Not What We Planned In A Dangerous Way but Half Way There.

Our Location today is Greenville, Illinois, U.S.A. 

Having gotten ourselves recharged by sitting still for the day yesterday we still managed to be awake close to 7:30 DSCT this morning. The Plan was that we would get as many miles behind us today so that we could coast to our final US destination on Tuesday. We enjoyed our breakfast and had everything closed up so we could be on the road by around 9:00 because there was rain forecasted for the area and we hoped it would miss us. 

Weather not looking too promising this morning.

We actually accomplished that but we needed to stop for fuel before going too far. We travelled all of four miles where we stopped at Kum & Go gas station for Diesel.  Their parking lot was really on the tight side but there was no Flying J RV Fuel Lanes around when we needed it. I did have to park about eight feet from the pump so as to not hook the pump with the trailer. We then had to partially back out so we could drive around the island. There was a bonus to all that when the cost was only $2.149 a Gallon. 

We were soon back on I-44 heading eastbound and driving along at 65 MPH we were keeping pace with most of the trucks while most of the cars were flying by. Shortly after 11:00 we pulled in to the Cracker Barrel and enjoyed their Chicken and Stuffing special for lunch.  

You can see how close we were to the edge of the traffic.

We seemed to have beat the rush because as we were leaving the place was starting to get packed. We were again back on the highway discussing how far we would try to drive today. We couldn’t have been on the road 15 minutes when the trailer started riding rough. Looking in the mirror I could see the problem. 

Less then six months old.

When we left our base park in McGregor back in November we spent the first day at our RV Dealership getting warranty work done. The next day we stopped to have five new tires put on the trailer for two reasons. Reason number one was the trailer had sat for two years which is not good for tires but did help us get a better deal. Reason number two was those tires were the same brand we experienced two blowouts in four months with on our Avalanche fifth wheel. The brand known as the Chinese Bombs were made in China and imported to North America. 

Kathy wanted to call our roadside assistance but I was Bullheaded and immediately started changing it myself. Even though I had the Hazard Lights flashing and Emergency Triangles behind the trailer, traffic wasn’t slowing down. The Blowout happened on the roadside and next to the shoulder there was a drop-off so I was inches from the road. If I had pulled off the shoulder further I would have risked tipping the trailer. What did help was a clean up crew with the Missouri Department of Highways pulled their truck behind us with its Flashing Lights on and the supervisor was flagging vehicles to move over. The supervisor told Kathy, I should have called the Roadside Assistance because they would have had the Police to slow the traffic down. We did appreciate what he did for us and Thanked him for doing so. He said I-44 is not a safe place to be doing what we were doing and he was very concerned. Traffic was zipping along and didn’t want to move over for him in a vest and helmet so he stood in the centre of the road before they moved. So now we knew why he was so concerned and appreciated his help. 

We were underway in forty minutes which is shorter than the five hour wait the last time. We drove a mile to the next cut off hoping to find a Tire Shop but all we were finding were farmers lanes. Kathy didn’t want a repeat of Saturday so we got turned around and stopped at a gas station. I was double checking our air pressure which I had done yesterday when a gentleman asked if we were having problems. Explaining what had just happen he directed us up to Bourbon RV Dealer just up the highway. 

Had to turn in a field so they could work on the tires.

When we got to Bourbon RV Dealer they directed us to Bourbon Tire another mile up the Frontage Road. It may be a small shop but they were able to replace our blown tire with our spare, so we’d have four identical tires under the trailer and mounted the new tire as the spare. We were there less then an hour before they wished us safe travels and we were heading back for the highway.

Two Tire guys working on our trailer.

It was after 4:00 so Kathy suggest getting a bite to eat before continuing on. She saw a sign for another Cracker Barrel but I took a wrong turn and ended up in a McDonalds so that was where we ate. They had some kind of deal going on that if their local team was playing they would and did give us an extra discount. 

Traffic trying to leave St. Louis after 5:00.

We were on the last stretch of I-44 that took us through St. Louis, Missouri just before 5:00 but we never experienced any kind of a slow down. After taking I-55/I-70 across the Missouri River we just kept rolling even though we had crossed into Illinois. It wasn’t until we got on I-70 heading towards Indianapolis that traffic came to a stand still. As things started moving traffic started moving to one lane that would pass through close to ten miles of construction.  

St. Louis Gateway Arch.

Kathy referenced her Next Exit Book and found a Luv’s Truck Stop up at Greenville, Illinois. The first thing we did was top up with Diesel and get rid of our latest bug collection. We were both tired and since there was no place to park up front we ended up with the Semis again. We did manage to get a spot at the very end of the row where we can have our bedroom slide open all night. 

Hopefully everything will go as planned tomorrow and we can relax for a couple more days. The 338 Miles we travelled today got us nearly half way to our destination. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy! 

It’s about time.

Krackers 

Joke of the Day 

Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.