I gotta say, it has not taken me but two days to realize I cannot be without a camper. I got some things organized inside, but the thing is there is still too much crap in here; I could not leave the stuff in storage for fear of getting ruined so it had to come with me – some is winter gear, travel gear, hiking gear…stuff I really need to have access to.

Yesterday’s drive in the Sahara-like heat convinced me that a different change was needed. I bought a 2026 Toyota Tacoma truck today. Not a fancy one, but one with enough options that I really can use. It will be my daily driver but I also use a truck like a truck.

It is definitely a different vehicle – smaller width, a turbocharged 4-cylinder gas engine (with better fuel mileage included!), and more comfortable. It is quite a big change after ten years in the Avy. My Avalanche was 23 years old so it had no tech stuff on it at all. This one has just enough and really ticked all the boxes for me. I like the styling of it and the seats are comfy.

I also realized just how much stuff I was hauling around. Most was from moving and some things had to go with me. I put a lot into storage here so that lightened the load.

While I was waiting for my new truck to get ready I went for some food. I saw a place that I wanted to go to during past trips here called The Gyro Hub (no website and I am not on FB). I got a chicken gyro & fries plus two chocolate baklava.

The service was good and the people were very friendly. They had a good selection of items on the menu. The meat on my gyro was a huge portion and was enough for two decent-sized sandwiches. I could not quite eat it all but it was sooo good. Deliciously well-seasoned and the tzatziki was delicious. The fries were cooked nicely and that chocolate baklava was amazing. If you are in Rapid City it is worth a stop.

As I close this day out it is snowing. Glad I got the propane refilled today or it may have been a cold middle of the night. Tomorrow I have to move out of this spot, but I am also trying to move on as well. What a great campground and I wish I had another day or two. The weather actually looks kind of favorable for me the next few days so I may try to see how far I can get. I will look at the weather in the morning to see what I can find out with the latest forecast. I gotta get up early to go get my prescriptions first thing. I ran out of time today when buying the truck: it took longer than I anticipated.

For now, I got the things done here I needed to do. I have to come back soon to register my new truck so I will probably do a hotel run (no camper) & haul a load of stuff back to Montana in a rental trailer. I also want to go into the fish hatchery again. It is a historic facility and is very cool-looking.

Come back tomorrow and we will see what happens! And, as always, thanks for stopping by.

Shawn