Spring trip begins

Monday, April 14, 2008

We begin the spring trip:

First destination my brother's home in Springfield, MO

These entries are going to be written on the fly. As we drive I have the lap top open on my lap. So there will often be just a running commentary.

It was not as early a start as we would have liked, 7:50 but not bad. At midnight last night we just gave up without everything done. So there was a little more to get us ready to go this morning.

First stop at McDonald's, six miles down the road, for a breakfast sandwich and then on the road

At home the crocus are in bloom and the daffodils are up . The grass is just beginning to green up but it is still clearly very early spring. It will be interesting to see how things change as we go south. Along I-69 from Lapeer toward Indianapolis.

First stop at the rest stop west of Perry. Duncan got a bit of a walk but was not interested in eating. He is riding quietly. He is adapting to his seat belt harness with no trouble, not chewing on it.

Really cold, still just above freezing but sunny. light blue sky with thin layer of high wispy clouds.

Groan – the drive around Indianapolis was an ordeal – very heavy traffic on freeways.

The grass has been growing all day and getting longer. The Forsythia is in bloom and the small leaves are beginning to green the shrubs along the road boundary fences. Dandelions in bloom at rest areas. Also Creeping Charlie blooming

The woods in western Indiana are lovely. Hardwood with Beech, Maple, Oak and lovely large Sycamore. There are little creeks winding their way through the rolling hollows. The maple's branch tips are scarlet. From the moving truck I can't tell if it is bloom or young leaves. The white Oaks and Sycamores are very large. Daffodils are in bloom along the roadsides poking out from between the dead leaves.

5:44 pm crossed into Illinois. Ground is getting more rolling. The pavement of the highway improved enormously. The highway in Indiana was terrible pavement west of Indianapolis.

Crossed the Wabash River. A wide full flowing river flooding fully to the edges of the flood plain and beyond.

Wow a weigh station that is open.

Farms on the level ground are very neat and nice with large fields. The farmland looks a lot like Minnesota or southern Michigan, large fields and scattered woods.

Either the soils here are heavy and the rains of the past few days have not soaked in or this is low wet land

There has been a lot of flooding. The fields are very wet and drifts of water deposited corn stalks caught in wire fences and distributed near stream banks.

The rivers are flooded all the way to the banks of the flood plains and beyond.

Wild Plums and the June Berries (Amelanchier) are in bloom in the woods.

The traffic is odd. Many more 18 wheelers on the road than cars even.

7:00 PM Wal-Mart I have never been so happy to see a Wal-Mart as we came over the hill west of Vandalia, Ill. Pulled in and parked. The Murphy Oil station is a truck stop and we had lots of company in the parking lot with other RVs. DH met one couple who had spent the winter in Mexico and were headed home for Canada. They were French speakers.

We heated pasties in the oven and went to bed early.