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Tue, 11/3/09:

Lake Lurleen SP, Tuscaloosa, AL: Another beautiful day. We were going to check out Tuscaloosa today, but it's so pretty here we decided to just relax right here. Mike got a fire going in the morning and we sat around enjoying the view of the lake and the warmth. The lake was like glass. Later in the afternoon we walked around one of the other loops and back and then just relaxed by the fire. The combination of a little breeze and the angle of the sun created these little pinpoints of light reflecting off the water. So pretty. Heard the mouse this morning at about 3:00 a.m. Mike taped up an area where we think they could get in. Hopefully he's already gone. If not, there's only one way out of here. Tomorrow we leave for Troy, AL, for one night.

Lake Lurleen

Mon, 11/2/09:

Memphis, TN, to Tuscaloosa, AL: After stopping for breakfast, we were on the road by 9:00 a.m. Continued south on I55 skirting Memphis to the west. Headed east on Rt. 302 through the cute little town of Olive Branch, Mississippi. At the junction of 302 and 78 we headed southeast on Rt. 78. Most of this road was pretty good except for a couple of rough stretches. At the junction of 78 and 43 we headed south on Rt. 43. Stopped at a Shell station, fueled up, and switched drivers. This whole drive was through some really pretty areas of rural Mississippi and Alabama. Went through some really quaint little towns and the fall colors were great. Just north of Tuscaloosa we headed west on Rt. 82 to the turnoff for Lake Lurleen State Park. The road to the park was a beautiful drive through a dense hardwood forest with beautiful, rustic homes tucked back into the woods. This is the first time we've stayed at this park and it's quite pretty with a 215-acre lake surrounded by dense forest. The sites are great with plenty of space between each and lots of trees. We're right on the lake nestled in the trees--and we have the whole loop to ourselves--on football weekends, however, it's packed with Chrimson Tide fans. U of A is only about 15 minutes up Rt. 82. And this park is as pretty as a National Forest campground but with full hook-ups. Arrived here about 2:30, got set up and vacuumed. Sunny and in the upper 60s. The only downside is no cell service, therefore, no Internet. Think we have a mouse in here--at least I've seen some droppings.

Japanese Gardens

San Francisco--1982

St. Louis to Memphis, TN: Left St. Louis this morning at 8:00 a.m... Took Interstate 55 south through an agrarian landscape of rolling hills and neat farms, passing historic towns like St. Genevieve, MO, which was settled in the 1600s by French Canadian fur trappers. It’s the oldest town west of the Mississippi. A pretty and sunny day, although most of the leaves are already off the trees. We stopped at a rest area along the way and saw a HUGE cat in one of the fields. This cat was way too big to be a house cat (unless it was on steroids) and it wasn’t a bobcat because it had a long tail, and it was totally black. A panther maybe? I know we have mountain lions in Missouri. Stopped in Sikeston to fuel up and switch drivers. Apparently, there was a transformer out somewhere and we went to three travel centers before we found one with power. Fueled up, ate, and back on the road. Around Sikeston the rolling hills give way to large, flat expanses of cotton and rice fields. Usually the cotton has been harvested by now, but the fields are still full—probably because of all the rain lately. Arrived at the KOA in W. Memphis around 2:15 and got set up. No TV because when they put on our new roof they didn’t hook up the antenna correctly. So-o-o, unless we’re on cable, no TV. Got lots of books to read anyway. Life is good.

Bluffs along the Great River Road

Spent the first couple of weeks home going through mail and pulling weeds in our courtyards. Last Sunday we drove over to Grafton and Pere Marquette via the Great River Road. Always a pretty drive. Stopped at our favorite eating and drinking venue, The Loading Dock, and had a late lunch. Located on the Mississippi River, people come to this place by bike, motor cycle, boat, and on foot. It's very popular and always entertaining. And yesterday after watching yet another dismal Rams football game we went over to the Columbia Bottom Conservation area and hiked the river's edge trail. This trail goes along the Missouri River through some old growth forest that was probably here when Lewis and Clark camped in the area in 1804. In some areas the undergrowth and viney stuff is so thick that you're hiking through a tunnel of lush vegetation. Very pretty. Picked up a couple of sandwiches for dinner on the way home.

Emporia RV Park, Emporia, KS, to Home, St. Louis, MO: Up early this morning and we thought, great! We’ll get going early. Then the rain started and got worse with lots of lightning. So we thought we could either stay over another day, or wait for a lull in the storm and make a run for it. So, that’s what we did—especially since we barely got the kitchen slide back in. At 9:00 we left with me driving, heading northeast on I35 to the 435 bypass around Kansas City and then the 470 bypass which put us on I70 at just about Independence, MO. I continued driving to Concordia where we stopped for something to eat and Mike took over driving. We decided to go straight home since the kitchen slide was iffy and it seemed like every time we stopped and set up something else would go wrong with the RV. We made it home by 4:30. Now the refrigerator has an error code (sigh). 93 here and humid. Going to have to get used to the humidity.

Gunsmoke RV Park, Dodge City, KS, to Emporia RV Park, Emporia, KS: I drove first again this morning.. Left at 8:45 a.m., stopping for fuel right away. Continued east on Rt. 50 and then headed southeast on Rt. 54/400. Again, a really good two-lane road. Outside of Greensburg, KS, we started seeing signs “8 miles to the deepest hand-dug well in the world.” I thought… great, I’d like to see that. Then “6 miles to the deepest hand-dug well in the world”… then “4 miles to the deepest hand-dug well in the world.” I’m getting really excited now. Finally drive through Greensburg. No more signs and no well. Oh well… Stopped in Goddard and had lunch and then Mike started driving. Headed north on I235 and then wanted to head east on I242, but Mike got confused at this badly-signed intersection and we got turned around a little. When we finally got on I242, headed east until toll road I35. Followed this ribbon of highway through the pretty Flint Hills. Just north of Wichita we started seeing oil well pumps all over the fields. I guess they stop “farming” after the more lucrative oil situation? I wonder if that means eventually we’ll be importing our food from China along with everything else? Staying at the Emporia RV Park just outside Emporia KS. Got set up and relaxed inside in the air conditioning, Had a hard time getting the kitchen slide to go out. A bolt sheared off under the slide about a month ago, but it’s been working fine—up until now. Hope we can get it back in tomorrow (sigh). Think it was in the mid-90s when we pulled in here. Humidity high. Starting to hear cicadas now. Love it! Leave tomorrow for the Columbia, MO, area.

Dining Room--Bent's Fort

Living quarters of the kitchen workers--Bent's Fort

Bent's Fort Graveyard--this is the only headstone remaining. The others were made of adobe and just eroded away. This one is granite. He was a stagecoach driver who died of heat stroke or a heart attack. He was 31.

KOA, LaJunta, CO; to Gunsmoke RV Park, Dodge City, KS: I started driving this morning. Left at 9:45 a.m. heading east on Rt. 50, which we’ll take all the way to Dodge City. Good road (two-lane most of the way) with wide shoulders. This route follows the old Santa Fe Trail all the way. Must have been such a hot, dusty trail back then, and what a relief it must have been to stop at Bent’s Fort. Stopped at Syracuse, KS, and had lunch. Syracuse, NY, is my hometown—bears no resemblance to Syracuse, KS. After lunch Mike started driving. Temps hit 104 and the wind was really whipping. Moved us around pretty good. Pretty non-descript scenery all the way. Passed mostly farm fields, feed lots, and grain elevators. Huge feed lots. Makes me want to be a vegetarian. NOT! We arrived at the Gunsmoke RV Park (ooh yeah!) at around 3:30. We lost an hour because we’re now on Central Time. Pulled in and we noticed a hose hanging down and a panel and insulation hanging down (sigh) from under the RV. Jeeze! What next! Mike checked it out and said nothing is “broken” but somehow the panels covering the water tanks came partly off. Could have been the wind. We’re not sure. We are staying here one night only and then heading to a State Park in KS on a lake. Not sure what to do now. Think we should just go home and forget the four days left on our trip. Think it’s 99 here in Dodge City.