Sept 29th– Medora North Dakota

Sept 29th–  Medora North Dakota                                                          Weather –Clear  13 C

Total Kilometers this trip – 3185.5                                             Kilometers today –  0

Today was a relaxing day.  I got up and made Vadie breakfast, bacon, eggs and toast with coffee.

We then went out and took a tour of the Theodore Roosevelt State Park.  As today is State Park day, it was free to enter.  We drove the 36 mile loop through the Badlands, and saw the animals and lots of wonderful scenery.

Once we got back we toured the town of Medora, much of it was closed already but it sure is nice to see all the wonderful buildings.

play centre for children

Special People – Vadies Uncle Elroy and Aunt Anne – they give us many ideas as they have travelled this country many a time.  We hope to see them during our trip.

Sept 28th– Bismark – Medora North Dakota

Sept 28th–  Bismark – Medora North Dakota                                            Weather –Clear  1 C

Total Kilometers this trip – 3186.0                                                               Kilometers today –  232.1

At around 9:30am we said our goodbye to Matt, our goodbyes to the rest of the family was done the night before.

 Bird of Play & $quanderlodge II

 Bill and Matt

 Matt and Vadie

Matt Reichert

We parked at the Walmart parking lot, then went shopping for the infrared heater.

Before we left Bismark, there was one more thing to do – go visit the zoo.  The zoo is really clean and it appears that the animals are well taken care of.  The monkeys, 4 of them, sure made a lot of noise, I don’t think they were singing either.

At 2:30pm we headed out west to Medora – Badlands of North Dakota. 

We settled on staying at the Red Trail campground as the Medora Campground water system broke.

Again the coach, ran flawlessly.

Special people– Larry, Craig and Pat – three coworkers who have helped me in the past, and are good people to work with.

Sept 27th– Bismark North Dakota

Sept 27th–  Bismark North Dakota                                                            Weather –Clear  3 C

Total Kilometers this trip – 2953.9                                                             Kilometers today –  16.0

Today was a big money day.  I purchased 6 – 6 volt batteries from Intersate Batteries, as well as all new cabling.  I am very pleased the way it all turned out.

 battery holders

new batteries installed

The old batteries were tested and the life in them was still okay, but the cabling was toast due to oxidation.  I had cleaned them up a number of times but it kept attacking.

The time at Matt’s place is coming to a close, so I started cleaning up and packing.

Vadie went price comparison shopping for an infrared heater, we figure it will probably be better than the present heaters in the coach, and will also be good for the house when we get home.

One last item which I did later in the evening, was to install a new gas strut on the rear deck of the coach.  It was getting heavy and one side was always slumping, that deck is heavy and certainly would not want that to come down on anyone.

Vadie had made a special plate for Shelley and Matt, she got a card and Lindor chocolates as a thankyou gift.  Matt, Shelley, Maddie, Ally, and Charles were wonderful hosts.  There are no words that can express our thanks to them. 

To top this all off, they presented us with a basket to North Dakota-ize us. 

Special people – Well, who else can it be – Matt, Shelley, Maddy, Ally and Charles.

Sept 26th– Bismark North Dakota

Sept 26th–  Bismark North Dakota                                                            Weather –Clear  0 C

Total Kilometers this trip – 2937.9                                                             Kilometers today –  0

Last evening, I did some more quick trouble shooting on Matt’s air step, and now know that it contains 4 relays – just like mine.  So, this am,  I changed the 4 relays.  Ahhh success.  I waited till Matt got home to continue with the work on the step, and finally we have it figured out, and the step now works, almost.  He still needs a pressure switch.

I spent a big part of the day cleaning the battery area on Vadies coach to accept 6 – 6 volt batteries.

I used the POR15, and bed liner for areas of the battery box.  It looks really good, and should prevent it from rusting again.

Special people – Peter Cotter – my supervisor – he is a really good fellow to work for and with.