End of Another Adventure

We hit the road Friday, February 22 and began our return trip home. Leaving the sunshine and warm temps. of Florida was a bit sad, knowing it would be several months before we could enjoy this kind of weather again. Soon after our lunch stop near Perry, Florida we ran into rain which continued for another day. By Saturday evening we had arrived in Columbus, MS where the MDS warehouse is located. An invitation from our friends, Jan and Bob serving there included a Sunday outing to Cordova, AL for attending a Cowboy Church, lunch and visiting with more MDS friends, some of whom we had not seen for four years. Monday we continued our travels northward knowing well that there was a storm system on the move all the way from Californa. This storm was leaving behind a dump of snow in Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. Since we did not have to be in a hurry we stopped in Sikeston (southeast of corner of Missouri) and decided to wait an extra day for that to pass and roads to be cleared. Continuing on our way Wednesday we saw the first snow in St. Louis. The roads were wet and conditions not ideal with a mix of rain and snow. Our zig zag route through Missouri from the southeast to the northwest corner took us right through the dump of snow deposited by the storm.

That evening was our first time setting up the RV in snow conditions. The 30 amp power backup is all we need to keep warm and comfortable inside. Thursday the plan was to head straight north along I-29. Because we knew the temperatures were now low enough to freeze our plumbing we "winterized" the water pump and lines after filling jugs of water for washups and morning coffee. Except for the northerly winds our travels went well all day Thursday on dry roads all the way through Iowa and South Dakota. The casino at the North Dakota/South Dakota border has RV spots - so this was our last night on the road - it had worked well so far to stay in the RV each night, why not try it once more. This time the 1500 watt heater could not keep up so the furnace came on frequently through out the night. The heating pad we had taken along for treating aching muscles was great for keeping our feet warm through this chilly night.

Getting on the road one last morning at sunrise... What a delight to finally see the sun after a week of cloud everyday. As we approached the US/Canadian border we realized it was not normal to be stopped on the US side. Jim was asked to unlock the RV as one of the security personnel looked around inside and the second guy stood guard near him as he held the door open. They must have had a hunch?? that someone was trying to leave the country unnoticed. By 1:00 p.m. we were back home, giving us a sunny afternoon to get things unloaded. We don't look forward to the next credit card statement after having made several fillups of $75-$80 each of the last six travel days. As we "change gears" again we do recall the experience of yet another adventure.