Snow 10/19/2013

We woke up early with the intention of making our one last great push west,  and ending our day in Grand Junction, in western Colorado, about 560 miles away. Imagine our surprise to lift the shades and see everything outside coated in a blanket of wet snow. The temperature outside was a balmy 34 degrees. And it was still snowing.

We ate breakfast, showered, packed up, and pushed off. In our haste, we inadvertently left behind one of our wheel chocks. Oh well.

The first part of the drive took us through a bit more snow, some fog, then mist and clouds. Gradually, the weather cleared. Western Kansas and the eastern third of Colorado are flat and featureless, with farms lining the interstate on both sides. The snow persisted on the ground from the campground all the way to the western side of the mountains.

Once in the mountains, the scenery was spectacular. We saw snow-capped peaks behind golden aspens. And we passed through Glenwood Canyon, where rock walls soar 1300 feet above the Colorado River for 12 1/2 miles. The going was slow pulling the trailer up the mountains.

By the time we had arrived at Grand Junction, the skies were clear, and the temps had warmed to the high 50s.

Konza 10/17/2013

Bright blue skies greeted us this morning as we set out for Konza Prairie Preserve just south of Manhattan, Kansas, and within about an hour's drive of the campground. The landscape is definitely flattening out. We were surprised that there were no signs directing us to the preserve, and it had no recognizable address on the GPS. We just followed the directions posted online.

The Konza Prairie is an 8600 acre tract of native tall grass prairie that has never seen a plow. Big blue stem grass, 1 of the grass species here, can grow up to 10 feet tall, with a root system that can reach 12 feet into the soil. Can you imagine being a settler here, trying to farm, with the need to first dig out the sod? Amazing.

We set out on the easy 6 + mile walk after eating lunch in the trailer. While the breeze was cool, we soon found ourselves shedding our jackets and enjoying the perfectly comfortable day. The trail took us up to a small ridge with views of the hills and plains. Tall grass dotted with stands of bright red bushes (that we

thought might be sumac) stretched before us. The deep blue sky, gold, yellow and green trees, and red bushes on gently rolling hills made for a beautiful sight as we walked alone on the trail. While we saw a a few cars in the parking lot (which surprised us that there were any, due to its somewhat remote location) we saw noone on the trail. However, we were not completely alone.

With every step we took, it was is if we were at the rear of a grasshopper parade. Our feet disturbed the grasshoppers who flew in every direction before us. When the wind was blowing, there were so many grasshoppers, it was not unusual to have them blow into your hands, face or body. When the wind calmed, all you could hear were crickets and the snapping of grasshoppers as they moved around us.

Konza Prairie gave us the opportunity to see Kansas exactly as it looked 200 years ago.

After our walk, we headed west to our stopping point for the evening, Wakeeney, Kansas. We passed fields of sorghum (think the stumpy corn with a plume on top), wind farms (congregations of wind mills), and several abandoned farm houses in the fields along the interstate. Sometimes we'd see an exit off the highway for a town that must exist somewhere beyond the horizon, as all you could see on either side of the highway was a dirt road going across flat land and fields. One startling sight: thousands of starlings roosting covering the roof of a building.

Most people consider the Midwest as flyover or drive-through country. How wrong they are. It's a quiet wonder waiting to be discovered.

The "Little Smokies" 10/16/2013

We left our campsite this morning with the idea that we would take the scenic route west from eastern Indiana toward Illinois, through Missouri to Kansas. We knew it would be a long day of driving. We both expected to see farms and flatland. Boy, were we surprised. Route 46 out of Columbus took us over beautiful rolling hills lined with trees showing bright fall colors. The day revealed other interesting surprises.

We have previously seen only one story ranch houses on our travels in Indiana. Today we saw many multi-story houses set on gorgeous hills. Our drive took us through a lovely area dubbed "The Little Smokies", not only for the mist that rises from the hills, but also for the beauty of the area. Route 46 took us past Nashville, Indiana, a mecca for artists, and a motel called "Always Inn". Love it. I was so excited when I spied a bald eagle soaring not so far above us as we drove not far from Bloomington.

Illinois and Missouri were a blur of Highway and flatland. It was surprising to realize how far  St Louis spreads out on I70. We made it into Kansas by about 5 o'clock local time (1 hour time change). By the time we realized that we needed to get gas (again), we were in Kansas boonyland, and had to take a small jog off the interstate to find a gas station. We arrived in our nightly resting place, a KOA in Topeka, by 6:30. We're getting much quicker at setting up and breaking down the trailer.

Columbus...Indiana 10/15/2013

We normally shower in the trailer in the morning, but Ray had mentioned last night  that he had stopped in the rest rooms and that they were "amazing". How could I not check them out? Wow. These were not your run of the mill campground restrooms. Impeccably clean. New tile. Huge showers. Sensor commodes, water faucets, soap and towel dispensers. And a TV. So this morning I luxuriated in a shower that was almost the size of the living room in our first apartment.

After packing up, we set off toward Columbus, IN. (The ride was highlighted by long stretches of highway shrouded in dense fog. Needless to say, visibility wasn't the greatest.) This small city of about 45,000, located about 40 miles south of Indianapolis, is the home of Cummins, Inc., and over 70 architectural gems. Irwin Miller, instrumental in building Cummins into an industrial giant, became the driving force in building Columbus into a center of design excellence, and home to buildings designed by the likes of IM Pei and other renowned architects.

Our first stop was the visitors center, where the highlight was a gorgeous internally lit chandelier designed by Dale Chihuly.

From there, we strolled the streets of Columbus, checking out many of the fascinating buildings lining its tree-lined streets. We visited the gardens of The Inn at Irwin Gardens, now a B+B, built in 1864 by the Irwin family, which has been impeccably maintained with much of the original ornamentation and furnishings intact.

One memorable stop was at a veterans' memorial,

on whose pillars were engraved not just the names of Columbus veterans who had perished in wars, but also snippets of letters they had written to their loved ones back in Indiana while they were still at war. Very moving.

Once finished with our tour, we headed for Walmart, to pick up a few things, and then back to camp.

Construction forever 10/14/2013

After a comfortable night, we got up, had breakfast, and set out for a spot just east of our destination tomorrow, Columbus, IN. That would give us about 9 hours of driving for the day. We have to stop every 200 miles or so for gas, with the cost per gallon at about $3.highway7 per gallon. The day started partly cloudy, progressed to misty and foggy and ended clear and sunny. Along the way, we drove through the beautiful hills of Pennsylvania that were painted with the gorgeous colors of fall. Those hills reminded us of West Virginia, although they weren't quite as dramatic.

Thankfully, there was no drama today. At one point, we came upon a detour on I84 for an accident. There were several electronic signs along the way telling us to exit from the highway at a certain exit. But when the time came to exit, there were no barriers in the road, and we just continued on the highway with the rest of the traffic.

One thing that struck us was that there was construction on I76 from just outside Akron to just outside of Columbus, Ohio, for about 80-90 miles. What struck us is that in NH, they are widening route 93, and it seems to be taking forever to complete sections that are just a few miles long. Ray just LOVES driving for long stretches between narrow concrete barriers.

By the time we arrived at the KOA in Brookville, just a few miles west of Dayton, we had blue skies. Tomorrow, we will head to Columbus, IN, about 2 hours away.

Addendum: OMG-- the bathrooms at this place are gorgeous and impeccably clean. They rival those at really nice hotels. I thought Ray was nuts when he came back from the bathroom last night, raving about them. Now I know what he meant. All other KOAs will have a hard time coming up to this standard.

Losing air. Literally. Losing air. 10/13/2013

After rising early and finishing packing the trailer, we managed to get on our way by 9:12 a.m.  We had originally hoped to make it to Mercer, PA, in western  PA. All was going great until Ray noticed that the warning light for low tire pressure was lit. As soon as we were able, we pulled into the nearest rest area, and checked the tires. Uh-oh. The driver's side front tire was low. We filled the tire and moved on. 100 miles later, the light flashed again. Uh-oh. Time to look for a place to check the tire out. We found a Walmart close by, and decided to stop there. When we bought the truck, we saw that the front driver's side tire had a nick in the sidewall. We were assured that it was OK. Having driven it around for 9+ months, we never thought that it was a problem. Until today. There was a slow leak right at that spot. So, we instructed them to put the spare on. The original tire was unfixable. But after talking about it, Ray and I decided to get a new tire mounted on the original rim, putting the spare back.

The cost of the new tire was $200 installed. OK, let"s get this show on the road... Except that the guy installing the tire damaged the tire sensor while putting the tire on, so the warning light will always stay on. He offered to give us the tire gratis, and we will have to get the sensor fixed. If the sensor fix is more than $200, Walmart will hear from us.

Needless to say, we didn't make it to Mercer. We stopped at the Williamsport, PA KOA, where we are comfortably ensconced for the night. We'll just have to make up the 3 hours tomorrow.

A new adventure 10/12/2013

After beautiful interment services for my Mom and Dad this week, and a great time with my brothers and sister, Ray and I are ready to embark on a new adventure. For the next 4 weeks, we will be traveling around the US, and enjoying the comfort of our home away from home. We expect to visit some very cool places, even without the cooperation of the federal government, if need be, among them: Columbus, IN, (National Geographic Traveler magazine ranked Columbus 11th on its list of historic destinations) Konza Prairie, Antelope Canyon, Grand Staircase Escalante, Grand Canyon, and much more. Please join us!