When I left Eureka Springs on Monday morning, I headed East on Hwy 62, then my GPS sent me north on some country roads and I finally hooked up with Hwy 65 North and stopped in Ozark, MO for gas, ate lunch in the coach then walked around a few shops. I picked up some fabrics to make pillow covers for the coach. One print has cowboy boots and the other has cowboy hats, very cute. I've been searching thrift stores and flea markets for small items to decorate the coach.
When I was in another small town recently, I stopped in a store called Cowboys & Indians and remembered that I had some Cowboy(Girl) items at home already. I also have a collection of Native American things that I can use in the coach. I already have one of my dream catchers hanging in the coach.
So, I guess the coach will have a Cowgirl, Native American type of decor. The upholstery in the coach is a neutral color and will be easy to work with. I don't want to have a lot of stuff in here, but it needs a little bit of decor to make it feel like home.
I may decorate the bathroom in a beach theme. The new shower has a door called a SHUB, it retracts into the frame, but I do not like it. I hung up a temporary plastic shower curtain. I will make a shower curtain to fit, using a clear liner and fabric. I have a small beach scene oil painting that I bought at an art show years ago - it will fit perfectly in the bathroom. For the bathroom window I want to put some of that insulating material on the window to keep the sun out and then hang up a curtain instead of the mini blind it has now.
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Monday night I stayed at the Bennett Springs State Park near Lebanon, Missouri. My GPS sent me to the park down a backroad, instead of the instructions that I had written down.
This is a state park that I would camp at again. I did not make reservations, the reserved sites cost more plus they charge a fee to make a reservation. The sites available without reservation are further back, up a hill. I liked this location better, it was more wooded. The reserved sites are closer to the trout stream and had concrete pads and full hookups, but they did not have as many trees and were closer together. I only had electric at my site, but that was fine.
I woke up to a beautiful 68* on Tuesday morning. I usually just eat cereal for breakfast but decided to walk to the dining lodge, it was down two steep hills plus a walk of about 1/2 mile, and then I would, of course, have to make my way back up. I think in my mind I made it seem a lot more difficult and longer than it was.
When I was half way down the first hill, I thought about going back and just driving to the restaurant after I unplugged the coach. But, I kept going - it only took 15 minutes to walk down both hills, not bad. I was thinking it would take 2-3 times that to go back up. After breakfast, I walked around the park for awhile, didn't want to start up the hills right after I ate. I can't believe that I made it back up both hills in 20 minutes, only 5 minutes longer than the time to get down. Of course, I would not have done this in the 100* temps of last week, but the cooler weather made it possible.
Have to remember "I CAN" instead of "I Can't"
I was so concerned about walking uphill that I forgot to take pictures around the dam and stream. I did get some wildflowers pics.
I have noticed, at several state parks, that the walking trails do not originate anywhere near the campground. You have to walk or drive to the trail head. I don't have a tow vehicle or a bike with me, so I have to add the extra miles to what is shown on the park maps.
Most state parks have maps online
The GPS was being a pain on Tuesday morning, also.
Hwy 5 North in Missouri has been recently repaved and the GPS showed me driving in a blank space and kept saying "recalculating", I finally turned it off. I always write out instructions to check while driving. This also happened on Hwy 50 East in Missouri, which I could tell had been recently repaved. Did they move the highway???
Is that why the GPS didn't know it was there?
The GPS had me get off at an exit that was not what I had written down, but I went with it. Big mistake, I went out of my way because there were detours and road closings. I don't think my GPS likes Missouri, I haven't had this many problems in other states.
I may go back to using the GPS only when I get close to my destination, for the final turns, after getting off the highway.
Do I need a new GPS? Do they wear out? It's about 4 years old.
Along the way, I did stop in a small town, Tipton. There were a few thrift store/flea market type stores. I found a few things that were on my list of things I'm looking for - so it turned out ok after all.
After another detour, I arrived at the road for a state park I was going to stay at, and the sign said I would have to drive south for several more miles, I need to be heading north east to go home. I changed my mind about going to that park.
I saw a sign that said Quincy, IL - 57 miles and decided I may try to get into Illinois on Tuesday. I didn't make it over the Mississippi on Tuesday night, I was done driving for the day. I stayed Tuesday night in a campground near Hannibal, MO. The campground reminds me of the place we kept our travel trailer parked, very similar setup, it felt like a nice family park, someplace I would spend more time at. I will cross over the river into IL Wednesday morning.
One more night on the road.....and then home.....but where is home......
I feel more comfortable in the coach than I do in my house.
And I used to love my house and yard and gardens.
I haven't done any gardening in 2 years, I let the lawn guys pull the weeds and prune the perennials, I haven't added any annual plants or vegetables. I didn't fill any pots or hanging baskets.
