After a break in an early morning rains, we were able to disconnect our utilites, hook up our Jeep and get underway from our campground, albeit under cloudy skies. However, we were delighted to discover that I-80 west of Elkhart was smooth and seeming well-maintained,
a far cry from the rough, pot-holed section of I-80 we arrived on.
Soon thereafter, however, we could see more precipitation off to the northwest
and headed our way, Fortunately, a near torrential downpoour lasted only a few miles ,,, although hard enough to send a group of sheep heading for cover …
and soon we were able to see blue skies breaking out ahead of us.
From there on the weather continued to improve. And while the temperature soared into the high 80o, stiff, gusty winds from the west
buffeted our motor home throughout the day.
At one point, we discoverd that when I-80 and I-90 split our exit was blocked.
The detour was, however, well-marked and short and we were soon crossing the Des Plains RIver
and into "The Land of Lincoln".
While farms, barns and silos were abundant along I-80, those in Illinois seem to be surrounded by fields of corn whereas those we'd passed thus far were either not tilled or planted or the crops were just emerging.
We also saw a number of fields of cut and rolled hay,
two lonesome wind turbines … surprising given the winds we've experienced the past several days, and
a group of sattelite dish schptures depicting young boys and girls at play.
Again, ROADWORK was evident
and kept our streak of never having driven our motorhome on a trip without having to navigate some form of road construction.
We finally reached the Mississippi River
and Davenport, Iowa
where we will be spending the night.
