When I last left you we were almost to Joliet, Illinois to pick up our new rig. We sped up our trip to avoid a winter storm that was going to hit our route. We made it to Indianapolis last Friday and spent the night (cold, but no snow). On Saturday we drove into Joliet with no weather issues and dropped off our old rig at Rick’s RV and then checked into a hotel right next to the dealership. We got to see our new rig for the first time and we were really excited with how it looked. This new model is 6 inches wider with a bowed ceiling so the interior feels very roomy. The plan was to complete the sales paperwork on Monday while they prep our new rig, move the satellite dish from old to new on Tuesday and for us to move all our stuff on Wednesday.
The storm did come and dumped over 5 inches of snow in the Chicago area. The route we had taken was hit hard by ice, so we most likely would not have been able to make the drive if we kept to the original plan.
Our plan went off without a problem and the staff at Rick’s did a great job on the satellite install (to my specifications) and were able to make a spot under the sink so we could hide our trashcan (Fran was very happy). It snowed another 2 inches on Tuesday and the temps were in the teens everyday.
We moved all our stuff on Wednesday. Amazing how much stuff we still have with such limited space. Since we had limited time (another snow storm approaching) we did not organize any of our stuff. We just put it wherever it would fit. Wednesday night we had a great reunion with our wine group at a local restaurant in Naperville. We had a great time catching up with everyone.
On Thursday we picked up our rig when Rick’s opened and went in seek of warmer weather. We did not like the cold! We made it to Benton, Illinois. The first RV park we stopped at only had two spaces available as their park was saturated with snow and ice from the storm. The two available spaces would be a problem in the morning when we went to leave as the roadway would be ice. We left that park and went to the KOA park down the road. This is the same park where we first stopped when we started our “Life on the Road:. This park was in a little better shape and was able to accommodate us. We set up easily and I was very happy with the automatic leveling system. Just push a button and watch the rig level itself.
Our first night we identified a couple of issues, nothing major, but they will have to be addressed by the dealer. It was still cold in this area and the park was very sloppy from the ice storm so we continued our journey south and made it West Memphis, Arkansas to our favorite park, Tom Sawyer’s. The park is a little muddy but our site is a concrete pad so not so much an issue. We plan to stay here for at least a week to organize our new rig. The weather is in the 60’s with highs in the 70’s next week. The Mississippi River is high so I don’t know how much longer the park will be open. As the river rises with the snow melt the park will flood as it does every year around this time.
Route: From Joliet, Illinois we took Interstate 55 south to Interstate 80 east. From I-80 we picked up Interstate 57 south to Benton, Illinois. From Benton we continued on I-57 south to I-55 south into West Memphis, Arkansas.
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