CASEY IOWA TO LANSING MICHIGAN…..EVEN WITH CHICAGO THROWN IN IT WAS A GOOD DRIVING DAY

BRIDGE OVER THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER SOUTH OF DAVANPORT IOWA

Quite often winds die down in the night & we were hoping for quieter air Tuesday morning & sure enough we caught a break when the winds had dropped to a stiff breeze.   One glance at the weather map Monday night showed us we could very well be in for some nasty weather ahead & with that thought in mind we rolled out of Casey Iowa at 7 a.m. this morning heading east.  I was actually happy to see a cloud cover because as any driver knows heading into the morning’s rising Sun is no picnic.  Especially with a bug infested windshield & 8 lanes of heavy traffic in an area one is not familiar with.

A FEW MORE PHOTOS FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT TODAY

I LEFT THE WINDSHIELD BUGS IN THIS PICTURE TO GIVE IT AN OLD PHOTO LOOK

I knew we would probably pile into the tail end of the morning rush in Des Moines Iowa & that is exactly what we did.  I had said in Mondays post Des Moines was the easiest city to get through out of the 3 cities ahead of us.  Wrong!!  Davenport is the easiest because of it’s 2 by-passes.  We took the southern route with very lite traffic.  We did get through Des Moines before that alright but the traffic was heavy.

KELLY CHECKS HER BLACKBERRY TO SEE IF HER PHOTO OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TURNED OUT

Winds picked up east of Davenport but not as bad as Monday.  Kelly kept a close eye on the weather reports which seemed to be worsening with each report but oddly enough the further east we went the nicer the day became.  We plowed into Chicago’s west end traffic about 1:15 p.m. & spent the next 40 minutes dodging this & deaking around that.  Traffic was heavy all the way & I thought to myself it would only take one driver making one mistake to cause everyone else to go flying & crashing around upside down.  Kelly had pre-programmed our Garmin GPS & once again thanks to that amazing piece of tracking technology we made it though Chicago once again unscathed but nevertheless I was so glad to put that city’s traffic madness behind us……until next time:((

AND THAT’S THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DIVIDING ILLINOIS & IOWA

AND YEP WE ROLLED OURSELVES THROUGH INDIANA TODAY TOO

STARTING IN IOWA THIS MORNING WE ROLLED OURSELVES THROUGH 4 STATES TODAY

It was somewhere east of Davenport I decided we had better put as many miles on today as we could.  Weather warnings were out for South-western Ontario calling for freezing rain & snow Wednesday.  There was no way we wanted to have to hole up somewhere & wait out freezing rain or a snow storm.  Nor did we want to get caught driving in that miserable stuff.   With that thought in mind I set my mind on Lansing Michigan.  We may wake up to rain Wednesday morning but we should be home before the freezing rain starts sometime later in the day.

OUR INTREPID NAVIGATOR BUSY CHECKING WEATHER REPORTS, PLOTTING OUR ROUTE AHEAD, UPDATING CURRENT WORLD EVENTS & KEEPING THE DRIVER’S PATIENCE UNDER CONTROL IN HEAVY TRAFFIC

As our day wore on our weather actually became nicer with sunshine finally breaking through the cloud cover about mid afternoon.  I felt energized by that & how nice to still be in reasonably mild weather again today.  We rolled into Lansing Michigan about 6:30 Ontario time & headed straight for a familiar overnight spot.  Cracker Barrel:))  Found us a quiet place right behind the restaurant & shut er down.  Minutes later we were once again digging into our mashed potatoes & gravy with breaded chicken.  I even sprung for some veggies this time.

GOTTA LOVE THESE CRACKER BARREL LOBBIES

TABLE FOR 2 PLEASE

OK I PROMISE…..THIS IS MY ‘LAST’ FOODY PICTURE FOR THIS TRIP!!!!!

Logged us 584 miles today.  In the morning we’ll roll out at first light & head 121 miles to the border at Port Huron & Sarnia.   Another 68 miles will land us home in Bayfield Ontario.  Only hurdle left for us now will be the border itself & if all goes well there our first stop in Canada will be Tim Hortons coffee shop in Forest Ontario for our customary welcome home coffee & apple fritter doughnuts.

ROLLING THROUGH CLOUDY IOWA FARMLAND THIS MORNING

We received an email from Jenny J today with an update on Retired Rod.   Jenny says, “Here is all I know about Rod ---- good news so far.  Just talked to a friend who visited Rod who is in KU Med ICU. Surgery to remove the tumor went well. He is unable to talk much but prognosis is good. May move him out of ICU tomorrow. That's all I know”……. A big thank-you Jenny for that email update.  We & I’m sure many others all appreciate it:))

OUR OVERNIGHT CRACKER BARREL STAY FOR THE NIGHT

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Airman Jones was assigned to the induction center, where he advised new recruits about their government benefits, especially their GI insurance.  It wasn't long before Captain Smith noticed that Airman Jones had almost a 100% record for insurance sales, which had never happened before.  Rather than ask about this, the Captain stood in the back of the room and listened to Jones's sales pitch.
Jones explained the basics of the GI Insurance to the new recruits, and then said: "If you have GI Insurance and go into battle and are killed, the government has to pay $200,000 to your beneficiaries. If you don't have GI insurance, and you go into battle and get killed, the government only has to pay a maximum of $6000."  "Now," he concluded, "which bunch do you think they are going to send into battle first?"

HUTCHINSON KANSAS TO CASEY IOWA…..A HARD AFTERNOON’S DRIVE BUCKING HEAVY CROSSWINDS THROUGH ROLLING HILLS & GRADES

A FEW MORE PHOTOS FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT TODAY
Despite a few close by train whistles & the usual sounds of a Walmart parking lot we slept reasonably well considering.  Long travel days do have a habit of making tired travelers sleep well.

THE SHADOW OF OUR MOTORHOME PASSING BY A FEW COWS EARLY THIS MORNING

ALWAYS NICE TO SEE WATER & OOPS LOOKS LIKE I MISSED A FEW SPOTS WHEN I HASTILY CLEANED THE WINDSHIELD SUNDAY
A strong icy wind blowing from the south made for a short doggy walk on the long grassy strip beside our rig this morning.  By 7:25 Hutchinson Kansas time we had the big wheels rolling & minutes later were eastbound on highway 61 making tracks in a heavy crosswind for highway 81 at the town of McPherson about 10 miles away.  I knew soon as we reached that highway we would have that wind on our tail & it would be to our advantage & push us all the way up to York Nebraska on I-80.  I also knew that later in the day when we reached I-80 & turned east we were going to be in a big fight when our helping tail wind would suddenly turn into a very nasty crosswind.  And did it ever………..
From McPherson Kansas north up highway 81 with the wind at our backs we had us a mighty fine morning drive.  Sunny skies with a great 4 lane highway & very lite traffic.  Blew past Salina Kansas & continued heading north.  I sure would recommend this north/south route to anyone.  

GUESS WE’RE NOT THE ONLY SNOW BIRDS HEADING HOME
Our first destination was a place called Concordia because we knew of nice park there where we could pull in & pick us up some water.  I call this place ‘Army Tank’ park because there is a neat army tank & a mobile gun carrier here.  We have overnighted in this great park maybe half a dozen times now over the years when passing through this way.  About a dozen  sites here with concrete pads, water, electric, & a dump station.  Lots of grass & trees & oodles of space for doggies & people to run if your so inclined to run.  There is even a small local airport here & a big cement tornado shelter if I remember correctly.  And here’s another big plus, there is a big Walmart right across the road.  This ‘Airpark’ is located at Concordia’s south end right on highway 81 at the only traffic light on that side of town.  Walmart is on the west side & the Airpark (Army Tank Park) across the highway is on the east side.  I totally recommend this  park for any RV’ers traveling through this area.  From Tucumcari New Mexico on I-40 to York Nebraska on I-80 it’s 590 miles & pretty much a straight shot all the way.

ARMY TANK PARK LOOKING TOWARDS HIGHWAY 81 WITH WALMART JUST OUT OF SIGHT TO THE LEFT

TAKING ON A BIT OF WATER


NICE PARK WITH LOTS OF ROOM FOR BOTH PETS & PEOPLE TO ROMP

From ‘Army Tank’ park we continued rolling north until we reached York Nebraska at the i-80 junction.   Picked up some gas here then climbed aboard the Interstate heading east.  From this point to Casey Iowa our pleasant drive was over & we fought a strong crosswind every inch of the way.  The Big EEE sure earned her due today bucking heavy winds through rolling hill country up & over countless grades.  Again the rig ran perfectly without so much as a hick-up along the way.  Stopped into a Love’s Truck Stop & topped up our propane tank along the way as well.  Needing a break we rolled off i-80 in Lincoln Nebraska to a spot we had overnighted on our way home last year.  CRACKER BARREL:))  Had the daily special of chicken, dressing, & mashed potatoes with gravy.  Yes indeed we sure do like our Cracker Barrels we do.  And here’s the best part, we rarely finish all the food so have Cracker Barrel left overs for supper just as we did tonight.
ALWAYS A NICE DOWN HOME FEELING TO CRACKER BARREL



HEY LOOK MA, NO GREEN STUFF:)))))

YEP IT’S CRACKER BARREL ALRIGHT:))

SAW THESE GUYS BEHIND CRACKER BARREL
Wished there was an easy way to scoot by the line of big cities ahead of us but after spending some time with my Atlas again Sunday night I figured we’d just bite the bullet again & plow our way straight through them as we usually do.  Timing is important though as one does not want to get into any kind of morning or afternoon rush hour traffic.  That stuff is not nice no matter what big city one finds themselves in.  Cities are best traversed between 9 a.m. & 3 p.m. if possible…..or  7 p.m. to 5 a.m. for best results:))
AT LEAST PHOTOS TAKEN OUT MY SIDE WINDOW DON’T HAVE BUG SPLOTCHES ON THEM
Ahead of us we had 4 big city Monsters to deal with so off we headed to do battle today with the first of 4, Omaha Nebraska.  Winds beat us up real good all the way but the driver side of me saw it as a challenge with a healthy twinge of apprehensive excitement.  We rolled into Omaha’s western outskirts around 2 p.m. & fought our way through the traffic madness & construction zones.  Already tired from fighting with the crosswinds I was sure glad to see Omaha disappearing in my side view mirror.

About 50 miles west of Des Moines Iowa Kelly using her old ‘Escapee Day’s End’ directory found a county park ahead in a little town on the north side of I-80 called Casey Iowa.  Just in time too because I was really beginning to tire.  We also did not want to do Des Moines in the afternoon traffic rush so we’ll roll out of Casey in the morning & slide straight through Des Moines on the tail end of the rush.  Des Moines is the easiest of the 4 big city Monsters to get through.  I expect we’ll probably do Davenport tomorrow as well then hole up somewhere west of Chicago & plan out our strategy on just how we are again going to up & defeat that biggest of Monster sometime probably Wednesday.  We have tangled with Chicago about a dozen times over the years & made it through unscathed except for one year when it totally ate us up & spit us out.

CASEY’S SHORT MAIN STREET WAS MADE OF BRICKS YEARS AGO & THAT BRICK STREET STILL SURVIVES INTACT TO THIS VERY DAY
Oh, & here’s a juicy little tidbit about the wee town of Casey we are staying in tonight.  Found this on the internet…….{In 2015 the City Clerk, Dorothy Dillinger, was indicted for misappropriation of city funds and burning down the city hall. She allegedly stole up to $300,000 in city funds and spent it on purchases at Victoria's Secret, Wal-Mart, among other places}
I have found over the past 4 days of travel my mind has not been drifting back to our Congress house or the South-west in general.  As expected it has scaled down to one day at a time & focused on the task at hand which at the moment is our homeward trek.  Our goal is simply to get ourselves back home to Bayfield Ontario.  One of the most enjoyable things about being a Snow Bird is having a home to come home to after a long journey & months away.  Lots of space, long hot showers, cushy recliners, & big screen TV etc barely scratches the surface of our many great reasons to be home.  Pheebs is already looking forward to our first Jeep ride through Huron Counties Spring time rural countryside:)))))))

Traveling across Kansas this morning our thoughts turned to RETIRED ROD as we wondered aloud how he was making out with his surgery today.  Has anyone heard anything yet??

DESPITE LOOKING COLD WE ARE ACTUALLY IN SOME MODERATELY MILD TEMPERATURES HERE IN CASEY IOWA
GROANER’S CORNER:(( A fire started in the grasslands close to a farm. The county fire department rushed to the scene, but the fire was more than they could handle. Someone suggested calling the volunteer fire department. Despite some doubt that they would be of any assistance, they were called.  The volunteers arrived in a dilapidated old fire truck. They rumbled right past the other firefighters straight towards the fire, drove right into the middle of the flames and stopped!! The firefighters jumped from the truck and frantically started spraying water in all directions. Soon they had snuffed out the whole fire.  As the farmer watched all this, he was impressed and grateful that his house and farm had been spared. He quickly got his cheque book and donated $1000 to the volunteer fire department.  A local news reporter asked the volunteer fire captain how they planned to use the funds.  The captain replied, "The first thing we're gonna do is get the damn brakes on our fire truck fixed"!!!!

TUCUMCARI NEW MEXICO TO HUTCHINSON KANSAS…..A GREAT DRIVING DAY WITH NO PROBLEMS

HIGHWAY 54 & THIS RAIL LINE RUN PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER FOR MILES & MILES & WE SAW A LOT OF TRAINS TODAY

How nice to have a relaxingly quiet night without traffic whizzing by a short distance away.  Slept right through till 5 a.m. when I heard Kelly getting up.  While out with Pheebs in the pre-dawn hours under partly cloudy skies I thought again about the old pre-sixties Motel complex here at the CACTUS RV PARK & how much history it holds from the good old Route 66 days.  Noticed when we pulled out this morning there were actually other places along this stretch of road all relating back to that bygone era as well.

WE QUIETLY SLIP OUT OF THE CACTUS RV PARK THIS MORNING

Rolled out of Tucumcari’s CACTUS RV PARK at 7:25 New Mexico time & headed north up highway 54.  It was time for a change from Interstate driving & we were familiar with this route having come this way heading south one time back in 2010.  What a nice Sunday drive this turned out to be all the way up to Hutchinson Kansas.  A combination of 2 & 4 highway lanes with maybe a dozen small towns thrown in along the way.  Traffic was light with most of it being trucks.  Highway was in good shape with passing lanes along the two lane stretches.  Flat gently rolling hill country with a few trees but no forests.  The landscape has a beauty all it’s own but I don’t think I’d care to live on the Plains.  Just not enough varying topography for me & certainly not enough back roads for Pheebs & I to go jeeping on.

I DIDN’T FIND THE FLAT SCENERY BORING…..I FOUND IT RELAXING

I WONDER HOW MANY OLD TIMERS HAD THEIR HAIR CUT HEE

 

FROM TUCUMCARI WE TRAVELLED IN 3 STATES TODAY

SNUGGLES & SMOOTHCES ALONG THE WAY:))

Hutchinson Kansas was not as I remembered it & I hardly recognized anything from our last south bound pass through town back in November of 2010. Seems like Hutchinson’s growth rate has really exploded.  I had searched out Walmart’s location on Google Earth so knew basically where to find it & it was 4:30 p.m. when we rolled into Wally’s parking lot.  Slipped in for a few groceries & we were good for the night.

WE SAW SO MANH HUGE GRAIN ELEVATORS TODAY I LOST COUNT

Today’s easy drive was the lull before the storm as sometime tomorrow we connect with I-80 & head east to do battle over the coming days with cities Omaha, Des Moines, Davenport, & Chicago.  As Charlie Brown would say, “Good Grief”!!

A McDONALDS STOP IN LIBERAL KANSAS HAS PHEEBS ANXIOUSLY WATCHING FOR MOM TO COME OUT WITH THE GOODIES

WATCHING

STILL WATCHING

AND HERE SHE COMES:))

Must say it has been very refreshing not watching any television since leaving Congress & especially not seeing any of the latest political shenanigans going on here in America.  Although arriving back in Bayfield soon I’m sure we’ll find ourselves right back into the fray again.  But what a nice respite from all that for now anyway.

WE EVEN HAVE SOME GRASS WITH TONIGHT’S OVERNIGHTER

WE NEVER HAVE ANY SECURITY ISSUES WITH SPENCER ON THE JOB

And once again I have to say how well the Big EEE has been running.  I’m beginning to think more & more it was that Mass Air Flo Sensor all along that was causing us all the problems & engine codes. 

A FEW SIGNS OF SPRING ALONG THE WAY TODAY:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A dying man gathered his lawyer, doctor and clergyman at his bed side and handed each of them an envelope containing $25,000 in cash. He made them each promise that after his death and during his repose, they would place the three envelopes in his coffin. He told them that he wanted to have enough money to enjoy the next life.  A week later the man died. At the Wake, the Lawyer and Doctor and Clergyman, each concealed an envelope in the coffin and bid their old client and friend farewell. By chance, these three met several months later. Soon the Clergyman, feeling guilty, blurted out a confession saying that there was only $10,000 in the envelope he placed in the coffin. He felt, rather than waste all the money, he would send it to a Mission in South America. He asked for their forgiveness. The Doctor, moved by the gentle Clergymans sincerity, confessed that he too had kept some of the money for a worthy medical charity. The envelope, he admitted, had only $8000 in it. He said, he too could not bring himself to waste the money so frivolously when it could be used to benefit others.  By this time the Lawyer was seething with self-righteous outrage. He expressed his deep disappointment in the felonious behavior of two of his oldest and most trusted friends. "I am the only one who kept his promise to our dying friend. I want you both to know that the envelope I placed in the coffin contained the full amount. Indeed, my envelope contained my personal check for the entire $25,000."