Grey Skies Ain’t Gonna Clear Up….

July 18 - 20, 2006
The extreme heat broke! We awoke to a much cooler day, though still hot by Vancouver standards. We rolled up our belongings and like gypsies headed for the next ‘common’ which was a Super Walmart in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Across the road was a Cracker Barrel, a chain restaurant that is also known for permitting overnight RV parking in their large parking lots, but the Walmart won out when we discovered we had a free wifi connection. Yippee! It was obviously Amish territory because there was a horse and carriage stabling area in the parking lot and the store was full of Amish shoppers.

The cool of the morning fooled us. We were gleeful as we drove through the beautiful countryside, cornfields and sugar beet crops and wildflowers – bright blue cornflowers, brilliant orange blossoms that looked like miniature sunflowers. But the lovely pastoral scenery of Ohio and eastern Indiana gave way to smog-enshrouded farmland in the area south of Chicago. The heat again had become intolerable so we stayed at a Passport America campground ($12/night full hookup) near Remington, Indiana. As I registered at Caboose Lake Campground, the owner said, “Hot enough for yer?” If the locals thought it was hot, then it was. “I ain’t been outa this place all day and I’m not leavin’ it til it cools down” she said.

It was set in a concrete jungle. A square man-made lake at the intersection of I65 and Highway 24, bordered by a huge grey manufacturing facility on one side and the interstate looming above the campsites on another side – it was a dismal location. I65 is an extremely busy commercial corridor between Chicago and Indianapolis. At the north end of the lake, they’d built a sand beach visible clearly by drivers who whizzed along on the freeway above. Spindly trees offered no shade. At one end were a group of permanent or semi-permanent residents – why on earth would they choose to live here in the choking corridor when their homes are mobile?


On the plus side, the individual sites were grassy and spacious set right beside the water with full hookups, which were necessary to keep our AC running. Our entertainment was the constant parade of semi-trailer trucks speeding along the freeway above the campsites on the opposite bank of the lake. The drone became white noise – unnoticed after a while. There were slate grey skies so murky it appeared that chain mail had been drawn across – I’d never seen such depressing thick smog before.

We paid a visit to Lafayette, Indiana home of Purdue University. I had visited there previously as a young woman in the early 1960’s. My then-husband won an apprenticeship contest and was competing with others from across the USA and Canada at Purdue. His prize included taking his wife along. My memories were of a picturesque small town, steamy-hot but exotic with dense shrubbery, large leafy trees overhanging the tranquil Wabash River, brick buildings, old mansions and the shrill noise of frogs and crickets. Now I don’t recognize it. In its growth, my memories have been lost except for a few spots on the campus of Purdue.

***********************************************************************

A sinister pall made me think it was still night as I woke at 7:30am. The sky was steely grey and the murky haze veiled our surroundings. Is this what the prophesiers of doom envision as our exodus to hell? Isn’t it a good thing that I’m a cheerful person?

Thunder and lightning rolled in soon after, a wind developed and torrential rain followed for about an hour. The smell of the air was putrid – acid rain, I suppose. I imagined it was corroding the paint on Maggie and would eat away my flesh if I dared go out and let it touch my skin. I have a vivid imagination and have watched too many futuristic films. Drizzle ensued for a couple of hours, and then dissipated.

Indiana into Iowa – the land was true prairie – flat in all directions and planted in corn mostly. On the odd occasion, we encountered grazing land and cattle but only in the infertile gullies. But the smog still blanketed what should be pristine countryside. Driving through Eureka, Illinois we noticed their claim to fame was that their college is the alma mater of Ronald Reagan. They have a museum at the college but it was too hot to visit – we couldn’t leave Caesar.


We stopped at the Par-A-Dice Casino on the Illinois River in Peoria, Illinois. Fernie trotted down to the riverboat as I made lunch, to check out the tables – it’s been a long time since he’s been able to feed his poker addiction. I’m just joshing here; I say this truthfully “He’s a very controlled and moderate gambler”. He came back disappointed saying it was awful – smoky and packed and without any decent table games – no Pai-Gow, and no Texas Holdem. It was too darn hot to stay there anyway as it was only 1pm – we’d gained an hour at the Indiana/Illinois border.

We drove for a couple of hours to the banks of the Mississippi, the ‘Quad Cities’ of Illinois and Iowa – Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa and Moline and Rock Island in Illinois. Every time I think of Rock Island, I break into song – one of my old favourites ‘The Rock Island Line’ by Lonnie Donnegan – early 1960’s. I wish you all could hear me (I’m truly gifted):

The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road,
The Rock Island is the road to ride,
The Rock Island line is a mighty good road,
If you want to ride it ………. ……….
Get a ticket at the station for the
Rock Island Line.

I noticed that the railroad tracks crossed the Mississippi and went directly into Rock Island so I’m pretty sure that’s where he was singing about.

Anywayz! I digress from the narrative!

The Isle of Capri Mississippi Riverboat Casino was a different story from the Par-A-Dice. Pai-Gow and Texas Shoot-Out and a great poker room with Texas Holdem made Fernie a happy man. We signed up for the ‘players’ cards’ and they gave us $5 cash each (my $5 went right into my wallet) plus (because of our advanced ages) pill organizer boxes. There was a huge almost empty parking area for RV’s and trucks right on the banks of the Mississippi (well, there was a dyke between us) and we had free wifi. The Mississippi Gambler played for a couple of hours and came back with a tidy $55 profit – a good start!

The river is a busy and working waterway; as we walked the footpath on top of the dyke just after dark, we noticed a constant procession of barges and tour boats. The I74 Bridge spanned the mighty river almost over our heads and the reflection of the vehicle lights shimmered in the water in a myriad of colours.