Our next stop was Ranchester, WY, and let me tell you, we chose this RV “resort” for one reason and one reason only: the showers. After a few days of feeling wind-swept and road-weary, a proper shower was basically our holy grail. What we didn’t realize was that the neighbouring town of Dayton was, you know, literally on fire. Nothing like rolling into a place for some R&R while a full-on blaze is happening just down the road.

The fun started right away when John the Rockstar husband Laverty insisted on parking the Raven backward in our spot. Now, in his defence, the setup was super weird, and it really looked like the other rigs were all backward too. But, just as we were settling into our reverse-parking masterpiece, the host came out and kindly (but firmly) told us to flip it around. So, there we were, turning around like RV parking amateurs—but with a professional style.

As for Ranchester, it’s a cute town, but finding food? Not so cute. The grocery store situation was nonexistent. Instead, we found a dollar store with some frozen food (frozen chicken strips, anyone?), and a couple of convenience stores that looked like they’d been raided by a swarm of hungry travelers before we got there. Our hopes for a coffee shop pick-me-up were crushed when we found out the coffee shop attached to the RV resort was closed by the time we arrived and stayed that way the next day. Talk about disappointment.

Still, we made the best of it. As always, we took some lovely walks around the town and those showers? Chef’s kiss. They were everything we dreamed of and more. But, as quickly as we arrived, we were back on the road, leaving Ranchester behind in a cloud of steam (from our amazing showers) and smoke (from the literal fire next door). Thoughts and prayers to everyone in Dayton—we hope the situation gets under control soon.