Dear Diary, Forgive me, I continue to record the mundane.
Every year we recognize that this could be our last trip. We are designating this one The Last Hurrah but hoping it will not be our last.
Monday, May 10 - The rain, thankfully, stopped at 7am. The odometer read 121,158 miles when we left. We got about a 1/4 mile on I85 when the rig starts swaying dangerously. WFT! We get off the interstate and head to our auto shop. Nothing apparent. We drive both vehicles separately and all is normal. I adjust the hitch some. That makes a difference, but we still have some sway. An hour down the road we pull off and I find two hitch bolts that are slightly loose. I tighten them. Maybe it's a little better. The next morning, I get serious and tighten all the hitch bolts with a cheater bar. No apparent change. What has changed since we went to Florida a month back? No changes to the Jeep. The Lazy Daze has new upper and lower ball joints, tires and, of course, alignment. What is pushing the rear end around? It tracks straight, but if you move the steering wheel above 50 a little unintentionally it will start to swing left to right for a few intenerations.
Three days later: Thanks to a fellow LD owner mentioning it, I checked the pressure in my front tires. I screwed up. I put in only 55 pounds instead of 65. That 10 pounds makes all the difference between the front end floating. It's back to tracking like a train.
We overnighted at a COE park on the Tombigbee River north of Columbus, MS. $10 We are fond of COE parks as they are the best value around. Plenty of elbow room, W&E, a dump, and showers.
Tuesday, It rained in the early hours of the day, but again stopped by 7am. We got away about 10 and headed west on US82 across Mississippi.
I have a pretty good internal compass. But it went out by 180 degrees this morning. Getting to and from a water site usually means a circuitous route. Without the sun I could not tell east from west. It took most of the day to get my compass reset.
Arkansas
We overnighted at a COE park on the Arkansas River near Arkansas Post. A familiar place to us. $9.50
Wednesday, May 12 - We had zero cell service until 6:15, then it was spotty surfing. We managed to get away at 9.
We are now in scenic country. Southern Arkansas is flat and covered with row crops, mostly rice. The upper part of the state has low mountains, up to around 1,200 feet so you get some decent vistas. We are enjoying the spring foliage of the hardwoods. The greens are so more intense than in Alabama.
We are on the Buffalo River in one of the very few 5 star Forest Service CG's. (our rating system) It's fluffed and buffed. It's a haven for yakking and floating. We paddled the river some years ago.
Our campsite
The sun popped out around noon and we had a delightful afternoon in the mid-'70s. I enjoyed a beer and a bit of medication from Cloud Nine Confections. It made our dinner of pork tenderloin and the last of the Taiwanese cabbage seem especially good.
Missouri
Thursday, May 13 - Another 3.5 hours north on US65. We have only been on two roads. US82 from Montgomery until we connected with US65. Both are about half 4-lane. The road surface has been remarkably smooth most of the way.
We are shunpikers. We avoid Interstates. They have all the joy of eating white bread. Sure there are traffic lights, but we like the distractions of the roadside.
We landed at Pomme de Terre Lake in southern Missouri. Another COE facility. $11 a night lakeside.
Friday, May 14 - The freaking weekend. We are holed at another COE less than an hour north of our place last night.
After I got to sleep, Dorothy heard a TT come in next door. He had to back in several times before he got it right. Saturday morning we see they put up their awning in the dark. They are prepared to "camp". Light rain is in the forecast for the next 12 days. I understand it has been dry here, so good for the farmers.
Our next stop will be Pella, IA. For what? Pot Roast. Yep, Dorothy recalls she got the best one ever there at the Ulrich Meat Market and wants a repeat. I know we will also eat at the In't Veld Meat Market on the square. We will also watch the pelicans float like battleships down from the dam in the swift current. They drift down and fly back to repeat the joy ride.
I take advantage of Amazon's book samples so I can decide if I want to read the book or it would be a waste of time and money.
Saturday, May 15 - Dreary all day. We vegged.
Iowa
Sunday, May 16 - We made the long five-hour hop to Pella. I had intended to stop at a state park about halfway to Pella. But I neglected to factor in the weekend in my trip planning. There is no way to pop in at a state park on the weekend when all the hoopelheads are out.
It rained most of the way. KoKo and Pelli are covered in slime. We crashed when we arrived and watched some Youtube and CBS Sunday Morning on Roku.
We are parked at Howell Station, a COE park. One of seven COE CG's on Lake Red Rock.
The water is way down and they are not releasing any water from the dam. That means the joy ride for the pelicans is out of order.
Monday, May 17 - I left the headlights on during our lunch stop for about 15 minutes. That killed the battery. Fortunately, I carry a lithium starter battery, so it was no big deal. I replaced the battery of unknown age today. The GPS noted there was a Walmart close by and they had an auto store. No, they didn't. OK, fine there is another Walmart only 12 miles away. Oops, that was air mileage and there is a lake between. 45 minutes to get there by land. And they did not have an auto store either. I took my third choice of battery brand at O'Reilly's.
Lunch was divine. A Ruben at In't Veld Meat Market. Perfection.
Pella was founded by Dutch immigrants and remains firmly Dutch.
Tuesday, May 17 - After buying a lot of meat, we made the 2-hour drive from Pella to Perry. This was our ninth day out and we have had two days of sunshine. The other days were heavy clouds. The long-range forecast is for more rain.
We are staying with Jeep friends, Keith and Sandy. We are parked in a marvelous green grass parking site in their huge backyard. We met them a decade back in Silverton and have been able to hook up with them several times since in both Colorado and Utah. They have been traveling and jeeping for 40 plus years.
Wednesday, May 18 - The rains continue off and on. The sky cleared for an hour or so. We spent most of the day catching up. We had a delightful dinner at Casa de Oro. There were nine of us, our hosts and their daughter Carrie, Bret, and his wife Linda, plus their friends Rob and Norma. We were jeeping with them in Moab in 2018.
Thursday, May 19 - The rains continue off and on. The sky cleared for an hour or so. Keith helped me wash Koko. It was dirtier than I can ever recall it.
The morning consisted of more jawing. We have had few conversations the last year, so this was most welcome. We visited our hosts' rural church and stopped by Bret and Linda's home which was built by his grandfather, father, and him. Quite a place. They have a lot of toys. I don't know how they find the time to enjoy them all. Funny how age changes your views of acquisitions between 50 and 75. We met their newly graduated and talented daughter, Elizabeth.
Sandy made a scrumptious meal of salad, fried chicken, baked potato, and green beans in sauce. And for dessert, banana pudding with blueberries. Out diet went out the window this week. We need to check into a fat farm.
Friday, May 20 - It is overcast but has not rained yet this morning. Laundry day. The sun came out at 2!
I am fixing Carne Asada for dinner. They did not have flank steak, so I am using round streak. I am skeptical.
We plan to leave here Sunday. I need to decide where.
FYI, I am not going to send out notes this year when I publish, so you may wish to sign up as followers on Blogger so you will not miss a single scintillating word.
To be continued
So enjoy reading these posts. Have another wonderful trip and stay safe!
ReplyDeleteSherry