Long Branch SP Missouri

We are pretty far north I think. Its hard to tell since we don't look at maps too often. We did drive on I 70 for a little while and I  know that road goes through Denver. Today's drive was our longest yet. Something just shy of 6 hours. We are working our way to Moscow Iowa. We have an appointment on the 1st of July with the manufacturer of our leveling jacks. I'm pretty sure we would have never visited Moscow Iowa had it not been for this needed repair. Maybe its serendipity at work. We are here for 2 nights.

Last day at Wappapello

Last night was a lightning and thunder show that lasted all night. Jenny said she thought it was way worse than my snoring. There were some breaks today. I got out on my paddleboard for some upper body exercise. Jenny stayed behind and did laundry using our portable washing machine. There is a pretty impressive super spin cycle on the washer but no drying cycle. With the humidity so high we turned down the thermostat on the AC And dryed things mostly inside. The downside to that was that it was cold as hell in the RV. The weather seems to be a little more settled now but there is an occasional distant thunder clap. We move tomorrow. Mostly north. We are headed to Iowa to visit the manufacturer of our leveling jacks. We have an issue. It might be starting.

Wappapello lake day 2

This is a COE Campground. We have had consistent good luck at recreation areas developed by the Army. This morning we got out on the trails, some paved, some dirt. That took a couple of hours and produced copious amounts of sweat. The afternoon adventure tooks us to the town of Sikeston, the home of Lambert's restaurant. In 1996 it was named the best small town restaurant in America. It's the home of "Throwedrolls." What ya do is raise your hand and someone on the wait staff will throw you one. Let me tell you, they are frigging delicious. There are also people roaming around with "sides." These people are called, pass arounds.  The fried okra was spectacular. My chicken fried steak was almost as big as my plate. I brought some home. We are here one more night. It's currently raining. Weird huh?

Wappapello Lake southeast Missouri

We had a short drive today, 120 miles or so. We crossed the Mississippi just below Cairo Illinois. That is the location of the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi. There is a park at the confluence where I stopped during my 2011 paddle. That park was underwater. Just the tops of the trees were visible. The flood that has been occurring the last few weeks has dropped off of the news but it is far from over. I did my typical exploration bike ride after we got set up. I'm still working on my knee rehab so bike riding is important. My knee wasn't the issue today. My stamina/aerobic capacity was taxed. We are here for 3 days. There is a lake so we might get our paddles wet. The pics are our campsite and the lakes outflow.

Columbus-Belmont day 2

We found a place with some coverage. We are currently sitting on a bluff, 140 feet above the river. The river is a monster. All the rain in the midwest is headed for the gulf and things are overflowing. (Subject change) This park was the sight of a Civil War battle. General Ulysses Grant fought his first battle here. There are extensive earthen fortifications built here by the confederates to house gun emplacements. The object was to close the river to those damn Yankees. They even strung a humongous chain, supported by floats, across the river. That was a pretty neat idea but the chain ended up breaking because of the strong current. I bet that bummed them out. Anyway, the war developed in such a way that this fort no longer made sense for the Confederacy. They left and the Union immediately moved in. The river has changed course some since the 1860s and it's hard to imagine how this must have looked. We move tomorrow.

Columbus-Belmont State Park KY

We have moved 3 hours west. This campground overlooks the Mississippi river. We aren't too far from Paducah. This plot of land is preserved for 2 reasons. It was a major stop on the Trail of Tears and it was a Confederate fort built to halt Union shipping up the Mississippi. I'll cover the Trail of Tears today. The Cherokee nation was spread over 4 states. The 1830 Indian Removal act required that all 15,000 of them be relocated further west. 4000 of them died as a consequence of the move. This area was a choke point that virtually all of them passed through on their way to Oklahoma.  One issue with this park is cellphone and wifi. I'm not sure about the quality of either. I'll give this a try.

KY day 2

Horrific storm last night. We were debating evacuation to the cinderblock bath house but it was raining so hard we decided against it. Since this is a resort park there is a lodge, a restaurant and a pub. There is apparently a wedding planned today. Let's hope we're in the 20% area of the 80% rain chance.