WINDY TRIP FROM GOREVILLE ILLINOIS TO HAZEN ARKANSAS

THIS BRIDGE OVER THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER MARKS THE STATE LINE BETWEEN ILLINOIS AND MISSOURI
First thing I heard upon waking this morning was rain on the rig’s roof…not good!! Second thing I heard was wind in the tree tops and that was not good either. Third thing I heard was a happy little dog waking up in the chair beside my bed. Now, that was good:))

LITTLE MOTORMOUSE PLAYING IN A PILE OF LEAVES THIS MORNING AT FERNE CLYFFE
We have moved to Central Time now so instead of waking up at 4:15 I was wide awake at 3:15.  Yep, knew right then and there it was going to be another long day.  But not a long boring day like at home.  Can’t even begin to tell you how great it is to be back in my element and on the move again.  Halleluiah Brother:))    

 
BREAKFAST AT OUR HOUSE THIS MORNING
Couldn’t believe how warm it was first thing this morning with the temps later in the day reaching 80F.  The rain ended long before we had the wheels rolling at 7:45 but the heavy cloud cover stuck around.  Still big wind gusts but knew we should be OK all the way down I-57 to the bridge over the Mississippi because of the sheltering forests.  We crossed that bridge at 8:35 into Missouri’s flat farmland heading in a westerly direction.    As expected this brought us broad side on to the southerly cross wind again which beat us up pretty good for about 30 miles before reaching I-55.  We were able to swing our nose back into the wind again heading south all the way to the west side of Memphis.

LOOKING SOUTHWARD DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER WHILE CROSSING THE BRIDGE TO MISSOURI
Upon nearing Memphis we swung off the I-55 ramp at 11:30 landing ourselves on I-40 heading west.  As mentioned before, this is always a pivotal point in our trip and switches us from our north/south part of the trip to our east/west part of the trip.  We now have the great American Southwest in our crosshairs.  Quite often in the past when I referred to the Southwest I was in the habit of mentioning only New Mexico, Arizona and California.  I should have been including the great State of Texas all along and from here on in I will do just that. 

THIS IS THE RAMP FROM I-55 TO I-40 WHICH HEADS US STRAIGHT FOR THE SOUTHWEST
The winds began to back off around noon and I actually kicked on the dash Air.  We had a mixture of sun and clouds as we approached Hazen Arkansas about 40 miles east of Little Rock around 2 p.m.  There is a little RV Park called T-Ricks right off I-40 that we have used maybe half a dozen times over the years.  The Park has fallen on hard times but we like it because there are usually not too many people there.  T-Rick’s is also a CITGO fuel stop so we decided to call it a day, gas up the rig and stay for the night.  I had my first huge black tank disaster late this afternoon but I am not going to even mention that!!!

PIT STOP AT AN ARKANSAS REST AREA WEST OF MEMPHIS
New bloggers Rick and Kathy Rousseau from IT'S ABOUT TIME have just joined us on our Blog Followers list and we welcome them aboard for this years adventures in the Southwest.
And, a big shout out to fellow RV’ers back home in that there Seaforth town.  Ron and Gloria Riley will soon be on the road for Arizona’s Superstition Mountain in their 34’ Carriage Fifth Wheel.  Happy trails guys and don’t forget to drive the Apache Trail when you are there.  If you type Superstition Mountain or Apache Trail into our blog sites search bar you can see our pics and blogs from our time spent in that area. 
Now, to answer the comment question regarding our route. Yes, swinging west on I-70 and heading on down through St. Louis and Oklahoma to Arizona is technically shorter, but is it. First, I have an aversion to large cities and we’ve driven through St. Louis a couple times before and that was enough of that!! No need to reach Arizona through Albuquerque NM or the traffic chaos of Phoenix either because it is southern Arizona we are now heading for. By running south on ‘big city free’ I-57 and I-55 we hook up with I-40 west of Memphis to Little Rock Arkansas and I-30 to Texarkana. By then we are already further south and in line with Southern New Mexico and Arizona. We detour north around Dallas through Gainesville Texas and pick up a quiet two lane road leading to Jacksboro where we pick up highway 380 all the way to Tularosa New Mexico. I like 380 with it’s tired little dusty western towns along the way, people free rest areas, lite traffic, a couple of free county parks and easy access over the mountains through the Apache Pass.
And, I have a correction to Saturday’s post. I mentioned it was a router we were having problems with not getting on-line but in actual fact it was our Verizon modem. Not the modems fault but ours. Having not used it since last March we forgot to charge it and then failed to remember about the ‘on/off switch. Yikes, these aging memories of ours!! All is well now and our internet access is working fine. Lots of TV channels accessible by antennae on this side of the country too.
Tuesday morning we will mix it up with the Little Rock traffic, but we generally get through there without any trouble anyway.  There is a Cracker Barrel in Texarkana we have frequented in the past so I have a feeling we just might re-frequent it again in the morning.  Texarkana sits on the State Line between Arkansas and Texas and it is here where the landscape begins changing. 

NO ROOM ON MY BED TONIGHT SO LOOKS LIKE I WILL BE THE ONE SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR:((
GROANER’S CORNER:((       Two highway patrolmen stop a driver for speeding on the state highway in Waxahachie, Texas. As they are writing up the ticket, one trooper turns to the other and asks, "How do you spell Waxahachie?"
The other one replies, "I don't know."
"What are we going to do?" the first one asks. "If we spell it wrong, the judge will dismiss the charge."
"Well," says his partner, "why don't we just let him go and stop him again when he gets to Waco?"
---------------------------------------------------------------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."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-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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