We nailed ourselves down…

 

Our Location:

Road Runner BLM, Quartzsite, Az

If the blog looks blurry it’s due to the wind shaking the Igloo. The winds have been relentless for 24 hours and we are looking at another 10 hours at least. The winds are coolish, out of the north, and make it uncomfortable to be outside. It has been partially sunny with temps hovering around 70-72 F/21-22 C during the day, around 50 F/ 10 C over night. 

Three views of this beaten up Saguaro.

On Saturday while we were continuing our resting from the day before, I noticed a very big, shiny black truck pulling into our yard, our friends from Ontario came to visit. Bill, Patsy and Mr. Gibbs all climbed out and visiting commenced. Time slipped by so quickly as it does with friends, we have no idea where the couple of hours went. Soon our guests were climbing  back into BB and heading off. We will visit some more before we leave the area.

Not the best photo but you get to see their happy faces!

Sunday morning we were up and headed off to Parker for groceries and took only cash as we have had so much trouble with the card machines in Walmart there. In fact the couple ahead of us were having trouble trying  to use their card, she held the card with two hands while  he punched in the pin, it was the only way it would work. Cash payment had no issue! 

It is easy to see two of them are related.

Deb D, I looked down and found this ancient being at my feet.

I’ve been in touch with folks back home, Dad, sister, SIL Barb. All is well, rain is in the forecast for a number of days. Jason and Leah’s house is moving right along, it sounds as if a move in date is coming closer. We are excited for them!

Can you see the sleeping Indian?

1- forehead
2- nose
3- chin

The road to Parker is vastly improved with a new surface most of the way. Kuen Street here in Q is also vastly improved but Bill informed me it was fixed last spring, which we didn’t know.

The road to Parker.

We always like to this RR car!

As I typed this I thought I could see a dog running loose but I think it may have been coyote, a black tipped tail was visible and no one was visible in the area.

Taken from inside the Igloo, he is definitely a coyote.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time…

Take car, stay safe,

Deb

Back in EDT Zone…

 

Our Location:

Walmart, Perrysburg, Ohio 

After a good nights sleep we had the wheels rolling at 7:45 am. Our original destination was changed almost as soon as the wheels were moving and as we clipped along we also changed our second destination, this was our third choice. 

Sorry, dirty windshield, Crescent City, Water Tower. We can’t keep it clean.

The roads overall were good, a few rough patches but not bad. We started by going back 15 miles to I-57 N rather than take state or county roads. We hooked up with US-24 East, which is only 2 lanes in Illinois. We crossed into Indiana and a little later at 9:43 CDT we moved into EDT meaning we are now back with our home province timewise. US-24 becomes a divided highway at some point in Indiana but due to a flooding detour, I can’t tell you where. We were routed probably 45-60 minutes from our original route. Eventually we managed to get back to US-24 East and continue along. Due to a ramp closer our journey to this Walmart was very adventurous and colourful. ‘Nough said. We arrived here around 3pm EDT. 

We travelled approximately 317 miles/510 km, we travelled approximately 8 hours, we used about 27 gallons/102 litres, and I filled up for $3.99  pg. I think that works out to around 12mpg. I’m happy with that. 

Good weather but a bit windy, side, tail and head. Wind is pretty cool, we need a sweater and we have been wearing long pants for about 4 or 5 days now. Spring is hinting but not quite here yet, a few more days. I think the high temp was 62F/17C, not bad for April 13. 

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