my adapter would fit!!  Had it not fit, I would have had to arrange something in town to get the car charged overnight.

At Maryville, I plugged in at Walmart and did some shopping for fruit, then looked for a coffee shop.  I hung out for an hour or so, then headed out to the RV park.  Got a tent spot for $10 in the middle of the RV park, and plugged in for my charge.  Barely could get my tent up, due to the wind.

Made my dehydrated supper (chicken, mushrooms, wild rice.... MMMM GOOD), read until dark, and then crashed.

Day 3 - 4/24/19 Sturgeon, MO (Marybeth and Eileen's)

After a good sleep at Marybeth and Eileen's place, MB and I left for town to move the car and do some hiking.  I unplugged and moved Sherlock to the Home Depot parking lot, changed into my hiking shoes, grabbed my poles, and we were off to explore the bluffs and river area (Gans Creek Wild Area) outside of Columbia, MO.  We had both of their pups along, so they got a little exercise too.

We hiked about 5.7 miles or so, sometimes crossing the creek, other times high on the river bluffs looking out over the crowns of the trees and river below.  MB pointed out this metal rim from an old wagon wheel... an old wagon had been discarded a LONG time ago, and a tree grew up in the middle of one of the wheels.  All that's left now is the metal rim.  

It was beautiful... leaves weren't completely out yet on many of the trees, so easy to see quite a distance.  The red buds were in bloom too!  Saw two box turtles along the way, but no morels (yes, I was looking!).  Due to the recent rains, it was pretty muddy, as evidenced by our filthy pants at the end of the hike.

When we finished, we went to 44 Stars for a local Porter beer and pub lunch.  It was kind of dark in there, so I don't think anyone noticed my dirty pants or the mud that was likely coming from my hiking boots (ugh!).  When we finished up there, we drove to a bird sanctuary not far away.  Had some good sightings there... an eagle on her next fairly close to the road, ducks like shovelers, the ubiquitous mallard, coots, teals, grebes; various shorebirds, and egrets and herons.  Nice!!!

Since it was getting to be about 4pm or so, we headed back to pick up my car, and then home to clean up before going over to some friends of MB and Eileen for dinner.  Michelle, Rose, and their three dogs. I provided a short bit of entertainment with my guitar after dinner too.  I'm starting to get my fingers calloused again!

When I hit the hay this night, I was tired!  Felt good to climb into bed after such a fun day with friends.

Day 2 - 4/23/19 Iowa City, IA to Columbia, MO

After spending an evening catching up with Kat, I woke up in my cute little studio, showered and headed to the main house to have breakfast and good strong coffee!  We were up and at 'em early today, and left the house by 7.  At 7:30, I am at the car and ready to head out, with 236 miles on the GOM!

A quick look at the forecast predicts clouds and weather in the 60's... AND the best part??  A northerly wind, to push me a long a bit.  After pushing against the wind yesterday, it will be nice to have a wind (even a moderate one) with me.  Today's trip is about 251 miles, so I will need to charge along the way for a bit.

About 9:30 (mile 71), I stop at a gas station by a HyVee store with a charger in Fairfield, IA... really nice store and people.  After plugging in, I headed over to the HyVee store and Starbucks to write on my blog.  I spent a couple of hours there, before leaving again with 202 miles showing on the GOM.  This charger didn't charge at quite the same rate as the previous one, giving me only about 20 miles/hr, vs the usual 25 miles/hr.

I pulled out at 2:05pm, with 180 miles left to go in this leg... wondering if I'll need to charge again before Columbia (there was one more easy option for charging if I didn't).  About an hour later, I realized I was "gaining" on the GOM, and would have plenty left in the battery going straight through.  Must have been the push from the wind...

I stopped in Kirksville, MO to enjoy a walk around some ponds and prairie areas in a conservation area.  That was a good stretch for my legs, and spied a meadowlark too!

At 4pm, I rolled into the Nissan dealer for my overnight charge (a comfortable 53 miles left).  I had contacted them a week ago about leaving my car plugged in overnight, which they were fine with. Also had a good discussion with them about my two previous Nissan Leaf leases, and why I decided to purchase a Chevy Bolt.

While waiting for Marybeth, I walked to a liquor store to pick up a nice bottle of wine for dinner.  Marybeth came to retrieve me, and we retreated to their "estate" for a good walk through the woods... one of their dogs got into something icky, so we headed down to their pond where she could wash herself off. picked off only one tick!  I was treated to a wonderful supper, and had my first opportunity to meet Eileen.  Marybeth was one of my backpacking partners a couple of years ago, so it's a treat to be in their home and meet her partner... finally!

After supper, we talked and I played guitar/sang until time for bed.  This is a two-night stay here, before heading toward Nebraska on Thursday.  Tomorrow, we have a local hiking adventure planned... weather dependent.  Oh... we have to pick up my car too!

Day 1 - 4/22/19 (Earth Day): Home to Iowa City, IA (Kat Janz)

Normally I charge Sherlock (Ohms) to about 85%, which saves on long-term battery life.  Today, and throughout this trip, I'm charging to 100%!  This morning, after last night's charge, I left the garage with 238 miles on the Guess O'Meter, which will henceforth be known as the "GOM."

At 8:17am, it was a warm and sunny 62 deg F, with prevailing winds out of the south at 7-10 mph.  These winds would pick up speed over the day, which can be problematic for an electric car... headed south.  Knowing that, I limited my speed on the highways to between 55 and 62mph.

This leg of my trip ended up to be 247 miles to the charging station located about 20 miles from Kat's house.  I had one supplemental charge (free) at Hotel Julian in Dubuque, which added about 50 miles to my charge.  I ended the day with about 25 miles left on the GOM... so, the supplemental charge in Dubuque was all I needed!  Note that I didn't use the air or heater during this leg.
- total estimated miles on GOM from the start + supplemental charge = 288; 288-247 = 41 theoretical left, and I was actually at 25.  So, the wind against me took 21 miles out of my expected mileage. Pretty good!

When I stopped in Dubuque, I parked behind Hotel Julian for the ChargePoint charge.  I took my small notebook, and headed across the bridge toward the river.  Walked along the river, admiring the sculptures.. water is VERY high!  Dubuque has some interesting buildings... one of which is where they made lead shot ("Shot Tower"), which is on the national historic landmark list.  It served as a firewatch tower for a number of years, until (ironically) the building itself had a fire. 

Shot Tower

Unfortunately, the Star Brewery was closed on Mondays... locally famous for where part of Sylvester Stallone's movie "Fist" was filmed.

Star Brewery

After my local tour, I walked back across the bridge to a local pub, and had a half-pint of a local ale before heading back to my car and leaving for the second leg of the day.  Many gorgeous wall murals on this side of the river!  

I had originally planned to stop in Cedar Rapids, for another charge, however didn't need it after my 2-hr charge in Dubuque.  I was able to head directly to Iowa City, where I had prearranged a stop at Billion Auto dealership's (Chevy dealer) Chargepoint charger.  Glad I got there before closing time, as they had to move a gas vehicle for me, so I could reach the charger.  Kathy Janz drove over to pick me up.

As the rain was holding off, we went for a lovely walk around a lake... then headed off to Kat's favorite dumpling place for takeout.  We ended up having a couple of beers, dumplings, and good conversations that are reserved for long-time friends like us.  Unfortunately, Nancy was not able to join us... we went for a walk with their dogs around the prairie, enjoying the wildflowers that are coming into their glory.  Their house is beautiful, and in a beautiful setting, as you can see from the picture as we ended our walk coming up to the house from the "pond side."Ended the evening with he guitar and a few songs before retiring to the studio apartment that attaches to their garage.  I feel so privileged!!  Slept like a log!  Tuesday, I'm off to Missouri!

The Guest Studio

And She’s Off

Good Morning!  Barb took these pics this morning as I headed out on my adventure!  Sherlock has been mostly packed since Saturday to be sure be sure everything fit-other than golf clubs. I guess I can rent clubs the time or two I might be golfing!  Follow along for posts for the next two weeks of travels!