AND THEY’RE OFF!!

6/9: During day one the Slome’s covered a respectable amount of territory, cutting through Nebraska, Iowa and eventually reaching our destination in Brandon SD, just east of Sioux Falls. As a rookie RV-er, I give myself a passing grade on handling such an enormous vehicle without taking out any poles, pedestrians, or parked cars (thank God for insurance). Robin, my wingman/woman navigator did a spectacular job entertaining Whitney and Hayley with minimal meltdowns. We ultimately arrived at Jellystone in one piece on the Beast’s maiden voyage. We didn’t run into Ranger Smith, but we did manage to get a family photo with Yogi as you can see. Hayley and Whitney had an enjoyable time at the Boo Boo Bubble Blowing contest before we settled back to the campsite for what Whitney called the “best smores that I’ve had in my whole life!” – O.K., Daddy will take some credit for that. Anyway, day one is in the history books and we hope to follow in Yogi’s footsteps and be smarter than the average bear as we continue on our journey. Tomorrow we head west towards Mt. Rushmore with a few interesting pit-stops along the way. Catch you next posting…

P.S. For those of you keeping score, the gas “Guzzle-meter” cashed in at $151.34 on the first day. Given that I started with a complementary full tank of 75 gallons, the bite of the first fill-up wasn’t too bad. At 7 miles per gallon through the flat lands, I’m a bit worried what will happen to the Guzzle-meter through the mountains??!!