On the Road!

Yes, we woke up to clear blue skies (well, early morning dawning to the east) and all was a GO to head out!   After fortifying ourselves with coffee, we started to load up the last few freezable things... the tv, the computers, the cameras etc.  Plus the dogs!

Steve fired up the rig and that Cat was purring like a good kitty....  we idled in the yard a while as we finished up the last details, locking up and dropping off goodies to the neighbors who are going to be shoveling our snow.  (a couple paris of warm wool socks!)   It was frosty cold of 3 below zero when we got up.... and the poor dogs were trying to figure out how to raise all four paws at once from the frosty cold hard packed snow to pee quick and get in the motorhome.  They got their jobs done, and in they jumped, eager for a camping trip!

We were ready to roll by 7:30 a.m.

I drove the Tracker to the end of the driveway and put on my four way flashers.. when there was a break in the traffic I pulled out and blocked the two south bound lanes (we have a four lane road in front of our house) .   Steve backed down with the motorhome and out into the road and was able to get headed south without causing too much of a delay to the drivers waiting behind me.  I waved a friendly "thank you" to them, glanced at the house one more time and headed south!  

I had to mail out a DVD and drop off our mail-hold card at the post office, while Steve headed out on Main St. which is highway 151.   I caught up with him at the edge of town in front of the high school so we could hook up the Tracker to the tow bar behind the motorhome.  We double checked each other's hookup jobs, and checked the lights and tow bar levers.  Now I could finally hop in the rig and head into my passenger seat.  

We have the Wave 8 catalytic heater going in the living area of the motorhome, plus the dash heater blasting full from the front on us, and we closed the back doors the bathroom and bedroom to make the space smaller and easier to heat.

Hwy 151 was all ice covered and slippery as we headed along the eastern shore of Lake Winnebago.  The winds were calm, which at least made it somewhat easier to maneuver.   If it had been as windy as the day before. we would have delayed our departure.

Yup.. these are the kinds of roads we deal with every day in Wisconsin in the winter....

The dogs were sooooo happy to head out, they curled up in their "spots" and went right back to sleep!

Actually, our dogs own our motorhome and we are just here to serve them and drive them to new places to sniff!  Especially when it gets green and warm and sandy and wonderful for the dogs as we head south.  I remember one year coming back from Florida... the noon "potty break" for the dogs was sunny and warm and green grass before they took a long long afternoon snooze.  The final "potty break" that night was in a Walmart lot in Indiana with snow piled up and ice all over.... they looked around like: "HEY.. WHAT KIND OF DIRTY TRICK DID YOU  PULL ON US????"   Sometimes, I feel the same way coming home.

Steve is happy to report all systems are on track, all items functioning properly and his VmSpc computer panel is keeping him informed of all data as we drive.  (Sorry, had to rub it in, Mel)

He really enjoys driving his "rig" and has a very comfortable seat to cruise along.  We can go for many miles without feeling tired.  It's kinda like sitting in two easy chairs, watching the scenery pass in front of the huge picture windows up front.  A lot less tiring than travelling in a car, for sure.

Although  we wanted to stop in and see our friends Juanita and Norm at the weaving studio near Beloit, we are facing a time-crunch to get as far south as we can to avoid a storm coming from the west around Nebraska and coming across Missouri.  So we figured we should keep on going and see if we come back this way.  Juanita has been working on a special project for me, and I had hoped to pick it up on the way through.  But we are thinking of the ice storm heading across Illinois and we hope to be far south of it before it hits.

We found bare pavement once we got further south, and hit the Illinois border (139 miles) by 10:30 a.m.  And now an hour later we are pulling off into a rest area to run the Tracker through it's gears (needs to be done every 200 miles)   let the doggers out and make some late breakfast/early lunch.  

Boy--- waysides sure have changed over the years.  I remember as a kid, we were lucky to find a pit toilet, picnic table and a big bonus if there was a water pump!   Pretty elaborate for travelling nowadays....

I snapped a few pics here that would make an RV owner want to cry..... 

 danged Wisconsin Road Salt! 

and look at our poor Tracker!!!!!

I think we need to find a Blue Beacon Truck Wash sometime soon, hey?   

Back on the road again here and travelling south. No more snow to be seen, and the sunshine  is coming in so bright that I had Steve turn down the dash heat... plus we turned off the catalytic heater too.  It's a comfy 70 degrees inside and up to 30 outside.  What a change from 3 below this morning... brrrrrrr