Vladimir

Observations along the trip. Texas. Always was kinda neutral on Texas. Crossed into Texas at El Paso. That was NOT neutral. What an awful place to travel through town. It has a million people, but the traffic, etc makes it feel like LA. Not a good introduction. Then Texas got real nice with El Paso in the rear view mirror. Good drivers. Little traffic particularly on 190 to Waco. Nice small towns. Great Courthouses!!! You can probably write a tour book on the Courthouses of Texas. There must be a lot of history in those courthouses. Great radio stations. Lots of fiddles and steel guitars with Merle, EmmyLou, and a host of others. Never put in a CD while in Texas. Only downside was it was tough to find places to stop for the night. Lots of truck stops, which does not meet my definition of boondocking. Oklahoma. That was quick. I thought the panhandle of Idaho was quick to cross. Kansas. I once read an article that if you made Kansas pancake size it would be flatter than a pancake. I can handle flat, Florida is flat. Kansas is flat with crops.. Once I crossed into Kansas the music stopped. It didn't stop, it just got bad. Nebraska. The drive across Kansas was pretty boring. It got interesting as I crossed into Nebraska. Liked North Platte and the river. The next day driving into the Sand Hills was incredible and I was there at the worse time of the year before green up!! Sand Hills were on my bucket list and they way exceeded my expectations. The Niobrara Wild and Scenic River was great. The Sand Hills were pretty. Even the Nebraska National Forest was scenic. The icing on the cake was all the wildlife areas and prairie potholes. Every duck got its own pothole. I would not mind spending a month in the Sand Hills. Thanks to DJohns for the tips on Nebraska. Wyoming. Been a long time since I was in Wyoming. The population growth was just amazing. People everywhere these days, outside the public lands. Thank god, for those. After the relative solitude of the Sand Hills, it was jarring to run into people again. I really liked the Jackalope on the hillside above Douglas, Wyoming. Wish I had a kid in the truck to watch their reaction! Jackson Hole on a Monday morning in April was filled with traffic!! Eastern Idaho. Same story. Where did all these people come from ?? Montana. Did enjoy the drive across I-90, but quickly went onto Highway 12 and into Idaho and home. Next time I think I will go east of highway 83 and try highway 385 and 27. That means I would have to double back to revisit the Sand Hills, but it would be worth it. That country just north in South Dakota looks real good.

Did you get a clear view?? We ended up with two minutes of totality and two minutes of clouds during totality.

I was going to Valentine, because I don't know any better!! Would you cut across at Merritt Dam?? That is the location of the Nebraska Star Party in summer, so I thought it might be worthwhile to drive that way. I have a one-ton diesel truck towing a Casita trailer. Anything north of Abiliene??? That is probably my Tuesday night stop in that area. Vladimir

Ok....I retired from the Forest Service and never had heard of the "Halsey National Forest". Did you mean the Nebraska National Forest??? That is a stop on the trip. Best night sky I have EVER seen was on the Beaverhead National Forest in 1996. Close second was the night sky at Lake Mohave in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in 1977. That night sky does not exist anymore. But I really want a repeat of that night on the Beaverhead!!! That night in August 12th, 1996 was incredible. My astronomy buddies still do NOT believe me when I described that night.

I will be done with the eclipse on Tuesday morning. The plan is to take Highway 83 from Menard, Texas to Valentine, Nebraska. Any advice?? Places to stay, things to see?? Not sure how much time I will have.....it is fishing season in eastern Washington and I need to be there. Thanks for the all the suggestions in advance.

We will be camped tomorrow on private land right on the center line. It is the only reason I decided to make the trip for the eclipse. I was at the 2017 eclipse in John Day, Oregon. Unless you were a Forest Service employee, you probably don't know where John Day is located. It was extremely crowded. The local school raised 24,000 dollars by allowing us and others to camp at the rural school for three days. I was happy to write a check for 400 dollars. The school wanted an eclipse every year!! There is nothing like a total solar eclipse. PS....leaving on Tuesday after the eclipse.

Still in Benson. Leaving tomorrow for the eclipse. Then up 83 and the great plains.

Choices are heading on 70 to Roswell and then east to Waco. Or 82 from Almogordo to Hobbs....then south and east to Waco. Or I-10 through El Paso and then to 190 to Waco. I am towing a small Casita trailer with a one-ton truck (not taking chances on not enough truck!!) and my friend is driving a 40 foot motor home towing a truck. Any information camp spots or overnight stays around the 400 mile work would also be handy. My first time in Texas so any advice is greatly appreciated. Vladimir

Yeah, that didn't take long. https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/highway-1-california-landslide-road-closure-19378076.php One of my all-time favorite road trips was going down Highway 1 through Big Sur. When I lived in California, I made a point of doing the trip almost every year. For the past five or more winters I have been trying to repeat that trip and the road has been closed every year. I am beginning to suspect that in the near future the state of California might just abandon Highway 1. If the road is open, do the trip. It is as someone said...."the most dramatic meeting of earth and sea in the world".

The Escapees Parks in Coarsegold is a good overnight stop on your trip. If you cannot get into a campground inside the National Parks and Forests there are also Corps of Engineer campgrounds that are also in the area. Your trip down the coast along HIghway 1 will also require reservations. You have picked the correct direction north to south since it will put you on the outside lane, with views of the ocean and pull-outs such that you won't have to cross traffic. Be sure to take some binoculars or a small telescope with you for views of sea otters, etc. It is probably too late for the whale migration. That is a classic California trip. PS. The route shows you going back on Highway 101. You want to go down Highway 1. It should be totally open by then according to Cal Trans. Explore the website REC.GOV now, and see about making campground reservations in July. That will give you a good clue how difficult it will be to find a campsite. Good luck on weekends.

Does it work well with boondocking locations on public lands??? Or is it geared more to commercial RV parks and main routes.

Anybody using RV LIFE TRIP WiZARD.....a friend of mine just bought it and is tearing out his hair. Comments. Vladimir

GEHA had TWO "utter loads of BS". The first was that explaining the billing code to the patient is prohibited under HIPAA. The second was the "incorrect" billing address which automatically kicked out a $51 dollar charge for my physical. The original call to customer service identified the "incorrect address" and that it would be fixed. When it wasn't fixed, I called again and talked to a supervisor that said they were NOT going to fix it and that I would have to APPEAL to fix it. Really, you admit you made a mistake and now you want me to jump through a unnecessary hoop to fix it?? At that point, I had already initiated "fraud" charges through the state of Washington Attorney Generals office. The Inspector General for the Federal government health FRAUD department told me to appeal and GEHA would refund my $51 dollars. I told them I didn't care about the $51, but the fraud and stealing the money from taxpayers and patients was systematic and that needed fixed. We do have the best government money can buy and GEHA still owes me $51 dollars. I waited for my next physical before doing anything since it was a month away. I decided to wait a month to include the SECOND physical in the fraud charges. In 2020, President Trump signed the No Surprises Act, which required medical providers to tell folks in ADVANCE that they were going to be charged for an "out of network" provider. The Biden Administration published the new regulations in 2022. To paraphrase President Biden..." son of bitch, they paid for my entire physical without a co-pay of $51 charge". Turns out, if they had to tell me before hand that some of visits to MY DOCTOR in HER OFFICE was out of network, and in network for other visits I would immediately drop GEHA. GEHA is secondary. I pay $4,000 dollars in premiums for secondary coverage, and in addition the TAXPAYERS pay a additional 15,000 a year. For this GEHA charged me $51 for a physical that they covered when I was working without CO-PAY. As soon as I was under Medicare, they charged me $51 for the physical. Does that make any sense?? GEHA and other insurance carriers are making a fortune off Federal retirees and the taxpayers. And it is still NOT enough for them.

I am traveling now, but under EOB I assume you mean the billing statement with the medical codes. Yes, I got the EOB's and called GEHA for them to explain what the billing codes meant. I was told that telling me the billing codes was a violation of HIPAA and they could NOT provide me with the information!!! Told me to go look up on the internet. Which I did. It had NOTHING to do with a annual physical. How do you contest a improper billing when GEHA will NOT tell you what you were billed for in the first place!!! Again, ATENA was the contractor that handled GEHA claims. This year it is United HealthCare. Life will not got better.

I hear you, BUT there is no recourse except government to bring about fair outcomes when your dealing with insurance companies that will not HONOR or ABIDE the contracts they signed with the Federal government. Except, these days in the immortal words of Bob Brinker "we have the best government money can buy".