DAY 16  

Text Post: DAY 16: Up early, big day ahead, lots to do in Wamego. Rolled into town at 9am, saw a man in a truck, told him what I was about, and I asked him if I could test my power converter (converts 12v to 120vt) in his charging port (we used to call them the cigarette lighters). He let me test it, and I could hear it trying to work, which told me two things; one being that my wagon battery was weak, and two being that the converter had a fan bearing inside that was sticking. That was task one for the day, to test the converter, and it was done upon entering town - great start! In the course of our conversation about rural and small town America, the man said that what we have is “priceless” and I thought that was an excellent way to put it. I do not remember the man’s name, I was extremely focused on getting a long list of tasks done soon enough to not be looking for a campsite in the dark!

Going on directions from the kind man in the truck, I went west on 40 Hwy in Wamego from the east to the west end of town, a stretch that could be called the new business district, with McDonalds, Auto Parts Store, Grocery and the like. It was four lanes with a fair amount of traffic, and people were waving and smiling all the way! Reaching the west end of town, I pulled into the doctor’s office across from the laundromat and went inside to ask if I could park there because there was no place to tie-off at the laundromat. Permission was given at once, and many people there in the lobby, both patients and employees were enthusiastic, and I gave away all the FAITHMARCH.COM cards in my back pocket, and three different people gave me money, which I promised to put it to good use. (I never ask for money, and am shy about taking it, but am very grateful). Also, Curtis from Louisville saw me while driving by in his truck, and he pulled in and gave me his phone number and told me to call him if I needed help with anything.

Text Post: DAY 16: While at the laundromat, I charged my computer – 2 birds killed with one stone equals a total of 3 important tasks done, the day is going good! Leaving the laundromat, I went back east on the 4 lane in the new business district to the NAPA auto parts store (I would have taken side streets but there was not enough time). I pulled into the NAPA parking lot and parked in a parking place with a light pole in front of it, so I was parked like other cars, but the tail end of my rig hung out like a trailer on a truck. It was funny looking, sorry there’s no pic. At the NAPA service center, I asked the mechanic if I could use his air pressure to blow into my broken power converter, but he didn’t want to because he said it would kill the converter. I told him it was already dead, so there was nothing to lose. I then bought a can of WD40 and sprayed a bunch of it into the converter, then followed that with high air pressure sprayed into its fan vents (to spread the lubricant around inside the converter which is a sealed unit). I then let it sit while I purchased a new battery for my wagon, the best NAPA had, and most expensive, ouch! I then installed the battery and plugged the converter into its port, after a few seconds, it came to life! Yeah Baby! And it’s been working fine since. Two more important task accomplished!

Because things were going so well, I was able to do the optional task of washing my wagon at the car wash. Got that mud off!

At the grocery store in Wamego, people converged on Reba, and as some left, others came, and I was telling what I was about, and handing out Faith March cards right and left. And the enthusiasm spread into the store, so that folks were talking about it in there while I was shopping. This was not due to me, I wasn’t like having a really up day, in fact I was consumed with getting my tasks done, it was the people; they were great!

From the grocery store, I headed towards the COOP to get grain for Reba. Again I would have taken side streets but there was no time. It was 4:40pm and the COOP closed at 5, so I had to beeline it. This photo does not do the old town justice; Wamego is one of the pretties towns I’ve ever seen. Reba dropped a load of “horse-apples” right in the downtown, so I quickly tied off, shoved it up, and rolled on to the COOP which was at the other end of the business district, beside the river bridge. 

Text Post: DAY 16: At the COOP in Wamego, I met JoAnn, a very nice lady who sold me a bag of Sweet 14 horse feed, gave me water, and told me I could camp on the property (I was beyond my usual time for starting a camp). I thanked JoAnn for her kindness, but I didn’t camp on the grounds there because all the grass was cut short and Reba hadn’t eaten all day.

It was 5 o'clock rush hour and I didn’t want to cross the Kansas River Bridge during the rush hour (the bridge was right there at the end of town, just past the Coop). So I went due east on a road that turned to gravel and was out of town in only 3 or 4 blocks, and I found a perfect campsite beside the road, in a nice band of brome, mostly cut short but with a tall stand of grass in the woods, along a row of trees, with a stream with flowing water. It was a perfect campsite, and lots of people drove by and smiled, waved, got out and said hello. It was a great day, very productive in that I got resupplied and made needed repairs, but far better than that were the people of Wamego.