Day 1 and Day 2. April 2, 3, 2018 Ruth says; "Let's go around the Continent, Jim"

So here we go!

And that was that. With more free time now, Ruth wanted to see if we could stay "on the road" with the trailer for most of the year.

The planning is over, the preparations and care of the house is completed, and most of the possible needs that should be taken care , ...are.

So we are truly "On the road". With one day and night under our belt, we know the trailer, truck and our bodies are moving in sync.  The goal will be to keep them that way as much as possible. The thing about travel, especially long distance ones like this one, is, that we know there will be issues that come up, machines and parts that don't function always the way you would like them to, and  aches and pains in these ancient bodies. that breakdown now and then. But, we will give it our best shot.
The first day was the drive through "the walled canyons" of I 94/I-80 to get to I-57 heading south. That went as smoothly as it can be for those of you who have driven that route a few times.

Last night, gaining one hour going to CST,  we stayed just outside Champaign IL, in a campground that was in the middle of restructuring their water supply lines, so as we were early in the camping season for them, and the water was only functioning in the bathrooms, so one night without water in the trailer  was an inconvenience , but not a disaster.  There may be other nights like that.  It rained during the night but by morning it was dry and we were on our way at 8:30 heading south down I-57.  Crossing the "Big Muddy" (The Mississippi R.) is always highlight for me, and the site of many historical events if not at that very crossing.

Approaching the Cairo Mississippi Bridge

The Mississippi River from the Bridge. It will be 3 feet over flood stage by Sunday

 We knew there would be rain Tuesday, but we did not count on the hail that met us near Ullin IL, just past Rend Lake. It rained hard for 2 hours off and on, and then on this one uphill, down came the hail.  The air temp was near 60 degrees so we did not expect that. It was very scary. (** This was reported to the NWS). I had already slowed to about 45 mph to be able to see the white lines on the side of the road and to avoid the splashes and mist put up by the trucks  as they passed us, of which there were many on this road coming out of Chicago and heading south to Memphis and beyond..  Finally at about 35-40 mph and three minutes of absolute uncertainly, it turned to all rain and still was coming down "Hard". How do you describe a "Hard rain"? One that says "This is the hardest I have seen it rain in the USA", (not as much as in a Chinese monsoon, however... 'been there, did that'). 'Thank you' prayers went up for the travel favors granted. All those travel prayers were needed.  Thank you. The windshield stayed in one piece and all was back to near normal. By 3:30 the skies had some blue and the sun came out ...until 7 PM. (Another story!)

Sights along the way remind me of cultural shock when moving from culture to culture. Only this is the seasonal shock that comes when we move from winters grasp to spring in a few hours.  And not just temporary but permanent.

Example: driving (from 9:00 AM until noon) and getting out of the truck to see daffodils in full bloom and not just a few but many along the roadside, in Rest areas and in peoples gardens. A splash of white from the Service berry in the hills of southern Illinois as the roadside ...surprise!...begins to show the rock formations that are non existent in the flat corn fields of central IL. Then there was a large grove of service berry with its white blooms sparkling against the gray sky.. There  is a Forsythia in full bloom, and the early green leaves of the honeysuckle for miles along the highway with a lone dogwood to brighten the landscape now showing signs of spring's birth.

As with  drivers hauling a trailer, I like to share the road with the truckers as most of them are courteous and appreciate the help when passing. So I almost always assist them by giving the "light blink" when there is enough distance between me and the truck to have the truck pullback into  the lane. It is easy to tell the more experienced and safer drivers who allow  plenty of room (and time) to elapse before pulling in.  Some few do not give enough room and it is evident when it is  seen.

Today we needed directions to find a Propane dealer and Ruth, (I was proud of her) for the first time used her new smart phone to find where they were located and while we moved in that direction we found one a bit closer and filled both tanks so we are ready for a while with heat and hot water from the flame provided by the Propane gas. DID YOU KNOW  that Propane is really a liquid and becomes a gas when it is emitted (with some adaptation)  through the lines to the device when needed. (You can look it up!)

Also seen along the road in Illinois were the winter wheat fields in their fresh, green, short stalks of wheat yet to be.  We saw  only one small herd of cattle all along that route for almost 300 miles. Hmmm.What's that all about? They raise corn , dummy not cattle.

We did not see any of those huge propeller blades for the wind generators, but did see, loads of telephone poles on trucks and one long truckload of metal poles (hollow) that were hexagonal in shape of unknown use. One trucker had pulled over on an exit ramp after the wind and hail had torn the shrink wrap that was on that huge piece of machinery he was hauling on a flatbed. It had torn the wrap in two and I would believe he was asking his boss... "Is this insured ,'cause here is what happened"? 

As usual, clerks and station stop assistants were helpful and courteous and most of them were  smiling. I usually try to get a smile if they do not. I am not always successful, but almost always.  Conversations at the gas pumps add to the change of pace for the day as well. Oh yes, and the DQ's, down here are open and serving. YUM!
 

Some of the storms today in S Illinois

Our Campsite near Portageville, MO. Lots of space.

Looking out at the corn fields to the north.

We arrived at Bootheel RV near Portageville, MO at about 3:45.  I like the "shorter" days as it keeps me alert and well rested each morning.  This campground's name has an interesting geographical origin. If you look at the map of Missouri in the deepest SE corner there is a large piece of land that is really a peninsula surrounded on 3 sides by the Mississippi River. Hence if the state were shaped like a boot this would be the"heel" or Bootheel.

So we arrived and set up camp in a large grove of oak trees and got settled , before the tornado warnings were posted at about 5:00 Pm. We were in the 'warning' zone, but the active area was about 20 miles south of us and was moving westerly  to easterly. We watched and waited and made it through the winds and rains. Not as bad as many storms in the past There was no local wind damage. Tonight it is scheduled to  rain more  as we watch the thermometer drop from the high of 73 F when we arrived to 34 F by morning. That is some drop , but the cold front (that's up north, right?) is coming by tomorrow AM.

So tomorrow its onward to Arkadelphia, AR., near the TX border.  Hopefully it warms some as we head south some more. Thanks for tuning in, and although there are only a few photos these first days with one night stops, that will change as we get settled in TX.  Stromboli is Rolling!