October 19, 2004

October 19, 2004

Mathews, Missouri to Mansfield, Missouri

DAY 124

 

What a great adventure this is ! ! !

Eleven tornadoes touched down in our vicinity yesterday evening ! As I’m typing this, the radio news reports that 3 people were killed by a tornado last night just south of where we were parked at the Flying J. Their house was torn apart.

We are experiencing a lot of "firsts" in the last few days ;

first tornado

first sighting of ( road kill ) possum

first sighting of ( road kill ) aardvark

hillbillies

tobacco fields

cotton fields

Teddy the fat little cat loves to eat barbecued butternut squash !

Today was hot and humid. We both wore shorts and t-shirts all day. What a difference in weather in just a few days.

This morning we left Flying J and drove north on I-55 for about 8 miles back to Hwy. 60, then 2 miles west on Hwy. 60 to the city of Sikeston. We stopped in Sikeston and had the tire repaired. I had the rubber "pop in" valve stem ( for passenger cars ) replaced with a metal screw in valve stem ( for trucks ). Now I have 3 of the 7 tires on the truck with metal valve stems. I bought an additional 4 metal valve stems, and will have the rest of the tires changed over soon. I also bought new heavy duty metal "dually" valve extensions to replace the rubber ones currently on the truck. When I asked the service man to inflate the tire to 55 P.S.I. as recommended by GM, he vehemently disagreed. He strongly urged me to inflate the rear tires to 80 P.S.I., the maximum pressure allowed by the tire manufacturer, in light of the load Harvey imposes on Dee-Dee. He says they always inflate rear duallies to 80 P.S.I. when towing heavy trailers. I will follow his recommendation and see if I have less tire problems.

Back onto Hwy. 60 westbound. Saw our first cotton field. We stopped on the shoulder of the road and walked through the ditch to see cotton plants up close. The cotton is ripe and ready for picking ... or harvesting. I can’t imagine that they pick huge fields like this by hand. They must use something like the combines used for grain. We stopped to have lunch parked in the lot of an abandoned service station. There seems to be a lot of failed businesses in Kentucky and Missouri. Filled Dee-Dee with diesel at Mountain View. We’re in the Ozark Mountains already. Next stop was an irresistible impulse. A touristgift shop type business called Hillbilly Junction. I bought a hiking stick, Joanne's belated birthday gift to me.

We stopped for the night at Mansfield, at a small RV park across the street from the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of the Little House On The Prairie books. In our campsite, beside our trailer, is a tree with leafy pods, filled with little, hard, dark, berries. I have no idea what they are. I will attach a photo to my journal. Anybody who recognizes what these pods / berries are, please let me know.

DSK