LEAVING ILLINOIS FOR MISSOURI

It rained for the last two days we were parked at the Archway RV Park; while I was readying the interior of the RV for moving … poor Holland was outdoors, pulling stakes in the muddy muck that resembled WA State clay soil. The atmosphere was wet and hot; the air was heavy with humidity and we were both pretty sticky. I recognized the makings of a storm brewing - and sure enough, a brewing storm was confirmed as we pulled out and headed towards Missouri.

Goal for the day …

MAP Jesse James Museum, Missouri from Archway RV Park, Illinois; 2 hrs. (137.8 mi) via I-64 & I-44

This afternoon's weather; Mt. Vernon-IL; escaping the chaos.

Enroute, we pulled into a Rest Area to let Bleu have some freedom out of the kennel; and Holland wanted to wait out the rush-hour-traffic ahead of us. The Rest Area was a lovely spot to relax - it was set up with a forested Park environment; very pretty and serene.

I saw these mud splattered RZR's pull in at the Rest Area - and they made me think of Gigi.

On the road again, we plotted our route … and saw that the Pony Express Museum was in close proximity to the Jesse James House Museum.

YIPPIE!

I love History: I particularly love American Old West Frontier history.

And Holland shares the same :-)

Change of plans; Holland was game to Museum Hop with me.

They are only a street apart …

St. Joseph-Mo from Kansas City-MO; I-29 N, 59 mins.

Severe Weather Notification; Columbia-MO. Apparently we did not escape the chaos we thought we'd outrun when we left Illinois :-(

Night sky; Boonville-MO. We stopped here to give Bleu some water and let him run a bit. The Rest Areas here are not like the ones in the PNW … the ones here are a lot nicer facilities.

Holland has been planning on Boondocking during our adventures - so we did our first Boondock in a Wal*Mart Parking Lot just a short distance from the museums we planned to visit the following morning; we pulled in and set up around 11 PM. It was quiet, and other than a semi also parking there … we pretty much had the lot to ourselves.

We all had a peaceful night's rest before the planned museum hops the next day ;-)

Walmart near St. Joseph-MO; we Boondocked at #B

BETSY & INDEPENDENCE~West Virginia & Illinois

We finally made West Virginia, the evening of May 5th. The RV Lot was closed by the time we rolled into Parkersburg, so we got a room for the night and picked up our new Home the next day. And Chuck dropped in, too, for a little chit chat - it was good to meet him face-to-face: he was with us via text messages, this entire venture :-)

05-03'23: Trailer Brake IN. (((YAY)))

Washer & Dryer Set being put into our new 5th Wheel; West Virginia.

PKB RV's is a good place to purchase an RV - very friendly. Very helpful. And the price is right.

The P.K.B. RVs Team that put everything together. Good people.

Poor Holland's arms and hands looked like he had been in fisty-cuffs all along the way.

Our little puppy Bleu is a feisty little thing, and he nipped Holland's hands and feet a few times - and also drew blood when his toenails scraped across his forearm skin. When Bleu nipped the top of Holland's foot one evening, I realized that Holland is a bleeder (it doesn't take much to have him spurting blood) we both thought I'd have to drive him to the nearest ER, blood was spurting so freely. I was concerned before it was brought under control … my brothers are both hemophiliacs; Mahlon is not as bad as Samuel. I asked Holland if he is a hemophiliac, and he said he wasn't; so maybe it's Holland's blood pressure medicine that brings on the bloodbath episodes. We'll have to talk to his doctor about that, and see what can be done to curb the free-flowing bleeding.

That said, we have been working on Bleu to make him understand he cannot give love nips - but he is a rambunctious puppy (8-1/2 weeks old). The training will take some time. Currently, when he nips … he goes straight into the kennel until he settles down. He is learning. Bleu made it up the Livingroom steps to the back bedroom on his own a couple days ago (and we praised and applauded him :-)) - and yesterday, he leapt from the truck floor mat into my lap: he is growing quickly. Hopefully, the love nips will subside just as quickly. His toenails are getting clipped as soon as we see a dog groomer place along the route.

Anyway …

We paid for the brake, washer/dryer, and misc. RV stuff; and left the Lot to begin our road gypsy lifestyle :-)

We were so tuckered out that night, that we just pulled over and crashed in the 4x … yes, you read that right: we had our new home, but slept in our new truck!

I believe I did mention in earlier posts, that even though we are both in our 60's - we are behaving like silver-haired teenagers. LOL

Betsy (truck) & Independence (5th Wheel).

Text from Chuck - the person in WV, who made this all happen.

Supper on our way out of Parkersburg. A new experience; Holland likes these burgers and was glad I like it ;-)

We stopped for diesel and saw that Love's Truck Stops are now offering RV hook-ups - we pushed on; but may stay at one, later on down the road.

The next night was different :-)

We spent our first night in our new home at an RV Park in Mt. Vernon, Illinois: I had 2 weeks worth of laundry to do - and we were both itching to see how the new washer/dryer set would perform. We needed full hook-up to accomplish that.

We liked the atmosphere so much - and the site cost was easy on the wallet - so, we paid for another 2 nights :-)

05-04'23: The first night spent in our new home was in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.

The site immediately got Holland's vote with the Patriotic NRA notification. LOL

And they are in partnership with the 'Good Sam' Club.

There are cabins for rent here, too.

And a nice lake; Archway RV Park in Mt. Vernon-IL.

05-05'23: I'm going to use the new washer and dryer, today. Located in the bedroom.

Sorted laundry piles - it's going to be a loooong day.

Important necessity while living n the road. GOOD DEAL!

We are enjoying our freewheeling life :-)