W. Memphis, AR, to KOA in Meridian, MS:  Left the KOA in W. Memphis at a little after 9:00 and headed to the Flying J just up the road to fuel up and have some breakfast.  After fueling I couldn't find a spot big enough to park, so we just kept going.  Continued south on I55 but traffic came to a standstill just before the I55 bridge over the Mississippi.  Traffic just crawled along.  Took us 40 minutes just to get on the bridge.  And when we did there was a guy on the bridge moving traffic cones from one side to the other. No construction or anything.  It’s a wonder somebody didn't grab the guy and throw him off the bridge.  Got off I55 and headed east on Rt. 302.  Then dropped south on I78.  Stopped just outside Tupelo, fueled up again and had some lunch. Then took Rt. 45 south to Meridian.  We've never gone this way before and thought it might be interesting since it wasn't a main highway.  But it was just so-so.  Got to the KOA in Meridian and were set up by 4:30 or so.  There’s a couple next to us from Ontario, Canada, in a beautiful 45 foot motor home.  They’re heading to Ft. Myers for the winter. 85 when we pulled in here.  A beautiful day!

Wonder what these huge things are?  Can't imagine transporting them on this limited-access highway.

St. Louis to W. Memphis, AR, KOA:  Pulled out of the storage area this morning at 9:20 under sunny skies with some high thin clouds.  Took I270 around to I55 south through the rolling hills of rural Missouri.  But once south of Cape Girardeau the landscape turns into a vast flatness of nothing but cotton and rice fields—which are now empty since most everything has been harvested.  We see a lot of hawks along this stretch of highway between Sikeston and W. Memphis.  We stopped at Sikeston for fuel and food and arrived at the KOA in W. Memphis and were set up by 3:00.  When we left St. Louis it was 50 and when we arrived here in W. Memphis it was 70.  After getting set up I went for a walk around the campground.  A truly beautiful day with all the wonderful smells of  fall.  

On the road again.

Trap Shooting with Darwin and Mike

Yesterday I tagged along with Mike and Darwin while they went trap shooting.  A beautiful, warm day to be doing anything outside.  I used to do this back in the day.  The only thing I could handle back then was a .410.  I might try it again with a 20 gauge shotgun.  I released the "birds" and cheered them on.  Afterward we headed for an early dinner and several drinks.

Darwin at the ready.  Darwin is a towboat captain, plying the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

Mike taking aim.

Hiking along the Illinois River

On a beautiful late September day a few weeks ago, we headed out on the Great River Road and took a hike along the Illinois River outside Grafton, IL.  Saw two adult bald eagles and lots of butterflies.  There are a lot of beautiful old growth trees along the river here.  We did about 4 miles which isn't bad considering Mike has issues with his back.  Stopped at the Grafton Winery for some wine and a late lunch. A great day!

Lots of wild flowers.



Grafton Winery on the Illinois River for some lunch and a couple of drinks.  Marina is in the background.



Fri, 9/21/12:

Red Bluff NF Campground, Davisville, MO:  Left this morning around 9:30.  Stopped in Sullivan at the Flying J to dump our tanks and get some breakfast.  Pulled into Apache Village to get the solar panel checked at around 1:00.  They couldn’t fix it while we waited, so we dropped it at our storage facility and then went home. 

Rural Missouri

Thu, 9/20/12:

Red Bluff NF Campground; Davisville, MO:  Another beautiful morning.  And much warmer.  While Mike was taking his shower, I went for a walk and Mike said I just missed a couple of deer that walked across the road near our site.  We very rarely see wildlife in here.  Drove over to historic Dillard Mill and the guy on duty took us on a tour.  It’s amazing because the mill still is operable—with just water power.  They used to grind wheat into flour here back in the day and was run by one woman.  The task would take a couple of hours or a couple of days, and the people would get their name in and then they’d go out on the grounds and wait.  Some would spend a couple of days here picnicking, camping and partying.  There were musicians, food and drink.  After that we drove back to Davisville and had lunch at the Davisville General Store.  This neat store is definitely a meeting place for the locals.  A couple of them came in while we were there and just sat around talking about whatever.  Sometimes they come in on horseback and tie up their horses on the hitching post out back.  Returned to our site and topped off our water tank one last time.  We leave tomorrow morning to go back home. 

Dillard Mill



Up the path to Dillard Mill



Farm in rural Missouri

Wed, 9/19/12:

Red Bluff NF Campground; Davisville, MO:  This morning dawned sunny and beautiful.  Really chilly.  After showering and dressing I had to clean up a mess under the kitchen sink.  Apparently, during the hot days while in storage, a can of rug cleaner ruptured and leaked all over.  This turned into a thick, nasty, greasy mess.  It took a while, but we got it all cleaned up and then I made a big breakfast which we devoured.  After that we sat outside for a while reading our books and relaxing.  Then headed down to the Davisville General Store which now has a new owner.  Her name is Kerry Sue and she has done a great job cleaning the place up and turning it around.  She even serves breakfast and lunch daily.  After talking with her for a while, we drove back to Red Bluff and filled up our jugs with water and checked out the lower campground.  Came back and filled up our water tank.  Had a few visitors—three guys on Harleys and a couple of other people stopping to check out the beautiful view.  Burgers for dinner and another fire.

Barn next to the general store--circa 1940s

Established in 1899

It's also the post office!