We have been driving non-stop since leaving Washington D.C. Wednesday, when our road trip officially started upon leaving our luxury accommodation at Matthew and Kate's. We drove through Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio that first day and camped the first night in Ohio - at a campsite set deep in the woods, down a never-ending road, that was frequented by single men and their pickup trucks with mattresses in the back. It reminded Robert of Deliverance and he observed the bathrooms were circa 1956. We set up camp.. and both agree we have brought way too much stuff with us. The skies opened up, the bugs closed in, and we hunkered down for the night. It wasn't a great night! We hightailed it early the next morning, and drove 325miles to our second campsite, in Mulberry Grove, Illinois, not so far from Missouri's border. This campsite was what we were hoping for the night before! It was beautifully maintained, run by friendly folks, clean and the birds were chirping and the sun was shining. So much so that we needed relief from the steamy heat, so we cooled off in the pool, showered in spic and span bathrooms, and relaxed after our long day of driving. We used our grill for the first time that evening - pork loin and asparagus never tasted so good! The first few photos shown are of the Kansas countryside. Marie was impressed with the wind turbine colony we passed in northwest Kansas. Perhaps one small consolation after the disastrous Gulf oil spill will be more alternative energy sources like those. The farmer posing for Robert was the third generation to work the surrounding fields, and his horses feature in another photo. Lastly, Robert and I in the oblong box we're calling home for the summer. The fireflies were big and a delight at night, and the stars were out in force. It's a pleasure to wake up to the smell of the previous night's campfires! Funny how smells take you back and make you happy.
Drive today - Robert felt like a Butterball turkey, cooking in the extreme heat of the day. It hit 95 and he made the executive decision we would not camp tonight, rather treat ourselves to Motel 6's airconditioned, if slightly antiseptic, interior.
But the smell is bearable when it means Robert is less of a bear with the heat, and when it comes with free wi-fi! So we're able to update our blog. We haven't quite figured out the blog's photo postings - would like to post more than 10 at a time, in a more orderly fashion, and with captions. For now we will just make do until we have time to investigate more.
The last few days have been about nothing but driving. We haven't yet hit our stride, or routine, and are feeling our way. Marie's worried about getting enough exercise. Robert's worried about getting enough relief from the heat. We're on a mission to reach Colorado quickly, where our first stop is to our VW mechanic for some work on the van, and a short visit with friends who live nearby. Our second stop is to visit Marie's sisters near Grand Junction, Colorado. Yay!
We also haven't figured out how to reply to your comments... so thank you Diane, Terry and Cathy.
Onward ever, backwards never!
Robert and Marie! Hope Skippy is all fixed up. Any good roadfood? Looking forward to more stories--and new images. I remember driving out to Colorade with friends in the 70's--and being blown away when the Rockies appeared. I thought of the song "Roundabout" from Yes:
ReplyDelete"In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky
and they Stand there!"
Skippy's getting fixed TODAY Debra! Thanks for asking, and for your note. We'll have a replacement car until tomorrow, when we'll hit Estes Park. Then we're going to my (Marie's) sisters in south west Colorado - Grand Junction. We definitely need to snap more, and figure out the posting.. We'll be a week on the road tomorrow. It's a pure miracle we got this far........ pray for us! Robert says HI - Toodleooh for now.
ReplyDeleteHey, how are you guys doing? Where are you now? Hope all is well.
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