Day 11 Ak to Ohio
815 miles,
14.5 hours
Awoke around
7AM, overcast 80 degrees, muggy. Pack, coffee, leave. We are just over the border from Nebraska
into Iowa. Driving through Iowa, rolling
hills, mega farms’ lush fields of corn and soy beans and no signs of
irrigation. This soil benefits by having
large rivers travel through and beautiful thick top soil. It seems they get enough rain to keep things
growing. Smart farmers using all the soil
conservation methods of terracing and contouring with dedicated run-off grassed
areas. Crop dusting planes and copters
are at it. Pass by hundreds of wind
turbines, taking advantage of prairie winds.
We suck it
up and decide to cancel our reservation in Joliet, Ill and do the long drive
straight home. There is a good logic to
the decision to get home a day early but mileage and hours in the car must be
endured. Sirius Beatles and Springsteen
radio helps. We rise to 90 degrees and
it descends into the 70’s later on eastward but air is muggy. We cross the Mississippi River between Iowa
and Illinois, it’s a huge and impressive river even at this northern
latitude. We drive forward in hopes of
missing rush hour around Chicago. We are
somewhat successful; the traffic moves slowly but it’s not a parking lot. It is always a tangle of highways at the
Illinois and Indiana border. It’s hard
to describe the huge numbers of semis carrying product on this cross-country
route. Real convoys of seemingly never-ending line of trucks. It seems America is back! I80/US30, cuts the country in half down the
middle east to west so good for moving product.
We try roadside food. McDonald’s
most accessible and prominent, but we are so done with eating there.
We cross
Indiana and Ohio border and our states look much the same. We have been traveling just south of the
Michigan border. The sunset is an
intense red/orange, more smoke, humidity?
We have seen haze but not sure it is CA smoke. Where are the mountains? We arrive late
evening into Hudson, it’s cool but air is heavy with moisture. House is in good shape, but it’s dark outside
and have to review tomorrow in daylight.
Lots to do to catch up with 2 ½ months away and getting ready for
Brenna’s family visit.
We are so
grateful for travel mercies, the kindness of strangers and angels in disguise. We take nothing for granted. We have made lasting memories and found much
joy in the time spent away. This blog
will keep our stories for future review when we can no longer travel in this
way. And glad to know we have shared our
memories with loved ones.
Here’s to
Alaska trip 2023! Cheers!
One final
Nighty night…
Pat and
Chuck
