Saturday, 4 through Monday, 6 September 2021
Saturday the 4th
I spent all day running errands in Casper: the vet, the grocery store, recycling, a liquor store, an RV supply place and a couple of parks.
Casper, pop. 55,316, elev. 5,123, is in a bowl, with a 6% grade going down into town. The North Platte River runs through town so there's a riverwalk and various parks around town. I passed a bridge with a sign saying: "Dr. Leonard L. Robinson World War II Bataan Death March Memorial Bridge." Not something I see everyday so I looked it up. He seems to have been a remarkable man, and here's an article from the local press about him. https://oilcity.news/honoring-bataan-death-march-survivor And because I couldn't remember what that death march was about, I looked it up and the words "death march" are an apt description. https://en.wikipedia.org/Bataan-Death-March
Altitude Veterinary Clinic was one of the few vets open on the Saturday before Labor Day. They'd kindly thought to call my vet in Austin to get confirmation of the dogs' records, so they wanted just to weigh the dogs and not make me go to the expense of vet charges for wellness visits. And they were able to sell me both kinds of pills the dogs take, meaning I didn't have to send off for them (and then have David forward them to me). Very expensive, but I've now got a year's worth which is a relief.
I was surprised to find that Gracie has lost 6 pounds in the last year. Those pounds went to Dexter, and he and I definitely need to go on a diet - which I'll make him do as soon as I'm willing to make me do it.
Casper had a number of recycling drop-off points, but the various places didn't all accept the same materials. And oddly, none of them accepted mixed paper or plastic other than bottles. But they did take glass, which was a help because glass can't be squashed to fit in my bathroom's tight places.
I had several items on my list from the RV supply place, and I was lucky enough to find a power surge protector. Another camper at my current KOA showed me his and told me how satisfied he is with it, and that's the same kind Sonny's RV had for sale, so I bought it. And I bought a gadget to go with it that uses a wireless signal to let me read the messages on the front of the surge protector while I'm sitting in the cabin. Advantage of that: I don't have to go out in an electrical storm to find out why the power's been shut off.
I stopped by 2nd Street Liquor, and found that scotch drinking is apparently not a big deal in Wyoming based on the few brands they carried. But I bought a bottle of Johnny Walker. Wyoming allows beer sales in grocery stores, but wine and liquor have to be bought in liquor stores, though the hours are generous. Interesting how different the various states handle sales of alcohol.
We stopped for a walk at Mathew Campfield Park, a nice place, and the dedication honors an unusual person. This link https://www.wyohistory.org/mathew-campfield-barber-coroner-and-pioneer-survivor not only tells the story of what seems like a remarkable life but also gives a good view of life in a small Wyoming frontier town in the mid-1800s. This park is only one of the many I saw in town.
Casper also has some pleasant residential areas at every income level, industrial areas, and Casper College, considered one of the largest and most comprehensive community colleges in the region, they say. And Casper has a David Street, which turned out to cover a lot of ground, including civic buildings like the city hall and some very nice residential neighborhoods.
I'd intended to stop at a laundromat but couldn't find one with enough parking for us to fit in and anyway ran out of time.
I'd also made an appointment for dog grooming, which I was really looking forward to, but alas. We were a bit early for the 2:00 appointment, the groomer seemed very nice (it was in her home), and all seemed well. Until she told me it'd be at least 3 hours and possibly 4 before she could promise they'd be ready. One of the dogs she'd done earlier had pooped on itself while its coat was drying, and they'd had to start all over on that guy, which put all the later appointments behind. And she pointed out their coats had to be dry before she could brush them out, and for Gracie the brushing was the main point of the grooming. There was just no way I wanted to be hanging around somewhere - or driving out to the campground and then back in again and then back out again - at that hour of the day. My brain stops working around 5:00 or so. The critters are used to being fed by 4:30. I'm going to bed before 7:30. I just couldn't do it. I was so disappointed but I couldn't figure out any way to change reality, so I gave up the idea of getting clean dogs for the time being.
Sunday the 5th and Monday the 6th
This campground has gravel covering every inch of land surface except for a tiny plot of grass in the dog park. Even the children's playground is covered in pea gravel, and the area set aside for tents doesn't even have pea gravel - just regular gravel. Unsurprisingly, I didn't see anyone pitch a tent there - folks either had tiny campers or they slept in their cars.
There seem to be 2 sections to this campground, with the one closest to the office having lots of trees and the other section having no trees at all. I'm guessing that second section was developed later than the first, but regardless, it doesn't look like an inviting place to stay - all gravel and no trees.
I was in the first section and was shaded by a cottonwood for the AM hours. We were at the end of a row right by the bathrooms, so almost every dog in the campground got walked by our space. Foolishly, I left the door open to keep from having to turn on the AC as long as possible. And Dexter of course got wildly excited by the dogs walking by and clawed at my brand-new screen, putting a couple of small holes in it (just claw-sized punctures, fortunately, but holes nonetheless).
But me being slow to learn my lesson, I left the door open again the next day and this time when a dog went by, Dext got so excited he broke the plastic that David put on the bottom half of the screen door, while shoving open the door altogether and chasing after the dog. I leaped up from the table and chased after him, only to be stopped right away by the gravel that was really hard to walk on with bare feet. Fortunately, Dext and the other dog were being friendly and just sniffing each other, and the couple with the other dog were nice about it all and caught Dexter for me. Meanwhile, Gracie noticed the open door and came out to add herself to the doggie group and I was having a hard time being of any constructive help in getting my critters under control and back in the RV, not being able to walk on the gravel - and worrying the whole time that Lily might decide this was a good time for her to come outside too.
She didn't, the rest of us got back in, I closed the door and turned on the AC, and I haven't had the nerve to leave the door open since. A real shame since the extra air flow could really help cool us off. Idiot dog.
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| Can you see my nice new hole? |
Actually, I was so distracted by the dogs I didn't realize Dexter had punched the hole until I found an odd piece of plastic lying on the ground by the RV. That was actually a lucky break, because when I have an extra few minutes I'll try to reattach it to the door with that clear packing tape, so if I ever don't have Dext inside I'll be able to use my screen door.
I installed the surge protector I bought, and it seems to work just fine. I probably won't know for sure until we've got a thunderstorm, but I feel some peace of mind that I hadn't before. I didn't try to sync the indoor display because the directions made it look complicated and I decided to take these things a step at a time. The surge protector is step 1.
I spent some time planning my driving routes for the next few days - especially through the Tetons.
I'm beginning to miss having the TV mounted on the swivel arm. It's a real process getting the TV set up so I can watch a movie: take the movie out of the box and the remotes out of the bag; fish the 3 John Grisham books out of the little side area and put them in a handy spot; stand the TV upright carefully and put the books under it, being careful not to block the speakers that are at the bottom of the frame; while holding the TV in place, swing the swivel arm around so it's in position to support the TV from behind and tighten down the screw to hold it still; check to be sure the TV's at a visible angle but leaning back a bit to make it steadier than it is straight upright; open the cabinet over the doorway and fish out the extension cord I plugged in where the TV's supposed to go, and plug the TV into the extension cord; wait a few seconds for the TV to adjust to having power and turn it on and turn on the DVD player; insert the DVD and sit back and watch a movie.
I meant to add photos weeks ago when I first took the bigger TV down and started jerry-rigging this smaller one, but I think I deleted them before adding them here, so here're views of what it's like.
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| the usual position |
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| what it's like for the 2 hours I watch a movie |
And because Lily regards that upper bunk as her territory, it's impossible for me to believe I could leave the TV up in its somewhat precarious position any longer than the movie lasts, so I have to reverse this process before bed. Because of this procedure, there's not a chance I'm going to bother watching the morning news/weather, which I used to enjoy. I'm even afraid to pause the movie and take the dogs for a walk, because I don't know what Lily might get up to while we're gone. So when I find someone I can trust, I'll get it mounted again and find a way to deal with the arm's inability to tighten down enough for driving.
In the campground I saw a motor home with a message cross the back: "Prayer Walk America" and "An Appeal to Heaven" and "Miami - Seattle." I looked it up and found most information is on Facebook, which I don't have access to. But here's a news article that gives you some basic information about it. https://www.bibbvoice.com/national-prayer-walk
I saw a Jeep being towed by a large motorhome, both with Colorado license plates. The Jeep's plate read: NJGIRLY. The motorhome's plate read: KUZNEDY. I'd say these folks have a sense of humor.
I saw another Jeep that had its own name: Wandering Jeepsy. I saw it early in the morning and it took me a minute to get the pun.
Two of the mornings here we all saw a couple of antelope feeding across the street from the campground in a vacant lot. And then the morning we left, a whole herd was feeding at the Baptist church next to the vacant lot. This herd was within a block of an entire residential area and half a block from a popular bar/restaurant and, of course, across the street from a heavily-used campground. Seemed odd to see them there.
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