A strong tail wind brings us home

Remember how I bragged about the lack of wind in the early part of our trip. Well, we’ve been chased home by high winds since Friday so no more bragging. The best part about today’s wind is that we were heading north by northeast all day and the winds were coming from south by southwest all day which meant a pretty strong tail wind.

Our gas mileage reflected the wind assist as we averaged 23 mpg all the way home to Lapeer with the wind assist.  It didn’t hurt that I drafted a “Schnuck’s” semi-truck and trailer for about 45 minutes this morning.

One of the things I forgot to mention in yesterday’s blog post was a loud conversation that we overheard at dinner last night. Two couples were at the next table and one of the older men was talking about his experience at the doctor.

At one point the man was loudly talking about how he preferred the old time medicine. A remedy that he recalled from his youth was a compress his father made out of cow manure to help him with a boil he had on his neck. He was trying to convince his company that this was a very effective home remedy.

We enjoyed listening to the discussion even if it wasn’t the most pleasant of dinner time conversations.

Other than having to listen to the Detroit Lions lose another game, the trip was easy and we arrived home in time to have dinner with our friends Pam and Greg.

As always there’s no place like home and we will remember the wonderful memories of another trip for a long, long time.  We'll see you again here in January when we head south for Tucson.

Mileage out: 31836

Time out: 7:39 a.m. (Central Standard Time)

Mileage in: 32361

Time in: 4:50 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

On the eve of Veteran's Day, we remember one close to us

It was a long and interesting day on the road. We covered some major miles and landed tonight in Staunton, Illinois. Tomorrow should find us all the way home.

We were up early again and out the door before 8 a.m. We breezed across the Oklahoma turnpikes on the first part of our journey. The turnpikes are nice, but $8 to cover the northeast corner of Oklahoma seems a little stiff. It’s twice that if we have the trailer attached.

I was reading some online truck blogs and the truckers really despise the turnpikes, not for the cost but for the lack of services along them. The turnpikes have only a couple gas stops and basically no typical state rest areas.  We have stopped at a couple of the “rest areas” and they have a couple picnic tables and a his-and-hers pit toilet.

Those must be the “free restroom” that they advertise on the turnpike.

One trucker wondered what the state is doing with the money they take in from tolls since they don’t spend it on services. I guess I echo that sentiment.

One of the major stops we had today was a quick visit to the Fort Leonard Wood Army Museum where we dropped off some of Joan’s father’s Army memorabilia for possible inclusion in the museum collection.

They took the whole box and were really excited to have Red’s duffel bag especially because it was clearly stenciled with Red’s name and service number. “We don’t usually get duffels that have that,” the volunteer at the reception desk said.

We did leave with Red’s field coat and Ike jacket as the museum said they have plenty of those.

As part of an artillery unit with the Third Army (75^th Division) Red kept his log notes on some of the firing they did in Belgium and Germany as they pushed the Nazis back into their own country in the spring of 1945. The notes were very much of interest to the museum as they were dated and described targets that were being fired upon.

Red also kept a couple of his manuals and his government issued prayer book which the museum said would likely be valuable collection pieces. Red also kept a USO map of Paris that was issued while he was in Europe. Anyway, they are keeping a large box of stuff and will return whatever they don’t want.

While we were there we toured the World War II barracks, mess hall and day rooms that have been preserved on the base from World War II.  Joan and I wondered if the buildings we toured may have been the same ones that Red stayed in during his boot camp days. It would be a long shot, but anything is possible.

We plan to stop there again when I have a camera that works and take some photos when we head south this winter. It was also especially appropriate that the visit occurred on the eve of Veteran's Day. We say many young me and women on the base and we thank them all for their service.

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful except for a minor back up in St. Louis for a construction project.

Once again we are staying at the Super 8 Motel in Staunton, Illinois and we had our usual spaghetti dinner at Cavataios' Restaurant in downtown Staunton.

We are looking forward to getting home tomorrow.

Mileage out: 31270

Time out: 7:38 a.m.

Mileage in: 31833

Time in: 5:30 p.m.

The answer was blowing in the wind

Yesterday we were the first overnighters to arrive at the Elk City/Clinton KOA campground and this morning we were the last to leave. Can’t say we didn’t get our money’s worth.

On the way out we cleaned out the fridge and we donated our leftover food to the same man who helped us with the electrical repairs last night so that was good.

The first thing we noticed this morning was that the wind was just as bad, and maybe a little worse than it was yesterday and that always presents a significant challenge. It was all that and more as we hit as strong a head wind as we have ever driven in on the way to Amarillo.

It took 20 gallons of gas to go 140 miles from our last fill up in Oklahoma to Amarillo. Not a recipe for good economy.

But we arrived – about 45 minutes later than we anticipated due to the high winds.

Once at Stater’s Acres RV business we reacquainted ourselves with the owners, who are very nice and accommodating and unpacked the trailer and then retraced our steps to Oklahoma City where we spent the night.

We also removed the trailer battery which we will take home and put back on the trickle charger for the return trip in January.

Unfortunately my camera seems to be on the fritz so again, no photos for today.

We checked into our hotel in Oklahoma City and then went to our favorite restaurant here – Texas Roadhouse for a steak dinner.

During the day a man from the Army museum at Fort Leonard Wood (Missouri) returned my call about some World War II artifacts we want to donate from Joan’s father’s memorabilia. They are awaiting our arrival tomorrow afternoon so they can see what, if anything, they would like to keep.

So it’ll be up early and out.

Mileage out: 30826

Time out: 8:58 a.m.

Mileage in: 31001 (trailer drop at Stater’s Acres)

Time in: 12:20 p.m. (at Stater’s Acres)

Time in Oklahoma City 5 p.m.

Nothing like an electrical problem to end a windy day

Sometimes I wonder what I’ll write about each day as we travel. Especially on a travel day like this one, there is sometimes little to write about, but not today.

Just so there's a photo with this blog entry

We got off to a timely start, but I made a decision (turned out to be a good one) to avoid what is called the Indian Nation Turnpike in Oklahoma and take the back roads for most of the day to I-40 east of Oklahoma City.

Part of the reason was that the turnpikes charge by the axle and we have four of those. From what I read online it would have cost us more than $25 to go the 100-miles on the turnpike. The alternate route, which would through Oklahoma along some US highways was actually 19 miles shorter although a project 15 minutes longer in travel time.

The highways passed through gentle rolling Oklahoma countryside and we were able to maintain our usual 60 mph average speeds. The fall colors are at peak down here so it was a very picturesque and enjoyable ride.

Unfortunately, those infamous Oklahoma winds started kicking up about noon and we spent the rest of our travel day battling first a stiff cross wind and later a pretty fierce head wind. Early in the day I was averaging more than 10 miles per gallon, by the end of the day I was barely making 7 miles per gallon as we headed along I-40.

In a small town – Antlers, Oklahoma – I was at a stop light and a kid in a Camaro started racing his engine like we used to when we were kids when we wanted to race (not that I ever did that, which is a disclaimer I need to put here because my Dad reads this every day and I used to drive his car). I looked at Joan like “really, dude you think I’m going to race you with a 33-foot trailer dragging behind me.” Or maybe he just wanted me to notice his car. I’m assuming the latter although he pulled away at a high rate of speed.

We also passed a number of Tyson Chicken plants and saw one large truck filled with live chickens on the way to one of the plants. May they rest in pieces.

Once again we passed a large barn, mostly full of hay that had a sign on it that said “4C Cowboy Church.” We have seen a number of these “cowboy churches” in our travels and after doing a little research found out that they are, in fact, churches for cowboys. How’s that for research?

No, actually they are Christian churches that hold rodeo and other events along with Gospel singing and worship. I’m guessing that jeans are probably OK to wear there.

We passed a lot of road work signs, but only a little road work going on so that is always a good thing.

It was refreshing to see a lot of those new large windmills out here on the plains of Oklahoma. With the wind whipping along today I would think you could power a lot of houses with those.

When we started out this morning it was 38 degrees. At one point along the Interstate the temperature in Oklahoma had climbed to 82.

We also saw a first, an RV park that advertised among the usual amenities (cable TV, Internet, sewer, water, electricity) that they had an onsite storm shelter. We’ve had a couple stops over the years where we would have appreciated that perk.

But our biggest adventure of the day was awaiting us when we pulled into the Elk City/Clinton KOA Campground. Our reservation was intact and we headed to our space. After leveling the trailer I pulled in our power cord and Joan had to let me know that we had no electricity.

So I tried all the tricks I have learned about flipping the switch on the power pole, reset buttons, etc. but still no power.

I walked to the office hoping that it might be their problem, but we quickly determined that the problem belonged to me.

A man who is either the owner of the park or the manager responded to a call from the clerk and we found that the problem was in the recently repaired power cord from my trailer. The wire splices and pulled apart and we were not getting any power.

Trust me, I am usually extremely patient (OK, that was a complete lie) and after a long day’s drive was not really happy about having to deal with this problem.

The man retreated to his trailer brought his tool kit and between us (OK, mostly him) we got the cord fixed temporarily and the trailer powered up. He refused my offer to buy him a beer or pay him for his trouble.

By the time we finished I forgot to take pictures of our campsite so I will have to do that in the morning and load them on the blog later.  We have stayed at this park previously on trips west and we will not hesitate to stop here and recommend this campground to friends in the future.

But the power was restored and Joan was happy because her favorite TV show – Grey’s Anatomy – is on tonight and she was really looking forward to watching it.

To reduce the amount of waste to throw out we pretty much cleaned out the refrigerator for dinner eating bits and pieces of our last couple night’s meals.

We’ll be up and at ‘em early again tomorrow with just about 2 ½-hours to Amarillo to drop the trailer at the storage lot. Then it will be back to Oklahoma City for the night in a motel.

Talk to you then.

Mileage out: 30434

Time out: 8:20 a.m.

Mileage in: 30826

Time in: 3:44 p.m.

Another day at the diamond mine

“Is that all, y’all?,” asked the young store clerk. You know that you are in a different country when you are in Arkansas, y’all.

My turn in the picture

We were up and at ‘em early today and out the door by 9:30 a.m. and headed back to Crater of Diamonds (I noticed today that there is no “the” in the name) to once again seek our fortune.

This time we left behind all the screens, buckets and shovels and just hoped that with a bright sunshine we might catch a glint from a 14-carat diamond sitting on the ground. So we walked the 37-acre crater for more than three hours and found nothing more than a few more pieces of quartz.

Oh, and a couple of plastic gems that some joker probably left on the ground to get some Yankee excited when they stumbled on these huge gemstones. Well joker, if you are reading, it worked but only for a second.

Joan searching for a diamond in a haystack

We spent some time looking through the diamond museum and Joan got to look at what is called the “World’s Only Perfect Diamond” which was found here in the rough, cut to perfection and is now on display.

Joan’s comment: “If I found that diamond, the only place it would be on display is on my finger.”

After touring the museum and gift shop, where amazingly they don’t sell real diamonds but giant fake ones, we went outside and had lunch on a picnic table.

The 'diamonds' we found

We drove to a small .2-mile trail in the park that advertised a “wildlife blind” but after sitting quietly in the blind for about 30 minutes we realized that we had only seen a butterfly and a moth so we abandoned the blind.

Next we headed to an ancient Native American village – Ka Do Ha – which is a series of mound dwellings that date to the year 1000 AD. At $8 a head it was a little pricey for the offering, but we were here and had a couple hours to kill so we went.

The mounds and the fake skeletal remains in the excavated tombs were very interesting to see. The real bones had been buried on Native American land in accordance with laws respecting the ancient rights and sensitivity of Native American people.

They also had a tilled up field where you could hunt for arrowheads and pottery shards – “Finders – Keepers” we were told – but we pretty much exhausted our interest in searching through dirt and mud over at Crater of Diamonds.

A quick spin through the gift shop which we escaped without buying any moccasins or Indian dolls.

Then it was off to the bank – Diamond Bank – to grab a roll of quarters so that we could do our laundry in preparation for ending the trip and heading back home.

We returned to our trailer, Joan did the laundry and then we headed out to do a little shopping, fuel the car for the trip tomorrow and grab and pizza and chicken wings for dinner in our shack. We got the pizza and wings at “Simple Simon’s” which is a chain down here.

One of the things we noticed is that a lot of things have the word “Diamond” in their name, which is obvious. What is amazing is that the real gold – or diamonds – in “them thar hills” is related to the businesses who trade on the tourists who come here to mine – and mostly not find – diamonds.

Replica skeleton in excavated mound burial pit

We enjoyed our three days here and this very nice park, but are ready to move on.

On another note, we heard rumors that there was some big election yesterday, but from our isolated, non-connected electronic world you’d never know it here. But someone did tell us that the guy who was President, is still President and that Congress is pretty much the same as it was on Monday.

To the victor goes the gridlock, I always say.

If you are a praying person, I would offer up for your prayers my son William who suffered a low sugar episode today and could use some healing. Pray for his mother also who is dealing with this in California.

Scroll down for a few more photos from today's adventure.

Not a real ranger in the Crater museum

Shovel markers show where people actually found diamonds

Wildlife blind without the wildlife

A gigantic root ball on the trail to the wildlife blind

One of the ancient burial mounds

Self explanatory

Believe me I stayed on the trail.

Digging for diamonds, a needle in a 37-acre haystack

Ready to strike it rich

Did I mention that we are staying in a “dry” Arkansas County?  Well, you may not be able to buy liquor here but judging from the amount of liquor and beer bottles along the road there is still a lot of drinking going on here.

Joan was a little surprised to find out there was no booze here. Hey, I know how to show a girl a good time.

I saw the empty beer and booze bottles on my ill thought out walk this morning along a narrow two lane highway near our RV Park. My timing was probably poor judging by the amount of commute traffic (well, what would pass for commute traffic in a town of 1,700) that was going by me as I was walking about 8 a.m.

Hey, someone has to take pictures

Also the sun was still coming up and low in the sky and was probably not helping folks see me while I was walking. But I survived the 3-mile jaunt and arrived back to the trailer safe and sound.

It’s election day, but you wouldn’t know it from where we sit. No television and no signs of voting in the area where we are staying. Tonight we borrowed two DVDs from the RV Park lending library and we are planning to watch “License to Kill” with Denzel Washington and if we have time “Executive Decision” with Kurt Russell.

After cleaning up this morning we went to the park office and checked out two large pails, a shovel and a set of screens so we could try our luck at finding a precious diamond at the 37-acre volcano crater at Crater of the Diamonds State Park.

The old 49er

The very nice lady at the RV Park gave us a 15-minute run down on how to dig and then sift for diamonds in the large water troughs they have at the park. It’s a lot like pan mining for gold.

We arrived at the park about 11 a.m., paid our $7 fee each to get in and then headed out to the “mine.”

Once I saw the large field where we were going to look for diamonds it became just a little daunting. Think needle-in-a-haystack daunting. The receptionist told us they average about two diamonds out of the mine each day, although recently they had a day where 8 diamonds were found.

The lady at the RV Park said she had been hunting for diamonds at the site at least two days a week since 2006 and found only a handful of small diamonds in all that time. So our odds had to be pretty high.

Playing in the mud

We walked through rows of plowed earth and for no particular reason started scooping up shovelfuls of dirt and then took them to the washing stations to find our diamonds.

Joan roamed all over the crater and we took turns “panning” for diamonds. We did avoid the one spot in the crater where we were told that a mama rattle snake had a nest. It occurred to me later that is probably where all the diamonds are because no one ever digs there.

We found a few shiny stones, probably quartz, and likely no diamonds although we haven’t had them checked yet.  We’ll keep you posted.

Joan decided that diamond mining was a lot more work than she expected but we are going back tomorrow to walk the crater again and see if the New Hope Diamond just falls at our feet.

It wouldn't be a trip with a bonnet photo, or three

It occurs to me, and remembering the California Gold Rush, that the only people who are making any money at this diamond mining are the folks who are renting the equipment, feeding and housing the miners.

Before we left this morning Joan put a pork roast in the crock pot and we had a wonderful dinner in when we arrived home.

While walking to the office to pick up one of our movies we stopped and talked to a nice couple from Florida who have been in the park two weeks, but are leaving tomorrow morning. They are in a beautiful motorhome and like so many people we have met on the road very easy to talk to.

Tomorrow it’s back to the mine and then to a local Indian village that dates back 1,000 years. You can hunt for arrowheads there.

 

 

 

 

 

Unhooked and nearly unhinged

Bottom line: We are safe and sound in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. But for a time I wasn’t sure we would get there today. So I’m going to start today’s blog post near the end of the trip and we’ll go back and wrap up the earlier parts of the day after.

A cotton field in North Arkansas

We frequently use OnStar to help us get to our next destination. Ninety-nine percent of the time it is flawless and we arrive in good order. Everything went well today, including some strange directions that led us off I-40 when it looked like a bad idea, but the OnStar directions led us around a major construction project that likely would have delayed us for some time.

So when we got to within the last five miles of the journey the OnStar directions told me to turn left on Stevens Street, go 1.7 miles and then turn on Washington Street, which was where Murfreesboro RV Park, our final destination was located.

As we approached Stevens Street it looked like a narrow, barely paved, farm road, but I turned down the road with my 33-foot trailer right behind me. The further we drove down the road the narrower it got until about a mile in we saw a sign: “Dead End – No Turn Around.” Not exactly what I wanted to see.

Our new campsite

It was déjà vu all over again as I remembered a similar incident  - on a much wider street – in San Leon, Texas last winter. That time I had to back the trailer nearly ¼-mile, but this time I was already a mile down this road.

So I began backing up and noticed a nice house with a big circular driveway and no one home. So I went for it and successfully got the trailer turned in the opposite direction and back on the main road where we contacted both the RV Park and OnStar for better directions.

With that scare out of the way we arrived at the park and were warmly greeted by Alberta who assigned us Space 4, which turned out to be a very nice spot with a view out the back. Over the last five years I’ve gained a lot of confidence backing this big boat and so it doesn’t unnerve me anymore when I have to maneuver the trailer into a back in spot.

The park office and shower house

The park is small, but neat, there are only 14 spaces, but they are wide and well maintained. And with our arrival and a pop up camper a few minutes behind us, totally full.

OK, so let’s start at the beginning. We arose early at Grizzly’s RV Park, packed the trailer and made it road worthy (especially remembering to lower the four foot antenna on the roof) and started our next leg of the journey.

We had a slow but steady climb from Blytheville to West Memphis, which put our gas consumption on the “whirlpool” setting. OK, it wasn’t quite that bad, but we only averaged about 8 mph instead of our usual 10-11 mpg when we are pulling the trailer. Fortunately, gas prices here are just over $3 a gallon, which is still too high, but better than at home.

Our rolling rest stop

At one point we passed a motel with a name “Z Motel” that we couldn’t decide if it was cute or stupid. You get to decide.

Most of the day was on Interstates, but the last 45 miles was on a two lane, winding road through the back country of Arkansas, including a neck whipping passage of Antoine, population 156. We decided that the line at the polling place tomorrow would not likely be very long.

Also twice today we used our rolling rest stop for a call of nature that just couldn’t wait. We’ve done it rarely before, but it’s always nice to know that in addition to being a 33-foot suitcase, the trailer can serve as a mobile outhouse when needed.

Downtown Murfreesboro

We also passed a number of lumber yards and unfortunately were passed by a number of large, quick moving lumber trucks on the narrow road. Mostly they took their half out of the middle, which made it a little unnerving at times.

One thing we don’t have here at Murfreesboro RV Park is television. Without satellite, there is basically one very fuzzy station we can get and so far they have been replaying high school football games. So election day, for us, will be completely quiet, kind of a refreshing break we think.

The park does offer free DVDs to watch and we may take advantage of that tomorrow night.

We do have Internet – Free Internet – which so far has been working fairly well. In the past we have found that free Internet is pretty much worth what you pay for it, but we are keeping our fingers crossed.

We're getting a second color tour down south

So with the trailer leveled, the water and sewer hooked up we decided to head back to the cute little town of Murfreesboro that we passed through after our adventure on Stevens Street.

We did a little window shopping at the local stores and found everyone very friendly and helpful even if they all sound just a little bit like President Clinton.

As you can probably imagine, the Arkansas Razorbacks are the big story around here and when a man spotted my Michigan State sweatshirt we both began talking about our common bond – John L. Smith, the current Arkansas coach and the former Michigan State coach.

“I think John L. Smith is cramming two seasons into one,” the man told me. “His first season and his last one.”  I told him I felt his pain as John L. hadn’t done much for MSU either.

Joan liked this dragon at a motel

A number of local folks recommended we eat at a local Mexican restaurant – Los Agaves – and they were not wrong. We really enjoyed our fajitas.

One little fact we weren’t aware of when we came here is that we are camping in a dry county. So Joan, who really enjoys a glass of wine with dinner, had to settle for Diet Coke. The manager of the RV park told us that you could drive to Arkadelphia – which is about 40 miles away – to buy liquor.

Tomorrow the park manager is going to loan us some diamond collecting equipment so we won’t have to rent or buy screens, hand shovels or other tools when we go the Crater of the Diamonds Park to seek our fortune in diamonds.

Now a little confession: This version is the second version of today’s story. The first one, which was Pulitzer quality, somehow evaporated into Cyberspace when I hit the wrong button. So I’ve tried to recreate the masterpiece that I wrote earlier tonight here, but I fear it has fallen quite short.

If I remember any of the wonderful gems I previously wrote I will return and add them here at a later time.

Dinner at Los Agaves

Mileage out: 30107

Time out: 8:25 a.m.








Mileage in: 30406

Time in: 2:45 p.m.

 

 

Four quick states and a "grizzly" park

Our little corner of Grizzly's RV Park

It was another beautiful day on the road and with the change from Daylight Savings Time and a cross into the Central Time Zone we arrived at our next destination well ahead of my schedule. We passed through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and the northern corner of Arkansas today.

It was below freezing when we left Terre Haute this morning, but a pleasant 55 degrees when we pulled into Grizzly’s RV Park in Blytheville, Arkansas today.



Joan checking out the shower room

The driving day was uneventful and again we were blessed with little or no winds to complicate the driving.

We did pass a couple of what I considered funny signs.

The first was an advertising billboard for a Super 8 Motel in Illinois. The sign said little about the motel but did say it was “Award Winning.” Now, no disrespect to the Super 8 Motel folks, actually I have stayed in one of two of them in my life, but I can’t imagine what kind of award a Super 8 Motel could possibly win.

Our current location

We also saw a sign for a town called – Braggadocio – which seemed a curious name for a town considering the use of the word. According to Wikipedia (which is not always reliable)” the community was founded in 1847 and according to Robert L. Ramsay, was named for the vainglorious knight and horse thief Sir Braggadoccio, in Edmund Spencer's The Faerie Queen.”

Tonight I am going to search for a local radio station that has “Tradio,” which was a program Joan and I listened to many years ago when we drove through Arkansas. It was funny because people called in with the strangest things to sell, including a “five-gallon bucket of hog slop.”

We have a short trip tomorrow to our final destination in Murfreesboro, Arkansas and I’d love me some “Tradio” to listen to on our journey.

Joan on our walk at the street sign

During our travels we have stayed in some interesting RV parks and today’s selection, as always done sight unseen and based only on Internet research is one of the more interesting ones. Most of the spaces are permanent (or semi-permanent) residents and there are only three drive-through spots for passing travelers like us.

It’s a little rough, but the beauty of this kind of travel is that once we are inside our trailer it doesn’t really matter what it looks like outside. The lady who greeted us was nice and frankly the television reception is better than the higher priced KOA we stayed in last night and the free Internet seems to be working just fine. So life is good.

We had to dewinterize the trailer, which means we have to drain the anti-freeze from all the water lines and then restart the water heater, which is always an adventure because I never remember from time-to-time which way the on-off valve is supposed to turn.

This is the sign for the motel in front of the park

But it is nice to have our own water supply for tonight.  We got to watch some football and Joan made ham steak and potatoes for dinner. She’s hinting strongly that I may have to take her out for dinner tomorrow. That is probably payback for the "hardtack" pancakes comment from last night's blog.

Mileage out: 29772

Time out: 8:40 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

Mileage in: 30107 (335 miles)

Time in: 1:45 p.m. (Central Standard Time)

A gem of a trip awaits, on the road again

For the first time since March 16, we are on the road again with our mobile residence. It’s not that we haven’t traveled, because we’ve been to Buffalo, New York several times, I’ve been to visit my father twice and both sons from California have been here and gone with us in the intervening time.

But the trailer has been in mothballs since March.

The KOA office (that is not our trailer)

On Tuesday I took the trailer to our RV place for some needed maintenance and we had already packed the trailer for the trip south.

Basically what we are doing is taking a trip to Crater of the Diamonds in Arkansas and then we will finish the trip by dropping the trailer in Amarillo, Texas in preparation for our winter trip to Tucson, Arizona in January. Joan is hopeful that she will find the new Hope Diamond at the park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas.

This morning we headed over to Circle K RV to pick up the trailer and head out.  It was 30 degrees when we started out and the highest temperature of the day only got to 42 as we approached Terre Haute.

It turned out to be a cool, but calm day which always makes for pleasant driving. The winds were light, the roads were lightly traveled and we made decent time to our first stop at the KOA in Terre Haute, Indiana. This is actually the third time we have stayed in this park as it is exactly one decent day’s drive from home.

The last time we were here was March 15, the last day of our trip home from Texas. One of the perks of staying here is that when you check in they give you a small bag of homemade chocolate chip cookies.

“That’s why we come here,” Joan told the lady at the office.

This is our spot this year

With temperatures expected to fall below freezing tonight here we decided not to drain the anti-freeze from the trailer until we get to where it is a little warmer. So we had a microwave dinner, which included Joan cooking my microwave pancakes twice as long as they were supposed to which turned them into syrup covered hard tack. But I was hungry enough that they still tasted pretty good but I may need some dental work after trying hard to chew them.

It took a few minutes to set up our new television in the trailer, but we spent a warm evening enjoying college football. That includes a heart breaking loss by MSU to Nebraska. Congratulations to my stepmother who is a lifelong Cornhusker.

On the trip down we listened to the Michigan versus Minnesota game and the Florida versus Missouri game on the XM Radio stations.

Time out: 9:13 a.m.

Mileage out: 29366

Time in: 4:45 p.m.

Mileage in: 29772 (406 miles)