October 12, 2023 Day 5 Oberlin Kansas to Junction City Kansas 242 miles
We had two extremely annoying flies in our room all night. Between that and the heat in the room the night wasn’t very restful. The heat was our own fault because we elected to open the window and not turn on the air conditioner. The night temperature was supposed to drop down and that seemed the quieter option. Unfortunately the curtains must have prevented that cooler air from coming in.
The temperature is cooler and the skies are mostly cloudy. Some of the clouds look very threatening. Rob received a tornado watch for the area. The clouds remained all day with only a rare bit of sun. The wind was also very bad all day. Rob really had to work to hold the car in our lane most of the day. We both watched the skies intensely. Surprisingly we only got a few raindrops.
We did encounter one very long stretch of road resurfacing. They restricted travel to one lane. We got very lucky and didn’t wait long. Because of that we missed our turn but the GPS quickly rerouted us. That route included 2.5-3 miles of dirt road which was supposedly closed except for local traffic. Well, we did say no highways to the GPS.
The terrain is lots of small rolling hills. Lots of big fields again today. The towns are really small with less than 50 in population. They do have large silos however..
We finally stopped at a Wendy’s for lunch. At least we were out of the wind. Several guys asked about the car. A couple of them even owned an antique car.
We arrived in Junction City about 3:30. As we drove in we stopped to fill with gas. The price per gallon was $3.15. Even the premium was only $3.65. Our mileage was only about 19 mpg which is down at least 2 mpg. Oh that wind. I never understand why the wind can hit the side of the car and then when you make a 90 degree turn it still hits the side.
We bought salad mix for supper and some oil. The car is losing a little oil for some reason. Then on to the hotel. This one has a kitchenette but no plates or pots. The check in papers say those can be purchased. No coffee or coffee pot either. Those can also be purchased. Then the front office is only open until 6 pm. This hotel is like the cheap airlines. You pay for any extras.
They did have a guest laundry so that became one of the evening jobs. Supposedly you can use coins or cards. Well the cards require you to download an app onto your phone. I didn’t bring my phone to the laundry room. The front office was still open so I could get quarters with the money I brought along. We forgot to bring a roll of quarters this trip. It would help if we followed our packing list a little better. Maybe next time?
About 8 pm a heavy rain started in. It’s pounding on the window. Wonder how Woodie will do in the morning.
Spoffords Travel 