First Day on the Road

 Dolly and I were up by 7:30 and we had a little breakfast and packed the last of everything and by 9:15 I was on the road.

First stop was in McLean at the Dixie 66 Truck Stop and I filled up with diesel.

  Not completely.  The pump stopped at $100 and I just left it at that.

All went smoothly until we got to St Louis

and I again missed the turnoff to I44.  Went down the first off ramp and it happened to be the Busch Stadium exit so got a picture and soon saw a sign to get back on I44 West and away we went.  

Stopped outside of St Louis and again filled the tank to $100 and we were off crossing the state of Missouri.  

I had forgotten how hilly it is in the southern Missouri area.  We went up and down all afternoon.  The sky was bright blue without a cloud anywhere.  The temperature got to the low 50s with little wind so it was a beautiful day for driving.  The only problem is there is a lot of traffic today.  Everyone was moving along so not a real problem.

About 25 miles from my stop for the night, I saw a truck on the side of the road with a flashing sign saying the traffic would stop ahead so prepare to stop and sure enough about a mile further brake lights were on and everyone was slowing to a stop.  Luckily I stopped right at an exit and the trucks behind me were taking the exit.  I followed.  Glad I did.  We took a highway along the interstate and soon I saw the problem.  There was a semi jack-knifed off the side of the highway and the traffic was one lane.

Arrived at the Route 66 rest area at 3:30.  Yuma and I took a walk in the rest area.  It is made up to look like a miniature town along route 66.  This is a nice place to stop or stay the night.  Very large parking area.

Called Dolly to let her know we were shut down for the night and soon Yuma and I were having dinner and getting ready to rest for the evening.  Nice and quiet here while I'm doing my blog for the evening.

Route for the day.  Took 6 hours and 15 minutes to travel 343 miles.