We made it to Park City, Utah this morning with only about 3 hours of driving. We had heard a lot about this place so it was a scheduled stop on our so-called ‘plan’. First we checked in at the Park City RV Resort which is right on I-80 and Utah 224 which connects Park City to I-80 so we were close. We elected to take a camp site that is right next to a really nice clean stream. First thing we saw was another GMC. This is a ’79 23-foot Birchaven. A couple is living in it full time along with the biggest, furriest dog I have ever seen and there is a third person that spends the night there. Very nice people and the guy is a mechanic who has done a lot of work on old Tornado drive trains so he knows GMCs pretty well.

We drove to the ski areas and found what we were looking for at the Park City Resort – in the winter a ski area but in the summer they have zip lines, and other downhill attractions. Our objective was the ‘Alpine Coaster’ which is basically a sled that hold one or two people and rides on a track that is very much like a roller coaster. The ride is long – more than a mile – and fast – as fast as I want to go. We took separate sleds and Carol didn’t even touch the brake on the way down – I used it a little. I could tell when I popped out of the woods that she had gone a lot faster than I did because I couldn’t see her in front of me. She’s a devil that one. It turns out that the ride averages about 30 MPH so I am a big chicken. Next time… no brakes.

If you want to see what it is like check out this youtube video.

Share on Facebook

We crossed a large part of Wyoming today. We drove an extra hour to get in position so we can make it to Park City early tomorrow. Park City is supposed to be a nice place so, if we like it, we’ll spend an extra night there before going to the rally in Springville early on Monday. If we don’t like it or can’t find enough to do we’ll get to the rally a day early.

As you can see from the pictures there are some really nice scenic spots. The problem is that they are few and far between. The route was chosen with an eye out for hills and so far we have succeeded, this was a really easy route. At this point we are on the same route as the Mormon and Oregon Trails that the pioneers used to get to Utah and California. There were lots of antelopes around but no warning signs – I wonder if antelopes are smarter than deer. There were occasional deer warning signs.

The big v-shaped cut into the rock in the last photo is called Devil’s Gate and it was a key trail marker for both the Mormon and Oregon Trails. Just past Devil’s Gate on the trails, at the place I took the photos from, is the place where a large group of Mormon cart pulling pioneers were caught in an early winter storm in October of 1856 and many of them died from exposure. These people were unable to afford Conestoga wagons and oxen to pull them so they pulled their belongings in two-wheeled carts and walked all the way to Utah . There is a museum there and lots of Mormons who love to talk about the place and how sacred it is to them. We were looking for some history and got a little more than we bargained for but still a nice place.

Share on Facebook

Douglas, Wyoming is the official home of the fearsome jackalope, a jackrabbit with antalope horns known to inhabit the area. Many swear they have seen them with their own eyes and there are at least a few statues erected to honor them for their contribution to the town.

We are spending an extra rest day before heading onto Utah and the GMC Western States rally. We read that there was a natural bridge just west of here over the North Platte River so we went for a look. It was nice and very different than most of the other terrain around here – pretty desolate (sorry but true).

Share on Facebook

We drove the rest of the way across Nebraska today on US-20 through the Sand Hills area and the bluffs of the Northeast corner and into Wyoming. The Sand Hills area is amazing but not all that scenic. It looks like a desert, like the Sahara, that was all sand dunes and then gradually grew a very thin coat of grass over the sand. Anywhere the land is scarred like from cattle, roads, erosion, etc., you can see the very light and fine sand  underneath. The amazing thing is that the grass grew on the sand and was not suffocated by it. In the lower areas, where water runs, trees and tall grasses grow but in the higher areas the grass is brown from the drought and very wispy or just eaten down to its roots by the cattle, lots of cattle. While driving through the Sand Hills I noticed that the GPS data said that we were at over 3,000 feet of elevation and got as high as about 3,500 feet.

After passing through the Sand Hills area we arrived at the extreme Northeast corner of Nebraska and the bluffs – eroded sand hills that look like and probably are a form of sandstone. Crossing into Wyoming the topology became somewhat less interesting but there were some odds and ends of the sandstone formations.

We ran on real gas all the way across Nebraska but, unfortunately, the party is over. Wyoming is back to using ethanol in the gas. We are spending tonight and tomorrow night in a KOA in Douglas, Wyoming. We are not in a hurry to get to the rally site so just cruising and need another rest – this kind of life is tough. Tomorrow we will do some grocery shopping, visit the Pioneer Museum, and there is a stone arch around here that we will visit.

Share on Facebook

I lived in Nebraska, in the Omaha area, for almost 4 years in the ’60s but never went west of Omaha until now. We continued our trek across the prairie states on US-20 and were again surprised by the lack of boredom and the scenery. Also, gasoline is available without ethanol so the coach loves it too.

Share on Facebook

I have crossed Iowa quite a few times in a car on I-80 and I can tell you that it is not fun – pretty boring. In the GMC, we always like to stay off of the interstate highways because they are boring and can be stressful with the high speeds and the trucks. We like to travel slowly and ‘smell the roses’ . I can tell you that crossing it on US-20, a pre-interstate highway that runs along the northern border of the state, is not boring. I have gone through areas of California, Nevada, Texas, Arizona, and many others that are boring but this road is not. It is mostly straight but there are lots of ups and downs, lots of trees, lots of corn but it is growing on hills that are sometimes even terraced. I would recommend it.

We made it 3/4 of the way across the state and stopped on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River at South Sioux City, Nebraska. We are staying in a city park that is right on the river. The motto of the city on the front of our camp material says “Quality of Life… A Cardinal Rule” and it is under the figure of a cardinal bird. The park is mostly tree’d but they lost lots of trees in the flooding last year. Our spot is right on the river, has electricity and water, cable TV (we don’t use it though), and free wifi that actually works. All of this is costing us $20 per night – quite a bargain. We like this so much we have decided to just stay here tomorrow. In the photos you can see a riverboat that is actually a casino – it is on the Iowa side of the river.

Here are some other photos we took during our second day – we needed a rest – in the South Sioux City, Nebraska city park.

This is GMC content but should interest anyone who cares what gasoline and food costs. Alcohol is being added to gasoline these days in the name of the environment and because it increases the octane rating of the gas but it is actually for the farmers and others who profit when corn and grain prices rise. It would seem to be a good environmental policy to use corn to make alcohol to be added to gasoline but it is not really. Not only does it seem to cost as much oil as it is saving but it results is lower mileage. 10% added ethanol reduces fuel mileage by about 10% so where is the savings? Also, the alcohol in the gas is bad for the vehicle. Metal and rubber are affected by alcohol and the water it encourages to form in your tank.

So, with that background I can tell you that gas stations and chains will elect to add alcohol to some types of gasoline and not to other types.  Because of what alcohol-laced gas does to all vehicles and especially to those with carburetors like the standard GMC I prefer gas without alcohol.

Now for the point… Casey’s General Store is a chain of gas stations that is all over Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska. They sell gas with and without alcohol. The gas without alcohol is called ‘regular unleaded’, is 87 octane and costs 10 cents more per gallon than ‘super-unleaded’ which is 89 octane and does contain alcohol. I have used that for the last two tanks and the coach is running great and seems to have a lot more power. I never stopped at a station in Indiana or Illinois so I don’t know if this is true there or not but it was true all across Iowa and at the first Casey’s we saw in Nebraska. I hope it stays that way across the whole state.

Share on Facebook

We are taking US-20 across Iowa and Nebraska. US-20 is a lot like an interstate highway except that it is not and is, therefore, a lot calmer and quieter. We are about one quarter of the way across Iowa near Waterloo in a town called Evansdale. We are in the Evansdale city park on the banks of the Cedar River and, with electricity, water and a dump station, we are paying all of $12 tonight – my kind of RV park.

The new exhaust manifold gaskets have quieted the noise and we had a comfortable day and a pretty short one to boot. I discovered that my driver’s side CV boot is leaking from a pretty small hole and hoping I can avoid fixing it until I get home.

Share on Facebook

We had a blast in Milwaukee. Lynne and Tom call each other Lucy and Desi and they act just like them. We are always laughing – Tom is a great guy, smart and entertaining.  Lynne is fun and funny and they are great hosts.  We had breakfast together and then drove the two hours back to the KOA Kampground where we left the GMC. We retrieved her from the ‘dry storage’ lot in the campground – $5/day – and put her back in a campsite (kampsite? KOA likes Ks) and proceeded to install the Remflex exhaust manifold gaskets.

Once I got them off I found that both of the old ones were leaking at bottom in the middle. The theory is that this is caused by tightening the middle of the 5 bolts too much and tilting the manifold toward the top, leaving the bottom of the gasket uncompressed so it ends up leaking. I did not tighten them even to the 20 pounds of torque specified for the Remflex gaskets so I don’t think that is what is happening in this case. I think that the manifold is warped from the heat and that may even be caused by leaving that top bolt looser than the others. I think that I will be calling Dave Lenzi for some of his super-duper copper gaskets and having the manifolds flattened to remove the warp as Carl (fellow GMCer) suggested. If that fails… headers maybe?

While I was in the engine compartment I looked for a reason for my ‘hot starter’ issues that have been again rearing their ugly heads lately. I found a loose nut on the connection from the battery to the starter. Hopefully, that will fix the problem.

Now our next destination is the GMC Western States rally in Springville, Utah. We plan to drive across Iowa and Nebraska on US-20 through the Sand Hills area in Northwest Nebraska. I will be looking for advice on that route on the GMCnet I think.

Share on Facebook

Milwaukee is right on the mouth of the Milwaukee River as it enters Lake Michigan and, as is the case with lots of cities lately, has undergone a revival along the waterfront. We took a river cruise on a good-sized commercial boat and heard all about the city and the buildings along the river. A very nice place – at this time of year.

Share on Facebook

When we made plans to visit our friends Tom and Lynne in Mequon (Milwaukee area) we found that our trip coincided with Lynne’s plans to take her granddaughters to the American Idol concert scheduled for Sept. 11th. Being fans of American Idol we could not pass up the chance to accompany them since we had the chance. Lynne and Tom are members of the Wisconsin Club, an old club – since the turn of the 20th century – in downtown Milwaukee. The club serves dinner and has limo service to events and Lynne and Tom invited us to come along. The dinner was great, the club building was an amazing old mansion in perfectly preserved condition, and the concert was lots of fun.

Share on Facebook