TOUGH DRIVING DAY WITH HEAVY WIND GUSTS EVERY MILE OF THE WAY

PHEEBS KEEPS AN EYE ON AN RV MOVING IN A BIT CLOSE TO US AT FERNE CLYFFE STATE PARK, GOREVILLE ILLINOIS
The winds gusted all night and Kelly had to finally pull in the bedroom slide.  Not the best night’s sleep and yes, we had the proverbial train whistles in the background. But, that’s OK because there is something very hauntingly reassuring about train whistles in the night.

PIT STOP AT AN ILLINOIS REST AREA
Sunday night’s weather channel issued a wind advisory for Sunday saying the winds would pick up as the day went on so we figured we had better get an early start and make some fast tracks out of the area.  Our tracks weren’t fast enough…….Rolled out of the Cracker Barrel parking lot at 6:35 a.m. and as soon as we climbed aboard I-94 and pointed our nose to the southwest we were buffeted by heavy wind gusts.  Not good!!  Fortunately, because it was Sunday we did not have a lot of traffic to deal with and making our way through the maze of concrete and pavement in Gary Indiana went well.  I prefer to do heavy traffic areas on week-ends if at all possible.
  
KELLY, ALWAYS ON THE JOB, FIELDS A DEER PARK LODGE CALL
Picking up I-57 put us head to head with the hard charging southwest winds and for the next seven and a half hours we went toe to toe with the heavy wind gusts.  At one point about 60 miles north of Effingham we rounded a long curve in the road and the winds began hitting us broadside with enough force to move us into the accompanying lane several times.  Only thing we could do was cut our speed and hang on tight.  This is all very flat farm land between Chicago and Effingham with few trees or wood lots to break the wind whipping across the flat landscape.   I knew if we could get ourselves south of Effingham we would be in better shape because of all the forests along that stretch.  I would have to say we experienced some of the strongest wind bursts today that we have ever been in.

FUEL STOPS ARE ALWAYS A TWO PERSON OPERATION FOR US…KELLY DEALS WITH THE GAS PUMP COMPUTER AGGRAVATIONS AND I AM THE GAS JOCKEY WHO ‘FILLS ER UP"’
The destination I had in mind since leaving the Indiana State Line was a quiet place in a forest that we had been to several times before.  FERNE CLYFFE STATE PARK is about 2 miles east of I-57 near a little place called Goreville Illinois which in turn is about 200 miles north of Memphis Tennessee.  I knew if we could make Ferne Clyffe we would have a sheltered place from the wind for the night.  Kelly and I, on our way back from Big Bend in Texas back in 04 actually pulled in here on New Year’s Eve of 04/05.  Not a soul around and we spent a quiet restful night totally alone in winter’s big silent forest.  I like memories like that:))

  
WALKING A FERNE CLYFFE TRAIL THIS AFTERNOON 
Because of being beat up by the high winds today our gas mileage took quite a hit.  Filled up in Gary Indiana this morning and filled up again this afternoon in Mt. Vernon Illinois.  Wanted to keep the tank on the full side to give us extra weight.  We do have an onboard computer that will give us our miles per gallon but those are numbers I really did not need to see today!!  On the positive side, we have had many great tailwinds over the years that have whisked us up and down the highways and byways with barely a foot on the gas, so today was just a little payback time for us:))

NOT OFTEN YOU SEE THE BAYFIELD BUNCH PARKED ON A SOLID FLAT PAVED SURFACE (FERNE CLYFFE STATE PARK)
Both Kelly and I both got a hankering for peanut butter and toast this morning while southbound on I-57.  With a simple push of a switch on the dash I had the generator running.  The cook was in the Galley, the toast was in the toaster and minutes later I had a big Cheshire grin on my face and a big slice of toast and peanut butter tucked nicely away in my tummy.  Yep, I sure like this rolling Motor Home concept alright:))

NICE TO BE OUT OF THE TRAFFIC AND BACK INTO A PEACEFUL FOREST SETTING
I think one of the greatest feelings while traveling is that point of destination, wherever it is at the end of the day.  After shutting down the rig, putting out the slides and taking care of any other set up procedures there comes a very precious moment of the trip.   You walk over to your favorite spot whether it’s a recliner, couch, bench seat at the breakfast nook table or just a good old comfy favorite chair and you just kind of collapse yourself in a very relaxing and comfortable heap.  A big sigh of relief, an immediate release of stress, and a warm sense of accomplishment knowing that you didn’t screw anything up too badly since getting up that morning.  I think that is always my favorite part of any traveling day. 

KELLY FINDS A VERY LARGE SYCAMORE LEAF >>>
I think our highs today reached the mid 70’s and and just now at 6 p.m. I see it is 71F.  I was just outside with the Pheebs and I could hear crickets and frogs in the darkening woods beside us.  The wind was roaring in the treetops and we were as snug as a bunch of bugs on the forest floor below.  Now, how nice is that.
 
COMFORTABLY IN…..’MY SPOT'
GROANER’S CORNER:((  A college boy takes his girlfriend to a football game. It’s the first football game she’s ever seen, and afterwards he asks her how she liked it.
"Oh, I really liked it," she says, "but I just couldn't understand though why they were killing each other for 25 cents."
"What do you mean?"
"All they kept screaming was: Get the quarter back. Get the quarter back."
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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO, WE ARE ON THE LAUNCH PAD AND THE COUNTDOWN IS ON…..T MINUS 10:))

WE ARE SOOOOOOO READY TO RUMBLE……….

We started the morning off in pouring rain but it soon turned to sleet and light snow for a short while.  It didn’t deter us from our morning walk though as Pheebe and I made our way around the trail.  Stopped for a few thoughts at my favourite young Maple tree and then wrapped up our last Pine forest morning walk for the year.  Yes it’s true…….I talk to trees:))

A SKIFF OF SNOW ON THE TRAIL THIS MORNING AND THE PHEEBS HAS AN APPLE IN HER MOUTH

  

A YOUNG OAK TREE GROWING OUT OF A LARGE OAK STUMP…….AND SLEET ON THE MORNING PATH  

It was a day of cleaning, doing laundry, organizing and rearranging.  We do not shut our place down completely so we put a big thermometer in the window for our neighbour to see because we always leave a bit of heat on.  For anyone doing this it is very important to put fresh batteries in your thermostat.  We didn't do that last year and when the batteries failed in both our electric furnace and remote powered gas fireplace stove at the same time the temps dropped low enough to kill all our indoor plants.  Luckily, the fellow who regularly checks our place caught the problem before any damage was done to our pipes.  A very close call, so be sure to put new batteries in your thermostats folks.
 

YEP, I’D SAY WE ARE GETTING OUT OF HER JUST IN TIME ALRIGHT

Still no idea just where we are headed for first in the southwest but I finally do have an idea on which route we will take when leaving here in just a matter of hours.  Decided to follow our tracks from last year and make our first overnight stop in Benton Harbor Michigan.  Sunday morning we will slip into Gary Indiana on the east side of Chicago, change direction and pick up I-57 heading south down to Effingham Illinois.  Reaching Effingham puts us back onto our old tried and true southern route for the southwest.  We will continue south on I-57 joining I-55 south to the west side of Memphis and the Mississippi River.  We will make the big swing down the Interstate ramp onto I-40 pointing the rig's nose directly at the southwest.  I always look forward to this spot either coming or going in our travels because it is a major change of direction and roughly marks the half way point for us.

PICKED UP THIS LITTLE $3 WALL MOUNTED LAMP AT THE GOODWILL STORE LAST WEEK…..MUCH BETTER THAN THE TIPPY FLOOR LAMP WE USED TO HAVE
Don't want to dwell on this but just want to say thank you to all the folks who have stuck with my blog these past difficult seven and a half months.  I have very much appreciated your support, patience and understanding.  Now, let's see if we can get out there and find us a big breath of fresh air and some new adventures:))

WHEN IT BEGAN TO SNOW AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON I THOUGHT……OH OH!!

Left the History channel on TV all day and found myself continuously drawn to the screen watching programs dealing with the 'Days Of Remembrance.'  Our power went out for about an hour beginning at 10:40 a.m.   At 11 a.m. I was in the Motor Home with the radio on listening to 'In Flanders Fields.'  Years ago in my reading days, the bulk of my reading for many years had to do with factual accounts of the wars.  Maybe that is why I joined the Canadian Navy at age 20.  I remember last year on November 11th at 11 a.m. in the morning we were westbound on I-10 somewhere between Deming and Lordsburg New Mexico.

DECIDED TO TAKE OUR SUN ROOM’S GREEN RECLINER THIS YEAR INSTEAD OF THE SECOND RED POANG CHAIR….KELLY WILL USE IT AND I WILL STILL USE MY RED CHAIR WHICH I REALLY LIKE EVEN THOUGH IT DOESN’T RECLINE

About 3:30 this afternoon I hooked the Jeep up to the back of the Motor Home.  Good thing I remembered how because the last time I hooked it up was nearly 8 months ago  before leaving a campground near Canyon de Chelly in north-eastern Arizona.  Took the rig and Jeep for a test run and everything checked out fine.  Parked it with the door opening into the driveway where we can load up the final things in the morning and that’s it.  We are ready to go……….. at last:))

TAKING THE MOTOR HOME AND JEEP FOR A TEST RUN THIS AFTERNOON AND KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON THINGS IN THE REAR VIEW CAM >>>

If by chance you do not see a blog from me Saturday night or Sunday morning it probably will just mean we have had a few technical problems re-activating our Verizon Internet card.  Kelly doesn't feel there will be a problem but I am always a bit more sceptical when it comes to a lot of this new space age techno stuff.  In my world, Mr. Murphy is always just around the corner waiting to mess me up……10-4:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A sweet young thing who has just been shopping is pulled over by a traffic cop and given a ticket for speeding. Rather than fight the ticket, the woman writes a check for the amount of the fine and puts it in the mail.
However, the young woman is anxious. Her husband always examines her checkbook carefully, and she doesn't want him to know about the incident.
Then inspiration strikes, and she scribbles on the check stub: "One pullover, $125."

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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

A TOUCH OF SPRING IN THE TRAVELING AIR

THESE MIGHT BE CHERRY BLOSSOMS

The outside temperature on our thermometer this morning said 43F & I was relieved to see that because it meant we would not have to contend with black ice on our early morning start.  Noticed a fair bit of snow in the field beside us had melted as well.

PIT STOP FOR THE BAYFIELD BUMS

Rolled out of Bonham Texas onto highway 82 heading east at 6:50 a.m.  Little did I know it would turn out to be a 10 hour driving day taking us north of Memphis almost to the Missouri State line.  I'm writing this from a Lowe's/Wally World Parking lot just off I-55 in Blytheville, Arkansas.

       

One of the problems of early morning starts heading east is the rising sun & it sure did us a bad turn this morning.  Heading into Paris, Arkansas I totally missed seeing the the by-pass sign & drove right smack dab into downtown Paris.  Not only got onto some narrow streets but had trouble reading the street signs because of the sun in our eyes.  We got dragged right down main street through the business district.  The cloud of blue air inside the motorhome didn't help the visibility any either.  Kelly spotted a highway 82 sign with an pointing arrow & about half an hour later we were finally back on track & heading east out of Paris.  Two years ago this very same town literally ate us up & spit us out twice in less than an hour.  I have copied & pasted the 'Paris' part of that post I did for that day at the end of this blog entitled....."A Paris Repeat!!"

I-30 through Texarkana has been under construction every time we have gone through there these past few years & today was no different.  What a mess & what a miserable time we had finding Cracker Barrel again.  I think I had just better stick with my egg salad sandwiches!!

MORNING'S SUNRISE.....KELLY FIELD'S A WORK CALL OUTSIDE CRACKER BARREL....SOCKY GEEPERS ENJOYING THE VIEW

Weather was good, wind was no problem, & the traffic flow was rolling along well today so we just went with the flow & kept on going, & going.  Whenever we get that 'going home bug' or that 'heading for the southwest bug' we just focus on the objective & go for it until we reach our goal.  Right now my cushy recliner chair at home & a long hot shower are priority one!!

Today's cherry blossoms & dandelions were taken at a rest stop area along I-30 west of Memphis.  Sunset photo was taken across the Wal-Mart parking lot in Blytheville, Arkansas.

 

OUR OVERNIGHTER SPOT IN BLYTHEVILLE

Tomorrow morning we'll head east & cross the Mississippi River into Illinois before swinging northward up to Effingham & east to Indianapolis.   Indianapolis is our last major pain in the asparagus before reaching the Canadian border probably sometime late Wednesday or early Thursday.  We'll see how it goes..........10-4!!

TONIGHT'S SUNSET....LIGHT STANDARDS ARE IN THE WAL-MART PARKING LOT

GROANER'S CORNER:(( And did you know it's a fact, taller people sleep longer in bed.

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

"A Paris Repeat!!"   November 18th 2008

Lots of construction going on in the city of Paris, Texas but we were able to thread our way through the traffic cones, around the workers, past the detour signs, & somehow remained in the narrow pot holed construction lanes. Nearly missed a turn at a particularly nasty intersection but we made it through & breathed a big sigh of relief as I watched Paris disappearing in the rear view mirrors. Next big town would be Sherman. Into a bit more construction & a couple sweeping curves to the left. The sun caught my attention when it appeared in my driver's side mirror. Odd, it should be high up on my left side, not in my mirror. More construction & congestion & before I could logically figure out the strange positioning of the sun we nearly missed a turn at a particularly nasty intersection. AWWWWWW NUTS!!!!!! It was the exact same intersection we had just bounced through about 20 minutes before. We had traveled in a complete left hand circle & back into the construction area of Paris. *!!#^>"+! How did this happen!! Watched Paris disappear in my rear view mirrors for the second time. I was beginning to see shades of Bill Murray's movie, Groundhog Day. What if we have entered the Twilight Zone & are doomed to repeat this route around & around forever & ever. We were totally glued to every road sign going by dreading the thought of making the same mistake again. Finally, there it was, a big green sign with the number 82 on it & an arrow pointing to the exit west. How had we missed that before!!!! Had it been any bigger it would have jumped out & slapped us in the face..................

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