In Illinois

I am at Timber Trails Camp-In in Mulberry Grove, IL. It is a beautiful place, secluded and no highway noise that I've noticed. I have a prime space (for me) - near the road that leads out and directly across from a cornfield. No immediate neighbors on either side, they honor Passport America, and are very friendly. I have electricity and water.

I left this morning at about 9:15 after saying fond farewells to Mary and Paul (aka Boris & Natasha). We went out for a wonderful meal last night - Kansas City BBQ - after cocktails at their motorhome, and what a treat for me to drink a scotch & water (or two). I drink beer alone but never want to get used to drinking spirits alone, so I never have it unless I'm in company.

There was no traffic this morning and the Kansas City skyline was beautiful. Actually I had little traffic until I got near St. Louis. I passed a lot of signs for RV Camping but decided I wanted to get through St. Louis today rather than worry about Monday morning traffic tomorrow. Then I had to go further than I wanted to in order to find a place, but Timber Trails is worth it. I drove well over 300 miles today, over my optimum limit, but I did fine.

I had forgotten how much I love the Midwest. It's hard to put into words exactly what the difference is, but I think the folks in this part of the country have more of a give and take attitude, even the truckers. For example I was pulling back onto I-70 after a fuel stop and realized I wouldn't be able to cut into the traffic so I prepared to stop at the end of the ramp. There was a truck in the right lane who couldn't move over because he was blocked by traffic in the left lane. To my amazement he slowed down considerably so I could enter the lane. Truckers never do that and I don't expect them to because I know you can't get back up to speed as quickly as a car, so I really appreciated his kindness. In fact, I said aloud "Bless him and I hope he wins the Power Ball lottery!" I will absolutely faint if I hear that a truck driver in Missouri won it.

I am realizing that it isn't easy driving every day. I much prefer to drive for a day or two and then stay for a while, but I want to get a little closer to NY before I take it easy. I wish I could visit my granddaughter at her college in PA, but I remember the roads to that little college town from when I drove my Jeep there. I definitely wouldn't want to take a 5th wheel, unless maybe I knew ahead of time about overhead clearances. Also, I don't remember seeing any RV Parks along the way, nor did I notice RV's parked at the local Walmart (Huntingdon, PA, in case anyone has that Walmart/RV parking book). She will be 20 years old on September 30 and I would really love to see her, but I may have to make do with a phone call.

Adios, for now.