RV trip day 23: Driving to Rapid City, South Dakota

Beautiful rolling hills, long drive. The wind whipped up as we entered South Dakota, and the awning came loose from the side of the RV as we were driving. We pulled off to the side of I-90 to fix it and found that we couldn't roll it back up, partly because it was billowing in the wind. We were afraid the whole awning was going to rip right off the side of the RV and possibly blow into traffic, so I called 911—although nothing disastrous had happened yet, it felt possible.

In a few minutes a state trooper showed up, and we both got onto the roof of the RV to try to secure the awning. But he was as clueless as I was. Then a good Samaritan showed up who was a mechanic getting off work. From his truck he got a hank of rope and a sharp knife, then he figured out how to roll the awning into place and then tie it down. I'm grateful to the stranger and the trooper, who rescued us from an unpleasant predicament.