In a new time zone today….

 

Our Location:

Walmart, Effingham, Illinois 

My sleep patterns are erratic at best, they have been this way for most of my life. Hours of sleep for me vary greatly from 2 -6 hours a night. I can go for months like this, functioning well. Then I will crash, as yesterday proved. I napped for at least 2 hours straight and then drifted in and out for another couple of hours during the afternoon. I climbed into bed and fell asleep around 10 pm, awake about 4:30 am. Finished sleeping for the night I have been checking blogs, weather and maps for a couple of hours. Usually I’m coming home from two morning coffee stops by this time but during travel times I find ways to amuse myself while Riley blissfully sleeps snug in bed.

Still lots of green.

A pretty welcome to Delphi display.

The bridge to the left of the display.

It is not a travel thing that I have heard many speak but a regular night for me. Noise is not a factor, nor is light. I am a morning person, but I can also be a night owl, it is dependent on the moment. So yesterday was a much needed day of rest for me and we have discussed possibly doing more of this kind of stopping. We are not park people but it is always an option. Ah the daily dilemmas of life. 

US 25 S was not as rough as it looks.

Pretty drive on this short road.

A park at Odel, Illinois 

I have noticed the sun is later rising on these fall mornings and the darkness creeps in earlier in the evening every week. It is that time of the year and we  will soon be back to the dreaded Standard Time. I love the nip in the air that is gone by 9 or 10 am, the flashing colours of the leaves, the rustling of dried plant stalks in the breezes, the warmth of wood heat, the smell of soup in the slow cooker. The good smells of fall. 

Central Daylight Time 

Welcome to Illinois welcome centre

Our day started with wheels rolling around 9 am EDT, a quick fuel stop, and a couple of rest stop visits rounded out our day.The plan was to stop at Green Creek Rest Area near Effingham  Illinois but we didn’t like the spot we had there and so came a bit farther along to the Walmart. It was not our first choice but it will do for the night. Tomorrow night’s landing place is tentative. 

Some information for future reference for us, or anyone taking this route, is as follows.

The idea was to take US 24 West to I-57 but things changed. We opted to take 25 south as we neared the turn off for Logansport. However we did not go thru Logansport, which was very nice. US 24 and 25South are divided highway, 4 lanes. Overall the roads are good, some rough patches and lots of construction but other than narrowing of lanes, no stopping.

Now the  bad part: Google Maps took us right into downtown LaFayette. Narrow, narrow streets, lots of cars, tight turns, lights and of course construction including ‘ road closed’ right at the spot I wanted to turn. Right, left, right, left and on and on. Next time I will have hand written instructions to follow instead of the gps. After LaFayette the road was a twisty and turny country 2 lane road. We connected to I-74 West, then I-57 South and here we are.

I called Dad when arrived, explaining we are now in a different time zone so our landing calls will be later in the future. I will chat with him again later. I also texted my sister.

The weather is cooler today, we reached a high of 69F. We needed a sweater when outside! Shocking isn’t it?

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time…..

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

Very warm, sunny and windy on our last full day here in Oakdale Campground.......

Our Location: Oakdale Campground, Quincy, Ohio

After posting my blog last night I managed to chat with the fella who's seasonal spot I'm sitting in right now. Never did get his name but I spoke with him and the rake Lady. Very nice folks, he's bringing his trailer in today but apparently always parks it where his truck was sitting, on the other side of the Igloo. This area is apparently where the single folks congregate. 

I'll bet they enjoy this deck all summer, those stools are under the bar edge.

He also answered a few other questions as well. The water still has another foot or so to go before it's at normal levels. The area we see across the river is also a campground, although it looks very permanent. It's called Miami River Campground. They know the fellow with the boat, he apparently is a river hopper and comes over often during the summer months, parks his boat on this side somewhere and enjoys the company of those over here. 

This bright yellow racer is parked by the wood pile that is waiting to be split and bundled.

Gene and Sally (the welcome home sign from yesterday's pictures) are the couple in the office, they seem to be well loved here. I mentioned a few of the washed out areas and it was explained that they fix them every year but due to the hills and the spring rains, they wash out every year, which explains all the gravel piles I see around waiting to be spread. 

Can you see the boat moving on the river?

 I woke this morning before 6 am and just listened to the birds for some time. It's so peaceful here, although I'll bet when summer comes it's a lot less peaceful. We are expecting more of yesterday's weather again today and I'm looking forward to soaking up as much as I can. It doesn't look like we'll be seeing any of these kinds of temperatures for a long time unless a miraculous warm up comes along. The temperature here right now as I start this post is 57F/13.8C at 7:14 am. Not a bad way to start the day at all. 

This is on the road into the campground across the farmers field. Those rigs closest to us are in storage, the other ones are permanently placed in seasonal spots.

The morning passed quickly with routine things such as cleaning/defrosting the fridge and freezer, dishes, dusting, vacuuming, you know the drill right? So now our little Igloo is clean and ready for the next part of our homeward trek. We didn't clean anything outside as we'll be driving in rain conditions anyway, so it would be a waste of time. 

The middle road is toward the dump station and bath house. 

Riley and I headed out to get some much needed propane as one of the small tanks was starting to seen a bit on the light side, and one of the big tanks was for sure getting close to the bottom. I wanted to fill them up before heading across the border tomorrow. I've found that the folks here actually fill the tanks but back in Ontario they don't seem to allow the air to bleed and that seems to make a huge difference in how long the tanks last.  For future reference we went to Heby Oil (N. Detroit Street) but everyone was gone for the day, they do however fill tanks. The lady in the office sent us to Grand Rental on Main Street, which is a rental company with a fenced compound, literally right across the roads from the Fairground. They filled our tanks for a grand total of less than $25 USD. (About 60 cents a pound, or $2.50 a gallon) Can't beat that for amazing. Tractor Supply Company (TSC) also on Main Street will fill tanks as well. Don't know the price though. Both are just up the street from Walmart in Bellefontaine, Ohio. Back in Ontario it costs me $43 to exchange the big tank alone, and if they fill it, it lasts less than 3 weeks where an exchange will usually last 5 weeks. The BBQ tank is about $25 to exchange and since I haven't had them fill one for a long time I can't tell you how long they last with fill vs exchange. So anyway I look at it, I'm way ahead of the game.

The Daffs are popping up everywhere.

We headed back to the Igloo enjoying the lovely country drive and were gone less than an hour. When we got back the fella next door was backing his trailer in to the spot beside us. I climbed out and helped him get it where he wanted it and then headed back home to do our own chores. Which included putting the propane tank back, getting things ready for hitching up and in fact today we did hitch up the truck which we don't usually do but we want have as little to do tomorrow as possible. Riley lifted the back feet, put away the two lawn chairs and I removed the lock, lantern, and temperature probe before hooking up. So we'll be out of here in the morning with minimal work. 

See what I mean? Just popping up everywhere.

The fella's name next door is Lou. The nice lady on the end of the rake, who's trailer also arrived today is named Jodi and the folks behind us also arrived for a bit today, some one over there is named Jr., while Dave is across the roadway. Lou is a chatter and loves to talk. He informed us if we wanted to see deer to head up to the top of hill around dusk and we'd see 20 easily as they come out into the field. He told us Gene & Sally are the managers of the park, not the owners. We learned a lot of stuff that is of no interest to anyone out there. Lou is a sweet fella, a charming aw shucks, kind of guy. He has a beautiful chocolate brown Chesapeake Retriever, Buddy who is four years old. He is a sweet fella and loves attention, water and playing fetch. 

I know I posted a picture similar to this one before but the grass is greener and it just looks warmer and more cheerful now in the fantastic weather.

  
I chatted with my dad for a bit today as well. Just checking on things and finding out all the latest weather for the area. He says they are getting nothing at this time, no snow, no sun, no wind, he also says today is a warm day at 43F/6 C, lots of yesterdays snow is melting. He can see a few patches of green here and there but figures with the weather coming tomorrow it'll be gone under more snow pretty quick. I'll talk to him again probably once a day for the next few days at least as I talk to him every day when we are travelling and with the weather not looking too good, I'm pretty certain it will ease his mind to know how things are going for us. 

A different view of the Miami River.

The high today reached 79F/26C, with wonderful blue skies. Windy of course as it caused numerous leaves to lift from their resting place and fly around in swirls, diving, dashing, flipping and just rustling everywhere. A number of folks around us are raking winter debris, repairing with hammer and nails, etc as the weather has dried things out a fair amount. Tomorrow here the rain is supposed to start around noon time. They are expecting 2 or 3 more days of rain again. They aren't happy, they've had enough and want spring to arrive so they can get down to the business of enjoying their time in the park. I will say the park across the river has some very loud folks there, we can easily hear them over here on our side of the river, we can distinguish each and every word in their conversations.

Riley took most of the pictures today and enjoyed this sign.

So the day has found us enjoying the heat, sun and folks around us. We have found them warm, inviting and friendly. It has been enjoyable to spend this time in Oakdale Campground and I think it's safe to assume we may return in the future if our plans find us in the area. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you've enjoyed your day as much as we have here. I hope you found peace, warmth, and joy in all the expected but also the unexpected places and people around you. Please feel free to drop a comment, I appreciate them all very much. 

Look west along the Miami River at the Miami River Campground.

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

Deb