Flexibility – or – Go With the Flow!

We often say “If you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plan!” That was certainly the case as we cruised into Kansas City on Monday morning. We had been successful with reaching both of the contacts our dear friend, John Brown, had given us to assist with the air leveling issues we were experiencing with Contessa. We had an appointment for 8:15a Tuesday morning and the second option on “stand-by” for the afternoon, if needed.

As we rolled through St. Louis on Sunday afternoon, we were ever-thankful that while it was a 440 mile day, we didn’t have to face St. Louis on a Monday! As we proceeded across Missouri that Sunday afternoon, Niece Christy (who we had visited with in Nashville on Friday & Saturday) texted that Chris had awoken Sunday morning with “the crud” and by evening, the dreaded home COVID test indicated a “slight positive”. He would proceed to a testing facility on Monday and advise.

Sure enough, Chris tested positive on Monday and by Tuesday afternoon, so did Bill! It began with fever & cough in the middle of the night Monday. So the Ratts Reunion in Dodge City will go on without the 4 of us. The good news is that the symptoms are rather mild (headache, body ache, chills & fever). Bill did get to Urgent Care on Tuesday afternoon, and while he is not a candidate for the anti-viral medications due to conflict with existing meds, his lungs are clear and his fever has responded well to ibuprofen/acetaminophen (Advil/Tylenol). Treatment plan is fluids, rest, ibuprofen/acetaminophen – repeat. Congestion is limited to head & sinus and his sense of humor has only minimally diminished!

The good news is that TransWest Truck/RV Service was able to diagnose the issue with Contessa’s air leveling system! Armed with the part number -it is now on order from the manufacturer (10 day delivery) and we have altered our travel to add a day in Missoula MT and arranged for installation there in late June.

So, we are gently proceeding across Kansas – Nephew Jim and I met this morning midway between Dodge City & Wakeeney KS, where we found the convenient (if not attractive) KOA Journey campground.

We exchanged the food I was bringing to the reunion and he brought the packages I had shipped to Dodge City. Shipping ahead to future destinations is a common solution to needed items. The drive both yesterday across the plains of Kansas and this morning were truly beautiful with the wheat in full bloom and ready for harvest. It is truly “amber waves of grain”.

Another major “flexibility opportunity”, of course, is the devastation to our beautiful Yellowstone National Park! The storms on Sunday forced evacuation of the entire Park and it will be days before the extent of the damage and any reopening plan can be determined. All we can do is proceed according to our plan and see what is in store!

From here, we head through Colorado and then north to Cheyenne, Wyoming and the Snake River. From there, it’s the Grand Tetons and see all the majesty on our way to Yellowstone on Friday, June 24.