Almost A Giant Ice Cube

A Super Walmart in Illinois was a good place to stop, even better was the chance to pick up enough food to stuff the fridge, cabinets, and even the microwave.  One item we grabbed was a complete stew kit, the meat, veggies and gravy.  We wanted to put the stew in the crock pot and let it cook while driving down the road.  Great idea.

One small problem cam to light in the morning.  We had a little crock pot, too small to cook the meal.  Back into Walmart and shortly we had a new, larger crock pot to put the food in, plug in and place in the sink.  It made the trip smell delicious.  Now we have a new problem, where to put it.

Last night was very cold, temps dipped below 18 degrees.  We had the furnace cranked up and we were warm inside.  When we were getting ready to leave this morning, the slides moved slower than slow, the hydraulic fluid was cold, making them very sluggish.  With everything stowed, the Journey's engine running (kept the block heater on all night so it fired right up), the last thing was to open the windshield curtains.  Surprise, the windshield was frozen over with ice...from the inside!

That was a new one on us, but this cold weather living in the Journey is loaded with new experiences.
I turned on the defrosters and the windshield fans and after about ten minutes, the windshield was de-iced.  We had to wipe the glass dry, but it needed cleaning anyway.

Off like a dirty shirt we went and drove the rest of the way through Illinois where everything was dry, snow free and cold,

then through Iowa, where there was lots of snow along the roads,

and in the fields.

Iowa had dozens and dozens of giant wind generators.  They must like them because they are all over the place.  The way they are spinning, it's no wonder it was so cold in Iowa.

 

After driving all the way through Iowa, we stopped for the night at another Flying J (see a pattern here?) just west of Omaha, Nebraska.  We didn't drive as many miles as yesterday (450), we only drove 445 miles.  Have to take it a little easy. ;c)  This is not going to be our full time traveling style, we just want to get to Oregon as fast as we can to see the grandkids.  We're going to spend about 20 days with them, a new experience for all of us.

We like to overnight at Flying J's because of the availability of the free parking and have the fuel, water and dump station available first thing in the morning as we get ready to hit the road.  We won't always stay at Flying J's, but when we're trying to make time, we take advantage of what they offer.

A look down the road with the weather predictions show that we should have snow and ice free roads ahead on the route to Salt Lake City where we will turn North and head up through Idaho into Oregon.  The weather should be warmer, too, only in the thirties.  Maybe the Journey will finally thaw out.

 Marti is making good use of her new iPad  checking all the conditions along our route.  At least that's what she tells me she's doing.  I do hear all kinds of beeps, dings and other noises that I think are games...

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.