After visiting with my family as long as possible at the hospital in Dallas I continued my trip. I headed out of Dallas on US Hwy 75 going north. There was construction on the highway for a few miles. While the road narrowed it was not too bad. It really helped that it was Sunday and the traffic was not heavy. I was in need of gas after about an hour of driving and started looking for a gas station. Well the one I chose was not the right one! After I pulled up to the pump I realized that I was going to have to back up to get out! Not an easy feat with a trailer and a busy convience store. I went into the store and told the 3 clerks behind the counter that I needed help. They looked at me like I was dumber than a rock. I told them either I got a little assistance or the gas pump might go with me. That got them moving. One of them volunteered to watch while I backed. Bless his heart he tried to direct me but he was telling me the oposite of what I needed to do. I told him to just yell before I hit anything and backed up! Thankfully I did not have to go far before I could swing wide enough to get out. Whew, back on the highway without dragging a gas pump behind! Before long I was in Oklahoma! My second state! I stopped at the visitors center and picked up a new map. It made for a nice break and a little exercise for Ellie. Just after I left Durant my cell phone rang. It was Aunt Betty checking up on me. It is so nice to have people who care enough to call in my life. I had not been able to figure out how far I was going to get on this day so I had not made any reservations. I figured if the worst happened I could spend a night in a Wal Mart parking lot. Once again the good Lord was looking out for me. I found a new small RV park just north of Muskogee in the comunity of Porter. They were still working on the front porch of the office. The site was a nice pull through. Ellie and I were happy to be off the road for the day. I was also glad to get beyond Muskogee before stopping for the night.
The next day would be a real adventure. I would go onto my first toll road pulling a trailer. No Problem. Then I stopped at the Missouri visitors Center and picked up a new map. Then on to Kansas City. Wow, what a trip through that proved to be. They were doing construction so following the road signs was not easy. To add to this it was raining! I made it through with a tight grip on the steering wheel and a lot of prayer. To this day I will avoid Kansas City if possible! I stopped for the night at JJ's Campground in Holt Missouri. It is a really neat campground not far from the interstate. As there was a heavy mist when I parked I just plugged in the electic and went inside to wait for a break. It was also cold! Ellie and I were lucky enough to get in a couple of walks between showers!
The next day it was on to our distination of Altoona, Iowa. This is a suburb of Des Moines for those of you who do not know. I was really anxious to arrive.
Ellie and I were up and on the road by our usual time of 8 am. We stopped about 30 miles down the road for gas. Then when we got to Iowa we stopped and got a map at the visitor center. It was a neat center that had an antique store in the same building. It was really windy and so the driving was not so easy. We really enjoyed the break. I stopped at an easy in and out gas station across the road to top off the gas tank. We got into De Moines around noon. The traffic was not too bad. We made Altoona easily. The directions I had for the RV Park were easy to follow and we arrived with no problem. At the desk I was given a packet of information and an escorted to my site by Dave who helped me back in. We are home!!! Because of the wind it felt really cold to this TEXAS girl! I would do a little of my set up work and then come inside to warm up. There was a lot of grass around this campground so Ellie liked it.
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