Rain and rough roads.....

Our Location: Richmond, Indiana 

(April 4's post)

We woke this morning to rain in Eureka, MO, not a hard rain but hard enough to make it necessary to use the wipers, not on full but enough to ensure you knew you couldn’t go without them. Our morning started a bit late due to our close proximity to St. Louis, only 30 miles to the East. We didn’t want to get caught up in rush hour and so dawdled until around 9 am.

We headed that way.

 We pulled out of the Walmart right around 9 am and headed east on I-44 once again. Not long of course but until we hooked up with I-70 East in St. Louis, Illinois after crossing the mighty Mississippi River. Still under rainy conditions until we drove out of the city limits when the drops lessened and soon stopped. The day wasn’t sunny but it was brighter and drier than we expected after looking out the window this morning. 

Originally Rolla was our destination.

 

We motored along pretty much all day as our previous plans were out the window due to the Walmart change. Before noon we reached our ‘previous planned destination’ but continued along the road. Our goal changed to getting us through Indianapolis today instead of tomorrow and with that thought in mind we hustled along. Our stops were longer than normal but we aren’t used to travelling longer distances again and so the breaks were very welcome. 

 

Construction and rain in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

We passed through Indianapolis without any issues before 3 pm and made our way to Richmond, IN and of course another Walmart. Interstate 70 leaves a lot to be desired and needs some serious work before much longer. Huge holes where it appears the plows may have gouged deeper and pulled out chunks of the road and of course the joining of the bridge approaches and surfaces to the rest of the roadway is horrifically rough. This of course is in both Illinois and Indiana. I believe our eggs will be scrambled before they are out of the shells. We both decided we are not interested in taking this route again. 

 

The Arch in the rain.

 

As we headed down the highway the Bella (USA GPS) was telling us we were going to be an hour later than I figured. Even though there was no way it could be possible but we discovered that we are extremely close to the time change at the Ohio/IN border. So soon we will once again be back on Ontario time. Yeah. 

 

We weren't the only people approaching Indianapolis.

 

The headwinds today were strong and steady, not good for the fuel mileage but we pressed on and tomorrow will move to a park in Ohio for the next 7 days. We will then cross into Ontario and soon be in Brantford at daughter Bradey’s house for a few days. I called dad upon our arrival here, while not extremely warm it was better than their snowy day. I hope that stuff stops falling soon. 

 

Of course this was earlier in the day.

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Until next time… take care, be safe,

Deb

Change of plans....

Our Location:  Eureka, Missouri
(Tuesday & Wednesday, April 2 & 3)

Our last day in Natural Falls State Park near Colcord, OK was not our last day. We stayed an extra day spending some more time with our friends Ron & Sharon. I have no idea when we will see them again but we truly enjoyed our visit with these wonderful folks. We didn’t do a lot of things but the visiting was worth more than I can tell. 

Sits very close to the roadway on this short, sharp turn.

We spent around the campfires, chatting about a vast number of topics, reminiscing about many things and people we know, laughing and just enjoying the time. The weather was coolish but warming up and we took advantage by sitting outside most of the time. It’s amazing how easily you can pick up with friends you haven’t seen for a long time and it seems as if no time has passed. We are looking forward  to seeing them again in the months and years ahead. 

A Dollar General Gas bar, we've never seen one before.

We pulled out of Natural Falls State Park on Wednesday morning before 9, saying our goodbyes, see you later, and left the park after a short visit to the dump station as well. We followed AK 59 North until we made a slight turn on to I-49 North. From there we skimmed the edge of Joplin, Mo and joined on to I-44 East. We would travel along this interstate for a couple of days. We had plans to stay in Rolla, MO as I had checked and the Walmart allows overnight parking. However upon reaching this store and asking inside we were informed that they hadn’t given us all the particulars. You can only stay if you aren’t longer than two parking spaces. You cannot park in length covering a number of spots, you cannot impede traffic in any way and you cannot put the feet down ( you could then drop the trailer in the combined spots and park the truck beside). Hm…. this was not what we wanted to hear but so be it. We climbed back into the Dogsled and started onwards.

First time for Riley in this state.

It was much later in the day than we normally stop but we pulled into the Eureka, Missouri Walmart and of course we had called ahead and made certain we could park there. The lot is very uneven but we managed for the night and had a good nights rest. We were just 30 miles west of St. Louis. 

Some didn't hang over the road but others completely covered it with the overhang.

The day while uneventful was longer than we like and the road was not one I want to travel again. In places the travel is good, and in other places, not so good. AK 59 was windy, steep and the lanes were very skinny. Driving under the cliff side wasn’t enjoyable for me but it was only in a few places and we weren’t directly under the biggest overhang. The country side is much like driving in Ontario except for the rolling hills.
 

Bank to bank and fast moving. Spring is definitely here.

A good day but a sad day as we parted with our friends. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed the visit.

Heading toward Springfield, Missouri.

 Until next time… take care, be safe,

Deb