Jellystone Park, Perryville, Missouri

     We were in four states today - Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Missouri.  We were trying to put some miles behind us before the predicted storm hit.  It was an uneventful drive except for the ruts in the road created by all the truck traffic.  When we bounce around we often hear things banging around in the back of the camper.  I do my best to put everything on the floor or stowed in a cupboard, but we still get surprised.  One of the design flaws to this Itaska camper is the device which gets levered in between the wall and the slide out.  It is supposed to prevent the slide out from sliding out while we are traveling.  Instead, anytime we hit a bump, no matter how tight I screw it in, it falls to the floor and scares us to death because we think we have blown a tire or some other dire problem.  Fortunately, I can see the stupid pole

World War II Museum

on the floor and I know what the noise is.
     This late in the year many of the campgrounds in Missouri and points north have closed for the season.  We are juggling the mileage, weather, and list of open campgrounds as we plan the last few days of the trip.  Today really severe weather was predicted for the afternoon so we got on the road quickly and had a place we could stop early if necessary.  We lucked out and the weather held off until we got to this spot 80 miles south of St. Louis.  We got the camper hooked up and managed a nice walk before the rain started.
    The weather man said on the evening news that most of the really severe weather went north of us and is pretty much past us.  It is a relief not to be worrying about it over night.  Tomorrow we may find lots of wind - or not.  We have a plan for a long drive, but also a short drive if it is too windy.  This has been a trip that has been constantly redefined because of weather, but luckily we have not had any serious problems.