Clinton, OK to Caseyville, IL - Day 3 (April 5)

Today is Easter Sunday.  We woke up early and were on the road at 7:15.  It was misty rainy, and still windy.  We stopped to fuel and grab Subway breakfast sandwiches in Oklahoma City --  GasBuddy was showing gas in Oklahoma City at $1.95, but the cheapest we saw was at a Circle K for $2.01.  We missed that one, but did fuel for $2.059 at the eastern edge of Oklahoma City.  It rained most of the day, and we just kept driving.  I took my shift from 11:30 to 1:00 -- 90 miles/90 minutes (through rain, town of Joplin, and 2 construction zones).  I seem to usually be driving across most of the state lines, while Joe rests his foot.  We crossed into Missouri at 12:10 so when he came up front he was pleasantly surprised to know that we had left Oklahoma behind.  We fueled for the second time today in Mt. Vernon, MO, but the price had gone up to $2.159 (still not too bad).  We had made pretty good time until we got caught in a 9-mile backup due to a semi truck burning up.  It took us 40 minutes to go those 9 miles, but we didn't hear that anyone had been injured.  A dump truck was alongside the highway cleaning up the mess.









It did finally quit raining during this delay, and the sun came out.  I kept looking for more lilacs but I guess we are too far north now.  But the redbud trees were really pretty in Oklahoma.  In Missouri, they are just beginning to bud out.

We buzzed around the bottom of St. Louis on I-270, which becomes I-255, and got on I-64 in Illinois.  We had not been through this way since this new bridge was completed, and it certainly simplified getting around St. Louis.  We crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois at 5:45 (Joe was driving for this state line).  We found a Cracker Barrel in Caseyville, IL (still in sight of the St. Louis Arch) for dinner at 6:00, and asked if we could park there overnight (we had read in Motorhome Magazine that they allow this), which they did allow, so we were off the road for the night.  And I finally had a chance to start my 2015 blog.

We drove 585 miles today, another marathon day.  We have driven 1,447 miles in 2 1/2 days, which is way beyond our comfort zone.  But this is an unusual trip -- Joe can't get around to do any touristy things, and I need to get to Vincennes for my 50th class reunion, which is this coming Friday.  So speed is of the essence, I guess, as well as perseverance.   And another day, DAY 3 WITH NO DISASTERS.