Groveling for gas

One of my least favorite things about traveling with my big camper is the whole ordeal of purchasing fuel.  Early on I discovered the double-edged sword of truck stops – if you go on the truck side of things it is glorious. Huge wide-open area to pull through, pumps that are about 100 times faster than the ‘regular retail.’ I can take advantage of these because my truck is diesel.  But the other edge of that sword – well, it’s a fancy multi-dimensional edge from some yet-unwritten fantasy novel, I guess. Because #1 sometimes there are inexplicable things about the pump and I just can’t get through them. (“Did you want DEF with that?” I have figured out that this is Diesel Exhaust Fuel. What that is, I have not figured out.) And sometimes you just can’t buy over there without a trucking/fleet account. Sometimes you can but you can’t use your credit card at the pump but must walk 473 miles to inside the store to pay.  I don’t mind the long walk, really – feels good after so much driving. But it’s a perp walk. Or a walk of shame. The little lady with the big boobs and the big trailer that is actually dwarfed by the other trucks lined up at their pumps. I get looks that range from amusement to hostility but what I don’t ever get is ignored. Gadz, I hate it.

Having said that … when you are in the west, even if you go through the auto side of the typical highway gas station there is room to maneuver. The further East you get, the smaller the roads, the smaller the stations, the less friendly the truck stops And even if you find a gas station that you could possibly maneuver into if it were empty, there are so many cars jamming the area that there is no where to get off the road to wait your turn. This results in me leaving the highway, driving down a road for a bit only to have to drive even further to find a place where I can turn around because purchasing gas will not be possible. 

It took me several of these attempts to buy gas yesterday (Monday) driving from Illinois into New York. Made for an annoying, stressful day.

One time it worked out – work situation meant I needed to stop mid-day and get on my computer.  Saw a giant empty hotel lot right off the freeway. Pulled in. Not only was there PLENTY of room to maneuver but it was easy to get their open wifi. LOL.  Then not only that, coming back out put me in a good angle to get to a diesel pump and there was no crowd.  I wished I’d needed more fuel, but I did fill up just because I was already off the freeway and there it was, accessible.

I won’t go no about this any more, but suffice it to say that the last two days of efforts to purchase fuel generated many horror stories.  Ugh.  I don’t expect it to get better for the next two weeks while I’m on the East Coast, either.

Anyway, today I’m at Niagara Falls at a campground on the Grand Isle.  I drove all around this isle partly for the fun of it, partly looking for dinner. Unbelievable homes along the water with giant green lawns. I saw one place, they were having a big party with barbecue and bounce-houses. I really nearly pulled in and asked if I could play.  It’s very suburban… soccer fields and stuff. Who lives here???

Today I had hoped to go and see Niagara Falls. And I will try, later in the afternoon. Maybe this weather will even clear up enough for me to see it. This is actually the one intentional side visit on the whole East-bound side of the trip.  Nature is doing its best to thwart my effort. So I probably won’t do any expensive tourist thing like the boat or the zipline. If I’m lucky I can find a place to actually SEE the falls. But even that is dubious in the kind of rain we’re having. It’s making the camper cozy though, for me on my computer and my pups dozing nearby.   Pics later if I get any. At least a pic of my campsite, but right now I’m not going out there.