Thursday September 2nd 2021

The day began cloudy and ended in bright sunshine. The cloudy start kept the temperature under control. It didn’t reach the high eighties until late afternoon.

This mornings cool temperatures were ideal for packing up to move. With less than 150 miles to travel and a late (3PM) checkout time, I planned to depart around noon. My gradual pace to getting ready had me right on schedule to pull off my site at noon, but then an unexpected wrinkle arrived. At noon people started to arrive for lunch in the day use area. I planned to use the day use parking area to hook up my towed car. Just as I started my motorhome, three or four cars arrived. They parked well away from each other. They spread out just enough to occupy the sixty feet or so of space I needed to hook up. My other options weren’t great. Since I wasn’t in a hurry I waited until the lunch break was over. I was on the road just after 1PM.

Traffic on Interstate 40 heading east was just as bad as last weeks west bound trek. There was a continuous line of trucks in both lanes. In this kind of traffic I find a truck that is traveling around sixty five and keep pace. When it passes other vehicles, I pass them as well. If it decides to sit behind traffic, I sit behind traffic. The alternative requires too many lane changes, acceleration and braking. The road surface and number of vehicles on the road doesn’t support that behavior.

I arrived at Tom Sawyer RV park about 3:30PM. There were four other RVs checking in at the same time. They have a no contact check in process. All of the details are handled on the phone before you arrive. Check in is picking up and envelope with your name and site number from a board outside the office building. I was setup by 4:30PM. The tugs and barges on the Mississippi River should keep me entertained for the holiday weekend. I’ll be here for a week.