The monsoon

Well, what a day it’s been! We had a long drive today, about eight hours! It started out lovely, warm and sunny but we ended it in a monsoon. We drove across four States, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. We were a little concerned when one County sign said ‘Entering Madison County’. Our first thought was that we had been driving around in circles and had ended up where we started a few days ago, in Winterset! We were very happy when we realised that Ohio also has a Madison County!!

I have to say that our sat-nav (Margaret), has not exactly been at her best today. She did all she could a couple of times to send us in the wrong direction. I think she’s starting to feel the strain of the ten weeks she’s been ‘on the road’.

We passed the time by listening to an audiobook called ‘Undaunted Courage’ by Stephen E. Ambrose.

The book is the story of the Lewis and Clark Expediton, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, that was the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States, departing in May, 1804 from St. Louis on the Mississippi River, making their way westward through the continental divide to the Pacific coast.

The expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson shortly after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, consisting of a select group of U.S. Army volunteers under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark. The duration of their perilous journey lasted from May 1804 to September 1806. The primary objective was to explore and map the newly acquired territory, find a practical route across the Western half of the continent, and establish an American presence in the territory before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it.

The campaign’s secondary objectives were scientific and economic: to study the area’s plants, animal life, and geography, and establish trade with local Indian tribes. With maps, sketches and journals in hand, the expedition returned to St. Louis to report their findings to Jefferson.

Crop duster

Crop duster

During he drive we were treated to the sight of a ‘crop duster’ plane that flew really low over the road.

We’ve had two disappointments today! Firstly, we had to return the suitcase we purchased on Sunday because when I went to pack it last night it became apparent that there was a strange smell to the interior lining. It smelt of moth balls! There was no way I was packing clothes into that! We went to the store today to change it and we had quite a battle on our hands. Because I had removed the sales tags they said it would be treated as a used item and could not be changed! Yeah right! We stood our ground and tonight we have a replacement all ready to be packed.

Beast 3

Welcome to Indiana

Welcome to Illinois

A Police Call Box we saw along the way

Welcome to Ohio

The Mississippi at Le Claire

Fancy seeing you here!

The second disappointment was ‘Beast 3’. We had only done about 400 miles today when the oil light came on again saying ‘change oil as soon as possible’. Well, that’s a battle we will be fighting tomorrow when we once again, visit an Alamo facility to change the car yet again! My goodness, there’s going to be a really long letter when I get home to the people who arranged this car hire!!

To overcome the disappointments of the day we enjoyed a really ‘naughty’ meal at California Pizza Kitchen. I had the largest glass of wine available while Si downed a couple of beers!!

‘Tomorrow’, as they say. ‘is another day!’