The Lone Star State…….

 

Our Location:

Walmart, New Boston, Texas

We left our Rest Area spot this morning just a couple of minutes before 8 am and arrived here about 4 pm. It’s 400 miles/648 klm. The Big Dog rolled along between 60-65 mph/95-104 kmh, at these speeds he loves to drink, we used a little over 38 gallons/144 litres. He ran flawlessly and the Igloo followed faithfully behind. Diesel prices today ranged from $2.94 - $4.23 per gallon.

Baled cotton.

Unharvested cotton.

We reached Arkansas very quickly this morning.

The drive was long but no construction stoppages, some single lanes but nothing else. It was a perfect driving day, we stopped often to stretch, look around some rest stops, made notes for the future. The great thing about this route is it’s pretty flat compared to the route we usually take. We like that for a lot of reasons but a big factor is Riley is having less sinus issues taking this route.

Truck/rv entrance to this rest area.

The car entrance.

Nice isn’t it.

Upon arrival we were given permission to stay, we called Dad, texted sister, and had a late lunch. It is very warm here, 87f/31c when we arrived but it has cooled off some, not sure what the actual numbers are but it will be warm for sleeping. 

Texarkana water tower.

At the New Boston Walmart.

We started the day in Missouri, went thru Arkansas and are a short distance inside of Texas. We think we have about 4 more nights in Texas, 1 night in New Mexico and within a day or two after that we should arrive in the Quartzsite area. That of course is just a rough idea, things could change at any moment. So to date we have spent an hour in Michigan, 1 night in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, we did not spend a night in Arkansas.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time……

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

Still moving along…..

 

Our Location:

Walmart, Salem, Illinois

A pretty quiet night but I was still up at 4 am. This is not a new thing for me but it does make for a long day. Riley rolled out at 7 am and even though it was foggy we were on our way by 7:30 am. It was  pretty foggy until we reached the Interstate, a mile or so away and then it started to clear quicker, I guess between the sun and the heat being produced by the road top, it helped the process along.

Fog this morning.

Missouri welcome centre.

This is a very small section of the parking.

Lots of pathways to stretch your legs.

Some interesting things along the pathways.

We stopped 3 times overall, two rest areas and one fuel. Diesel prices are rising the farther north we go. We are regularly seeing above $4.00, but if you watch it is also available for the $3.80-3.95 range.

The dandelions look used up.

As you can see, very wide spaces.

We are enjoying the drive.

We are entering the state of Illinois.

The roads were rough for a while.

We had an easy day today, travelling only 232 miles/373 km, we used about 15 gallons/56 litres of fuel, we travelled for 4 1/2 hours. By my thinking we averaged about 15 1/2 mpg. Our average speed was 57miles/91 km. Again I have no complaints.

We crossed the Mighty Mississippi River to leave Missouri for Illinois.

Spring is working hard…

Blossoms are visible.

The roads were decent overall, Arkansas roads were good, a few patches here and there but good overall. Missouri roads were a bit rough in places but again, after a while they smoothed out. Illinois roads started off pretty rough and were rough overall in most places until just a while before we stopped. The Missouri welcome centre was fabulous, 20 miles inside the state line but it is huge, tons of parking places with spaces wide enough to put slides out. The first rest area in Illinois was closed, it looks like for quite a long time, but the second was open. Lots of folks parked for the solar eclipse event in the rest areas and currently at the Walmart as well. The parking areas are ringed with cars and people.

We touched three states today, Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois, we travelled on I-55 and I-57. Tomorrow we will arrive at a campground for a stay of 4 days. It is sunny, a bit on the coolish side at about 70 F/21C. The eclipse has been underway for approximately an hour and while it is getting darker outside, it is not a night time dark as I write this post up.

The eclipse has ended, it was an eerie twilight, that lasted a minute at most. No we didn’t look up but I did snap pics. Almost all of the watchers have left, within 5 minutes they were gone. Enjoy. 

Until next time……

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

The Big Dog purred most of the day…..

 

Our Location:

Walmart, Osceola, Arkansas

The day started with the wheels slapping the I-30 blacktop at 7:30 am. We rolled along all day with no issues other than the last hour has been a windy one. However we knew it would be like this, so it wasn’t a surprise. Predictions are it will calm down within the next hour! Can you hear us? Of course not the wind is blowing too hard but we are saying…..yes….please stop very soon!

The roads were very good overall, some rough patches but mostly very good. We started at Greenville, Texas on I-30, caught I-440 at Little Rock for about 10 miles, hooked up with I-40 East for a while and then grabbed on to I-55 N at West Memphis.

Lots of green and leaves, spring is here in Arkansas.

The fields are waiting…

This route took us a grand total of 438 miles/705 km, we stopped 5 times, time spent travelling today approximately 8 1/2 hours. We averaged 57 mph/92 km, using approximately 27 gallons/102 litres. We had a side wind/tail wind, which helped push us along, my math says that’s around 16 mpg, I’m a very happy driver. The Igloo faithfully followed us over hill, down the valleys and around all the corners. I’m very happy with the new shoes Igloo is wearing.

Dualing big US flags.

No slow downs on our side of the byways but the other side slowed considerably when a bumper tow travel trailer sat amid extreme smoke with only the front nose still intact. We did not see any tow vehicle attached, luckily they managed to unhook it. Lots of smoke for a few hundred feet, parts must have been falling off along the way. Lots of pretty flashing lights of various colours. 

Arkansas rest area near Forrest City.

A few miles up the road, the new leaves aren’t showing yet…we’ve left spring behind.

As I type this the thunder is crashing, the rain is falling, the lightning is flashing and we are thankful to be off the road. We are anticipating this to pass quickly. 

However the grass is green.

Maybe because of all this water.

A rainbow, I think the rain is over.

Until next time……

Take care, stay safe,

Deb