Tag Archives: Wal-Mart

2013_06_28 (Fri) Eagle Butte Coal Mine

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Even though we had registered to arrive yesterday, today was actually the first early arrival date for Escapade.  Yesterday was supposed to just be for volunteer arrivals, but someone had made a mistake when creating the registration page/form on the website.  Not that it mattered to us; we were already here and parked.

We had reservations for a 9:00 AM tour of the Eagle Butte Mine, an open pit mining operation north of Gillette, Wyoming owned by Alpha West Mining.  The tour is two hours long and there are no restrooms available during that time, so breakfast did not include our usual coffee.  (It’s good to skip morning coffee occasionally, if only to prove to one’s self that you are not addicted to it and can function just fine without it.  The result, however, usually establishes just the opposite.)

Us standing in a an overburden shovel bucket.

Us standing in a an overburden shovel bucket.

We arrived at the visitor information center (at the Flying J on Hwy 59) in Gillette about 20 minutes early and checked in.  The tour was by small bus–the kind used by car rental companies as airport shuttles–and was free!  Reservations were required, however, and Linda had made ours on Wednesday.  Our tour guide / driver was Danielle.  Her normal day job is teaching 7th grade physical education, but she had worked production at the Eagle Butte mine in past summers.  Her professional teaching skills were evident as she was very knowledgeable regarding the whole mining operation and was able to clearly explain what we were seeing with a strong voice that everyone could here.

A coal train pulling out of Eagle Butte Mine.

A coal train pulling out of Eagle Butte Mine.

What you see on any tour of a functioning production operation is always a bit by chance based on what is going on at the time you are there.  Your chances were pretty good with this tour, however, as the mining operation is 24/7/52 and the tour bus, which is owned by the mine, actually drives through the mine property and stops at various vantage points and a viewing platform.  We were lucky today as there were shovels and trucks (dirt/overburden, coal, and water) operating, along with smaller equipment.  There was also a train being loaded, and we got to see the loading process from a very close up vantage point.  The trains, with 110 -140 coal cars, move through the loading area at a very slow but steady 0.6 MPH, up a slight grade, even as the mass of the train changes as each car is loaded.  I presume that the locomotives are computer controlled, but I was not able to confirm that.

Coal shovel, Eagle Butte Coal Mine

Coal shovel, Eagle Butte Coal Mine

Eagle Butte is a relatively small mine compared to most in the region, but the scope of the operation and the size of the equipment were still quite impressive.  Eagle Butte is in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin (PRB) where the coal lies in a horizontal layer 100 -120 feet thick below 200 – 250 feet of overburden.  The reclamation process is continuous and very strict, with the overburden being used to back fill once the coal is removed.  The land is returned to its former condition (as much as possible), including the exact replacement of native flora and fauna.

After the tour we returned some items to Wal-Mart, bought some replacement items, and then went to the HealthStyles Market.  Rick still had his 20% off coupon from his FMCA welcome bag and gave it to us yesterday.  We, in turn, gave him some coupons for food items we would not be able to use.

It was warm again this afternoon, but it was not uncomfortable due to the low humidity (34%).  Linda went for a walk and encountered Nick & Terry Russell.  She also met Charles & Connie Martin, who invited us to go out to dinner, which she accepted.  We have not dined out on this trip much as the available restaurant/menu choices are limited to non-existent, especially here in Gillette.  Linda had found the one and only Italian restaurant in town and suggested we go there.  Italian restaurants usually have a few pasta dishes that work for us, and there is always the “pizza without cheese” option, although this has proven to be a hit-or-miss proposition.

We had a quiet afternoon and visited with Rick next door for a while.  The Martins picked us up at 6:00 PM and we went to Adriano’s.  The food was underwhelming, but the conversation was great.  Linda enjoys planning and preparing our meals, and I enjoy eating them, but she also appreciates a break now and then.  Charles & Connie have an MCI 102C3 conversion.  Charles was very familiar with Bus Conversions Magazine (BCM) and its founder, but was not aware that Gary Hall now owns and publishes it, so I gave him a copy of the February 2013 issue, which features our coach.

We got back from dinner at 8:00 PM and decided to go for a walk while it was still light, and before it got too cool.  We walked a portion if the Boxelder RV Park to see who else had shown up and met some very nice dogs (and their owners).  I spotted a motorhome with a very tall flag pole attached to the rear, but no flags.  The owners were outside and I asked if it was a flagpole or a ham radio antenna?  “Yes” was the answer, so we stopped to chat with them.  They have been full-timers for a while but only recently started traveling.  This was their first Escapade.  By the time we made it back to the coach it was dark and cool.  We had a few sweet cherries for dessert and it was off to bed.

 

2013_06_13 (Thu) The Open Plains

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We got up early so I could work on soundproofing the entrance door window.  After studying the assembly, and considering my available materials and tools, I decided to apply self-stick foam tape to the window seals on the operable window panel rather than the fixed frame.  This ensured that the foam tape would be lined up with the seals when closed.

We left the Wal-Mart in Sioux Falls, SD around 8:00 AM CDT for Rapid City, SD via I-29 N to I-90 W.  The weather-stripping on the window seemed to help a lot with the wind noise.  We stopped in Mitchell, SD to see the Corn Palace.  We were there mid-morning, so there was adequate parking for large RVs.  The streets in and out of town, however, had some trees with branches that were not trimmed high enough.

Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD

Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD

The drive across South Dakota was very pretty.  The farther west we drove to fewer trees we had, giving.  They had had a lot of rain, and the grasses were green, long, and waving.  We re-fueled at a Flying-J at exit 61 east of Rapid City in tropical storm force winds of 39+ MPH.  Exit 52, just NW of Rapid City (in Black Hawk) was our access to 3 Flags RV, a Coast-to-Coast Good Neighbor Park (GNP).

We thought we had reserved a 50 Amp (A) full hookup (FU) site, but ended up with a 30 A FU site instead.  This happened because of a misunderstanding on our part due to our inexperience; this was our first use of our Coast-to-Coast membership outside our home park.  3 Flags RV Park wasn’t anything special (it was located next to I-90), but it was clean, the utilities all worked, the laundry room was clean and functioning, and it positioned us well for visiting the Black Hills and surrounding area.  And it was only $15/night (15,000 C2C points).

The 30 A hookup was initially a problem because our house batteries needed charging after running the refrigerator all day via the inverter.  If the batteries are down sufficiently to trigger a bulk charge, the charger portion of the Magnum 4024 can and will draw up to 30 A of 120V AC current.  That is sufficient to blow a weak 30 A service breaker, even if there are no other loads turned on in the coach.  The amount of current drawn by the charger can be limited using the Magnum ARC-50 remote panel, but we had to find the manual and figure out how to do this before plugging in the coach.  We did, I set the limit to 15 A, and everything was fine.

The other reason we prefer a “50 A” power connection when we can get it is that we can run all of electrical loads, including our three house air-conditioners if needed.  Each A/C draws about 10 A at 120 VAC, more when the compressor first engages, so on a “30 A” service we typically only run one, leaving room for other electrical loads (refrigerator, air compressor, microwave, lights, etc.  Hey, it’s a house on wheels and it doesn’t use propane).

Technical note:  A 50 A service actually provides over 3 times as much current (power) as a 30 A service.  I know that doesn’t sound right, but it’s true.  The reason is that a 30 A service is ONE circuit with a 30 A maximum current capacity at 120 VAC, (~ 3600 watts) whereas a 50 A service is a 240 VAC service with a 50 A maximum current capacity  (~ 12,000 watts) that generally functions as TWO 120 VAC, 50 A circuits (still ~ 12,000 watts).  In practice it acts like a 120 VAC “100 A” service.  If it were called that, it would be obvious that it is more than 3 times the available power of a 30 A service.  That’s assuming the service breaker (where you plug in) isn’t worn out and weak.  We have been in RV parks where we tripped the “50 A” service breaker while drawing less than 40 A on each of the two legs (circuits).

 

2013_06_12 (Wed) A Long Travel Day And Wally World

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We ran the genset while we ate breakfast to bring the house batteries up to near full charge.  We were not in a hurry to leave as we did not want to get to our next destination too early.  We topped off the fuel tank and departed the Iowa 80 Truck Stop for Sioux Falls, SD around 10:00 AM CDT.  Most of our travel was in Iowa via I-80, I-680, and I-29, only crossing over into South Dakota towards the end of the drive.  We took exit 77 (41st street) east to the first major cross street and turned left (N) to the Wal-Mart.

Boondocking at Wally World

Boondocking at Wally World

We had called ahead to verify that it was OK to spend the night at this particular “Wal-Mart”, but we still checked in with the Customer Service desk when we arrived.  This was our second boondock and our first at a “Wally World” (as Wal-Marts are known among RVers).  Wal-Mart permits overnight parking (but not “camping”) as a matter of corporate policy, although this is sometimes superseded by local ordinances.  Companies like Wal-Mart that permit this use of their parking lots provide a great service to RVers who just need a place to park for the night while traveling along with convenient shopping if they need it.

The big RV clubs, including The Escapees RV Club, the Family Motor Coach Association, and The Good Sam Club (all of which we belong to), have all signed on to a good neighbor policy regarding boondocking on private property.  Among other things, it says: one night only, ask permission, and no “camping”.  This later point means many things, such as: don’t put your slides out, your awnings out, your leveling jacks down, get out your lawn chairs and grill out, or crank up the outside TV set.  We often see this policy violated, even when just driving by a Wal-Mart in our car, and it is very discouraging.  Widespread violation of this policy will ultimately cost all of us the ability to use this resource.  There is never a charge to stay, although you inevitably end up buying a few “things” that you need, and this stop was no exception.  This particular Wal-Mart was in a more suburban/commercial setting than we expected, but egress was OK, and it was a pleasant place to spend the night.  (Note:  Had we used Google Maps aerial view to check this store ahead of time, we would not have been surprised by its setting.)

The two days travel from Twelve Mile, IN to Sioux Falls, SD had been very windy and the bus cockpit had considerable wind noise, including a loud whistle by the entrance door.  Linda determined that the operable window was the biggest problem, so I bought several weather-stripping materials at Wal-Mart that might fix it, at least temporarily.