Meramec Township

Prologue - Day One
September 1, 2024
Springfield, Ohio to Eureka, Mo.

Well the adventure has begun.

After several days with Dana's family we were about ready to get started on this hairbrained adventure. However, we needed to complete one last bike ride with her family before heading out. We met at her sisters place at 8:00 am and nine of us headed north to The Depot, a coffee shop about eleven miles from their place. We met the non-riders and ate breakfast and shared about our lives before heading back south. We completed the ride shortly after 11:00 am and after showering, we finished loading our vehicles, said our good byes, heard them all wish us the best, and we headed out. Of course, now we can't be totally sure what they might be saying about us after our departure, but we are who we are.

Since we left around noon, we both soon started to feel tired and we found a truck stop, located a quiet corner and took power naps. We used the restrooms and we continued our journey west. Our day's target destination was somewhere west of St. Louis. We passed the Gateway Arch as we crossed the great Mississippi River. Two years and two days ago we passed through St. Louis as we headed down the great river. Who would have thought that two years later we would be on the new adventure.

We located a Super Walmart as our camping spot for the night. I mean why not, we are pretty much self contained so we just pulled in and parked at the outer edge of the parking lot and made our selves at home. For all the money we have spent at Walmarts over the years, it's time for payback. :-).

After rearranging our stuff, we found a BBQ joint right next to the parking lot and enjoyed a meal of great food.

Currently we are sitting on our lawn chairs, in our trailer and honestly it feels a bit weird knowing we are within a stones throw of Walmart.

Tomorrow we will find Route 66 and plan to follow it most of the way to California before landing in San Diego, where the real work begins. I plan to write a summary of the days activities and let you know where we are and some of the things we have done.

We prepped our “hotel” for the night around 9:30 central time and lay down. The temps were still a bit high and we were hot and wondered if we would even need a sheet. Half way through the night I woke up and it was chilly so I grabbed a light blanket and covered us. I should have grabbed a heavier. However we weren’t complaining as it felt so much better than it had when we lay down.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.Read more