We spent the night in a parking lot in Neosho, Missouri. There was a semi-truck parked too. We got there about 12:15am CT. It was very uncomfortable sleeping in the van. We didn’t have access to any washrooms. John and William slept on top of the trailer. We were having problems with the van. The check battery light was on and the ABS brake light was on. We felt and heard 3 thumps and John saw flashes of light from the underside of the vehicle. We pulled over to see what was wrong. We can’t visually see anything. You could smell something. So we drove until we got to a town (at first we were aiming for Joplin but couldn’t see the proper turnoff), which is Neosho. We are waiting for the GM dealership to open at 8:30am.
I woke up with sollen feet. For breakfast, we had bagels and apples. We ate it in the parking lot of an industrial company. We got an oil change and under the vehicle, things appear okay. The mechanic thinks it was just sparks from the trailer chains after possibly bottoming out. So we are on our way. Paris, Arkansas is probaly 2 1/2 hours away.
We are very close to Arkansas. The highway cuts through blasted rock (Highway 71 South). There are lots of trees.
WELCOME TO ARKANSAS The Natural State at 9:34am CT
– Victoria
I love the Ozark mountains. Very pretty, but a lot of climbing. The valleys are made easier by huge bridges that span them.
Stopped briefly at a rest stop. Got some stickers and maps. This stop allows one night overnight camping (which we don’t need now, but could have used).
We arrived in Paris at about 1pm CT. We couldn’t find the road to turn at. Victoria called her grandmother for directions. We drove back a ways and found a lady who knew Dana Dooley (Victoria’s Grandmother) and delivered mail to her. Apparently, we hadn’t gone quite far enough. It was at Wiggins Drive, South. Soe’s the 4th house on the right. Wiggins is right of highway 22.
We had a good visit and then made some lunch: Mac & Cheese with leftover turkey ham, mixed with a can of creamed corn and seasoned with Tony Chacherez.
Victoria and Dana went through some photo albums. I got some of it on video. I would have taken more, but I had the idea late and was low on battery.
We went shopping for dinner. We picked up what we needed for chili, stir-fry, and pasta dinners. Once back at the house, we made the chili. It was just beans, 1 lb of hamburger, onion, green pepper, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and 1 1/2 TBSP of chili powder. It turned out well. We had it with a tossed salad.
We followed Dana to the Horn Cemetery. It’s about 12 miles East on 22 at Midway. We turned South (right) on Horn Rd. It’s a winding dirt road that took us to a scenic view of a valley. It’s a beautiful cemetery. We visited Victoria’s grandfather’s grave (Dana’s husband). He died this May. William and I took photos and April videotaped Dana while she gave us a tour of the cemetery.
At sundown it was still 33 deg. C. Dana’s thermometer was reading 105 deg. F or about 40 deg. C this afternoon. Some huge thunderhead rolled by and bellowed at us pretty good, but not a drop of rain.
It’s our first night indoors with A/C. I’m looking forward to a good rest.
– John