We made it to my next campsite at exactly 5:00 p.m. As it turns out, it was not Perry State Park where I had camped several times before, but Rock Creek Park, which is on the same lake. I eventually found the entrance to Perry State Park, and since the office was still open, I decided to stay.
Earlier in the day, with Chip’s help, I was able to visit the starting point for my journey along the Donner Party Trail in Independence, Missouri, and then follow the trail to the historic junction at Gardner, Kansas, where the California and Oregon trails separated from the Santa Fe Trail. After that, however, things became considerably more difficult. I wanted to visit one of the historic river crossings, but the shortcomings of Garmin’s GPS, Google Maps, and Apple Maps made it virtually impossible to identify and navigate to the actual historic location rather than some modern place with a similar name. Eventually, I gave up rather than spend the rest of the afternoon wandering around Kansas. Tomorrow, Chip and I will try to figure out a better way to follow the old trail—and, fortunately, I still have the detailed maps I prepared for this trip back in 2021. And because I do not like the Maps prepared by Google and Apple, not to mention, Garmin, I brought along the latest copy of the rand McNally maps in the United States.
As it turns out, the Lakeview area seems to be the preferred location for all the large RVs, and I appear to be the only person here camping in an SUV—or anything remotely resembling a tent. However, I do have a prime spot with a very nice view overlooking the lake.
The problem is that almost as soon as we arrived, the dark clouds started producing thunder, lightning, and rain. I quickly parked the Grenadier, took Annie for an unsuccessful walk, and then tried to set up the smaller tarp over the back of the vehicle. Unfortunately, the tension on the two tie-downs pulled one of them loose from its mooring. Since the tarp wasn’t critical for tonight—and would probably blow down during the night anyway—I abandoned the idea.
Instead, I stashed the Stuff Box, Clothes Box, and camp chair underneath the nearby picnic table and covered everything with the tarp. Somewhere along the way, I need to figure out a system that allows me to leave all of this inside the vehicle during stormy weather. Ideally, when I want to get the heck out of a campsite quickly in the morning, all I should have to do is climb out of the rear, adjust the driver’s seat, and drive away.
Tomorrow, I will consult with Chip about the best way to experience the Donner Party Trail on what the weather forecast suggests will be a dark and stormy day. I also need to figure out where I’m going to camp tomorrow night, since I have no reservation anywhere.
In the meantime, Annie and I are confined to the rear cargo area of the Grenadier for the next 13 hours. As soon as I send this, my first order of business is figuring out how. This is where the fun begins as every day is impromptu from here on out.
Ps… as I sit here writing this at 6:13, I have to admit that with the sound of the rain falling on the grenadier, it does emulate the experience of experiencing the same sounds in the tent, except here, I have a 360° view of what’s going on outside.
PSS… I’M ACTUALLY GLAD THAT I DID NOT SHUT UP THE TARP ON THE BACK OF THE Grenadier. THIS WAY, WHEN I NEED TO GO TO THE RESTROOM, I JUST JUMP IN THE FRONT SEAT AND DRIVE OVER THERE. WITH Annie IT’LL BE A LITTLE MORE PROBLEMATIC.
I will send some day five photos in the next message since I took the photos on my iPhone and I am writing this on my iPad
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