Day 36 Tulsa OK to Eureka MO
373 Miles (St. Louis area)
Back to humidity...that was my first thought this morning as I walked the dog. The air was unstable (as the Weather Channel calls it) and the forecast was for nasty (as *I* call it) storms over a wide area. Unfortunately, it was the way we were going.
We gassed up, got a newspaper and decided to ride historic Rt. 66 for about 60miles, then US 60 for about 50 to Neosho, Missouri. Yeah, I never heard of it before either.
It was nice to get off the Interstate and see the little towns and countryside. The only problem with taking the back roads is the bumps. Maps are only so much help. They can tell you how many twists and turns and how many lanes, but they can't tell you about the condition of the road surface. Most of that 110 miles was pretty bumpy! A washboard road causes the entire RV to shudder and shake. No matter how well you button everything down, something will shake loose. We have one problem kitchen drawer that, if shaken enough, will open. When it does all the silverware will rattle loudly until Jim can't stand it any longer and then guess who has to unbuckle and try to make it to the rear to secure it? Yeah....well, he is driving. Anyway, we picked up US71 north to I44 about --miles east of Springfield. I guess it’s obvious that we scratched Branson off the list for today and decided to head for St. Louis.
At some point before we arrived at Springfield we completed another chapter of 'Stair Wars'. Just before an off ramp we passed a RV discount store with a big sign that read, "We Have Your Part" Jim's been trying to find the new motor for the electric stairs, but the RV places always say that they need to order it. Well, we can't wait for the order as we're never in one spot too long.
So I pointed the sign out to Jim and said, "They have your part!" He laughed, "Ya think?".but turned off the highway. It can't hurt to try . He walked into the store and told the man behind the counter, "My wife says you have my part." And they did!
Somehow, we managed to avoid all the severe storms on our route. The first thing we were asked when we pulled up to the KOA here in Eureka was if we were in 'that terrible storm'... It seems shortly before we arrived they'd gotten hit by a severe thunderstorm with golf ball sized hail and strong winds. The TV is showing storm damage from the St. Louis area. Lucky again. How long can we pull this off?
Tonight we walked a little. There is a historic cemetery just behind the campground. We walked around it and read some of the grave stones. It always saddens me how young people died in the 1800's. Picked up a few supplies at yet another WalMart (this one confused the heck out of me, it was laid out way different!) and had a quick and easy turkey dinner. Literally took me 10 minutes, again my thanks to the Hormel Entrees, that and a can of cranberry sauce, fresh microwaved sweet corn and some prepared macaroni salad....easy.
Tomorrow we are going to play tourist here in the St Louis area. We'll do the Arch for sure, but are still undecided about a few other possibilities.
