28 Sept - Thursday - St. Joseph, Missouri

A short day of driving, only 112 miles, but we wanted to be in St. Joseph, MO, to pick up forwarded mail from Florida. Getting our mail on a regular basis has been a challenge because we don’t know where we’re going to be in advance. But other than a few surprises when the mail does arrive(!) things have worked out pretty well.

Today wasn’t a big photo op day. The morning was spent breaking camp and getting on the road. We were fortunate to find an excellent RV park in St. Joseph, MO, - right in town – but it took forever (seemingly) - to get a rental car. As a result, we didn’t get started on our local sight seeing until after 6:00 p.m.

Not to be outdone, we had dinner at a local casino. Definitely not gourmet, but getting a NY strip steak for under $13 and a Pacific Salmon fillet for under $12 is pretty good deal. We then checked out the gaming tables but didn’t come out ahead. Didn’t lose much, but had a good time.

From here, it is roughly a 6 day drive to Florida at our comfortable average of 225 miles / day AND if we don’t stop for more than one night. Our experience on the road has been that two days of driving is about all we’re comfortable with. Then we need a couple of nights in one place to relax. So the earliest we’ll be back in Florida is 6 October, but that could change.

In case I haven’t mentioned it, one reason for our low mileage/day average has been the terrible condition of the US Interstate road system. I’d like to report the usual highway is smooth, with rough roads the exception. However, it is exactly the opposite. It is very noticeable when the road is smooth. Usually the problem is the bridges / overpasses. The transition to the bridge / overpass is quite a severe vertical bump with several patches on the bridge. Then there are the expansion joints, filled (badly) with tar. Every one is a jolt to the motor home. All in all, it’s quite a tiring ride.

When it is a “challenging” photo-op day, I wonder if I should just omit photos, or put something in from an earlier day. I think the photos add visual pizzazz, no matter when it was taken, so I’m including the above photo. Prairie dogs are a common sight in the plains. Usually they are busy running and jumping in their holes, but occasionally you catch one close to the road sitting up. Not a great shot, but it is what you see when driving through their territory.