Trip plotting

I spent most of the morning and afternoon plotting out our trip. We have serveral sources to consult to plan our route, but more importantly where to stay at night. Google maps is an excellent source. Just log in "campgrounds near (city and state) " and ploop up they come. The problem is many do not have their own web page so you get shunted off to a national site or some innocuous state campground assn. The other source is this big catalog put out by Woodall. It is the old fashioned way. Each state has a map with locations noted on the highways and then you turn to the city listing. We have found this to be very accurate (directions and prices) last summer in our limited use of it.

It looks like going straight south is problematic. We are now thinking about cutting across to I-57 at Terre Haute then stopping near Carbondale, IL the first night... the first night is important since we will be dry camping up until then due to freezing temps when we leave here. We can use the potty, but will not have the water system charged...then when we do charge it you have to flush out the antifreeze in the lines and drains. This is not toxic stuff, but it is not what you want to be looking at in the shower, etc. Then your grey water tank is full and you have to dump...so I want to stay someplace we can hook up water, electric and dump tanks in the morning...then we will be flying. Funny how some places do not open until March 1 and we will be in need Feb. 27.

Anyway, south of Illinois we will be ok...most of the places in Woodall are open year round. Second night will be in Arkadelphia...or Hope, AR. Probably won't do the Clinton library. Third day will be a short one...less than 500 miles into Texas as we stop north of Ft Worth. Wednesday we spend the day with Aleene's niece Elaine Joanne, her husband and her daughter Amanda who is married. I will have figured out who is whom by the time we leave their ranch...yes, ranch. Thursday we go as far as we can go....maybe Midland, Tx or as close to El Paso as we can get. Then to Tucson...then Phoenix by Saturday.

I have not permitted myself to think beyond Phoenix. It is almost like I want to reserve the right to turn around and come back home...but that is only a joke. On the 11th we head for San Diego and the dreaded southrern California mess and try to get as close to Sacremento as we can get. Modesto maybe. Cambell had plants in Sacremento (soup) and Modesto (Swanson) when I worked for them. This is chicken and tomato country...Aleene wants to go into wine country and visit the restaurant that was in Sideways...I say only if the girl on the motorcycle is still waitressing. She seemed interesting. But I digress.

I would think, Amy if you are reading this, we should be within some close distance to Newberg by either the 14th or 15th. Then plop...there we stay until after your spring break and when the weather man forecasts no snow in the passes of the Cascades, Rockies, Wasatch and all the rest of those beauitful (summertime) scarry (any other time) mountains that grace our land. I hate the thoughts of Nebraska in early April...ugh...Iowa...Illinois...boring and frought with potential flooding and tornadoes.

That's what is on my mind today...February 22...GW's birthday. By the way, George is slipping in the polls in his stature as one of the truly great American prexies. Lincoln is far and away number one. He eclipsed Clinton (who was #2) by 15 points in a recent survey...can you believe it? Who did they survey? Reagan was second in another poll...lagging behind Lincoln by only 10. Goofy people. What do they know? I vote for Lewis and Clark...they were the bestest in my book and I am going to retrace some of their steps on this the 200th anniversary of their sojourn to the Pacific...