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Burnt Tips, Relays, and a Suspicious Gap

The Rock Port Welcome Center in Missouri turned out to be a good place to spend the night, once I’d sorted out the parking lanes. There was a little truck noise, but nothing that made me regret stopping. I pulled out around 8:15 Saturday morning in light rain, with a much more compelling destination than another stretch of interstate: Kansas City barbecue.

I’d been debating whether to push all the way to Kansas City the previous night, largely because I didn’t want to arrive so late that the only barbecue left was whatever happened to be open. This morning’s plan involved Scott’s and a burnt-tip burrito. By the time I reached my next stop, I could at least report a belly full of burnt tip. A successful start, especially considering that yesterday’s dinner plans had been mostly theoretical.

A Riverbank, a Squeak, and the BBQ Problem

The empty lot behind Coffee Cup in Brandon, South Dakota, turned out to be another excellent overnight choice. The main truck-stop lot had been full, but the separate space behind it was quiet. One truck came through for about an hour, and otherwise I had the place pretty much to myself. By eight in the morning, nobody had knocked on the door or suggested that I take my little motorhome somewhere else. I don’t have confirmation that overnight parking is officially allowed there, but the practical experiment went well.

The Missouri, a Free Dump, and a Wi-Fi Mystery

The best overnight stop of the trip so far may have been a green-waste collection area in Murdo, South Dakota. I hadn’t known that was what it was when I parked there. What I did know was that I had the place to myself, there weren’t any parking-lot lights, and I could actually see the stars. The highway was close enough to supply the occasional air-brake soundtrack, but otherwise it was quiet. There was a posted restriction on vehicle access, which apparently did nothing to interfere with my ability to get a good night’s sleep. I made coffee in the morning and started packing up around 8:49 Central. By 9:30, I was officially leaving Murdo and heading east.

Five-Cent Coffee and the Badlands

At this point, buying gas has become less about filling the tank and more about finding the exact angle at which the pump will agree to keep running. Wednesday started at Runners in Rapid City, where a 25-cent-per-gallon discount was limited to 35 gallons. That meant two transactions: 35.000 gallons for $135.77, then another 10.001 gallons for $41.29. In total, 45.001 gallons and $177.06, with the nozzle still requiring more negotiation than I would prefer. I left around 6:45, headed for Wall.

The Day the Starlink Took Flight

The Walmart parking lot in Sheridan turned out to be an excellent place to spend the night. No reservation, no bill, and no particular reason to complain. I warmed up the motorhome and got moving in the morning, with Apple Maps pointing me toward Gillette. I even got a look at Sheridan’s old mill and the Mill Inn in the early light. The trip odometer was showing 139 miles since I reset it at the Billings fuel stop, a number that will eventually be useful once I have a reliable full-tank-to-full-tank comparison.

A Workday in Billings, Then Sheridan

My first night on the road turned out to be a pretty good argument for free parking. I spent it in the Bass Pro/Cabela’s and Sam’s Club lot in Billings. There was a little highway noise, but nothing that caused a problem. I pulled out at 8:15 in the morning, with sunshine and an actual workday ahead of me.

Riverfront Park was Monday’s office. After leaving the Billings overnight lot at about 8:15, I was at the park for the workday, with the motorhome doing double duty as transportation and workspace. Starlink worked despite nearby trees, which is a useful reminder that tree coverage is something to evaluate at a particular parking spot, not an automatic disqualification. I stayed until late afternoon, then started working out how far to push after work. I still want enough time in the Ozarks to enjoy being there before heading to Alabama, rather than simply adding the Ozarks to a list of places I’ve driven through.

A Dry Run to Billings

October 25, 2026

After what felt like several geological eras installing batteries, wrangling the inverter, pulling cable through the motorhome, and discovering new opportunities to rearrange the electrical system, I finally did something that didn’t require a crimper: I drove it somewhere. Apparently the motorhome is meant for traveling, rather than providing increasingly elaborate opportunities to question my electrical decisions.

I left Helena in the evening, aiming for Billings. That’s not a heroic first-day distance, but I also need to work Monday, and getting a useful chunk of Montana behind me seemed better than trying to make a point with mileage. The larger route is east through South Dakota, down through the Ozarks, and eventually Daphne, Alabama.