Monday, September 7, 2009
I got up and made my coffee at about 9:30, joining the other guest outside on Kathy and Dave’s patio for rolls and coffee. Many had already left for their trip home, but there was Peter, Torri, and their girls, Kathy’s brother, John and his family, and her other sister, Kristi and her husband. We all helped clean up the area and put things away, and after John’s family and Kristi and her husband, Geno left, Peter and I helped Dave load the speed boat on the trailer and park it. Dave had given everyone rides on the lake and pulled the tube behind for the younger group to enjoy.
Peter and Torri needed to get home, which is only about two hours away in Lawrence, so we all went to a local Mexican restaurant and had a big late lunch. They left for home and we went back and finished the clean up, taking the kegs back and putting all of the tents and gazebos away. When all of it was finished, it was almost 6 PM and it was just Kathy, Dave, and myself. We enjoyed drinks on the deck and visited until about 10 PM before hitting the sack for the night.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
I rose at 9 AM and took my coffee down to the house to have bacon and biscuits for breakfast. Dave needed to get back to Kansas City to take care of business, so he got ready while I prepared to leave. We all said our goodbyes and Dave left while I finished readying the RV for travel. I hooked up the Jeep, said my last goodbye to Kathy and then headed out Hwy. 65 to connect to US 50 east to St. Louis.
I was just a little more than 200 miles from St. Louis and wanted to take a more scenic route than the Interstate, so drove US 50 all of the way into St. Louis, crossing the Mississippi River and finding my way to a big casino on the Illinois side to spend the night. I plan on using the Jeep to cross back over and take the ride to the top of the St. Louis Arch tomorrow, and then I’ll head north, following the Mississippi River all of the way up to Wisconsin and turn off to my friends town.
I hope to get my laundry done here at the casino RV Park and have dinner in the Casino tonight, then a good nights sleep. I tried to get the dish to lock onto the satellite again, but didn’t have any luck, so may have to wait and send my updates and posts later.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
I spent the night at the Casino Queen, which is actually in East St. Louis and the most run down, bad part of town, but the casino has 24 hour security that drive the RV Park and parking lots about every 15 minutes.
I can see the arch from my motor home, it being on the bank of the Mississippi directly across from my location. I will stop at the casino hotel and pick up some of the sight seeing brochures that are always available, and plan my day. Because I don’t want to spend another $32.50 to stay an additional night, I readied the motor home for travel, drove my Jeep to the truck/RV parking area for the casino and then parked the RV there. It has been hot enough to have the air conditioner on, so I started the generator and left it going for Zack and Zoey, knowing I would be gone most of the day.
I drove to the hotel and picked up several brochures, one of the things to do at the arch and a map of St. Louis, and then drove to the closest parking to the arch, which is $5.00 a day, and walked the quarter mile to the arch. It is a very impressive structure and standing at the base looking up, all one can do is wonder how in the world did they construct it.
The entire site, Jefferson Expansion Park, also called Gateway Arch Riverfront, is a National Park and there isn’t any admission to enter the underground facilities, so you can visit the Museum of Westward Expansion, Museum Store and Levee Mercantile, which is a replica of an 1880 shop, for free, but if you wish to see the Imax movie about Lewis and Clark’s expedition, the documentary movie of the construction of the arch, or take the tram to the top, you have to pay. With my Golden Age pass, I was given a discount, but still paid $15.00 to do all three.
The movies and tram all have specific times and I opted to see the movies before taking the tram to the top. I watched the excellent Imax movie, which recreates the journey of the expedition, and then the film about the construction of the arch, which fascinated me. In the early 60s, there was a competition for a monument design, and the arch was chosen. They started construction in 1963, putting together triangular sections of stainless steel for both of the legs, filling the space between the outer and inner walls with concrete to help stabilize the structure. When they were too high for scaffolds and ladders, they attached a self-lifting crane that moved up the sections as needed.
Precise measurements had to be taken every step of the way to assure both legs would come together at the top. A mistake of only 1/16 of an inch would have caused serious problems. In 1965 the two legs met and due to the weight and angle of the legs, they had to be hydraulically jacked four feet apart for the last section to fit. Not one person was lost in the two years of construction, even though the insurance actuarial estimated 13 people would die during construction.
The tram that takes visitors to the top is another engineering marvel. There are eight small round capsules that seat five people each and rotate as they ascend to the top. They are gimbaled and as the degree of arch increases, there are trips that adjust the car so it is never at an angle. The ride to the top is 4 ½ minutes, while the descent is only 3 minutes. I was fortunate to only have two others in the car with me, and with the small windows in the door allowing you to see outside of the car, I avoided becoming claustrophobic. The tram is not wheelchair accessible and I wouldn’t advise a true claustrophobic attempting the ride.
After several photos out the very small windows at the top, I took tram back down to the underground facility. Why they couldn’t have put in larger windows, I don’t know, but there are plenty to look out for the 30 or 35 people that were there. Back on solid ground, I spent almost an hour and a half going through the museum, and then having seen and been everyway one can, I left.
The many freeways around and through St. Louis are confusing and difficult to maneuver without a good map. Having a good navigator to read the map and direct me would have been helpful too (Zack hasn’t mastered that yet). On my return to the RV, I discovered a bridge that goes directly from the riverfront to the casino, but no signs letting you know where to get on. Viewing the area from the top of the arch gave me a better view of the area than anything else. I arrived back at the RV by 5 PM, and after playing with Zack and feeding him and Zoey, I studied the map and planned my departure. I wanted to follow as close as possible to the bank of the Mississippi, heading north until I was in Wisconsin. I found the “scenic route” and it appeared I needed to head west, away from the river, out of town where I could catch Highway 79 north. It seemed like I was half way back to Kansas City before I found the turn off and got out of the traffic. Of course I left at the worse possible time, having all the going home traffic to contend with.
I drove the narrow two-lane road finally getting a view of the mighty Mississip and stopped for the night just outside of Louisiana, the town, not the state. Since leaving Kathy and Dave’s, I have driven through several towns named after states, including California. The spot we stayed the night is just a pull-off next to a granary, that had loud blowers going all night, and a railroad crossing, that was also active. Closing all of the vents and windows, I managed to sleep fairly well.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
It is almost impossible to hear my phone ring while driving, as the noise of the road drowns it out. I noticed that I had a voice mail, so I retrieved it and it was Rita letting me know that I didn’t need to rush as Bruce was in the hospital. My heart sank as I waited for bad news, but it turned out that he was hospitalized due to excessive fluid on the lungs and the doctor had to insert a tube to drain it. He was well enough to talk to me and joke around, so I know he is in good spirits. He should be back home this weekend, so I will continue heading that way, but won’t try to get there by Friday evening as I had originally planned.
I continued driving, following as close to the river as I could, but being disappointed that I could only catch a glimpse for short periods of travel and then the highway would veer off into the farm land. The landscape and topography changed little through Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa or across the river in Illinois, and then became rolling hills with shale out cropping further north in Iowa and into Wisconsin. The crops are mostly corn, with some maze and another that I am not sure what it was.
I stayed on Highway 79 until it suddenly disappeared at Hannibal without notice. North of Hannibal, the road changed to 61, a new four lane divided highway. I wanted to stay on 61 as it was the closest to the river, but I found myself on Iowa 218/27 by accident. I managed to find a cross over highway that headed due east and back to Hwy 61, and I stayed on it until dark and Dubuque, crossing the Mississippi River into Wisconsin on US 151 and finding a rest stop to spend the night.
Friday, September 11, 2009
I used the morning to shave, shower, and have a proper breakfast, and then after playing with Zack, we headed north on Hwy 151.
I turned off on Hwy 23 and headed north into the countryside, enjoying no traffic and good roads while viewing America’s farmland. The crops of corn and sorghum (the crop I couldn’t identify before) started giving way to dairies and cows grazing in the pastures with picturesque farmhouses and barns.
For those of you that like to follow along on a map, I continued north on Hwy 33 and then Hwy 12, crossing over I-90/94, driving through The Wisconsin Dells, which is like a Six Flags amusement park on steroids, and then caught Hwy 13 until the turn off for Arkdale, where Bruce and Rita live. My GPS kept wanting me to go further north, away from Arkdale, and for a time, I was ignoring it, trying to find 11th Ave. on my own. I finally gave up and called Rita for directions. She was still in Marshfield at the hospital where Bruce is. It turns out that the GPS was correct and their home if actually 6 miles north of Arkdale, but because their town is unincorporated, their address is Arkdale.
Rita told me that Bruce hasn’t had his procedure, as his lungs aren’t as clear as the doctor want, so he may not be coming home until Sunday or possibly Monday. She told me where to park and hook up electric and water, and I told her not to worry about me, I’d be fine.
I parked and hooked up after leveling the RV and extending the slide outs. Rita called again to make sure I was okay and give me some choices for the next couple of days. I told her I’d just wait here until Bruce came home and that I had everything I needed in my motor home.
Zack and I walked the property and played for a while, and then he decided it would be fun to chase squirrels, so I cleaned inside the motor home while he got his exercise. He finally gave up, came in for dinner, and is now napping on my bed. I will fix myself dinner and watch my DVD until I am sleepy
I am still fighting with my satellite dish, unable to lock onto the satellite for a signal. I am not sure what I am doing wrong, if anything, but will continue to work on it until I have a connection and can send my updates and post my blog.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
I awoke earlier than usual, having gone to bed around 10 PM last night, tired from the days travel. I started working on getting the dish to lock onto the satellite, and after 4+ hours, got it to lock on and give me service.
Today is my daughter, Darcy’s birthday and she can no longer be trusted, as she is over 30, turning 31 today. I tried to call her a couple of times without any answer. I haven’t had a chance to send her a card or gift yet, but wanted her to know I hadn’t forgotten.
Other than play with Zack and let Zoey out to explore, I have spent the entire day working on the computer reading 136 emails and updating my blog. It is now almost 1 AM and I have sent off last weeks update and posted it on my blog site, with photos. I will attempt to send this past weeks log tomorrow, but for now, I need to get some sleep. I am just really happy to have my connection to the world restored, having been in the dark for an entire week.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
I was finally able to contact Darcy at 1:00 AM, my time, and we talked for an hour. I finally went to bed at 2 AM. Even going to bed so late, I was up at 9 AM when my internal clock went off. I got up and made my coffee, enjoying the quiet surroundings.
Rita thought Bruce would be released today and they would come home, but I probably won’t hear from her until after the doctor has seen Bruce and makes a decision. I plan on washing the motor home and doing some additional cleaning inside while waiting for Bruce and Rita to return.
Because I want to get this past weeks update sent, I will add the photos and send it now, writing what takes place this afternoon in a later update.
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