I’m not going to describe the trip from Lingle, Wyoming to Hot Springs, South Dakota.
Let it suffice for me to say we saw a lot of grass today. The fields of grass were so large that the cattle in them were little black dots. The highway seemed to stretch forever.
We’re parked in a campground called Cottonwood Spring.
This is odd because there are no cottonwood trees, just big pine trees. It’s a Corps of Engineers campground with restrooms, a water spigot, and trash receptacle. The nightly fee is $7.00 or $3.50 with the Senior Pass. The campground was designed with little imagination. It’s basically a loop with playground equipment in the middle.
You get what you pay for.
And one thing I apparently didn’t pay for was shade. It’s been a brutally sunny day and very hot, whether sitting under the lone pine tree by our site or lying in front of the fan in the Best Little Trailer.
Larry the Camp Host is very hospitable and helpful.
Larry has a wife named Virginia whom I haven’t met. She’s smart and stays inside her air-conditioned fifth wheel. They’re waiting for the closing on their house not far from here, and then they leave for California. They have a camp hosting gig around Sonoma somewhere.
I asked Larry if there’s any water around here.
“There’s a small lake on the other side of that hill. If you go down there, watch out for rattlesnakes. There doesn’t seem to be any up here, but we’ve killed two so far over by the lake.” Okay, that does it for the lake . . . . Thanks for the heads up, Lare.
Tomorrow I’ll look for another camp.
I’ll post a slideshow before I melt into my laptop. It’s even too hot for Spikey to find some trouble to get into. Now that’s hot.[slideshow]
rvsue
Oh, I long for the heat…… It’s 62 and cloudy here in Dupont, Washington, and NO sight of summer !!! Watch out for those rattlers……
I usually enjoy heat. After a long drive, some cool air would be nice.
It’s almost July… time for summer in Dupont!
Just tell Spike this place doesn’t have a swimming area! Perhaps the next place will.
Stay cool!
How he’d love a soak right now!
It looks like a nice area from the pictures, but the pictures don’t show the heat!! If you had a small generator would you be able to run your a/c? I hope you find a cooler spot tomorrow, one without snakes.
I guess I would be able to run the a/c with a generator. I thought we’d be cool at this elevation. I didn’t realize we’d be back in the humidity zone.
Sue, you are just like the women of a century or so ago forging ahead, enduring the hardships of the vast area you are in. Maybe even thinking the same thing as Spike. You there in your “covered wagon”, pulled by the PTV horses.
I should be thankful I don’t have to wear a long dress and lace-up shoes.
And layers of petticoats! UGH!
I can see Bridget in a bonnet too.
Yep, Bridget would be turning her head….. away from the camera….hat shots only!
OR have to beat your clothes on a rock in the river! Oh wait………..sorry Spike, you’d like that wouldn’t you??
Right now I’d like to be in the river with Spike.
Howdy rv sue & crew,
BUT IT’S ‘DRY HEAT’!!!! The weather says 100-108 for the next few days, hail and thunderstorms!! OH MY!!! Get your bizness done and haul it girl!!!
11
Nothing dry about this heat! Big rain clouds hung overhead. I hoped they’d let loose and cool us down, but they moved on. I am worried about the hail on my precious solar panel and the PTV’s windshield! Such a predicament!
The only good that’s come from all this is I got to hear from Butterbean!!!
I looked at the link you posted. Very interesting. I’ll have to think about that. I have an old quilt folded up in the PTV and some rope handy. I could put that up on top of the solar panel to protect against hail. I also have a throw rug with rubber backing I could toss on the windshield.
The best-laid plans won’t work, however, if there’s no warning. I’ve never seen hail that wasn’t a total surprise!
Arizona State University has done numerous tests on the effects of HAIL on PV systems. The gear is subjected to wide range of mechanical, electrical, and environmental simulated testing. The modules are heated up, cooled down, soaked, pounded, shaken, beamed, zapped and subjected to accelerated aging. It is known as the biggest solar simulator in the world. On the glass encased units that have one-inch ice balls shot at them at speeds of up to 120 mph, as long as the modules frames don’t collapse or glass fragments don’t damage the cells they rarely translate as system killers.
Under standard test conditions they will withstand hail up to one inch in diameter, traveling at 50 miles per hour. In the Northern Hemisphere, the US has its arrays facing a southerly direction with a tilt average of 35 to 45 degrees. Most Hailstorms blow in from the north thus striking the other side of the roof, or fall straight down with a glancing blow off the face. It is rare that a soft ball size hail stone will hit your panel straight on with enough force to break the glass or damage it unless it knocks it off it’s support.
If it starts hailing, throw heavy towels over your solar panels and windshield of PTV. This will help. I’d suggest that the solar panel be 1st !!!!! Insurance shud replace the windshield.
Hail hurts! As Sue mentioned, it always starts suddenly. Even in tornado alley, it is hard for them to predict when hail is coming. Don’t know what the answer is.
The answer is . . .I’ll deal with it and move on . . . Come hail or high water . . .
Gosh, to think I didn’t take my sweatshirt off almost my entire trip. I would think, too, that you’d be cooler at this point although when we were in SD years ago, it was so hot we were dying. Did I ever tell you I hate heat?
I guess I shouldn’t be complaining. I’ve been in perfect temperatures for months. This morning Lingle was heavenly. . . fresh and cool. Then I come here and it’s so humid!
A great lot of the country is miserably hot during the summer…have always wondered how on earth women could have stood it, having to wear all those layers of clothing?? We had the nicest coolest summer day today EVER in the 9 years we have been here….and we took advantage of it and moved the largest load yet to the storage unit…but oh my is it ever going to make up for it now!! Guess we will get up at o’dark thirty in the mornings to move stuff over now….and stay INSIDE and work at least till it hopefully cools off again…but that may be hoping up the wrong tree!!
I’m glad you had a cool day, Elizabeth. The heat is bad enough… What I don’t like is my lack of motivation to do anything when it’s hot. Sounds like you’re making progress . . .
S L O W progress at best…but oh well….hope today is a cooler one for you!! I am like you, when it is hot, I am not motivated!!
Sorry it is so hot for you! Hope it cools off for you tonight so you can sleep.
Thank you, Cathie. Hopefully it’s only tonight and the price is right.
Well, you could be in Florida… our hometown of Apalachicola FL had 12″ of rain in 24 hours thanks to Tropical Storm Debby! My hometown is flooded! It’s hot here too, we are finally out of Zion. Finally got out about 7:30pm.Can you believe they sent the wrong part for the MotherShip? So the guys forced the room in and now we are down in Hurricane UT waiting in the DRY heat of 100+ for the right part to arrive!!! Glad you made it safely to SD, real sorry you had to find humid heat and possibility of rattle snakes! Geri
I thought of you when I read the news about Florida rains from Debby.
All that waiting for a wrong part! How frustrating! Well, this, too, shall pass. . . .
Cooler Temps in Custer: http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Custer+SD+USSD0079:1:US
Somewhat Higher Elevations around Custer – 5,315 ft than Hot Springs – 3,448 ft
That’s what I’m thinking, too. We need to go higher! Thanks for the link.
Hi again Sue, It’s been a while since i made a comment. But I’ve been following your post on a daily bases. And have to say, I love your dry sense of humor. How you respond to some things and the way you say it. Has made me laugh aloud at times.. Stay safe and keep on with your humorous way … Cheers Dominick
Hi, Dominick, I remember you! It’s nice to know you’re still with us and finding something to enjoy out of my blog. Cheers to you, too.
At least Spike found some grass to roll in. Be glad you aren’t at Lees Ferry where it will be 102 tomorrow when I pass by on my way to Yarnell. Hope you find a cooler location.
Ooh, I can imagine how hot it must be at Lees Ferry…. all that red rock! You enjoy your cool Yarnell . ..
And that’s Bridget rolling around in the grass. I managed to take that shot before she saw the evil camera.
Well shoot Sue! I haven’t been in blogland lately b/c I’ve been so busy & just got back on tonight. I live in Cheyenne & you could have camped in our driveway instead of the Wal-Mart parking lot in Laramie! We live on 10 acres & have a long driveway & you could plug in! AND…we were IN Laramie Thursday night at a friend’s house & then out to dinner. We rode our motorcycle over & got home about 10:30 (yikes…late for me!!!). I’m SO BUMMED you were right here & I didn’t get to meet you & the crew! UGH!!!!!! I hope you’ve enjoyed Wyoming & that you enjoy South Dakota! Let me know if you’re coming back through!
Susan
Hi, Susan!
How sweet of you to offer your driveway and electric . . . Thank you.
I won’t be coming back that way. There’s so much to see that I try not to retrace my routes. I’ll be going across northern Wyoming. I’ve enjoyed Wyoming so far. I don’t think I’d ever get used to how BIG everything is. . . .
Wow, I’ve always thought that the northern part of the US was always cooler than Texas in the summertime. Guess not, huh? Sorry to hear you are having heat problems! It was 104 in Dallas yesterday, with more to come this week. You seem to have a good attitude about all of this, though, your humor comes through in your posts.
Somehow keep cool,, Cari!
Whew…I thought 78F was hot last weekend at my cabin! Guess it’s a matter of what what you get used to, but does anyone really get used to 100+ degrees? Except for those three hot days, we’ve had a chilly, rainy summer up here in Alaska. It was only 49 this am…brrrrr! Keep your chin up Sue, it can’t stay hot forever. Watch out for those rattlers!
Kristine
No, I don’t really get used to 100+ temps, but I have learned to accept and deal with them. The main thing is to stay inside in the A/C as much as possible LOL Wow, 49 degrees is winter weather for us!
Wow, Kristine . . . 49 degrees sounds wonderful . . .