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Chambers on the Road @[email protected] · 2026-08-12 · 12:00 UTC

Our Way West 1

From Pentwater, Michigan to Dodge City, KS

After two wonderful weeks in Michigan, it was time to leave. But we weren’t too sad, as we were heading to the Grand Canyon! Here, we would volunteer as camp hosts for two and a half months – from August 15th to October 31st. But first, we would have to get there! We planned to take 15 days to make the journey.

Day 1 (8/1/2026) was from Pentwater, Michigan to Delphi, Indiana. This was our 7th time at the Wabash and Erie Canal Park Campground. This is a small campground which offers a small museum and canal tours. The campground really warrants a longer visit than just our overnight stay, but that is all we seem to manage. There are also cute little cabins that can be rented. I have always felt that this place was a hidden gem.

Wabash and Erie Canal Campground

We always enjoy visiting with Roger, the campground host. He has been our host every visit. He is friendly, helpful and personable. We always look forward to seeing him. When we checked in upon our arrival, we could only chat with Roger a bit as we had to hurry and get set up before rain began for the rest of the night.

Thank you, Roger, and Best Wishes!

In the morning, we had to stop and say goodbye to Roger. During our short talk upon arrival, we learned Roger and his wife were retiring – to Florida! They have been camp hosts here for eight years at the Wabash and Erie Canal Park. We likely won’t see him again. We wanted to thank him for being such a friendly host over our many visits. So, thank you, Roger, and all the best to you and your wife as you start this next chapter – in sunny Florida!

After saying goodbye to Roger, on Day 2 (8/2/2026) we drove to Casey KOA. Not much to report here. We wanted to go into the town, see all the giant attractions (like a pencil, wind chimes, mailbox) and eat dinner out. However, there is no Uber here. Since our next campground was “Lazy Days”, we decided to get into the spirit of things and be lazy. So, we didn’t bother to unhook. Hopefully, we’ll see all those giant things in Casey another time.

Now Day 3 (8/3/2026) has much more to report. As we made our way to Lazy Days Campground in Montgomery City, Missouri, we had a detour. There had been a truck fire accident on Highway 70, and we had to get off the highway. Following GPS blindly like trained rats, it took us off the highway and down a dirt road which dead-ended with two orange barricades. There was no turn around. Dan tried to make a u-turn which got us stuck in the mud. It didn’t look muddy which is why I suggested a u-turn. It was either that or back up almost a mile. We should have backed up.

What the heck? Oh No!

To the side of this road was a large construction area. Since we were in a construction zone, those workers came over. In fact, two safety officers stayed with us the entire time. And oh yes, they told us the road had been closed for months. Nothing is down that road. Nothing. So why wasn’t the road barricaded at the entrance?

Fortunately, we have Triple AAA RV. We always have ever since we got our first travel trailer. It must have been our lucky day, as we only had to wait about 20 minutes for a tow truck after calling Triple AAA. The tow truck came and pulled us out. At that point, Dan had to back up the truck and the travel trailer about half the way to a small road into the construction area. Once there, he backed into the road, turned and got going the right way. Out.

Our Site at Lazy Days

We arrived later than we had planned at the Lazy Days campground. But that’s okay. It’s another good reason to only travel about 200 – 250 miles per day. In case something happens, there is time to try to get it resolved, so you can still arrive at the campground with plenty of daylight. Note: To the forces that be, I am knocking on wood, so don’t jinx me!

While planning our route to the Grand Canyon, I figured in a couple of times where we would stay two nights. Fortunately, this was one of those longer stops. We were glad to have this extra time.

The next day, you’d think we would have rested. But not us. We were done being lazy. It turns out Lazy Days allows campers to wash their camper – for an extra fee. We had wanted to get our camper washed before heading to Michigan, but we weren’t organized enough. And that little incident in the mud worsened the situation. Since most campgrounds don’t allow campers to be washed, we took advantage of this opportunity and washed our camper as best as we could. Of course, even Dan couldn’t reach the top sections, but the camper still looked very much improved after the washing. After that, I decided I wanted to be lazy again, so I went to the campground pool.

Day 5 (8/5/2026) was another boring day, thank goodness. We drove to the Topeka Kansa, KOA. The only thing I would say is that there is currently a project to make Highway 70 three lanes from Wentzville, Missouri (near St. Louis) to Blue Springs (near Kansas City). So, we went through LOTS of construction for two days. At one point on this day, we were re-routed off of the highway. I was nervous, but it worked out fine. GPS behaved this time.

For Charla I thought this Puzzle Wall was interesting at the Topeka KOA. Some were signed with a name, date and time. One even said 4:30 a.m.! For Campers Everywhere

The next day, Day 6 (8/6/2026) we drove to the KOA in Dodge City, Kansas. As most folks know, Kansas is pretty flat. I was surprised to see two scenic overlooks as we neared Dodge City. Any guesses as to what these spots overlooked? Let me know in the comments below.

We really liked this KOA. It didn’t have a pool, but the KOA was adjacent to a city park. Within walking distance was a fabulous looking water park. Also, the lady at the check-in had a large bag of homegrown grape tomatoes. She offered them, and I took advantage of that several times over our two days there. The KOA was also close enough to walk to the Cowboy Capital for dinner which we did. It was less than one mile each way.

That night, to our surprise, there was a hail storm. Yep. Over 100 degrees during the day, and large hail pounding us at dark. I can make stuff up, but I can’t make this stuff up. The next morning, we didn’t see any major damage, just a beautiful sunrise. We did see a couple dings on our truck, but they are hardly noticeable. There’s more to the story though , and you’ll find out a couple of blog posts down the line.

Morning after the Hail Storm
Dodge City, KS – August 7, 2026

This was another two day stop. Our next day was a really fun day, and that will be the subject of my next blog post.

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