A Pileated What

3/9/09 Monday
We woke up to blue skies and the sound of a woodpecker working on a tree close to the trailer. We had breakfast and washed dishes to make ready to travel. Upon going outside to disconnect the water line the woodpecker was still having breakfast at the top of a tall tree with a couple dead limbs at the top of it. I got the binoculars and checked it out. It was a large pileated woodpecker really having a good time up there. After hearing him (her?) up there for quite a while I went to get Joan so that she could see it and would you believe he had left by the time she got out of the trailer.

It was a pretty nice partly sunny day but the wind was strong, gusty and out of the south. With this partial crosswind the fifth wheel still held the road well. I have found it amazing how much better the fifth wheel handles compared to a pull trailer.

We went on around Indianapolis and got to I think it was Spiceland, IN. We checked the guide for campgrounds and found one and called them. They said that there wouldn't be anyone in the office but that we could just pick a site and pay the $25 fee in the morning. There wouldn't be any water available however because they had not turned it on for the season and the possibility of freezing still existed. We pulled into the campground and decided that we wouldn't stay there as we would probably be the only transients there and everything looked pretty closed down. We decided to opt out for the nearest Walmart that Amelia (GPS) could find. We checked her database and found one just a couple miles away. We picked a quiet spot in the parking lot and called it home for the night. A free night sure beat paying $25. As you probably know Walmart is happy to have RV'ers stay overnight as it usually means a few sales.