Through De Graff to Bellefontaine...

Our Location: Oakdale Campground, Quincy, Ohio

You would think we would be used to the cold mornings wouldn't you? I mean we just spent the winter in the desert where the mornings are always cold and yet this cold is different. This cold is a more seeping, invading type of cold, it steals your body heat in a very different kind of way than the desert cold. This cold also affects your mind and your thought process because unlike the desert this cold isn't gone by 10 am and we know that so we feel colder somehow. This cold lingers all day, warming slightly and almost offering the promise of warmth but not quite delivering it. A teasing cold filled with damp, freezing moisture that seems to rob us of  the ability to get warm. It does something to the brain when one looks out to see the green grass frozen and stiff, the water puddles with a frozen layer on ice on top, the bare trees or just budding trees look forlorn and the slight breeze makes them appear to be shivering.  I refer to this as the pre spring blues, I get it every year and only when the warmth of the sun has started warming all of the soil, stones, trees, and things around me do I really feel as if spring has arrived. The green and the flowers are visual signs of spring but the warm is the physical sign that I crave.

Heading into Bellefontaine, Ohio today.

Can you tell it was cold again this morning? The outside temperature read 25F/-3C and the inside temperature was in the mid 30'sF/1.6C but with the combination of our heater and the furnace it was warmed up to 50F/10C within a short time. The difference today is we have sun, a small yellow ball but at least we can see it unlike yesterday when it was hidden behind a blanket of clouds all day. The weather forecasters say we'll get warmer today than yesterday and the days ahead are looking wonderful with the nights also getting in on the warm up act. Let's hope that is indeed the case. We know that the warmth will follow us north shortly but we would prefer it beat us there.

The country side on our drive today.

We know when we return to Ontario on Saturday that the weather will once again be cold and there appears to be rain in the forecast as well. We are hopeful that the days will continue to warm quickly and the nights will stop dipping into the freezing temperatures at least.  The long range forecast does not look good for us getting back to our summer location by May 1 but we shall see how it goes.

I thought this was kind of cute on the side of building, it's not a mural.

We enjoyed our hot drinks and catching up with friends before bundling up and heading off in the Dogsled. We needed a drink for the Big Dog, and some grub for ourselves, along with a post office to drop a few things in the mail. So we headed off to the little town of Bellefontaine, Ohio. According to the GPS/Google it's less than 10 miles away. 

I think this may have been on a school or daycare but I'm not sure.

The back roads here are very quiet with few vehicles and even fewer people out and about. I don't think we noticed any more than maybe 5 or 6 people out side until we reached the village. Still too cold for folks to be out strolling I guess. I know it's too cold for me to be out strolling. 

Welcome to Bellefontaine, Ohio. 

We reached the little town of Bellefontaine without any issues after a quick stop at the dumpsters to rid us of our accumulated garbage. We topped up the fuel tank at $2.79 per gallon, taking around 28 gallons to fill the tank. We of course noticed diesel for 3 cents a gallon cheaper just down the road. Isn't that always the way. Oh well, it was needed, still cheaper than Ontario and now we're full once again. We made note that Bellefontaine has pretty much all the fast food places you could want, except I didn't see a Tim Horton's. I'm not saying there wasn't one, just that I didn't see one. We even made note of a grocery store called Aldi's that I recall seeing mentioned in other blogs. We didn't go in this time but perhaps another one. 

Lots of fast food spots.

Next we headed off to Walmart for some groceries and drinking water. We're still looking to replace the 2.5 gallon jug that some how developed a leak a few weeks ago. We found everything we wanted at Walmart and I  picked up another Blue Def since I just added one to the truck this morning. This stuff is so cheap here at less than $8 a jug. I think three will keep me for a while, not all summer but for a while. From Walmart we headed to the Dollar Tree as we wanted to get some Damp Rid for the Igloo. Once again we notice we are having a bit of condensation inside so hopefully we catch it quickly. 

Looking down Main Street, Bellefontaine, Ohio. 

 We next headed off to find the Post Office. I've noticed there are no mail boxes in which to drop out going mail, one needs to go to the post office to do that. I know back in Hamilton we're tripping over them, they seem to be on every 4th street corner. So while looking for the Post Office we toured a bit of the town. Cute little place, bright and cheery for the most part. 

Our park is very close to this little hamlet of De Graff, Ohio.

Today we used our RV GPS to find the town of Bellefontaine and I made note that twice we were taken on roads we can't travel with the Igloo. Two bridges both under 12'  would have made it impossible for us to travel the road and we would have been wedged under the bridge. Also  the GPS told me to turn left on to a one way street, except it was one way going the opposite way and I would have been going the wrong way if I hadn't quickly turned around. Now I'm not sure that I trust the RV GPS to get us anywhere, I think it's time to get in touch with the company and see what they think I should do other than an update. 

Not sure I like the colour but I love the house. On the corner in the little hamlet of De Graff. 

Back home once more we enjoyed a quiet afternoon, I did a few chores, had a 30 minute nap and just enjoyed the peace. Today new noises aroused my curiousity and I noted that across the Miami River someone is building either a small cottage/shed or some structure over there. So we can tell spring is coming, folks are building in anticipation of better warmer days. 

Another beautiful home in De Graff, Ohio.

Today's temperature were a bit warmer than yesterday, we reached 41F/ 5C this afternoon before the sun vanished. However the weather forecasters are calling for the next number of days to be very nice and much warmer. I believe Spring will arrive here at Oakdale Campground as we pull out on Saturday. 

A church in De Graff, Ohio. 

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Please feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate them all. 

Riley found this very funny as we past by the above church.

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

Deb