The trip starts

Tonight we are “camped” in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Vandalia Illinois, the same Wal-Mart where we stayed on the first nigh out of our Spring 2008 trip. Then it was April and pleasant shirt sleeve weather. Tonight it was hovering just above freezing as the sun went down.

When we left home this morning the roads were slushy or snow covered most of the way to Lapeer. From Lapeer to Lansing they were just wet, and from west of Lansing the roads were mostly dry. The sun was bright most of the day and the highest temperatures were in Indianapolis when it reached 47

We saw wildlife and wildlife signs all along the Michigan roadside fence rows where deer, we saw one doe, had been working the shrub and tree plantings for fruit and twigs. At one point we saw a flock of turkeys scratching for food and were able to see their tracks all along a ditch bank that paralleled the road. Snow continued to be deep even forming large drifts on the roadside banks well into Indiana. Then North of Fort Wayne the roadway banks had large ares that were bare and large areas of corn fields were more exposed so the snow was less deep than at home.

In Indiana we saw several herds of deer foraging in corn stubble and what looked like frozen lakes because the fields were so completely covered with snow. But by the time we reached Vandalia which had a severe ice storm last Monday and Tuesday the snow was much reduced.