Saturday June 6, 2009-Still Closer to Goshen

We woke this morning in Sikeston Mo. to cool temperatures but not as cool as yesterday's. We all got a good night's sleep and came outside about 7 to drink our coffee and talk about today's drive.

We put everything away and got all packed up by 8:25AM and left the park. Hinton's RV Park is a very nice overnight stay, and if we were going to Sikeston for any length of time, we would certainly stay there again.

Both Bill and I needed fuel for our big tanks, and although we knew we could make it to Terre Haute to take on fuel, I wanted to stop at a Flying J to take advantage of a new discount loyalty card hat we had gotten at the Rally in Albuquerque. We had been 723.9 miles and took 76.3 gallons for a 9.48 mpg average. It should be noted here that these are not exact numbers because the big tank on my truck was not filled to capacity the first time because of the cut off limits of Wal Mart.

We made good time from Missouri into Illinois, only stopping once for a short break. Illinois has a 55 mph limit for trucks pulling trailers and motorhomes, so it seemed like we were just crawling along. We had been driving about 62-63 for the whole trip, but by dropping back to 55 made a huge difference. Both Bill and I said we felt like we could walk faster than this, but its the law here and we will respect it. About 20 miles south of Mt. Vernon Ill. we ran into a huge traffic backup due to road work. We were stopped for at least an hour and a half. It was fun to listen to the truckers talk on the CB about the antics of other drivers.

We made only two stops, the first a bathroom break after the ordeal of the traffic backup and the second at the welcome center into Indiana. We have stopped in the welcome centers of the states we have been in and have gotten state maps there, but there was no one on duty here so we were unable to get the map. We did pick up some brochures from the areas that we will visit, but we wanted a map.

We had called ahead and made reservations for the KOA in Terre Haute. The prices are high ($44.00 a night for a water and electric only site), but as we later learned, it were worth it. The park office is open until 10 because it is light so late here. We sat outside until 9:30 and it was still light outside. There is supposed to have been another Heartland owner arrive here, but they did not arrive by the time we went in for the night. They serve several light meals which they bring to your site, and will serve a complimentary breakfast in the morning.

We have decided to stay here for another night if our sites in Goshen are not ready tomorrow. We are all tired from three days on the road and today's adventures wore us out. We are not scheduled to get into Goshen until Monday anyway, so we thought we may stay here for some needed rest. This park is very nice, and has some great shade trees all around. That made it nice and cool, but wouldn't allow us to use our dish antennas. We did hook up to the free cable and have a fast and free Wi-Fi connection here, so all in all it's not that bad. I wouldn't stay here long term at these rates but for a couple of days, it's all right.

So long for now,