Missouri & Kansas

It was a grey morning. Pulled out of the campground just before 8am, heading south. Drove on country roads for most of the day. Went south for awhile, then just north of Kansas City I headed west towards Atchison, Kansas. There were some sprinkles during the morning, and there was hardly any traffic on the roads.  Crossed the bridge over the Missouri River into Kansas and wanted to take a picture of the old iron bridge because they are replacing it with a concrete bridge.

I pulled into a parking lot to the right of the bridge. The town of Atchison had a few things going on for the weekend. I walked to the Farmers Market and by a car show.  I walked near the Railroad Museum where some train cars were being restored.

Then I walked along the river, they have a nice riverfront park with a concrete walking path and benches and picnic tables. Not sure how long the path is, I followed it for awhile then turned back.  There are several nice looking restaurants along the river, as well. Looks like the town did a good job fixing up the riverfront and there were several people out enjoying it.

Left Atchison and headed southwest towards Topeka, Hwy 4 merged into I-70, so I as much as I try, I didn't totally stay off of the interstate. After a few miles on I-70, I took the exit to resume travel on Hwy. 4. This part of the highway is the "Native Rocks Scenic Byway". There was no place to pull over and enjoy the scenery on the scenic byway. This makes no sense to me. Lots and lots of signs about the scenic byway, but you can't stop anywhere. Lots of cattle along this highway and a herd of bison and "red dogs".

photo borrowed from the web

I then headed south on Hwy. 99, I ran into a detour that took me on 56 east for awhile, then Hwy. 56 had a detour, eventually the two detours split off. I was wondering why all of the detours. I saw a sign that I would be going through Reading, Kansas. Since I had been through several "train towns" already in Kansas, I thought maybe there would be a train depot in Reading. Instead, I drove through a town that had been devastated by a tornado on May 22nd. There were caution signs on the highway, I slowed down and wasn't sure if I could keep going, we were allowed to drive past. A lot of the streets were barricaded and people were out in the drizzly rain sorting through the remnants of their homes. I felt very sad driving through this area, I had never driven through an area hit by a tornado.

I was heading to a town south of Reading for the night. I want to go to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the morning.


Campground Review
Friday night I stayed at  Eagle Ridge RV Park  in Eagleville, Missouri. The owners were very helpful in setting me up with a spot even though it was the beginning of a holiday weekend. The website stated a 2 night minimum on holidays, but they were ok with me staying one night. I was in an overflow area, with electric only and they topped off my water tank. I was parked on grass with a slight slope, the owner put down boards for my front tires, to make the coach more level. This was a nice family park with a lot of trees and flowers. I would highly recommend this park.

I didn't make reservations because I am traveling around the weather reports and was not sure exactly which way I was going or how far I would go each day.  My thinking is that every single site in every park could not possibly be full, even on a holiday weekend.

9481-9762 / 281 miles   gas prices $3.64
    

Weather Delay

This has been a terrible "weather" year.   My prayers are with the families in Joplin, MO - such a devastating tornado. Our lives can change in an instant, without warning.

Back in April when I first made a schedule, I planned on leaving on Thursday. Then I decided I would leave home on Wednesday, May 25th. Due to the weather in the areas I will be traveling to, I changed my departure back to Thursday, May 26th. I thought I may want to find a campsite where I could stay for longer than one night - midway through my route. I may just stay at each site one night, travel less miles per day and allow extra time - in case I have to change my route along the way. A lot of the State Parks that I called have flooding - in lakes and rivers - and more rain is predicted for a lot of these areas. I also found out that if I wanted a guaranteed site in these parks, the reservations have to be made at least 2 weeks ahead of time, and an additional fee is charged for the reservation. It's too late to make reservations, they still have first come, first served sites available. I have several campground books and memberships - so I am not worried about finding a place to park for the night. I use campgrounds for the electricity and I'm sure I could do without electricity for one night if I had to.


check out this link:  new TOR-CON weather prediction

At weather.com there is a new feature TOR-CON, this shows if there is a "possibility" or "probability" of a tornado and they rate the areas. They are predicting a stronge possibility of tornadoes through the area I would be traveling on Wednesday, and severe thunderstorms. I have decided that one day won't make a big difference in my plans. I have plenty of time, I do not have to be in San Antonio until June 2nd.

Severe Thunderstorms in red areas on Wednesday

Unfortunately, I will be driving through "tornado alley" to reach my destination. This is not the best time of year to be heading this way, and RV'ers are always talking about driving away from the bad weather. What if you are meeting family? Do you stay away from hot areas in the summer and cold areas in the winter, even if that means not going to a family reunion?

Anyway, once I decided to delay my departure, I wasn't rushing to get things done - so now -  I'm not really ready to leave on Wednesday.