Birthplace of our Excel

Today we drove from Lake Milford (near Junction City, KS) to Smith Center, Kansas--home of Peterson Industries, manufacturer of Excel fifth wheels. Venture had come full circle: the rig was born here in 2006, sent to the dealer in Eugene, OR, from which we bought it, then delivered to us in Long Beach, and now our travels have brought the rig back to its birthplace. Tomorrow we will tour the plant, but today we stopped to meet the folks we've been communicating with by phone and email: Donna Eckhardt in the parts department and Jack Yenne, customer service manager. We've made arrangements to swap out our unsatisfactory folding chairs for regular chairs, which we will finally pick up tomorrow.

We've been traveling through the heartland, and Smith Center is the quintessence of small town America--one single screen theater showing Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull for the special Tuesday rate of $3. The showing is at 7:30 p.m., so we'll go join the crowds 8-)

We've had some poor weather lately. A storm here produced a beautiful double rainbow. The Excel in the picture isn't ours--just another rig come home for a visit.