Making our way to Virginia

We left west central Missouri Monday morning heading south to Springfield, MO, on Hwy 13, then east on Hwy 60, ultimately toward Jeff’s mother in Virginia. . .the southern route this time - around the snowy West Virginia mountains I-64 route (our usual way).

I was surprised by the remaining southern Missouri Fall foliage, but since it rained on us most of day, there just weren’t any good photo ops. Our trip was uneventful (thankfully) even tho the hills going thru the Mark Twain Forest are definitely steep.

We had planned to stop at Corps of Engineer campgrounds along this route, BUT. . .looking at our Corps directory book finally at the start of the trip, turns out that very few campgrounds are STILL open after 10/31! Well, duh!! So I searched for RV parks with my Droid maps app & found one right off I-24, east of Paducah KY – Cypress Lakes RV Park. It was $23/night for 30 amp & included wi-fi. There are two square “lakes” behind the park but not really much in the way of scenery. Seemed to be LOTS of RVs spending the winter in the campground.

We parked right next to the office to get a decent wi-fi signal but that still didn’t work so well. Lots of on & off. We did have a good DirecTV signal tho. The only annoying thing was the Class A we parked next to. . .with a radio BLAIRING all night long & no one ever around. The park manager was concerned tho to the point of calling in the police the next morning to find out if the customer was even there, passed out, or. . .maybe dead. We left before they got into the RV so don’t know WHY that radio was so loud for so long. I woke up in the night (windows closed) & had to turn on our TV JUST to drown out the noise from next door.

Tuesday (election day-glad we mailed our ballots off to SD a month ago) started out cloudy, foggy, chilly, & gloomy – but at least not wet – at first. It sprinkled on & off most of the day. We made our way thru Nashville on I-24, Knoxville on I-40, & finally NE on I-81 toward VA.

OH, it’s soooooo good to be back on the road traveling again. I love seeing the scenery & weather change as the miles roll along under our tires. I enjoy going places we haven’t been before (or not for awhile) rather than the same ‘ole, same ‘ole routes. We neither one seem to sleep well the night before traveling — partly from anticipation, & at least for me, partly a little apprehension (what if. . .what if. . .). But once I get my sea legs under me again, I love it.

I had to remember to call up the Gas Buddy app looking for the cheapest gas around wherever we were. It works really, really well. And gas has gotten cheaper as we’ve driven east. Go figure! So far, the cheapest gas was in NE TN @ $2.95/gal. Woo hoo!

We stayed Tuesday night at Warrior’s Path State Park in NE TN for $20. It was a gorgeous little campground — located on a finger surrounded by a river/lake on three sides. But it was a high bluff so the water was a long way down on all sides.

On the way to Jeff’s mother’s house, he let me drive. I need about a week of just driving the pickup alone every day to figure out & remember where all the controls are, & then another week of pulling the trailer to get comfortable with that. Traveling north on I-81 thru VA sure has LOTS of hills, curves, & semi trucks. It was a little intense at times.

But, we made it to Jeff’s mother’s home just fine by early aftertoon & had a great visit. We visited the new organic cemetery where his dad’s ashes are scattered. Everything buried or scattered there must be biodegradable (like no coffins or embalming). It is a beautiful location.

Jeff got our new double step put on the Casita finally, & we’re still considering our route back to Kansas City & what weather we might run into where.

It sure is great to be traveling again!