Day 7: Wyoming or bust

We knew today was going to be a long day of driving: 8.5 hours to be exact. We’d start next to the cows of Deer Lodge, Montana and end in the Gillette, Wyoming Walmart parking lot.

We needed fuel and found a Costco close to the highway. We were able to use both pumps simultaneously to fill up the RV and car. Since we were in the area we also opted to do a little shopping to fill our fridge. We initially headed through the Costco parking lot to find parking, but after circling the entire building we ended up across the street. Driving through the parking lot wasn’t nearly as daunting as it could have been thanks to awesome teamwork. Yes, we can actually buy Costco sizes and quantities–it is absolutely amazing how much we can fit in our RV fridge, which is just slightly bigger than a dorm fridge.

This day we were reminded of the impact of driving 60 mph, even when the speed limit is 80. It made it an 8+ hour drive instead of 6+ in a car. We knew it going into the day, but man, RV speed really is taking things slower…

It did afford us a beautiful sunset and our first time driving in the dark. The whole family was on “deer watch” as the freeway was lined with signs warning of them and the freeway showed many signs of accidents. We had a big scare as we passed a huge deer in the lane next to us as we traveled 60 mph down the interstate. That had me on edge the rest of the trip, and we all couldn’t wait to get done with driving that day.

We had two RV hiccups today. One, we picked up a loud squeak in the front passenger wheel–still trying to discover what’s causing it. Rob did some research and heard it’s sometimes caused by the “wheel simulator” (fancy truck term for “hubcap”), so he removed it to see if that would help. It didn’t, but we also discovered the sound stops when the brakes are applied, so now he thinks it’s the brake pads. Rob still needs to put the hubcap back on, though.

Second, Rob noticed that the front of the RV hood was sticking out on one side a little and discovered the bracket was no longer there to attach it. We are now rolling with duct tape on the front of the hood and a removed hubcap on the front wheel, but all the important stuff is still working.